Tag Archives: Google Chrome extensions
Chrome Extension Lets You Export Your Facebook Events
Posted on 26. Jul, 2011 by Nicholas Greene. 
5 Comments
The devs aren’t getting discouraged, apparently. Right on the tail of the news that the Facebook Friend Exporter was blocked by the social networking giant; yet another Chrome extension has popped up that lets users yoink their data out of Facebook and insert it into a Google service. Granted, it’s not quite the same data- or same volume of data- as the contact information of your whole friends list. Just the same, something tells me Facebook isn’t going to take kindly to this extension, either. Call it a hunch, but something tells me they’re going to start looking for a way to block it the moment they’re aware of it.
Or maybe I’m just paranoid.
Anyway, the tool is developed by a fellow named Bodhan Maslowski, and has the rather drab name of Add Facebook Events To Google Calendar. It’s pretty much what’s written on the box. Once you’ve downloaded and installed the extension, it adds an “Add to Calendar” option to each of your Facebook event pages. There’s no bulk option for transferring all of your Facebook events at once, sadly. Just the same, it’s a step up from the alternative- which is doing it all yourself. The extension exports pretty much everything but the guest list to your Google Calendar- name, time, date, location, and description are all uploaded, along with a link to the Facebook event page.
For those of you interested in grabbing it, the extension’s free.
Chrome Extension Suggests Addons Based On Browsing History
Posted on 21. Jul, 2011 by Nicholas Greene. 1 Comments
So, here’s the situation. You know that there are addons out there that would be useful for you. Problem is, you have no idea where to start looking. I’m not talking about not knowing what specific application or extension to install. No, I’m talking about full-fledged cluelessness; where you don’t even have an idea of what search terms to pump in in order to find yourself an addon.
Or maybe you’re just an addon junkie, looking to score your next fix. Either way, you want more applications, more extensions, more bits of software to improve and expand the functionality of Google’s increasingly popular web browser. But you don’t just want any application or extension- you want one you’ll actually use, one that applies to you and how you use Chrome.
In both cases ,you could simply sift through the thousands upon thousands of applications and extensions in the Chrome web store, but honestly? Who has time to do that? I’m not even being sarcastic this time- looking through every single extension in the store would take way too long to really be worthwhile. So what’s a lad or lady to do?
You might be surprised to hear this, but there’s actually an extension for precisely this situation.
There’s a Web App For That
Developed by Mihai Parparita, There’s a Web App For That is designed to provide useful addon suggestions based on what you do online. Once you install the app, it performs a scan of your browsing history, installed apps, extensions, and themes. After the scan’s completed, it’ll offer you a list of Chrome applications and extensions you might find useful. To ensure that isn’t simply a ‘use once, uninstall’ extension, it’s designed to continue suggesting apps by placing a small blue [+] icon by the address bar when you visit a site with a dedicated Chrome app. For example, let’s say you frequent Digg, but for some reason didn’t realize they had an application linked to their site. There’s a Web App For That will helpfully remind you.
Overall, a pretty handy addon-albeit one with a rather niche function. Give it a try here.
via How To Geek
Transfer Pictures To Google + With Move Your Photos
Posted on 21. Jul, 2011 by Nicholas Greene. 0 Comments
Okay, so you guys remember how I said we’ve seen a metric ton of applications and extensions designed to retrieve data from Facebook, but as of yet there hasn’t been an addon to help us retrieve our photos from Facebook’s clutches? I’ve got some good news for you- that’s just changed. This particular kick to Facebook’s teeth comes from an extension formerly known as “Move2Picasa.” You do remember what Google’s doing with Picasa, right? Naturally, the addon required something of a rebranding, as well.
The developer changed the name of the extension to “Move Your Photos,” and in so doing, created another tool that I daresay is rather integral to accommodating a switch from Facebook to G +. Basically, once you’ve installed the application, its icon will appear up near your browser bar. At that point, all it takes is a click, and you can begin selectively transferring your Facebook photos from Facebook to Google’s Picasa service,. Once the photos are on Picasa, you can easily share them with your circles on Google +. Not too shabby.
Unfortunately, the extension is only able to transfer photos that you yourself have posted- for some reason, it’s currently unable to copy over images belonging to your friends, even if you’re tagged in them. A very small issue- but I suppose it would be nice to nab -all- the photos you appear in. Not really sure the extension’s capable of pulling that one off, since it’d probably involve mucking around in Facebook’s framework; and if it hasn’t already been brought to Facebook’s attention, it would after a move like that. As it is, there’s a rather simple workaround to this issue, of course-convince those friends who’ve tagged you to ditch Facebook and hop on over to Google +- using this extension to help make their transition a smooth one, naturally.
How do you folks suppose Facebook is going to react to this one? After all, it was one thing when this extension was used to transfer photos from Facebook albums to a completely unrelated website. It’s another thing altogether when that completely unrelated website’s absorbed into what constitutes the greatest threat to the social networking giant since its inception. I’m not certain there’s really anything Facebook can do to prevent this extension from functioning altogether, unless they completely remove the ability to save photos off of the site-something which would definitely do more harm than good.
I suppose we’ll just have to wait and see how things pan out, right?
You can obtain Move Your Photos from the Chrome Web Store.
Give Chrome’s Start Page A Makeover With Incredible Startpage
Posted on 20. Jul, 2011 by Nicholas Greene. 5 Comments
The default Chrome start page is boring. I don’t think I’ll find anyone who disagrees with me on that one. Sure, it functions well enough- I mean, it does what it’s supposed to, giving us a gateway of sorts to our browsing experience- showing us a list of installed apps, recently closed and most visited websites. Just the same, you aren’t likely to find a Chrome user who’d disagree with you if you were to say the start page lacks a certain…zazz.
I’m also fairly certain that no one would object if they were to be offered a theme-based, customizable interface for giving the Chrome start page a bit more visual ‘oomph,’ as it were. That’s precisely what the Incredible Start Page extension does. Let’s have a look at it,shall we?
Incredible Start Page
I’ve gotta say, this is a nice-looking extension. Not only does it give the Chrome start page a sexy new look, but as near as I can tell, it actually makes how everything’s laid out feel a lot more efficient. Rather than having frequent pages and recently closed tabs on two tiny lines below the applications, there are now two separate columns for bookmarks and closed tabs.
The most visually stunning element in the new layout is definitely the large panel to the right, which contains a tab for both bookmarks and extensions. You can, naturally, drag sites you visit frequently into the “my bookmarks” tab from the bookmarks column for quick, easy access. Sites you’ve dragged onto the bar below the omnibox will also appear in this tab. Sounds pretty good so far, doesn’t it?
It gets better. Notice that yellow box on the top left? That’s a personal notepad, the contents of which sync across computers and can be posted to both Gmail and Google Calendar.
Customization
The image decorating the “bookmarks/apps” panel (which can be configured to appear in both the bookmarks and recent websites columns) is, by default, obtained from Flickr. If you don’t have a Flickr account, it’ll just let you choose from a list of default images. Unfortunately, you’re unable to upload images to the extension at the moment- Chrome itself doesn’t actually allow that, according to the application’s developer. What you can do is upload an image from a url to be used as the background. You can also customize the font color and background color of your startpage, as well as the maximum number of recently closed websites.
Granted, not a huge degree of customization, but still….it definitely looks a hell of a lot better than the default start page.
Final Thoughts
I’m definitely using this one, myself. It’s both functional and aesthetically pleasing, and it works just as the developer promised.
Now, there are a few minor issues with the extension at the moment- if you’ve got Incredible Start Page installed, other extensions appear unable to read the recently visited sites information, bookmarklets don’t work on the startpage, and you might occasionally get an error telling you “Chrome Bookmarks are not ready.” Finally, ad-blockers might mess with the startpage’s functionality (not quite sure why) and you’re also unable to rearrange your apps as you can on the default startpage.
Like I said, minor issues- from the sounds of it, the developer appears to be working on a solution.
If this looks like the sort of startpage you’d like to have, swing by the Chrome Web Store to download the extension.
Even More Chrome Addons To Make Google + Awesome
Posted on 19. Jul, 2011 by Nicholas Greene. 3 Comments
Google + is pretty awesome, isn’t it? But you know what makes it more awesome? Some of the addons for Chrome that have been circulating about the internet since its release a mere two weeks ago. Developers have been hard at work putting together applications and extensions to expand and improve upon the Google + experience. The prospects are most definitely looking good. Given that I’ve already shared ten addons with all of you; you’re probably wondering how much more there could possibly be.
Fact is? As Google + evolves and expands, there are going to be more and more applications and extensions designed to improve upon the Google + experience. So…there’ll probably be much, much more to come. Look forward to it. After all, if this is the sort of stuff the devs are making for us now, imagine what we’ll be seeing a few months down the line?
Anyway, here’s a few more applications and extensions I’d recommend if you’re looking to get a bit more ‘oomph’ out of Google +.
Google Releases Batch of New Official Chrome Extensions
Posted on 11. Nov, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 2 Comments
There are over 8,000 Chrome extensions available from the official Google directory which is a great thing to see since they have been available last December. Some of the best extensions seem to come from Google employees, as their motivation is to create features that make the Google experience even better. Today, Google has release three new ones related to Google Calendar, Apps and YouTube.
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Is TweetMeme the Best Chrome Extension For Tweeting?
Posted on 01. Nov, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 3 Comments
Another week has gone by, and it seems I’ve found another useful extension to extend my browser’s capabilities.
And believe me, I’m not one to find many extensions all that useful.
I started using the TweetMeme Twitter extension several weeks ago as a way to tweet from my thechromesource Twitter account stories that I’ve be reading pertaining to Google that I think my followers would be interested in. The extension captures the title and shortens the URL right inside the browser window and allows me to send off tweets right away.
Review: Screen Capture Extension by Google
Posted on 20. Oct, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 3 Comments
As many of you have probably observed, we don’t do a whole lot of coverage on Google Chrome extensions. This is because many extensions really don’t offer a whole lot of benefit to the browsing experience and are actually a bit distracting, at least in our view. With that being said, when an extension that offers a great way to do something a native app does and simplifies things, we need to point it out.
There’s been a lot of concern that with Chrome OS there will be some degree of basic PC functionality missing. Based on the comments for Google officials, they are very cognizant of this fact and are working to make sure that doesn’t happen. It’s a given that they are heavily testing it internally, and case in point is the Screen Capture extension from the company.
thechromesource Daily: Links for 5/15/10
Posted on 15. May, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 0 Comments
The Chrome Extensions Directory now has six categories to help better organize the over 4,000 extensions that are now available.
Google has decided to stop collecting wi-fi information from its Street View project, citing internal privacy concerns with the information gathered.
In addition to this announcement comes the revelation that Google Search will become encrypted, possibly starting next week.
Is simply apologizing enough when Google announces privacy breaches?
How Many Marketplaces Can Google Have?
Posted on 10. May, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 1 Comments
Back in March, Google announced its addition to Google Apps for outside developers called the Google Apps Marketplace. Now, that’s not to be confused with Android Market, which is currently only for smartphones. And it certainly doesn’t have anything to do with the Google Analytics Application Gallery, or even the Google Chrome Extensions directory. I’m sure that I have inadvertently left out some marketplace or directory that Google has, but it’s hard to keep track.
Do you see where I’m going with this? I understand the point of having places for developers to connect with the Google platform, but at some point this is going to start getting confusing for people. Really, why isn’t there just one name for the place that developers can offer up as well as sell their own Google-related apps, extensions, widgets or whatever? It seems like that might be a bit easier.
Apple, in contrast, has the iTunes App Store. They smartly decided that when Apps started to become big with the advent of the iPhone that they would just suffix “iTunes” with “App Store”. Inside the iTunes App Store, they sell everything, and my intuition is that as they continue to expand; they will go on selling everything inside one marketplace.
There should be one central spot for developers to hawk their wares, and this is the place from where users can download them. It’s understandable that perhaps Google is waiting until their paid model fully develops. But let’s hope for the sake of organization they give it one really great name, throw everything in there divided by app/service/media format and advertise the snot out of it.
Forecastfox is a Useful Chrome Weather Extension
Posted on 24. Apr, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 1 Comments
Since the days of the notorious WeatherBug process hog, I have never really been into weather related add-ins, widgets or whatever-you-may-call-them. That’s probably because they have not been useful, end up taking too much of my PC system resources or a combination of the two. So when I installed the Ensolis Forecastfox extension for Chrome browser, I found it quite useful despite my misgivings. In fact, I think I like it.
After installing the extension you’ll need to configure your location by putting in your zipcode at the options menu. This can be done either by right clicking on the Forecastfox tab, opening the forecast and selecting option from the bottom or going through the extensions menu. If you are a frequent traveler, you can set up multiple locations and easily switch locations depending on where you are.
Finding out the current weather is real easy when you have the temperature and conditions displayed in the browser at the top right: 
Click on the Forecastfox extension icon, and you get a quick rundown of the forecast for the next week, with the information being pulled from the Accuweather database. I was surprised how quickly this data was pulled, perhaps Ensolis caches the data as it is updated from Accuweather:
The extension also gives you a nice little red box at the top when there are severe weather warnings, as was the case for me a few days ago when there was a frost advisory in my area.
Forecastfox actually is a Firefox add-in that has been ported over by Ensolis as a Chrome extension. This is not a bad thing: the folks who developed this already had an existing product that they had a good following on (20 million downloads). I think we can expect to see more solid add-ins for Firefox be moved onto the Google browser platform as adoption levels continue to rise.
Try out Forecastfox for a good weather extension in Google Chrome. I promise it’s not like WeatherBug.
New Chrome Ads Highlight Extensions, Translate
Posted on 21. Apr, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 2 Comments
These videos continue to be enjoyable, simply because they are all so different and while Chrome is the singular product promoted, there really is no underlying theme that ties them together other than the similar motif. I think this is a smart move, as consumers are pretty sophisticated about products theses days.
It’s no wonder that people have to be when you think about how many marketing messages a person is exposed to day in and day out. At the same time, the presentation here is simplistic, not trying to alienate those who may not be into the technical side of computers:
Here is a previous ad that the same agency, BBH, did a while back:
Check out this clip on how they made the ad above. It’s pretty cool how they are using their creativity to make these effects instead of just using a PC. It really stretches your abilities while at the same time enables one to make something truly unique:
