Wine, food, art and Chrome extensions go a long way in enhancing life in today's world.

Chrome extensions are small software programs that can customise and boost the functionality of your browser. Once you install them, a tiny icon will appear on your browser bar. Extensions bundle all their files into a single file that you download and install. Unlike other web apps, extensions don't need to depend on content from the web.

To start, head to the extension section of the Chrome Webstore at chrome.google.com/webstore and browse through the entire galaxy of extensions or search for a particular extension. When you find something you like, you can try it out by simply clicking install. There is no need to restart your computer or browser.

You could try these out for a start. With the compulsion to text your friends every day, your English grammar and spelling have surely gone for a toss. I suggest you use Grammarly for Chrome. Grammarly has been rated the number one grammar-checking tool. Adding this free tool to Chrome means that your spelling and grammar will be vetted everywhere you write on the web. Grammarly can detect correctly spelt words in the wrong context or wrong homophones. It fixes subject-verb agreement, wrong article use and other grammatical errors. It points out punctuation mistakes and even plagiarism. Isn't it the dream app?

Grammarly can be used with Microsoft Word and Microsoft Outlook too. You can access the Grammarly app directly from your Windows desktop with one click. These additional tools are made available to you once you download the extension.

Whenever I browse and come across interesting websites, I feel like sharing them with my friends. But I also don't want to leave whatever I am doing to go to another site or use my email. Now, I use Shareaholic, the extension tool to share on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Gmail, or Wordpress or any other. All I do is click the Shareaholic icon, select a service and add a note or message. It is quick and clean.

Marmoset is a Chrome extension that lets you create fantastic code snapshots. It runs offline and uses JavaScript for rendering interactive 3D and 2D computer graphics within any compatible web browser. It is very fast and meant for coders. You can change the colour scheme and style of any snapshot. Be warned that it may divert your attention from your work because you can literally make your lines of code do a somersault.

Sometimes when you open multiple tabs, the videos start playing automatically. There are too many windows open to figure out where the sound is coming from. Smart Tab Mute only allows one tab to play sound at any given time. Let's say you are listening to a song on Saavn when a friend sends you a YouTube link. As you start playing the video, the Saavn tab will automatically mute until you pause YouTube or close the tab entirely.

If you use the Internet regularly you probably have a whole bunch of tabs open all at once. Your computer may freeze up and refuse to budge because of the CPU load. The Chrome extension, OneTab can change this. You can save up to 95 per cent of your computer's memory and speed it up in the process. You eliminate tab clutter by just tapping the icon that will convert all your tabs into a list of links on a single tab.

You can also keep a tab on fake news in the social media through two new Chrome extensions. To check spreading of fake news in social media - like it did after the recent demonetisation - these two extensions warn users that they're visiting sites known to peddle fake news.

B.S. Detector flags articles from questionable sources while you browse Facebook while Fake News Alert puts up a banner alerting users when they're visiting a site has been found to be the source of hoax stories.

Some Chrome extensions can be pure fun. With the Giphy Tab, there is never a dull moment with ridiculous GIFs popping up whenever you open a new tab in Chrome. Only be careful whom you open your tab in front of!

While you were browsing, if someone just leans over your shoulder, don't panic. The PanicButton will hide all your tabs with a click and restore them when you want. Just press F4 as soon as you see your boss walking towards you the next time.

 

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