On Thursday 6th October, Chris led a discussion on favourite browser extensions. Here’s some of what we learned.
A browser extension is a small software add-on that adds new functionality to a web browser (such as Edge, Google Chrome, or Firefox). It may change how a built-in feature works or add new features entirely. For example, an extension may add a way to translate selected text or change how tabs appear when a browser is used full-screen.
Over the years browsers have become more and more capable with new built-in features. This was in part driven by competition. Chrome copied features from Opera such as Speed Dial etc. Vivaldi has a built-in ad blocker which users can configure, so a blocker extension is not necessary Hence some of the original extensions are no longer needed.
Chrome, Edge, and many other browsers e.g. Vivaldi and Opera are all based on a browser called Chromium. Basically, they all use the same software coding underneath. This means that an extension written for Chrome will also work on Edge and the others which are based on Chromium. So there are a huge number of available extensions. Firefox and Apple’s Safari are programmed differently, and special versions of the extensions have to be written especially for them.
How do you get them?
- Chrome : https://chrome.google.com/webstore/category/extensions
- Microsoft Edge: https://microsoftedge.microsoft.com/addons/Microsoft-Edge-Extensions-Home
- Safari: https://support.apple.com/guide/safari/get-extensions-sfri32508/mac
- Firefox: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/extensions/
TIPS:
- Read the reviews before installing! There are both good and bad ones which purport to do the same thing (such as video downloading). Many have cut down free versions and you have to pay to get the full benefit.
- Remember you can disable or uninstall extensions you don’t like.
Some Chris uses:
- Grammarly: This offers corrections to spelling and grammar in web pages or documents (e.g. in Google Docs) you edit online. This only works for English – but you can choose British English.
- Google Scholar – Enables you to search specifically for academic/ research documents on-line
- Print-friendly and PDF – Enables you to chop out images and paragraphs from a web page before printing it or saving it as a PDF
- Google Translate: You probably don’t need this in Chrome anymore since it’s integrated into the Chrome Browser. However, it’s still useful in other browsers.
- Speed dial 2: Unlike Chrome’s default new tab page, Speed Dial 2 extension allows you to save as many websites as you want and even organize them into groups! https://www.speeddial2.com/
Which ones are for you?
It depends on your interests and how you use your browser
https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/best-chrome-extensions
This article is for marketing people – but it has an interesting selection. Chris is going to play with Google Dictionary (instant pop-up word definitions) and Google Keep (Have you found a web page, image or quote that you want to save for later? With the Google Keep Chrome Extension, easily save the things that you care about to Keep and have them synced across all the platforms that you use – including web, Android, iOS and Wear. Take notes for additional detail and add labels to categorise your note quickly for later retrieval.)
Extensions recommended by members:
- AdBlock Plus: Blocks advertisements on web pages
- Malware bytes: Blocks advertisements and trackers and other nasties
- Ookla Speedtest: See how fast your internet connection is at any time. This is useful if you think your VPN is slowing down your internet connection.
- Bitwarden: Password manager – for those of us who always forget our passwords…
Chris Betterton-Jones – Knowledge Junkie