25 extensions to super-charge your Chrome browser

[Wireless News]

http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/8CURzNPKLdcdlP_KricONQ--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3NfbGVnbztmaT1maWxsO2g9ODY7cT03NTt3PT EzMA--/http://media.zenfs.com/en-US/homerun/digital_trends_973/39fe7451a3192ac2d89d84b4b51aef98 (http://news.yahoo.com/25-extensions-super-charge-chrome-201557532.html)Google’s Chrome is a fine browser on its own, but it only becomes truly unique – and powerful – when you add Chrome extensions and apps to your personal installation. There are tens of thousands to choose from on the Chrome Web Store, most of which (despite the name) are free. Here are the very best. These extensions can be installed on Chrome for Windows, OS X, and Linux, and also Chrome OS-based devices like a Chromebook laptop. But they won’t work on mobile versions of the Chrome browser for Android or iOS. Choose your extension type: Interface extensions Productivity extensions Communication & Casual extensions Security extensions and advanced user tools Interface Gestures for Google Chrome Chrome Web Store Most of the more complex functions of Chrome need to be accessed via a button, or an entry in the primary or right-click menu. For a quicker alternative, this extension can bind complex actions to mouse gestures: simply hold down the right-click button on your mouse or touchpad and activate the gesture to perform the action. Customized gestures can be bound to almost any advanced function you can think of. I like to assign a simple, three-swipe gesture to close every tab except the one in the foreground. Add-now from: Chrome Web Store Hover Zoom+ Chrome Web Store This tool allows the user to hover over a linked thumbnail image and view-it in a simple-pop-up window. It’s quite convenient if you often browse sites such as-Reddit, which feature-very small thumbnails for large images. The tool will display an image in its native resolution — unless that’s larger than your computer screen — and it supports animated formats like GIF and GIFV. It even allows for scrolling through a list of images on Imgur without opening the site. Add-now from: Chrome Web Store Momentum Chrome Web Store Momentum replaces Chrome’s somewhat stoic “New Tab” page with a more colorful alternative. While there are plenty of similar options on the Chrome Web Store, Momentum’s curated landscape images and focus on a big, easy-to-read clock are aesthetically pleasing. Those who use Chrome’s URL bar for quick access to frequent sites won’t miss the bookmark functions, but if you use the default Net Tab page links, you should probably skip this one. Add-now from: Chrome Web Store Panic Button Chrome Web Store A little light Web browsing at work never hurt anyone, but your manager might not agree. This extension adds a simple button to Chrome’s toolbar that immediately hides all of your open tabs when clicked, saving them as temporary bookmarks for easy retrieval. The function can be bound to a keyboard shortcut for even faster (and more discrete) activation. Combine it with a hidden button, and you have an instant safety net for browsing at work. Add-now from: Chrome Web Store Readability Chrome Web Store Readability combines the functions of a “read it later” bookmark tool with a reading-focused Web page reformat. It automatically pulls out the text and key images from a page (ideally news or blog posts) and shows them in big text that’s easy on the eyes. The extension can also send pages to your account, or even to a Kindle for comfy reading later. The tool is configurable for your ideal reading preferences, too, and it automatically syncs across computers and mobile devices. Add-now from: Chrome Web Store User-Agent Switcher Chrome Web Store Some sites display their format differently for different browsers or operating systems. If you need to access an alternate view of a certain website —to save JPG or PNG images instead of WEBP-images on the Google Play Store, for instance — this extension allows you to instantly switch between desktop and mobile versions of Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari, and the default iOS and Android Web browsers. You can even set up rules that automatically load certain websites in a certain browser profile. Add-now from: Chrome Web Store Next Page: Productivity extensions Productivity Bing2Google Michael Crider/Digital Trends Windows 10’s integrated Web is a handy way to do a quick search without manually opening a browser. Assigning Chrome as your default browser will cause queries to open in Chrome-instead of Internet Explorer or Edge, but Microsoft still searches using the company’s own proprietary engine, Bing. If you would prefer to use Google, this extension will automatically open Google Search and send your query there. Add-now from: Chrome Web Store Feedly Chrome Web Store Since the untimely demise of Google Reader, Feedly has taken over as the de facto standard for RSS readers on the Web. It’s quite possible to use the service in your-browser without trouble, but for quick access and an isolated window, the official extension is very handy. It also adds a Feedly Mini icon to-the bottom-right corner of sites with compatible RSS feeds. If this bothers you, it can be disabled across the Web, or only on specific sites. Add-now from: Chrome Web Store Evernote Web Clipper Chrome Web Store Frequent users of Evernote, the popular notation and bookmarking tool, will definitely want to check out this first-party extension. It allows users to quickly highlight text, images, or both, and save them to Evernote for later consumption. Custom modules also allow for greater functionality on frequently-used websites such as-Facebook, YouTube, and Amazon, and there’s a built-in screenshot tool. Notes and images can be tagged or assigned to specific Evernote notebooks. Add-now from: Chrome Web Store Lazarus Chrome Web Store Lazarus was a figure from the New Testament who was raised from the dead. It’s an appropriate metaphor for a service designed to-automatically save-information you enter-into various-Web forms, so that they aren’t lost when your-browser crashes or the site times out from an internal security measure. It’s particularly useful for long-form writing, like, say, entering several thousand words in a WordPress post, only to have it disappear-when the server crashes. Not that I’d know anything about that… Add-now from: Chrome Web Store Session Buddy Chrome Web Store Session Buddy is an essential tool for those who habitually open a specific set of tabs. It saves sessions, specifically which tabs have which websites open, for easy retrieval and activation at any time. This is also handy if Chrome — or your computer itself — is particularly crash-prone. The tool’s internal management system even allows users to customize, save, export, and import session lists with ease. Add-now from: Chrome Web Store StayFocused Chrome Web Store StayFocused is perhaps the opposite of the aforementioned Panic Button extension. The aim of this extension is to limit the amount of time you spend on the Web-and force you to get back to work. Once a user has spent an allotted amount of time on his or her specified websites — say, Reddit or YouTube — those sites are blocked for the rest of the day. Settings allow you to block specific sites, or operate in reverse, allowing access- only to-specifically approved sites. Add-now from: Chrome Web Store Zoho Writer Chrome Web Store Google Docs is the standard word processor pick for Chrome, but I prefer Zoho Writer’s more complex, Word-like approach. Adding the app to Chrome will provide-access to a free and fully-featured word processor, one that allows you to jot down simples note or perform complex tasks.-The extension even works in offline mode,-rendering it a-true replacement for a standalone application. Add-now from: Chrome Web Store Next Page: Communication & Casual extensions Communication & Casual Boomerang for Gmail Chrome Web Store Boomerang allows Gmail users to postpone sending messages, something that’s sorely missing from the default user interface. It’s especially useful if you do business with people in other time zones (or continents) so that you don’t accidentally send that invoice request at 3 a.m. The service also includes reminders, which are handy if you’re waiting on a response, and applications for Android and iOS that let-you use Boomerang-when you’re away from your computer. Add-now from: Chrome Web Store Gmail Offline Chrome Web Store If you frequently use your laptop in areas without an Internet connection — and especially if you’re in the habit of letting unread email pile up — then this official extension is for you. It caches Gmail messages-locally, like a traditional email client, allowing the user to read and reply to messages without an active connection. Saved replies are sent the next time a connection is available. The customized interface looks more like an old-fashioned email client, too. Add-now from: Chrome Web Store Google Hangouts Chrome Web Store Hangouts is Google’s messaging client, which also moonlights-as the stock SMS client baked into-some Android phones. Hangouts is available as a regular website and as a mini tool housed inside-Gmail, but if you’re a regular user, this standalone version is quite handy. It works just like a standard messaging client, complete with integrated notifications for incoming messages. Add-now from: Chrome Web Store SpeakIt! Chrome Web Store There’s no better way to edit your work than to hear it spoken aloud. This extension allows text to be highlighted and played back using text-to-speech technology. It’s a little robotic, sure, but it’s also-more than adequate-for most editing needs. The tool includes various synthesized male and female voices, and the activation can be tied to a keyboard shortcut for quick play and pause. Add-now from: Chrome Web Store WeatherBug Chrome Web Store There’s no shortage of weather plugins for Chrome, but WeatherBug is generally regarded as the best. The official extension includes a full-screen interface that’s laid out in a similar way-to-The Weather Channel, but users can add multiple custom locations. Quick links can switch the animated window to live Doppler radar maps — with additional options for viewing the-temperature, humidity, wind speed, and other weather components —-or Web cams, if they’re available in your area. Add-now from: Chrome Web Store Next Page: Security extensions…. Security Adblock Plus Chrome Web Store Adblock Plus is one of the most popular ad-blocking tools on the Web. It blocks large selections of advertising networks at the server level, either replacing them on your screen with white space or simply collapsing them naturally into the format of the page. Users have a choice to either select from a list of ad networks or block ads individually. And since most websites only survive on advertising revenue, I’ll remind you that you can use the whitelist feature to turn ad-blocking off on sites you visit frequently. Like, say, Digital Trends. Add-now from: Chrome Web Store Lastpass Chrome Web Store Among the various password management tools available, including Chrome’s built-in system, Lastpass is particularly well-regarded for both its ease of use and security. Lastpass uses a combination of a private master password, auto-generated passwords for websites and services, touch local-only data encryption, and two-factor authentication to make password filing both safe and fast. The official extension automatically keeps users logged into the service without having to use the Web interface. Add-now from: Chrome Web Store Advanced User Tools Chrome Remote Desktop Chrome Web Store There are many options for accessing your PC and helping someone else with theirs via-remote desktop tools, but none of them are as affordable-or as easy to use as Google’s first-party solution. Once installed, it will allow you to access your home computer — including the desktop and other non-Chrome applications — from any device that can run Chrome, even Android or iOS devices. The interface is simple but effective, and as long as your connection is stable, it’s quite speedy to use. Add-now from: Chrome Web Store Google Cast Chrome Web Store The Chromecast is one of the most popular video streaming gadgets on the market, mostly because it’s cheap and-straightforward to use. While it’s mostly used with the official phone app, this browser extension will allow you to “cast” tabs to your television, including videos that aren’t available on phones or tablets. You still control-the video on your-computer though, so this is ideally suited for laptops or Windows-based tablets like the Surface. Add-now from: Chrome Web Store Google Input Tools Chrome Web Store Typing exotic characters into text fields is always a bit of a headache, especially when you’re typing in a language not natively supported by your keyboard. Google Input Tools adds an easy, virtual keyboard or input panel for exotic characters, including currency symbols, Asian characters, and emoji. The tool can even switch between multiple language inputs on the fly with a-toolbar icon. Add-now from: Chrome Web Store The Great Suspender Chrome Web Store Chrome has many sterling qualities, but efficient RAM usage is not one of them. The Great Suspender is a friend to anyone-who often lets-dozens of tabs sit unused. It automatically suspends unused tabs after a set time, which frees up memory and keeps Chrome from getting bogged down in its own processes. The extension includes custom settings that allow you to adjust the time before suspension, and a whitelist for sites to keep permanently active, the latter of which is quite useful for email or instant messaging tools that offer notifications. Add-now from: Chrome Web Store Make your own Michael Crider/Digital Trends Popular services often create their own Chrome app or extension these days, and those that don’t usually have a third-party version available. But if neither is to your taste, the Windows version of Chrome allows users to manually create a “Web app” shortcut, which opens the page in a dedicated window with no unnecessary user interface elements. These application shortcuts can be pinned to the Windows Start Menu or taskbar. To create an application shortcut, open your-desired Web page and click the Menu button. Then, click More tools -and “ Create application shortcut. ” This article was originally-published on July 19, 2013, and updated on January 23, 2016.



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