chrome

Use Magnifier for Facebook to enlarge photos without clicking

When you have many, many friends on Facebook, it can sometimes be hard to get through your whole stream of "news." Photos are a great addition to your Timeline, simply because they can share an idea without needing a paragraph of explanation (unless it's one of those terrible "if this gets 1 million likes" chain posts). Unfortunately, when you see one that is too small to show off all the detail, you have to click to enlarge it.

Instead of clicking on each photo, you can view the enlarged version of a photo by simply … Read more

Bring Instagram thumbnails back to Twitter in Chrome

Remember when Twitter stopped showing Instagram photo previews to users, both online and in apps? Now you can add those photo previews for Instagram and other third-party photo services back to your Twitter feed, at least on the Web.

This is done through the use of a Chrome extension called Previeweet. The extension actually works for more than just Instagram. While testing it out, I was able to see previews from Instagram, Photobucket, Facebook, Yfrog, Twitpic, Twitvid, Flickr, and Imgur -- which is great, since those are in the list of services that Previeweet says it supports.

To get started, … Read more

Schmidt: Chrome, Android to stay separate, but may overlap

Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt said Android and Chrome will stay separate, according to a new report.

Speaking to reporters in India today, Schmidt said that despite changes to the mobile operating system's leadership, Android and Chrome will not be combined, according to Reuters, which was in attendance. Schmidt did say, however, that there might be more overlap between the operating systems.

In addition to Android and Chrome, Schmidt was asked about rumors that he might be considering leaving Google. Schmidt unequivocally denied he would leave, calling the rumors "completely false."

"Google is my home," … Read more

View lyrics for YouTube videos without looking them up

Sometimes the person or company responsible for uploading a music video on YouTube is kind enough to include the lyrics in the video information. If not, you probably end up opening another browser tab to find the lyrics so you can sing along (when no one else is listening). As a convenience for future song learning, there's a Web browser add-on that works with Chrome, Firefox, and Opera, which will allow you to see the lyrics while a video is playing. Here's how to get started:

For Chrome: Install a copy of YouTube Lyrics by Rob W from … Read more

How to get the most out of Feedly on your desktop

Google Reader is going to be retired on July 1, 2013, giving users of the RSS service about four months to find alternatives. With more than 500,000 new users since the announcement of Reader's demise, Feedly appears to be one of the more popular choices to replace Google Reader.

Feedly may be receiving a lot of interest because it's one of the few alternatives with clients on multiple platforms (iOS, Android, Kindle, Chrome, Firefox, and Safari). If you're interested in trying it out as your Google Reader alternative, we've got some tips to help you … Read more

Google undeletes RSS extension for Chrome browser

The 868,163 people who've installed Google's RSS-handling extension for Chrome can breathe a sigh of relief, because Google has resurrected it after its deletion last week.

"My RSS extension was removed by mistake, but it is now up again," said Finnur Thorarinsson, the extension's author, in a comment to a Chrome RSS-handling feature request. The extension detects RSS and Atom feeds on Web pages and lets people subscribe to them with feed-reading software; it's been updated so it no longer offers Google Reader as an option for subscribing.

Google's RSS extension for Chrome disappeared last week … Read more

Google scraps Chrome's RSS extension along with Reader

Google's decision to kill its Google Reader service has caused some collateral damage: the end of a related Chrome extension that let the browser handle RSS feeds.

RSS and the similar Atom technology make it easier for people to subscribe to regular updates published on Web sites, and Google Reader was a popular way for people to read that content. Google announced that it's scrapping Google Reader on July 1, but it's already gone ahead and withdrawn the feed-finding Chrome extension.

The extension would detect Web sites' feeds then let people use a variety of RSS reader … Read more

Add to Wunderlist extension provides easy, cross-platform Web clipping

I have yet to take the Evernote plunge, and I don't use Pinterest unless I'm looking over my wife's shoulder. Yet, I admit I have a need for some variety of Web-clipping app. My current strategy, if you can call it that, is leaving browser tabs open for days on end, or adding to my ever-increasing and wholly unorganized list of bookmarks.

Thankfully, I found Add to Wunderlist, a browser extension that works for Chrome, Firefox, and Safari. It adds a button to the right of the your browser's URL bar for clipping a Web page … Read more

Pricey Chromebook Pixel: Built well but impractical to upgrade

Unlike Chromebooks from Samsung, Acer, and HP, the Google-designed Pixel has both high-end hardware and a high-end price tag. On this week's episode of Cracking Open, I go inside the Pixel and show you why it's easy to service, but nearly impossible to upgrade.… Read more

Meet Sundar Pichai, the new head of Android

Sundar Pichai, a Google veteran fond of fast browsers and computers, will have to move quickly himself as the newly named head of Android.

CEO Larry Page announced Pichai's new role in a surprise blog post today. Pichai assumes the responsibilities of Andy Rubin, who is stepping down as head of Android to "start a new chapter at Google."

As the man who shepherded the Chrome browser and operating system from concept to their current, more refined iterations, Pichai has a record of defying skeptics and building projects from the ground up. But with Android, Pichai inherits … Read more