Google announced that it has worked with Adobe to bring a new feature to its Chrome desktop browser that automatically pauses Flash content that isn't essential to a website that you're viewing. The hope is that the feature will help cut down on battery drain for those of us doing some heavy browsing on our laptops. Here's how Google describes it:
When you're on a webpage that runs Flash, we'll intelligently pause content (like Flash animations) that aren't central to the webpage, while keeping central content (like a video) playing without interruption. If we accidentally pause something you were interested in, you can just click it to resume playback. This update significantly reduces power consumption, allowing you to surf the web longer before having to hunt for a power outlet.
It will be interesting to see if this actually brings a noticeable improvement to battery life, but we're all for trying anything that may extend our time away from the wall warts. The update is part of a Beta channel release going out today, and should be coming to everyone else in the near future. On a final note, this only applies to the Chrome desktop browser for now, not Chrome OS, as it has a different implementation for handling Flash content.
Source: Google
