Thursday, April 3, 2014

Extension Fun

I recently attended a Google Summit, during which I attended a session featuring cool Google Chrome extensions. I've tried some of them out and think you'd appreciate knowing about them, even if you don't use Chrome. First, though, I'll explain what a Google Chrome extension is.

If you're like most people, you've used Internet Explorer, Firefox, or Safari browsers to surf the web. Not too long ago, Chrome came on the scene as Google's offering. Especially if you use Gmail, Google Docs/Drive, etc., Chrome is the way to go, because Google products work best on Google products, or so I'm told. I really like Chrome. You can get the free download here, and you can use it on any device.

Chrome extensions are add-ons that can improve your browsing experience in a number of ways. Here are just a few Chrome extensions that I use daily:

Momentum is one of my favorites. With this extension, every time you open a new tab, you see an absolutely gorgeous photo in the background of the tab, along with a reminder of what your goal is that day (if you entered one) and a link to your to-do list. Here's mine today:


Ginger Spell Checker and Grammar Checker is my new favorite extension. When you type a mistake in Gmail, Facebook, Blogger (and probably many other places) it immediately lets you know with a blue highlight. In this post alone, Ginger made five grammar recommendations for me; I love it! This extension alone is a reason enough to try Chrome, in my humble(?) opinion.

[Update: I just learned that Ginger gives your 30 free corrections per week. (They sent a message to me to let me know I made enough mistakes this week.haha) If you want more than that, you can pay $3.90 per month or more if you want all the bells and whistles.]

AdBlock Plus--This one blocks those annoying ads on Facebook, YouTube, and other sites.

CheckerPlus for Gmail--This extension sends a pop-up message when you get a new email, allowing you to quickly delete it, if you want to, without needing to log into gmail to do so. If your speakers are on, you can even hear your computer read the subject line to you.

Those are just a few of the Chrome extensions I really like. If you download one, but don't see it working, make sure you're actually logged into Chrome. To see if you're logged into Chrome, click on the three lines up in the upper right corner and look down to see if you're logged in.


Making sure you're logged into Chrome is important, because it remembers all of your bookmarks, too, so you can access them from any device you log into with Chrome.

Got a favorite Chrome extension? A question about it? Let's hear it!


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