To paraphrase Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, “We aren’t in Internet Explorer anymore”. The internet browser has evolved rapidly since those early days on the big blue “e”, to the point that the originator is now paying catch up with his competitors. Now, we have several options available to us for our online gateway - Firefox, Safari, Opera, and today’s focus, Chrome.
Chrome is Google’s internet browser , and it comes with many useful features for those willing to look for them. Some are already built in, but there is a whole world of third party “add ons” that you can bolt on to your browser, that will help speed up, organise or streamline your online experience. Here are a few we think you should check out.
Nimbus Screen Capture
While this may not end up being the most frequently used tool on this list, it is incredibly useful for anybody who has ever wanted to take a screenshot of something. Essentially, the app cuts out a lot of the “middle ground” that comes with taking and editing a traditional Print Screen.
Instead of taking a picture of the entire screen (which is still an option), you can choose to take a picture of just the visible part of the page, instantly removing the task bar below and the browser menu at the top, or you can choose to just take a shot of an area you have selected. The image can then be transferred over to an editing tool, or copied onto a different programme.
PageZipper
Websites often split up an article over several pages to increase page views. While not a great inconvenience (hence why they can get away with it), it can none-the-less get rather tedious if you are required to click through several links to get the whole story. But don’t worry - PageZipper is here!
It’s brilliantly simple - the programme simply gets a head start on loading the several pages of the article, and displays them underneath the current page. It’s also streamlined enough that the page stacking doesn’t look too brutal (at least, that’s what we found when we tested it). While a little slow, if you are reading the article at a normal pace, the next page should be loaded at the bottom by the time you are finished.
Password Peek
Ever typed in a password, but think you’ve got it wrong? Isn’t it pain to delete it and have to start over? That’s where Password Peek comes in. It does exactly what you imagine, giving you a peek at what you have typed. You can either hold down the “peek” button to get a quick glance for as long as you hold the button down, or press the padlock icon to have the password text appear as normal text and not just “*****”.
Search Amazon
Again, this is pretty straight forward. If you come across something on a website you may want to own, this little drop down search box allows you to trawl Amazon for the product. It is the only app of it’s kind, with similar ones available for Ebay, etc.
Silencer
An answer to that “first world problem” of TV spoilers, this clever little app trawls through your social media feeds and “mutes” certain terms and phrases that you have chosen. Say you want to avoid Game of Thrones spoilers - you can tell the app to remove any post that contains words relating to the show, until you are ready to see them.
It could also block out things you aren’t interested in. You may follow BBC News, but you don’t care about a breaking news story. You can block out the keywords, and you’ll be left with the content from the provider that you do want to read.
Simple Undo Close
Not every app has to be a game changer. This one is quite simplistic in it’s function, but could be a lifesaver in a moment of clumsiness / forgetfulness. It allows you to quickly reload any tab you have just closed, displaying the last 10 tabs in a drop down menu, and providing a search tool for rest.
SpotOn.It
One for those with a hectic schedule. SpotOnIt looks at a webpage and detects any dates on display. It compiles them, and then displays them as a dropdown menu, giving you the choice of adding them to your Google calendar. You can tailor the programme with preferences so it can priorities which dates you are more likely to add to your organiser.
Video Resumer
And finally, another “convenience” app for a niggling problem. If you watch a YouTube video and have to turn it off, when you reload it, YouTube will load it from the beginning. But with Video Resumer, your content will resume playing from where you left off. Another “first world problem” solved!
