Chrome

Install google chrome via apt 3rd party repo, then it will auto-update. You can see the stable -> beta -> unstable versions here.

wget -q -O - https://dl-ssl.google.com/linux/linux_signing_key.pub | sudo apt-key add -
sudo sh -c 'echo "deb [arch=amd64] http://dl.google.com/linux/chrome/deb/ stable main" >> /etc/apt/sources.list.d/google-chrome.list'
sudo apt-get update 
sudo apt-get install google-chrome-stable # there is also beta (more recent) and unstable (bleeding edge)

Install the hangout plugin so that it will auto-update via apt.

• download the plugin .deb file from https://www.google.com/tools/dlpage/hangoutplugin
• Install the deb file from command line

sudo dpkg -i ~m/Downloads/google-talkplugin_current_amd64.deb && sudo apt-get install -f # to fix any dependencies but there shouldn't be any

I believe i had to use the ubuntu package to cut the isight firmware so the MBP camera would start working in chrome.

NOTE: I gave up on Chromium when google started jamming it up (requiring frequent cookie clearing).