Google's Chrome 4 brings extensions to Windows

[javajolt]

Google has released its "stable" version of Chrome 4.0, an incarnation under development for months that brings extensions to customize Chrome features and a host of technologies for more powerful Web programming.

However, the new version is available only for Windows. The Mac OS X and Linux versions of Chrome arrived in beta more than a year after the Windows version, and there's still catching up to do.

Though this release is called version 4.0, Google de-emphasizes browser such numbers, calling them mere "milestones" on the way to a better browser. The software updates itself by default, keeping people on the latest version.

Chrome is the first browser from a Web powerhouse. It hasn't dethroned Microsoft's Internet Explorer or Mozilla's Firefox, but Chrome has passed Apple's Safari in usage by one measure.

Extensions are a major browser feature, letting people add new abilities without burdening all users who might not be interested. Extensions are a major competitive advantage of Mozilla's Firefox, which calls them add-ons and has thousands available for download.

Mozilla is moving to a new extensions foundation called Jetpack that, like Chrome's technology, uses Web standards such as HTML and CSS. Mozilla will support the current XUL system but hopes Jetpack will offer advantages of easier development, installation, and updates.

Programmers have been working on various extensions, and Google on Monday launched its extensions gallery with more than 1,500 available.

Extensions are on the way for non-Windows users.

"To those using Google Chrome on Linux, extensions are enabled on the beta channel," said Chrome Product Manager Nick Baum in a blog post. "And for those using Google Chrome for Mac, hang tight--we're working on bringing extensions, bookmark sync, and more to the beta soon."

Also in the new version is bookmark sync, which means a bookmark added once by Google account holders will see that bookmark in all instances of Chrome they use. Unlike Mozilla's Weave extension, though, it doesn't synchronize passwords or extensions.

He also continued to bang the browser performance drum, citing a 42 percent increase in Mozilla's Dromeao DOM Core Tests that measure, among other things, how fast a browser processes a Web document.

Under the covers is Chrome support for several HTML5 technologies: including the LocalStorage and Database interfaces for letting browser applications or Web sites store data on a computer, the WebSockets interface for more advanced communications between a computer and a server, and the notifications interface for status bar alerts--think Web-based instant-messaging notes.

For details on the interfaces, check the Chromium blog (http://blog.chromium.org/2010/01/more-resources-for-developers.html).

[javajolt]

Google has updated its popular Chrome browser with support for at least 1,500 extensions and a long-awaited bookmark sync feature.

"Some [extensions] provide one-click access to some of your favorite web applications like eBay and digg, or news and information sources such as NPR and Time.com," explained Google spokesperson Nick Baum.

"Others are useful tweaks for performing common online tasks such as browsing photos, getting directions or shopping."

According to Baum, bookmark sync is a "handy feature" for users with several computers, such as a work laptop and a desktop at home. 



"You can enable bookmark sync to synchronize bookmarks on all of your computers so that when a bookmark [is created] on one computer, it's automatically added across all your computers.

"This means that you won't need to manually recreate the bookmark each time you switch computers."

Finally, Baum noted that Google was working to enable support for extensions and bookmark sync on the Mac iteration of Chrome. However, extensions are already available on the Linux beta version.

Meanwhile, Chrome OS lead engineer Matthew Papakipos recently told Ars Technia that the nascent OS will include a fully functional media player - a feature which could help the company compete agains Microsoft in the already crowded netbook space.

"The Google Chrome Operating System isn't expected to find its way onto netbooks until the end of 2010, but it's becoming increasingly clear that it is aimed at disrupting the entrenched Microsoft Windows operating system," opined eWeek's Clint Boulton.

"If Google can complete Chrome OS and get partners Acer, Asus, Hewlett-Packard and Lenovo, to make and sell Chrome OS machines, it will be quite the feat and quite the gauntlet for Microsoft."

[javajolt]

With Google releasing a stable version of Chrome that supports extensions, it's a great time to install some of these enhancements for the Web browser. Google says there are now 1500 extensions to choose from, which you can find can find and install here. To get you started, here are 10 of my favorites:

RSS Subscription Extension: This extension displays an icon whenever you're on a page that can be subsribed to in an RSS feed reader.

SmoothScroll: Craving that glide you get with Apple's multi-touch interfaces? SmoothScroll delivers, with options for scroll speed and frames per second. It works great with multi-touch track pads.

Google Translation Bar: Next time some gadget blog links to an obscure Japanese Web site, you can check it out yourself without visiting Google Translate directly.

IE Tab: Not all Web sites care that Chrome is your favorite browser, and they'll only run in Internet Explorer. For these occasions, IE Tab emulates Internet Explorer within Chrome. Tip: The extension lacks a “Back” button, but you can navigate by right-clicking.

Instant Image Editor: Pixlr is my favorite cloud image editor -- it's a lot like Photoshop, but for free -- and Instant Image Editor opens online photos up in Pixlr by holding “Alt” and right-clicking.

Bit.ly: Click the Bit.ly button, and a window appears, containing a shortened link of the page you're on. I'm removing the Web site proper from my bookmarks.

Google Mail Checker Plus: I prefer Plus over the basic Gmail checker because it lets you preview and manage new messages directly from the current browser window. No need to switch windows just to toss some spam in the trash.

Shareaholic: See a Web page you like? Shareaholic lets you blast it out over several social networking sites and aggregators, including Facebook, Twitter and Digg.

Google Weather: And I'll be deleting Accuweather from my bookmarks as well. This extension brings up a four-day forecast in predefined locations with one click, and it provides links to Web sites if you want to go more in depth.

Nothing: “This extension does nothing,” developer Salmonella writes. Works as advertised. Good for a chuckle, and nothing more.