Google set to promote Chrome extensions

The developer preview version of Chrome now promotes an as-yet unworking link to an extensions gallery.

(Credit: Screenshot by Stephen Shankland/CNET)

Google is on the verge of launching a Web site to showcase its extensions to customize what its browser can do.

The company's latest developer preview edition, Chrome 4.0.249.0, promotes the feature on its opening screen and its new-tab page. "New! Google Chrome now has extensions and bookmark sync," the page reads, offering a link to a site that's not public yet, https://chrome.google.com/extensions. (Bookmark sync is already available.)

Extensions and support for Mac OS X and Linux are the headline features of Chrome 4.0. It's available as a beta for Windows, with Mac OS X and Linux beta availability expected in early December. According to the Chromium development calendar, the beta is planned for December 8 release and the stable release of Chrome 4.0 is due January 12.

A number of third-party galleries for Chrome extensions already are available, but programmers for the project have said on mailing lists that a Google site is planned. Earlier this year, Google shipped a version of Chrome that pointed to a collection of visual themes before the Chrome themes gallery was actually live to the public.

Extensions are a key asset of one Chrome competitor, Mozilla's Firefox; extensions permit people to customize the browser and add new features without burdening the overall project. Firefox is getting a new extensions framework, Jetpack, starting with version 3.7 due in the first half of 2010, and Mozilla has just launched its own Jetpack gallery.

[freedoms_stain]

An official extensions gallery would be good.<br /><br />And more/better extensions, I've only found a handful worth having so far, and the functionality of those isn't as advanced as those for FF.<br /><br />In spite of that though I'm currently using Chrome full-time, I think it has great potential once 4 matures and the extensions improve.

[Mr. Dee]

It looks like this browser is not go final for Linux and Mac OS until version 10.

[forever4now]

I use Chrome 4 on Ubuntu almost exclusively &#38; while it may not be an official release, it is very stable &#38; EXTREMELY fast. It just gets better &#38; better, with each (weekly?) update.

[SactoGuy018]

About time that Chrome supports extensions--it's actually a very good browser but the lack of extensions kind of limits its appeal. I'd like to see Chrome offer an extension that can temporarily switch to using the "Trident" page layout engine used by Internet Explorer 8.0 so some web pages can display correctly, just like the IE Tab extension for Firefox 3.5.x versions.

[mjconver]

No Adblock Plus == No Chrome

[jsama000]

you may wanna have a look of this.<br /><br />http://www.chromeextensions.org/appearance-functioning/adblock/

[forever4now]

I really don't get this "Adblock Plus" mentality.<br /><br />Do you think internet websites are charities?<br /><br />You should at least give them a chance to make a little money from advertising, so they can continue to provide their content &#38; services for free. Otherwise, are you willing to pay a subscription fee for each website instead?

[DBdweeb]

I want Grease Monkey! Will Google give me the ability to use CSS to hide their ads?

[jatstuff]

Just what we need, another "Extensions are coming to Google Chrome!" article. Wake me up when they actually support extensions in the *stable* release -- I figure we got at least 6 more months...

[vampiregoth]

Chrome supporting (official) extensions and having a gallery for them would be the one thing that would make me go back to Chrome, since that is the reason that I stopped using Chrome to began with.

[exactlyy]

would never install this junk .

[Jack_Smith56]

I Love Google Chrome! I use it because its faster than Firefox and the extensions side of things doesn't really appeal to me. Not to say i don't like Firefox, but I think the awesome bar is quite annoying.

[seomator]

this is good news.<br /><br /> I've uploaded my chrome extension "seo for chrome" to the gallery.<br /><br />For the moment the extension can be dwl from my website http://www.seomator.com<br /><br />I would appreciate your feedback if you are interested to test it out :)<br /><br />thank you