I recently came across a report that Taiwan, the island located just off the coast of mainland China, has anointed Chrome as the number two browser there. During the month of August, Chrome was able to capture a 15.53% share, passing Mozilla Firefox’s 13.35% share. In the number one spot is of course Internet Explorer, which holds a 67.52% lead.

This might not be of much significance to most, as the majority of readers on this blog don’t reisde in Taiwan. But what is important about Taiwan is the sway it has over the computer design and manufacturing industry today.

As has been noted, Google has opened a Chrome OS design center on the island as of late. They are trying to exert more influence in Taiwan because the majority of future computers are conjured up there for manufacture in China.

And there’s not doubt of the continuing influence that Microsoft has had on Taiwan, partnering with hardware giants such as Quanta Computer to ensure that the Windows dominance continues. It seems to be normal convention that when you use Windows, you seem to also choose Internet Explorer as your defacto browser.

Recent StatCounter measurements suggest that this seems to continue to be the case from a worldwide perspective, but the fact of the matter is that Internet Explorer does not measure up in the same numbers as it does in Taiwan – not neatly a 60% lead yet Chrome is in the 20% threshold even though it holds the number three spot.

Indeed every market is different, and the move towards more usage of Chrome in Taiwan suggests continued interest from a number of people there in the use of the browser, its operating system component as well as the webapp ecosystem that is surrounding it in terms of Google Apps and its ilk.

The Taiwanese have been somewhat suspect of Chrome OS as a viable platform such as Acer, whose botched Chromebook launch this summer must have had something to do with a degree of apathy to be so improperly carried out. Nevertheless, I would expect to see an uptick of Chrome OS devices in the future both in the number of model available as well as number of units shipped once we see a dramatic drop in price.

This is probably going to hinge on Chromebooks shifting from uber-expensive (comparatively) Intel Atom processors to ARM-based solutions that are a fraction of the overall cost. Indeed, Google’s acquisition may not just bold well for Android devices, which are ARM-powered, but also for finding specific solutions for Chrome OS on a number of different form factors.

Do you think that Chrome’s growing adoption within Taiwan is due to a curiosity of Chrome OS over there?

via Focus Taiwan

To be fair, this site’s been around for quite some time- and we’ve covered it at one point in the past. Still, it merits something of a revisit now that Chromebooks have hit the market; don’t you think?

What Is It?

How many of you remember Dosbox? For those who don’t; it’s an x86 DOS emulator, designed to allow modern-day users to play DOS games on Windows. While that might not sound particularly impressive- or noteworthy-to play any of those games without DosBox involved a great deal of overly complicated mucking around in the Windows system files, or searching out a version of whatever game you wanted to play that would be compatible with the software of modern-day systems.

Either way, too much trouble. For anyone with an itch to jump back into the old days, Dosbox was a godsend. Now, you’re probably wondering what the point of this history lesson is, right? You’re trying to figure out exactly why I’m sitting here babbling to you about DosBox.  Software emulation ahoy! DosBox has come to Chrome, via Chrome’s Native Client.

Ladies and gentlemen, meet NAClBox.

DOSBox and Native Client

The anonymous programmer behind NaClBox might not have much to say about themselves, but they certainly have plenty to say about their creation. “When I first read about Native Client,” they write, “I was struck by the possibilities. The more I thought about Native Client, the more I started to talk to my coworkers about [it] as “The Plugin to Rule Them All.”

“I have read a lot of stories in the media regarding Native Client,” they continue, “Some commentators seem to get it, but I am struck mostly by the lack of imagination. When I hear people talking about Chrome OS and complaining that they will be stuck in a browser I want to shout: Native Client! I am disappointed to see commentators compare it to ActiveX rather than a (naively) more appropriate comparison- an in-browser VMWare. I don’t blame these people, though. There have been very few examples of Native Client in action.”

This is, obviously, something our anonymous friend wishes to remedy. “A little earlier in the year, I had the idea of trying to learn more about Native Client by actually trying to bring an existing application online.” Regarding why they decided emulation would be the best choice for a first-time project, they go on to explain “when you choose an emulator, you get tremendous bang for your buck. DOSbox runs literally hundreds of games and applications. Go check out their website and install it on your machine. It really is a great piece of software.”

So, while this software’s a novelty at best on a PC, on a Chromebook…yeah, you get the idea. Gaming on the Chromebook actually seems somewhat more viable now, doesn’t it?

How Do I Get Started?

Unfortunately, NaClBox currently only supports Chrome 12 and 13- the latter is recommended “for performance reasons.” So it basically only supports the stable build at the moment, given that both the beta and developer channels now run Chrome 14.  That kinda sucks- I was myself hoping to give the software a whirl. Thankfully, there might be an update that adds support for Chrome 13 some time in the next few days, but until then, No NaClBox for us.

Those of you who run Chrome 13 are going to have to turn on the Chrome Native Client. There are two ways you can do this:

Option 1: Type about:flags into the omnibox, and enable Native Client from the list.

Option 2: Start Chrome with the –enable-nacl flag in the shortcut.

What Games Can I Play?

Currently NaClBox offers support for Adlib Tracker II, Round 42, Epic Pinball, Duke Nukem, Duke Nukem II, Jazz Jackrabbit and Star Wars: TIE Fighter. In addition, it offers demos of The Secret of Monkey Island, Indiana Jones and The Fate of Atlantis, Masters of Magic, Falcon 3.0, Sam and Max Hit The Road, Alone In The Dark, and Simcity 2000. Not exactly the hundreds-strong library of DOSbox, but not a poor selection, either. I’d imagine more games will come in the future as the developer updates software- although the fact that it hasn’t been updated since June is of some concern.

Anyway, I just thought this a cool piece of software, and one that was worth revisiting.

Via TechCrunch

Image Credits: NaClBox Blog

Guess what I’ve got for you today, folks? You guessed it- more Google + themed Chrome extensions and applications. What, you thought I was done? It’s like I’ve said before- Google + is gaining steam with all the speed of a runaway locomotive. With that in mind, there’ll always be new extensions to cover, new means by which the developers are improving upon an already excellent platform. Granted, the array of extensions I’ve found this time aren’t quite as impressive as some of the addons I profiled in previous posts, but they’re all still useful in their own way- and they’re definitely the sort of tools that someone, somewhere, is going to need.

This time around, we’ve got some added functionality for Google’s “+1″button, a non-malware extension that lets you add Facebook to G+, and some minor cosmetic overhauls for Google’s social networking platform. Enjoy.

The Plus One Button

We’ll start out with something simple yet undeniably useful. This extension’s known as “Plus One(+1).” It’s pretty much what’s written on the box.  Basically, it allows you to +1 any website you happen to visit. See something cool, and want to show your circles that you approve of it? The +1 button lets you do that. Sounds rather nifty, no? Grab it from the web store if it sounds like your cup of tea. Once you’ve installed it, click the extension’s icon to +1 whatever page you might happen to be visiting at the time. Those of you who don’t like the idea of this extension accessing all your browsing data can alternatively download this extension. Does pretty much the same thing, but requires less extensive permissions.

-1 Minus One

This can probably qualify as one of those ‘just for fun’ extensions. Let’s say someone in one of your circles posts something you find offensive, pointless, or just plain boring. Your ire for it is such that you don’t even want to waste time commenting to tell them what they shared is bad and they should feel bad.  With the -1 Minus One extension, you won’t have to go to the trouble of putting your dislike into words- you can just click -1.  It’ll display a -1 count on the contact’s post, so everyone else who has the extension can see how much they fail.

Facebook +

Okay, I know the last time I linked you guys to something like this, it turned out to be malware- but bear with me a moment here, guys. This one seems a lot more legitimate than Google + Facebook. I mean, you can download it from the web store- that’s already a step up right there. Plus, it doesn’t have a list of permissions longer than the Encyclopedia Britannica- another point in its favor. All it needs is your data from Facebook and your data from Google +- both of which make perfect sense if it’s going to be linking the two up to one another.

So…basically, this extension does the same thing as Google+Facebook, but without the malware. And hey, Batman uses it; so you know it’s gotta be good.

Reddit + Orangered

Here’s a totally cosmetic extension- and a particularly simple one. All it does is replace the default notification icon in the Google bar with a Reddit Orangered envelope. A recent update to the extension also added a notification count next to the envelope, so you can know how many items require your attention.  Anyone who’s not a Redditer probably won’t be particularly interested in this one. Those of you who are, have at it- I’m going to sit this one out.

Color Plus

We’ll round out the list with another pretty simple one. I’m sure there are those among you who find the default gray of Google’s Google bar to be incredibly drab, and rather boring. Have no fear! There’s an extension to provide a balm for your Google woes- it’ll let you change the color from the dark gray default to either green, pink, or blue (The latter two are available from the developer’s website, so that’s strictly an ‘install at your own risk’ deal.) The developer also makes the code available for more tech-savvy users to perform the customization themselves- he actually seems to encourage that method, informing users on his website that the default options are ‘for the lazy.’

Via TechieApps

I’ve always gotten some enjoyment out of memory match-type games. They’re a simple, enjoyable way to waste a few minutes of the day. I’ve also always loved role playing games. There’s just something entertaining about seeing a character you’re playing get better, faster, and stronger, able to take on increasingly insurmountable challenges with ease. Plus, there’s the story- I’m a sucker for a decent narrative(though, to be fair, that’s not necessarily something I go into a browser game fully expecting.)

Naturally, when I saw the game “MatchHack,” which labels itself as an “open source, RPG matching game,” I jumped on the opportunity to give it a try- with mixed results.

Summary

That's either terror or shame in his eyes.

The summary, from the developer page, is as follows:

MatchHack is based on the classic memory match game and uses RPG elements for a twist. The player’s goal is to explore the dungeon by clicking on tiles. Find matching tiles to beat the monster guarding the exit. Each match counts as a hit, each failed match counts as an attack from the monster. The game is over when the player is defeated.

That sounds pretty cool, doesn’t it? I’m sure your minds are already forming an idea of how the game works: wandering through the dungeon, you eventually come across a monster that you must fight. In order to do battle with the beast, you need to engage in a memory match game. Tougher monsters mean a tougher puzzle- more tiles, more unforgiving punishments when you fail to make a correct match.

The first half of that actually sounded pretty awesome to me when I read it. My brain positively brimmed with possibilities as to what the developer might mean. Could flipping tiles over reveal monsters for the player to fight? Would there be traps with the puzzle built in to them? Sadly, none of the above. You do battle with a monster in a 3×9 room. Then you battle the next monster in a 3×9 room. And the next. And the next. And…you get the idea.

Oh, and your character doesn’t level up or anything. As far as I can tell, the “RPG” features stem from the fact that you can equip your character with items you find. I’m not even sure if they do anything- I think armor might let you take a few more hits from a monster than usual, but the game’s not entirely clear on that. Far as I can tell, it’s mostly cosmetic.

But hey, it’s still got some redeeming features, right? Right?

Game Mechanics: 3/5

There’s nothing wrong with the mechanics of the game at first glance. It’s your standard mix and match memory game. Find two identical symbols under a tile, the tile disappears, and the monster gets smacked upside the head. Rinse and repeat until the monster’s a lifeless pool of blood, then move on to the next room to continue your heartless slaughter of the dungeon’s peaceful denizens. Occasionally, you can find a potion under a tile. This is currently the only ‘unique’ tile in the game- matching potions together will not only strike the monster, but will also restore your character to full health.

And therein lies the first problem of Matchhack.

See, you’d expect that changing the difficulty would make the puzzles harder, wouldn’t you? Easy’s your standard 3×9 room, whereas medium maybe increases to 4×10 or 5×12, and hard balloons out to a massive 6×18…or something like that. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. The only difference? Potions and hit points. On easy, you get 15 hit points and find a potion in every level. On medium, you’ll receive 10 hit points and a 50% chance of finding a potion. On hard, the game decides it wants to be mean, but not quite enough to make you cry, and gives you 8 hit points and a 25% chance of finding a potion.

So basically, the difficulty mainly hinges on how lucky you are. Except on easy. Playing through the game on that difficulty, I got to level 75 without feeling the least bit challenged, and began randomly clicking on panels. Using that method, I made it to level 90 before finally dying.  You see the problem here, right?

Spoiler warning: The chest is empty.

Anyway, completing a level will increase your score based on how well you did, and give you a random chance of getting an item or a coin. Items can be equipped from the inventory, and coins…don’t really do anything yet. Truthfully, items don’t really do anything either.

There’s also a problem with turning off the sound-which you WILL want to do after playing for more than five minutes(more on that momentarily). Occasionally, flipping the switch to [OFF] won’t do anything. Only way to remedy that is to restart the game. Ech.

Graphics: 4/5

There are only two pairs of shoes in the game. Apparently they're both rare drops.

The graphics are decent- a throwback to the 8 bit era, reminiscent of a few of the early roguelike games. I like the looks of most of the items (though the chain bikini just looks…wrong.), though the monsters often appear rather absurd or entirely cobbled together- since every encounter is one of the monster sprites clad in random equipment. I’ve also noticed a few graphical issues involving the health bar- certain items such as the round shield tend to block it out, making it somewhat difficult to tell how much health your character has left.  Oh, there’s also the fact that your avatar is always looking off to the side, like he’s embarrassed about something. Maybe the fact that he’s going into battle clad in nothing but a loincloth. Or perhaps he simply cannot bear to look the monsters he’s relentlessly disemboweling in the eye. Either way, it looks strange, to say the least.

That aside, the graphics convey the perfect sense of nostalgia for a game in Matchhack’s style.

Sound: 3/5

The music. The music. The music. The music. For the first five minutes, the only song in Matchhack is actually tolerable. The chiptune-styled track is perfectly matched to a classical, 8-bit dungeon crawler. It sets up the feel and background of the game quite nicely, and most definitely conveys the idea that you’re in some vast, underground dungeon, fighting hordes upon hordes of monsters in the pursuit of some goal that only our pixellated protagonist knows.

After you’ve played the game for five minutes, you’ll likely start to feel a dull pain in the back of your skull- almost as though someone’s running gently over the inside of your head with a cheese grater. Don’t worry, it’s a normal side effect of the music. See, while the song’s pretty good in small doses; once you listen to it at length, you start to realize that it’s like one of those neighbors that seems nice when you let them in to visit, but then the next thing you know your house is on fire and you can’t find your dog.

The rest of the sound in the game is honestly kind of forgettable. There’s a nice little jingle when you win a level, and an equally catchy song when you die. Other than that, the panels beep when you flip them, you hear a ding with a correct match, and a buzzing noise with an incorrect match. Pretty much what you’d expect, really.

Final Score: 3/5

I really love the basic concept behind Matchhack, and I tried really hard to love the game- honestly, I did. Unfortunately, the irritating, tinny music, lack of complexity in the gameplay and seemingly unimaginative game design was something of a deal breaker for me. The biggest issue I had with Matchhack was this: If you’re going to claim your game has “RPG” elements in it, shouldn’t the game actually have…well, RPG elements? Throwing in an avatar customization system and basically adding a “wrong moves versus correct moves” counter

Maybe I’m being a bit to harsh on Matchhack- according to the developer, it is still in the beta stages, after all. They could very easily add a number of new features and functions to the game in order to improve upon the basic formula. If the game sounds exciting to you as it is now, feel free to grab it from the Chrome Web Store today. Otherwise, best to wait for the finished product.

Here’s another Chrome Extension that gives Google + a bit of a makeover. See, here’s the thing- as you get more and more people sharing posts with you, and begin to add more and more folks to your circles; your stream can start to feel a bit…overcrowded. Maybe a bit cluttered and overwhelming, to boot. When there’s a message with too many new comments on it, it could potentially dominate the entire stream- whether you care about those comments or not.

“G + Me For Google +” purports to enhance “the Google + web app to make it much easier to process a large stream of incoming posts and comments,” helping it to “unlock the potential of its real-time updates.” According to the developer, the extension adds the following features to Google + through Chrome:

1. Notification status visible at all times
2. Collapsible comments
3. Collapsible posts
4. Real-time comment count on collapsed items
5. Mark comments as read
6. Two available modes: Expanded and List.
7. Mouse-over instant preview(currently only available in List mode). 

Not only that, the developer’s also gone so far as to include a list of extensions and apps their addon’s compatible with. The only extension it’s incompatible with is Comment Toggle- but I’ve found I rather like this addon more than the former anyway- so it’s ultimately a nonissue. Now, there are evidently a few minor glitches with the extension- the ‘j’ and ‘k’ keyboard shortcuts don’t really sit well with the addon, and occasionally the comment count goes a little wonky as a result of people deleting their comments: In other words, you could very easily see a post with a comment count of zero or negative comment counts.

My Thoughts On The Extension:

I decided to take G + Me For Google + for a test run, and I’ve gotta say- I liked what I saw. First things first, I’ll explain the two formats to you. Expanded mode looks fairly similar to standard Google +, with one additional feature: each post in your stream has a small gray bar above it. Clicking on that bar will collapse the post down to a single row. You can also collapse or expand comments- which automatically marks the post as ‘read’ (more on that in a moment).   All in all, pretty nifty- and it works a hell of a lot better than Comment Toggle.

List mode is probably the coolest feature of this extension. See, in List mode, all of the posts in your stream are automatically collapsed down. Each collapsed item displays the name of the person who published it, the time at which it was published and the number of comments it has received. If you’ve already marked it as ‘read’ the comment box will be gray. If there are any unread comments, the comment box will be red.

If you want to focus on a single post in your stream, all you have to do is click on it. The post will expand, and any other post you happened to be looking at will automatically collapse. You can also mouse over posts to see them in an overlay on your screen-sort of like how +photo zoom zooms into pictures. All in all, it gives the feeling of having a sort of ‘Google + dashboard’ to work off of, and makes sorting through what can often amount to a massive volume of messages a far less daunting task.

You can grab G+Me For Google from the Chrome Web Store, as always.

If you’re one of those folks that love how Google + looks, and want to give yourself the feeling of taking it with you everywhere, I’ve got a theme for you. It’s called Google + Theme, and essentially does precisely what one would imagine- overhauling Chrome’s appearance so it more closely resembles Google’s runaway social networking site. The developer, Ruocaled isn’t particularly descriptive about the specifics of the theme. Hell, even if you don’t like the look of Google plus, this theme looks pretty damned spiffy.

I’ll provide you folks with the details, if you like.

The theme changes the color of both the downloads bar and tabs bar to a rather smart-looking gray-black hue. In addition, the active tab is slightly darker than all the others, and features an orange highlight along the top.  It doesn’t make any particularly noticeable overhaul to your startpage- aside from adding a background like the one in the picture, seen above. Alternatively, you could download Ruocaled’s other theme- it’s basically the same thing, except it features a chibi mascot for Google Plus known as “Google Plus-Tan.” on the start page, instead of the image shown above. Oh, he’s also developed a Nyan cat theme-complete with instructions on how to craft an animated version for yourself.

You can download Ruocaled’s “Google + Theme” here, or his “Unofficial Google + Theme Ft. G+ Tan” here. Oh, and for those of you using Incredible Startpage…both themes work just fine with that extension.

Chances are good that if you’re reading this, you’ve got at least a marginally positive opinion of Google. Assuming this is true, chances are also good that you use at least one Google service, right? Google Docs, Gmail, Google +, pretty much any of those are fair game- and all of them are pretty damned useful. Of course, chances are also good that you’re using more than one service. See where I’m going with this?

Now, let’s say you always want to be tuned in to what’s going on in your corner of the web- you want a constant connection to Gmail, or your Google + stream, or the events on your Google Calendar…you get the idea. While you could install applications and extensions for each of the services- god knows enough exist to fill an entire hard drive- but therein lies the problem. Installing too many applications or extensions to Chrome is…well, it gets pretty bad. Sometimes addons don’t play nicely with each other. Other times, they bog down your browser due to sheer volume.

Chances are, you’ll want to avoid that, right? You’ll want to unify all of your extensions into one.

I’ve got some good news for you- I might just have a solution to your problems. A pretty decent addon just recently launched on the Chrome Web Store called “Gtools +.” It’s a pretty simply concept. You know the Google bar that appears at the top of the page when you’re on one of Google’s websites? The one that gives you a quick bridge to all of Google’s various services? Gtools + adds that to every website you visit. That includes Gmail and Google Reader notifications.

Basically, install this extension, and you’ll never miss another email or update again.

There are actually a few customization options, to boot. You can select exactly what Google properties are displayed on the bar- so if you’re not using a Google service, you won’t see a link to it; instead replacing it with a service you’ve actually signed up for. It also lets you change the color of the notification for Gmail, Google +, or Google reader; because hey- why not?

Oh, and it’s also got a languages translation feature that can be added to Google +, for some reason.

Be forewarned; there are a few glitches in Gtools +.  A few users have reported some errors with the Google + link, and others have stated that it causes some issues with Google Spreadsheets. Additionally, if you don’t have Google +, you should probably steer clear of this one- apparently it doesn’t take kindly to folks who aren’t on G+, for some reason. Oh, and in order for it to appear in a new tab, you’ll apparently need to right click and select ‘new tab’ from the context menu- simply pressing “CTRL+T” doesn’t quite work.

Still, it’s a promising addon, adding a much-needed functionality to Google Chrome. I’ll be keeping an eye on this one- though I’ll abstain from downloading it until some of the aforementioned glitches are fixed. Those of you who want to give it a try in spite of the issues I just mentioned can nab it from the Chrome Web Store.

Tineye’s a Chrome extension that lets you search by image- as opposed to searching for image. At this point, a lot of you are probably saying “Whoa, hey, stop right there. Google’s already got image searching, they added that ages ago!” Oh, I’m well aware of that. But the thing about Google’s “Search By Image” feature is that it mainly focuses on the image title, identifiable watermarks and related keywords. TinEye’s supposedly unique in that…well, it doesn’t do that.

Instead, it actually claims to be the first image search engine to use image identification technology. According to the developer, when a user uploads an image, it “creates a unique and compact digital signature or ‘fingerprint’ for the image.” It then proceeds to compare this fingerprint to every other image in the TinEye index, retrieving matches in the process. It doesn’t usually find similar images- that’s not really its purpose. Instead, it finds exact matches to the uploaded image- regardless of whether or not those matches have been cropped, edited, or resized.

Now, you’ll notice that it doesn’t actually search images out on the internet- it creates a catalogue of sorts and searches through this catalogue when you’re looking for an image. So it’s anything but perfect, in that regard- cataloguing pretty much every image in the internet is a daunting task, to say the least. Just the same, the developer claims to be adding literally “tens of millions” of images per day to their libraries. At the very least, you’re guaranteed to find at least a few copies of the image you load into the extension.

While that’s all very, very cool and sounds rather high tech, some of you are probably scratching your heads and going “Well…what’s the point?”

What To Use TinEye for

This extension’s actually a downright godsend for a lot of people. I’ll explain.

Bloggers, you’ve probably already figured out on your own why this extension is down right bloody awesome for us. Have an image, but don’t know where it came from? Find a source. Want to find a better quality copy of an image you’re adding to a blog post? Pop what you’ve got into a search, and see what TinEye gives back to you. Of course, bloggers aren’t the only ones who could find a use for this extension.

Artists, you too have probably worked out why TinEye is a very good thing for you. There are few people who infuriate me more than plagiarists- talentless, pathetic hacks who think nothing of stealing someone else’s work and crediting themselves with it’s creation, even though the closest they’ve come to the work they’re stealing is probably an image of a stick figure sitting on a chair. Want to know where your art’s been appearing on the web- who’s using it without giving you credit? Throw one of your images into the search engine, and see what comes up. Hell, even if you suspect someone of stealing an image, you can call their bluff using this extension.

Finally, you can use it to find out where a photograph came from, or who happens to be using your photographs(probably without your permission, as with the artistic works). So that guy, Dave, who claims to be an ex-navy seal? Pop the pictures he’s provided into TinEye to find out that they actually belong to some fellow named Kirk, who lives in a completely different city from that Dave fellow. Proceed to call him on his bluff- or better yet, tell Kirk about his charade- and let the fun begin! Of course, you can also stick your picture into it to find out that apparently yours is the face of a European refugee with a four million dollar bank account that they need someone on North Ame

rican shores to cosign on.

Basically, it just got a lot harder to steal pictures on the ‘net. And now you see why I’m rather excited about this extension, no?

How To Use TinEye

Got some good news for all of you.  See, the Chrome 13 release wasn’t the only thing that came to the Chrome Operating System in the last week and a half. You all know the basics of what Chromebooks got, of course- instant pages, print preview, all the good stuff that everyone’s been anticipating for weeks. On the Chromebook side of things, though….it brought a little more than a few bugfixes, security updates, and instant pages. A post went up yesterday on the Google Chrome blog, detailing exactly what’s new with Chrome. I daresay it’s a rather exciting update- and there’s most assuredly something for everyone.

First and foremost, the Chromebook just got a lot faster. According to Google, the systems can now resume about 32% faster than the could before. Considering how quickly the systems already booted and resumed, that’s actually kind of awesome. That’s not all, either. There’s something else, something a lot of you have probably been waiting to see arrive on Chrome for months now. A video streaming service- really, the video streaming service. I am referring, of course, to Netflix. After months of anticipation, it’s finally arrived on Chrome.

Hey; better late than never, right?

Netflix isn’t the only new app on the Chromebook, either.  For all you bibliophiles out there, Amazon’s launched the Kindle Cloud Reader app. Long story short, this one turns your Chromebook into a makeshift Kindle; granting it all the basic functions of the E-reader device. You can customize the layout, save books for offline reading, and, presumably, purchase new books to read at your pleasure. Even better; whatever book you happen to be reading at the time is automatically saved to be available offline. Not too shabby, eh?

Now, you probably already know about the security updates and Wi-Fi support, so we’ll skip that part. If any of you use Citrix, you’re in for a treat- a new app just launched known as The Citrix Receiver Tech Preview. Long story short…desktop software, on your Chromebook. Truthfully, something like this is useful for far more than just enterprise users. Think about it- one of the major criticisms levied at Chrome is the fact that you can’t really install desktop software. If you can use that software anyway…kind of negates the argument, doesn’t it?

Granted, it’s not perfect, and not all desktop software will work- but hey, it’s something.

Finally, Google Cloud Print has added a Print To Docs feature. Basically, it lets you save a copy of whatever you’re printing into a PDF; which is then stored in your Google Docs. Kind of cool, but not really as exciting as the other new features, if you ask me.

Anyway, that’s pretty much it. For now, anyway. Like Google says, that’s the beautiful thing about the Chromebook- it’s the computer that just keeps getting better.

Seeing all of this, it’s hard to argue with them.

Via Google Chrome Blog

Image Credits: Google Chrome Blog

It’s no surprise that as Google’s social networking site gets more and more popular, more and more developers are taking notice of it. As a result, there seem to be more Chrome apps and extensions centered around G + with each passing day. Apps designed to bring the Google + experience into the larger environment of Chrome. Apps designed to improve upon what you can do with G+, and how you can do it. I’ve already shown you Six extensions guaranteed to make the G+ experience better (well, five…Sorry about that, by the way), and even then, I only scratched the surface. There’s much more to come- and with new apps and extensions releasing every day, you can bet money that there’ll always be some new feature or function for Google’s runaway social networking website.

Here, for your browsing pleasure, are five more applications and extensions that’ll make a brilliant experience even better.

Extended Share for Google Plus

If you’re like me, and tend to share links and posts on a wide variety of social networking sites, an extension like this is a godsend. Basically, it adds a “share on…” link to each item shared by your Google+ Contacts. Click on this link, and it’ll let you share the item on Facebook, Twitter, Linkdin or Tumblr- or all four, if you so desire. Once you’ve installed it and selected the website you want to share on; you’re good to go. Pretty simple to use, and despite what some of the user reviews on the app have said, I’ve had no problem with the functionality of this one.

G + Extended

This extension adds a number of rather useful keyboard shortcuts (not to be confused with the Google + Commander Userscript, which adds a number of “ctrl” based user commands to G +- that one’s a bit more ‘geek-oriented’ than this one). Basically, this is one of those extensions designed to make things easier. With G + Extended, you’ll gain access to the following keyboard ‘shortcuts’ when a post in your stream has focus (basically, click anywhere in the post, or use “j” or “k” to navigate through your posts):

1. “+” Will +1 a post
2. “-” Will remove your +1 on a post
3. “p” will toggle your “+1″ on a post
4. “s” will share a post”
5. “e” will expand the comments thread so you can view older comments

From the looks of things, the developer is currently looking to expand the library of shortcuts, and is asking for user input/commentary on what they feel would be a useful addition to the extension. If you’ve got an idea as to what could be added; swing by the page(linked above) and leave a comment.

Photo Zoom

This is one of those extensions that fits under the “elegantly simple, but inarguably useful” category. Here’s the scenario- for whatever reason; a photo you’re seeing in your Google + stream is too small for your tastes. Maybe you’re trying to view a photo that one of your contacts shared, or simply get a closer look at their profile picture without having to go to their page. Photo Zoom has the answer. Once you’ve installed it, all you have to do is mouse over an image in your Google + stream, and it’ll load the zoomed/full size image right there in your stream. Once you remove the mouse from the image, the zoomed in photo vanishes.

Like I said: simple, but useful.

I’ve only found one issue with the extension thus far- it doesn’t seem to like animated photos.

Comments Toggle

Sometimes, a post you’ll see in your Google + stream just has…way, way too many comments.  It can very easily get to the point where your stream starts to feel rather cluttered. This extension offers up a solution- though the developer does note that there may be a few errors or unfixed bugs on the extension page.  Anyway, what Comments Toggle does is…well, basically, what’s written on the box.  It automatically hides comments on posts shared to you by your circles. To see them, all you have to do is click. My one grip with the extension is that it doesn’t display all the comments in a thread- the ones that Google + hides by default as “older comments” will still be hidden if you click ‘show comments.’ Not a particularly major concern, but it’s nevertheless a touch annoying.

Could be a function to add in a future release, I suppose. Either way, this one’s a pretty useful extension if you find your G + stream feeling too cluttered by comments.

Helper For Google +

I’m gonna go out with a bang this time around. This extension is downright huge- and probably one of the most useful on the list. First off, it adds a tweet button to every Google + post. That by itself wouldn’t really differentiate it from any of the other extensions on here, but it also adds a translate button(letting you use Google Translate on pretty much any post you desire in your stream), enables desktop notifications (with sound, to boot), offers linked hashtags in a similar fashion to Twitter to make search easier, and finally, allows you to search for Google + posts and profiles directly from the Chrome omnibus by typing “plus” before the query.

Like I said, huge extension- and well worth the download.