When Microsoft released Windows 10 back in July, it also introduced Microsoft Edge, a new lightweight web browser that performs miles better than the old Internet Explorer, but still feels barebones after all these months as we still can’t customize it with any extensions.
But as we reported yesterday, Microsoft is aware of the fact that extensions are the most requested feature for Edge, and the company has plans to introduce them first to Windows Insiders via the Windows Store, along with expected performance improvements and new accessibility features.
While I personally like using Edge, it’s still not my default browser. Like probably many of you, I just truly need some extensions I have on both Firefox and Chrome, because some of them improve my browsing experience, and others are part of my daily work routine.
Firefox was the first browser to implement extensions, Google followed it with a dedicated Web Store and it has since become my favorite browser.
I wanted to share my personal list of the best extensions for Chrome, and maybe some of them will be familiar to you:
- Google Cast: You probably own it if you own a Chromecast, you’ll need it to beam your content to your TV (YouTube videos, Netflix, or even whole web pages).
- Videodownloadhelper: A handy tool which allows downloading videos from many websites.
- Google translate: A useful tool to quickly translate text on a web page, or the whole web page.
- Readability: If you read a lot of content on the web, this tool removes clutter on web pages and gives you a comfortable reading view.
- Grammarly: A spell checking tool that helps you squash your typos, very helpful when you’re writing a lot.
- Office Online: This official extension from Microsoft helps you to quickly open your documents stored in OneDrive in Office Online.
- Skype: Another extension from Microsoft, it allows you to share any webpage to your Skype contacts
- Adblock: Because I won’t deny it, some ads are really annoying. However, be aware that WinBeta depends on ad revenue!
I could have added many others, but I personally try not to bloat my browser with too many extensions, as they sometimes can be a resources hog. But I can’t wait to see all of these ported to Microsoft Edge, so I can kiss Google Chrome goodbye. Please tell us in the comments what are your favorite browser and extensions!
