Freedom from IE6: Google Launches Non-Admin Version of Chrome Frame

Earlier this year, Google announced that it would soon allow Internet Explorer users to install Chrome Frame – a product that brings the Chrome’s fast rendering engine’s to Microsoft’s legacy browsers – even when their administrators had locked down their systems. Today, Google fulfilled this promise and potential Chrome Frame users can now install Chrome Frame even if they don’t have administrator rights. For now, this non-administrative version is only available in the developer channel, but Google says that it will soon be available in the beta and stable channels as well.

With Chrome Frame, users who are still stuck on legacy browsers like Internet Explorer 6 or 7 and – more importantly – developers who have to code their apps for this environment can install a plugin that gives them access to Chrome’s modern and secure JavaScript engine and other browser features while using the same Internet Explorer user interface they are used to. Chrome Frame supports Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 and works with IE 6, 7, 8 and 9.

Not a Magic Bullet

It’s important to note that Chrome Frame doesn’t just magically replace the IE rendering engine with Chrome. Developers actually have to tag their pages to invoke this plugin. Because of this, Chrome Frame shouldn’t break any existing apps. Instead, it allows developers in large organizations to make use of modern Web technologies even though their users are still using legacy browsers.

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