First, you can create a desktop shortcut for the page you're on by simply highlighting the text in the omnibox, and then dragging that text onto your desktop.
If this is too fussy for you, you can drag the Star button next to the omnibox to the desktop to do the same thing (Note: this only applies to Google Chrome for Windows).
Second, if you've gotten a web address in an email or other document, and it isn't actually clickable, you can easily open it in the omnibox. Just select the link (even if it's broken across multiple lines!), copy it to your clipboard, and then right click (or on the Mac, ctrl-click) on the omnibox and select "Paste and go".
This will navigate to the link immediately. It works for things other than links too -- if you have some text on your clipboard, you can "Paste and search" to do the same thing as dragging the text to the omnibox.
Since we launched extensions for Google Chrome on the beta channel for Windows and Linux a few weeks ago, we've seen over 1,000 extensions submitted to the gallery. Several of them have already become browser staples for me. But since I've been spending most all of my free time online doing holiday shopping this December, I found myself relying on a few extensions to find the perfect gifts and great deals.
If you're doing some last-minute holiday shopping in the coming days, one extension to try out is InvisibleHand. This extension discreetly notifies you if a product you are looking at on a particular online store is available for less from another retailer.
Also, the Google Checkout team recently released Promotion Notifier, an extension that alerts you if the online store you're browsing is offering special deals for purchases made through Google Checkout. If so, a notification banner pops up with details such as the discount amount and the minimum purchase required.
Another extension you might find useful is the one created by Woot.com. With just one click to the extension's icon, you can find some really memorable items that are on sale on a particular day at Woot.com (like night vision goggles!).
If you're on the beta channel for Windows or Linux versions of Google Chrome, visit the gallery to browse many more extensions (including extensions from eBay and Kaboodle) that might make last-minute online shopping faster, easier, and maybe a little less stressful. Happy Holidays!
We're always happy to hear that you're enjoying Google Chrome's speed, and we've often been asked what makes Google Chrome so fast -- from its snappy start-up time, and fast page-loading, to the ability to run complex web applications quickly.
For those of you who'd like to dive into the full technical intricacies on what makes Google Chrome a fast and responsive browser, we've put together video interviews to walk through some of the engineering involved. In particular, we take a look at the inner workings of DNS pre-resolution, the V8 JavaScript engine, and DOM bindings. In a future post, we'll also cover other important aspects of Google Chrome's speed, such as WebKit and UI responsiveness.
You can watch these interviews below - or for more details, check out the Chromium blog and the Google Chrome YouTube channel.
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