Google has not yet provided a specific date for a Mac and Linux release of Chrome, Google spokesperson Eitan Bencuya told InternetNews.com.

"Since Chrome is open source, all development is done in the open, and you can track the progress of the Mac version at http://sites.google.com/a/chromium.org/dev/developers/how-tos/mac-detailed-status, Bencuya noted.

To date, Google has only offered Chrome on Windows in two versions, the Stable-channel and the Dev-Channel. With the latest dev-channel release, Google is adding a third development milestone release with a Beta-channel as well.

Why a new milestone release channel? Apparently, it doesn't think the current dev-channel release is stable.

"It's less polished than what Dev channel users have been getting during Google Chrome's Beta, so we've moved all of our existing Dev channel users to the Beta channel," wrote Mark Larson, Google Chrome program manager, in a blog post.

Breaking down the Chrome channels

All Google Chrome users start with the stable channel when they first download Chrome. Users then choose which version of Chrome they want to use by selecting an update channel using the Google Chrome Channel Changer application, which is available at http://chromium.googlecode.com/files/chromechannel-2.0.exe.

The stable channel is by definition the most stable version of Chrome and it includes fixes and features that have previously been tested by Beta and Dev-channel users. The new Beta channel will be updated approximately every month and is intended to be more stable than the Dev-Channel.

The Dev-Channel will now be the bleeding edge of public Chrome release milestones with releases that aren't as stable as either the Beta or Stable versions.