3 Google Chrome extensions to try out

Google’s Chrome is the most popular web browser. It doesn’t need an introduction. But as many of us don’t know, it can work even better for us when we enable some extensions. No, we are not talking about anti-virus software, spelling checkers or even translation tools.  

Where can we find Google extensions?  
Chrome Web Store has literally thousands of extensions to choose from and install on the browser. The idea is to make Chrome more customised for the user’s specific purpose. Most of these applications are free, or at least have a free version. Many of these are third party apps found on Play Store and App Store too, but some are unique to the Chrome browser. Users need to check device specs. Not all extensions work across all gadgets.   

Here are 3 examples of the kind of extensions that can be useful for students.  

Mercury Reader: the virtual bookmark  
Mercury Reader is a combination of a bookmark tool where pages can be saved for later in a view-friendly web page format, and a sort of highlighter. It automatically pulls out important text and key images from a page, especially news and blogs, and displays them in a larger font. It also allows pages to be sent to Google account and Kindle. Mercury Reader can sync across multiple devices.  

Evernote, the multi format notebook  
Creating a virtual notebook is very easy with Evernote. The user can bookmark text, images, screenshots (also work for screen capture from Facebook, Amazon and YouTube), align them scrap-book style, and be built into a whole project. It’s a big time-saver for students.  

Strict Workflow, a productivity tool for achievers  
Sometimes productivity apps are needed to keep us concentrated and focused, and not continue browsing randomly. It’s also important to take breaks. Strict Workflow is designed for healthy work scheduling.  It launches an automatic blocker that blocks any non-related work pages for 25 minutes, then it relaxes for 5 minutes, allowing the user to check for social media updates and browse. This divided 30-minute chunk keeps repeating itself as long as the user is on Chrome. It’s a great study tool.