14 DAY TRIAL // The Google Chrome Extensions Gallery was launched less than a week ago and it's starting to look like things are going smoothly. It had 300 extensions when it debuted and now has more than 600 extensions. What's more, the most popular extension, Google Mail Checker, is now closing in on 200,000 downloads and has more than 1,000 reviews, not too bad for just a few days. So, without further ado, here are the top ten most popular extensions so far.
10. AdBlock. Unsurprisingly, a couple of the most popular extensions are ad blockers, by far one of the most appreciated type of add-ons for Firefox. AdBlock, despite sharing the name with a great Firefox add-on, doesn't seem to have any connection to it. It does what it's supposed to do, blocks ads, and the developers say it handles Facebook ads, as well as Flash animations. It has a “blacklist” and a “whitelist” feature, both of which are still in beta and allow users to select the blocked items with a couple of keyboard shortcuts.
9. Cooliris. (screenshot below) This is the Google Chrome version of the popular desktop application with the same name. It offers an interesting alternative to viewing photos by using a gorgeous 3D interface, which the developers claim is the fastest way to browse through photos on Facebook, Picasa or even on your desktop but also through image search results on Google, Flickr and others. Unfortunately, this extension is Windows-only for the moment though Cooliris states other OSes will be supported soon with a Mac extension apparently in the works.
8. Docs PDF/PowerPoint Viewer. (screenshot below) Built by Google, this extension is a great tool that should save you a lot of hassle and the trouble of having to install, sometimes huge, applications just to view a PDF file. With it, any link to a PDF or PowerPoint file opens up in a new tab in the lightweight but very capable Google Docs Viewer. No more unwieldy plug-in or external programs, people who want to keep it nice and clean will love this one.
7. Xmarks Bookmark Sync. The popular bookmarks synchronization add-on for Firefox, formerly known as Foxmarks, makes it to Google Chrome. It is already available for Safari and Internet Explorer and for users who want to take their bookmarks anywhere they go and, more importantly, to any browser they want, there's no replacing it.
6. IE Tab. (screenshot below) A rather self-explanatory extension, it allows users to open a new tab in Chrome using the Internet Explorer rendering engine. This comes in handy for older sites that don't support other browsers, not that there are that many of those around, or which may not render well in Chrome. It's also useful for web developers wanting to test their work in IE.
Stay tuned for part two. And if you haven't tried it out already, all the latest versions of Google Chrome are available for download here.
