4 ms·

Another lovely Google Chrome ad - Extensions

41 points by yanw 17y ago

frou_dh 17y ago
I'll be grouchy and say I'm put off keeping a lot of the Chrome extensions I install because they want to plant their brash ugly icons (that apparently can't be toggled or collapsed) on the main toolbar. Part of the reason I like Chrome is the airy and minimal appearance.
- pavs 17y ago
  you can hide them. Before: http://i.imgur.com/MJdNw.png http://i.imgur.com/MJdNw.png After: http://i.imgur.com/5qMj4.png http://i.imgur.com/5qMj4.png Chrome Beta build but I have seen this on Chrome stable build too.
  - frou_dh 17y ago
    Ah - Thanks. In 5.0.342.9 on OSX it seems you can push them off the edge, but the >> drop-down isn't presented.
    - pavs 17y ago
      Just checked my mac. You are right, the drop down doesn't work on Mac. But I guess you are trying to hide them so it works out perfectly. :)
    - madh 17y ago
      It works in 5.0.375.9 dev on OSX
  - joeyo 17y ago
    Does anyone know of a way to reorder the icons?
    - andyking 17y ago
      On mine (5.0.342.9) you just drag them.
dc2k08 17y ago
pleasant to watch but I think it misses the mark by not showing footage of the actual extensions referred to doing what they do. It might go over the heads of their target audience.
elblanco 17y ago
They really only need to show one thing, the Google translate extension. I have it set to automatic now and I often don't even realize I'm looking at a page that's not originally in English. That's some serious Star Trek universal translator business going on right there.
- andyking 17y ago
  It's not perfect. Whenever I go on a page in Scottish Gaelic, it says "this page is in Irish - would you like to translate it?" That could cause some trouble. The languages are admittedly similar and there's some level of mutual comprehension, but they're not similar enough for Google's translator to work across both - it emits gibberish when you click "yes".
  - elblanco 17y ago
    I have to admit, I do not spend much time on Gaelic (Scottish or Irish) sites. I've noticed that it's support for East Asian languages is also pretty bad. But Romance languages, German and Arabic are pretty amazing.
  - garply 17y ago
    I was really excited about this and so I went to Youku.com (Chinese YouTube) to try it out and, unfortunately, it looks really terrible.
geuis 17y ago
Maybe it's only me, but I find it too abstract. If I was someone who didn't know what Chrome was, much less what extensions are, I might be scratching my head at this point.
Perceval 17y ago
Reminds me a bit of Ok Go's latest video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qybUFnY7Y8w http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qybUFnY7Y8w Seems like something Michel Gondry or Spike Jonze (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdRaf3-OEh4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdRaf3-OEh4) would do. I think it is abstract, but I like it a whole lot nonetheless. It's creative and cute and whimsical. Kudos!

41 points by yanw 17y ago

I'll be grouchy and say I'm put off keeping a lot of the Chrome extensions I install because they want to plant their brash ugly icons (that apparently can't be toggled or collapsed) on the main toolbar. Part of the reason I like Chrome is the airy and minimal appearance.

pavs 17y ago
you can hide them. Before: http://i.imgur.com/MJdNw.png http://i.imgur.com/MJdNw.png After: http://i.imgur.com/5qMj4.png http://i.imgur.com/5qMj4.png Chrome Beta build but I have seen this on Chrome stable build too.
- frou_dh 17y ago
  Ah - Thanks. In 5.0.342.9 on OSX it seems you can push them off the edge, but the >> drop-down isn't presented.
  - pavs 17y ago
    Just checked my mac. You are right, the drop down doesn't work on Mac. But I guess you are trying to hide them so it works out perfectly. :)
  - madh 17y ago
    It works in 5.0.375.9 dev on OSX
- joeyo 17y ago
  Does anyone know of a way to reorder the icons?
  - andyking 17y ago
    On mine (5.0.342.9) you just drag them.

dc2k08 17y ago

pleasant to watch but I think it misses the mark by not showing footage of the actual extensions referred to doing what they do. It might go over the heads of their target audience.

elblanco 17y ago

They really only need to show one thing, the Google translate extension. I have it set to automatic now and I often don't even realize I'm looking at a page that's not originally in English. That's some serious Star Trek universal translator business going on right there.

andyking 17y ago
It's not perfect. Whenever I go on a page in Scottish Gaelic, it says "this page is in Irish - would you like to translate it?" That could cause some trouble. The languages are admittedly similar and there's some level of mutual comprehension, but they're not similar enough for Google's translator to work across both - it emits gibberish when you click "yes".
- elblanco 17y ago
  I have to admit, I do not spend much time on Gaelic (Scottish or Irish) sites. I've noticed that it's support for East Asian languages is also pretty bad. But Romance languages, German and Arabic are pretty amazing.
- garply 17y ago
  I was really excited about this and so I went to Youku.com (Chinese YouTube) to try it out and, unfortunately, it looks really terrible.

geuis 17y ago

Maybe it's only me, but I find it too abstract. If I was someone who didn't know what Chrome was, much less what extensions are, I might be scratching my head at this point.

Perceval 17y ago

Reminds me a bit of Ok Go's latest video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qybUFnY7Y8w http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qybUFnY7Y8w Seems like something Michel Gondry or Spike Jonze (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdRaf3-OEh4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdRaf3-OEh4) would do. I think it is abstract, but I like it a whole lot nonetheless. It's creative and cute and whimsical. Kudos!