Hmm...
Could this courgette perchance be used maliciously to inject some ownage into the shiny Chrome? It all sounds a bit low-level for my liking. On the other hand, if I just don't know what I'm talking about, then top marks for use of brains.
Google has shrink-wrapped the way it delivers updates to its Google Chrome browser by releasing a new system dubbed Courgette. Mountain View wonks decided to tweak the way it automatically sends out code to Chrome, after finding that some of the updates were slowing down Windows-based computers, as well as making them more …
SuSE Linux began this method of updates back in version 9.3: post-update checksums, the works. I haven't used a SuSE server in about a year, but I'd like to know how this approach reduces the overhead on the machine doing the update. Using Delta RPMs in YaST actually increased the load on the CPUs quite considerably during an update. The use of Deltas was actually set as a user-definable option for this reason. Even so, I'd guess a brief increase in workload is preferable to an increase in bandwidth, since the ability of machines to handle workload is still expanding a lot faster than our badwidth is.
AMD/ATI please take note...
When I decide to update my video drivers I would like a way to download the drivers and the control centre without the Microsoft C++ runtime environment stuff! I got that last time, it hasn't changed!
And no I don't want the freebie apps from one of your partners, I never choose to install them, I just wish I didn't have to download them in the first place!
I think they already have. They've been only patching the bit wot needs it since Jesus was a lad, but then they designed their patch update system when the world was on dialup and keeping traffic to a minimum was bloody important upfront, rather than something you could tack on as an afterthought.
The generic term for this is differential compression, only sending the differences between a file and the updated version. Microsoft (Windows Update) and Novell/SuSE (delta RPMs) have been doing it for years.
What Google have discovered is a better differential compression algorythm, not the technique itself. Now if only Ubuntu, Red Hat and Debian would take note.