This week's Google Chrome update added some significant new features to its Windows 8 mode, effectively turning the browser into a stripped-down version of Chrome OS, with its own taskbar and window-management tools. But who's it for, really?
If you’re reading this page using Google Chrome on Windows 8, the latest browser update, Chrome 32.0.1700.76, should be freshly installed on your PC. Google’s rapid-release cadence, with a new Stable Channel update every six weeks, means most new releases are relatively minor. Chrome 32 is different.
Chrome version 32 completely overhauls its “Windows 8 mode,” which allows Google’s browser to run as if it were a modern (Metro style) app. Under Microsoft’s rules, Metro-style browsers are able to sidestep requirements that apply to all other apps, including the mandate to be distributed through the Windows Store. The first Chrome release appeared in June 2012, in conjunction with a preview release of Windows 8. Chrome 32 is more refined, but it continues Google’s tradition of aggressively flouting Microsoft’s UI guidelines for Windows 8 apps. (The Windows 8 version of Firefox is still available only in beta channels.)
Read more at: Google?s latest Chrome release tries to replace the Windows 8 desktop | ZDNet
See also: http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/13732-chrome-browser-toggle-between-desktop-windows-8-mode.html