AfterDawn: News

Google to launch Chrome Extensions this week

Google has announced that they will be officially launching the Chrome Extensions site next week, giving Chrome browser users a chance to download add-ons, one of the features that has made rival Firefox so popular.

The new Extensions Gallery will list all the extensions and offer a one-click download to add the extension to the browser's shell.



There are currently hundreds of extensions for the browser, but none are officially supported by Google.

Additionally, Extensions will only be available for Chrome on Windows, despite the upcoming launch of the Mac version. Chromium for Windows and Macs supports extensions.

Internet Explorer remains the market leader at just under 65 percent, but Chrome, Safari and Firefox have been taking market share since their respective releases. Firefox stands at almost 25 percent, Chrome at 4 percent and Safari at 4.5 percent. Internet Explorer held a 93 percent market share in 2003.

Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 6 Dec 2009 21:43

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• 8 comments

• nonoitall

  I'll admit, lack of extensions is probably the biggest thing that's kept me from using Chrome thus far. I wonder what will happen to its market share when this goes live. I assume Chromium for Linux will also work with the extensions?

  6.12.2009 22:10 #1

• KillerBug

  Big deal, plugins...now it can become just as bloated and cumbersom as IE8! I don't even like going to googlemaps to get directions, because I know that google records my IP and my start & end points...there is no way I am installing their web browser.

  6.12.2009 22:50 #2

• bomber991

  Originally posted by nonoitall: I'll admit, lack of extensions is probably the biggest thing that's kept me from using Chrome thus far. I wonder what will happen to its market share when this goes live. I assume Chromium for Linux will also work with the extensions?Same here. I used it for about a month then went back to firefox. Chrome basically felt the same as using IE, except it was faster.
  
  Gotta have my adblock plus, just gotta have it. All the other ones I can go without, but not blocking the ads.
  
  The advertising that I hate the most is the one where it underlines txt in the middle of sentences, where once the mouse cursor goes over it a little info-bubble pops up. Those ones bug the hell out of me, especially when they start playing some stupid video inside of that little bubble.
  
  EDIT: Just turned off adblock, and yeah they have that advertising here on afterdawn :(. It's that "Vibrant intellitext" stuff. I guess they have an option to let it play videos or not. I just remember I was on a car site, and every "Honda" word was underlined. Everytime the cursor went over it, the little bubble would pop up playing the latest honda commercial in it. Very annoying.
  
  If there's one golden rule about the internet, it's "Don't make sounds come out of a users speakers unless they hit a play button"

  6.12.2009 23:24 #3

• nonoitall

  @bomber991: Ditto to everything you said. I also find those inline ads and sounds that play without my permission to be extremely annoying.
  
  @KillerBug: I agree I'm a bit wary of Google since they've been trying to get their fingers in every pie on the internet (or just buy every pie). But they did make Chrome open source. Any way in which it might track its users or report to big brother is there for the whole world to see (and fix). Internet Explorer is the scary one - only good old Microsoft knows what's going on under its hood. ;-)

  7.12.2009 01:14 #4

• borhan9

  Extensions or no extensions i love chrome and will find this a very interesting venture however i won't be over doing it with the add ons.

  7.12.2009 02:08 #5

• geestar20

  Originally posted by KillerBug: Big deal, plugins...now it can become just as bloated and cumbersom as IE8! I don't even like going to googlemaps to get directions, because I know that google records my IP and my start & end points...there is no way I am installing their web browser.I dont think google really cares where your map start points and end points are. I dont even think they care about your IP or even who you are. As long as your sending and receiving data then your being recorded regardless of what web browser you use.

  7.12.2009 17:40 #6

• KillerBug

  Originally posted by geestar20: Originally posted by KillerBug: Big deal, plugins...now it can become just as bloated and cumbersom as IE8! I don't even like going to googlemaps to get directions, because I know that google records my IP and my start & end points...there is no way I am installing their web browser.I dont think google really cares where your map start points and end points are. I dont even think they care about your IP or even who you are. As long as your sending and receiving data then your being recorded regardless of what web browser you use.Google is sucking up information at an alarming rate, gathering information on every person and company who goes to one of their sites, or uses one of their softwares. They have not said what this is for, this is what bothers me. The fact is that if you have been to googlemaps a few times, and have entered your adress as the "start adress" most of the time, then google knows where you live, and several places where you have been. They have pictures of the front of your house, and satelite images of the roof.
  
  The best we could hope for from this giant cache of information is targeted advertising, but they could easily start selling this information to whoever will pay...and there are lots of other potential evils that they could use this information for.
  
  Plus, let us remember that google is clearly trying to build a monopoly on the internet. Even if their goals are not evil, a monopoly would change this. Power=Corruption=Evil
  

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  8.12.2009 05:24 #7

• geestar20

  Quote:Google is sucking up information at an alarming rate, gathering information on every person and company who goes to one of their sites, or uses one of their softwares. They have not said what this is for, this is what bothers me. The fact is that if you have been to googlemaps a few times, and have entered your adress as the "start adress" most of the time, then google knows where you live, and several places where you have been. They have pictures of the front of your house, and satelite images of the roof.
  
  The best we could hope for from this giant cache of information is targeted advertising, but they could easily start selling this information to whoever will pay...and there are lots of other potential evils that they could use this information for.
  
  Plus, let us remember that google is clearly trying to build a monopoly on the internet. Even if their goals are not evil, a monopoly would change this. Power=Corruption=Evil Google is your friend! :P

  8.12.2009 11:29 #8