Chrome Corner - weekly updates, extensions, themes, and tips for Google Chrome
Welcome to the first Chrome Corner of 2010! Things got a little quiet over the holidays on the software front as most Google news seemed focused around the Nexus One mobile and the possibility of an HTC-built tablet branded by Big G.
There's still plenty to cover, so let's get to it!
Hexxeh getting close to another Chromium OS release
The enterprising fellow who brought you Diet Chromium OS has been hard at work on releasing a new version and hopes to post it soon. Hexxeh had hoped to have the new version available on January 2, but it's been held up ever so slightly. If you plan on playing with the new build when it's out, have a look at the WIKI to see if your hardware has been tested. It could save you some grief later.
Feeling really ambitious? Why not set up a Chromium OS/Ubuntu/Windows triple boot? The process is actually pretty simple.
The Download Squad team includes bloggers from across the globe. Sometimes I forget who's awake and who's sleeping. The World Clocks extension gives me a handy heads-up display with nine common zones. It's not customizable yet, but fortunately the default selections cover everywhere I need.
Now if I could just get Jay to wake up before 4PM...
Chrome passes Safari to become 3rd most popular browser
Naysayers poo-pooed this news saying that the spike in Chrome's popularity is only temporary, due to the beta releases for Linux and Mac. Their mindset is that the share will swing back around once people head back to other browsers when they tire of the Beta.
They're not giving Google enough credit, though, and they're underestimating the number of fans they have on those two platforms. My guess? The gap will continue to widen. As Sebastian pointed out, this was Chrome's biggest single-month gain to date. As Google's marketing gets more aggressive more people are going to try - and switch to - Chrome.
Virtual Keyboard userscript helps thwart keyloggers
Staying safe online isn't easy. One particularly nasty threat to be aware of is the dreaded keylogger - hiding on a system and waiting to record what you type. Typically, bad guys want to capture things like your passwords and PIN numbers. For added protection, you can install the Virtual Keyboard userscript.
Click on any text field and the keyboard appears - then you simply click your text in instead of typing it. This is an especially nice script to add to your portable Chrome install. You never know what kind of malware could be hiding on an unfamiliar computer.
Waitaminit...they don't sell those on Newegg...
Share your thoughts on Chrome Extensions
Now that we've had access to the official Chrome Extensions Gallery and found some good ones to install, let's hear what you think about them. Are you thrilled? Disappointed?
How do you think Chrome Extensions stack up to Firefox, arguably the king of the add-on castle?
Sound off!
Chromatic is one of the best time-wasters I've recently come across. It's all about the gameplay -- no Flash graphics here. You play a "circle" (it doesn't really have a name in the game). You move around with the arrow keys, and you change colors with Z, X, and C.
You can either be red, blue, or yellow, and you can switch at any time during the game. Each color has different capabilities -- yellow can double-jump, while red has a longer dash (which is like a forward sprint, activated by double-pressing DOWN).
Each ...
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
gojeda said 3:12PM on 1-04-2010
I like Chrome for the most part, but I am still going to stick with Firefox (at least for the time being) because extensions tend to run a bit predictably under FF than it currently does on Chrome.
Perhaps some of the kinks I have come across on some of the extensions will get ironed out before Chrome w\extensions goes final.
I tried ChromiumOS, used it for about 5 minutes, then went back to my regular OS. I think ChromiumOS, and Google Wave, are going to be epic failures for Google in 2010, but the continued success of Android will more than make for those lapses.
Reply
8complex said 4:57PM on 1-04-2010
I'm still waiting for a port of Chrome OS to use within Windows. IE, I want my browser to always log into all my accounts and show all my new emails, new rss's, etc, but still just be a browser. Certainly would be nice to plug in a jump drive wherever I go with an autorun version of Chrome portable that is already logged into all my accounts.
Chrome + extensions make this close, but there is certainly some design differences between plugins, as well as a few bugs that need to be worked out.
Reply
Mike said 5:55PM on 1-04-2010
I have Chrome installed, and occasionally use it, but its gotta be said, until it gets an adblocker that actually blocks the ads from loading in the first place, such as Adblock Plus for Firefox does, then Firefox will remain my default browser. I don't even mind ads much, but on some sites its just necessary, I went to a, won't name specific but a major popular torrent search engine last week, and the loading ads on the page were so numerous it literally locked up Chrome entirely for a few seconds. I load the same page in Firefox, with the ads blocked, and it loads perfectly in one second. Sorry Chrome, failed my usability test.
Reply
Christian Velasquez said 6:33PM on 1-04-2010
Does anyone know of an extension or tweak to hide the download bar in Chrome?
It gets annoying after a while
Thanks
Reply
bill cant fart said 9:03PM on 1-04-2010
Hey Lee, if you find a better thong shop than Newegg, let me know.
Reply
nicholascronwright said 9:13PM on 1-04-2010
I use dual browsers, the Chrome integration with Google Apps is much better, also it means I don't have to keep a Gmail tab open in Firefox all the time. In Windows 7 the Chrome icon sits in the taskbar, so it doesn't take up a lot of space and Google Talk has a built in mail notifier so that is fine. In Windows XP I used to use a small program called TrayIt and put the Chrome icon in the system tray, to use less of the taskbar.
BTW - check out the theme TwentyOne for Firefox (inspired by Office 2010) - http://is.gd/5MpNv (very nice...)
Reply