18 Must Have Google Chrome Extensions

Google and its applications are fast becoming the backbone of the internet. They seem to be solving everyone’s problems with free stuffs. Just when you get happy with something like Firefox, Google comes along and makes a browser that’s fast, super secure and has all kinds of add-ons and themes to personalize it.

If you have not make the switch to Google Chrome because of the extensive extensions library in Firefox, here are a few must have extensions in Google Chrome that might make you reconsider your decision.

Installing Extensions in Chrome

First of all, you need to have the latest beta version of Google Chrome before you can install any extensions.

(Linux users can go to the Google Chrome main site to download the beta version. Mac users, sorry, the extensions feature is not available to you yet, as of this post.)

To install Chrome extensions, visit Chrome Extensions page and click on the extensions that you want to install. It will install automatically. The best thing is, no restart is required.

Okay, here comes the list.

1. Gmail Checker

If you are like me, always going back and forth with wanting to know when a new email arrives, this is the add-on for you.

2. IE Tabs

For Web developers who need to view their work in IE, this extension will be useful to you. This extension make the site believes you are still using your Atari 2600 an older version of IE to surf the web.

3. Google Wave Notifier

For those who have Google Wave and have been actively using it, this is a great extension for you.

4. Google Calendar Checker

Just like the Gmail checker, but this one displays appointments.

5. Xmarks

No matter which browser you use (Firefox, Chrome, Safari or IE), you can now sync all of your bookmarks with this handy extension.

6. Docs PDF/Powerpoint Viewer

If you are an avid Google Docs user, you have probably used the Docs Viewer before. This extension makes viewing PDFs in your browser even easier.

7. Evernote

Evernote is one of those applications made to feed the inner pack rat in us all. Taking a quick snippet of a page for later review is now possible on Chrome.

8. Send from Gmail

Makes Gmail your default email address when you click on a “mail to” link. A small but handy extension.

9. One Number

Check Google Voice, Reader, Gmail and Wave all with one extension. Obviously if you choose this extension, you will not need a couple of the other extensions in this list.

10. Google Tasks

One of the main reasons I didn’t use Tasks in my Gmail or Calendar is, it was kind of a pain to open up my one of those applications to jot down a note. This add-on made Tasks much more usable.

11. Avairy Screen Capture

When you click on the icon in the toolbar, quite a few options are displayed in the drop down menu. After you make a screen capture, the image will open up new window. In the new window you can use the different tools and editors to make adjustments.

Alternative: Picnik

12. Better Gmail

Better Gmail is very similar to the Greasemonkey script for Firefox. It lets you tweak your Inbox to make it less distracting or more user friendly.

13. ChromeMilk

Access your Remember the Milk reminders right from the Chrome toolbar.

14. Facebook

Log into your Facebook account via this handy little extension to gain access to chat, notifications and other basic features.

15. Adblock

Perform exactly the same as its Firefox counterpart. It blocks all the ads in any site, including Facebook. If you are sick of seeing the specialized ads on every page in Facebook, add this extension and “poof” they are gone.

16. Go Extensions

This add-on gives you quick Access to the extensions Control Panel to make adjustments to your many installed add-ons.

17. Session Manager

This extension saves all your opened tabs and allows you to quickly re-open them whenever you like. It supports multiple sessions, so you can create several tabs sessions and load them up when you are working, or just surfing the Web to pass time.

Alternative: Fresh Start

18. RSS Subscription

The single most sought after feature in Google Chrome is finally available. This extension allows you to view a site’s RSS feed and subscribe with your favorite reader. (Editor’s opinion: The Google Chrome is the only popular browser that doesn’t come with the RSS subscription option. It should already be part of the Chrome core functionality, but sadly, we have to activate it via an extension.)

These are only a few of the hundreds of extensions available for Chrome. With a quick search, you should be able to find something to fit your needs.

Do you like the extensions better for Firefox or for Chrome?

image credit Randy Zhang