Scanning the internet for more information now made easier.
Google is gearing up to bring “Search Companion” for Chrome which aims to speed up the collection of information on the web, TechRadar writes on its latest report.
The feature will support Google Lens that will allow users to explore other possible searches with image inputs. This way, more context will be included when you use the internet.
Google Chrome Search Companion
(Photo : Solen Feyissa from Unsplash)
Google is currently working on Search Companion feature on its Chrome browser to add more context on the web.
According to a report by 9to5Google, Google might have already found a way to merge Lens and Chrome in one update.
The search engine giant brings “Search Companion” which aims to yield more searches that the user wants to see when he/she accesses the web.
Some reports say that the new feature can be accessed in Chrome’s sidebar. Currently, it’s the most popular browser on the planet with 66% desktop browsing sessions, Statcounter reveals.
If you look closely at what Search Companion can do, it’s an effective tool to assess the type of data on a website and even give the users an idea about its title and other related metadata.
Scanning for pictures is now made easier with Google Lens. This alone is enough for the user to absorb more context about a particular word on the web.
Is Search Companion the Same with Multisearch?
Somehow, the Search Companion might sound similar to “Multisearch” which became available in Google Lens just in 2022. This feature hastens your searching by using both the image and text to compress the potential results on the search bar.
With the arrival of the new Google Chrome feature, browsing on the internet is faster and more efficient than before. For instance, if you’re searching for a specific gadget online, you can lend a hand from Chrome to help you search thousands of results from several tech websites.
At the same time, it’s somehow tied up to AI which is currently the most trending word of 2023. With ChatGPT’s popularity, it’s safe to say that more browsers are jumping to the hype to keep up with what the people need.
Although Google has not yet announced some information about Search Companion, it’s certain that the company is dedicated to improving its browser to cater to the needs of many people who depend on it.
More Improvements For Google Search on Desktop
Meanwhile, Search Engine Journal reported that Google’s desktop search result now showcased new display features so that users can easily identify the web pages from the ads and other sources.
With that being said, differentiating ads from organic search results is now clearer. It’s even better with the added structured data that will increase the accuracy of web page’s name on the site.
Introducing these features will most likely improve the user experience of Chrome users especially for those who tend to get confused with online advertisements on the search results.
My former colleague Corin Faife wrote an excellent explainer on the controversy earlier this year. But the TL;DR is that MV3 swaps out a powerful API used by ad-blocking extensions called Web Request for another called Declarative Net Request. The latter gives less power to ad-blocking extensions in an attempt to minimize security risks, but critics argue it restricts actions legitimate extensions might take to protect user privacy. Corin’s piece is well worth reading for a more thorough explanation.
As of late September, Google had planned to experiment with turning off MV2 in Chrome’s Canary, Dev, and Beta channels starting in January 2023, broaden the experiments to include the browser’s stable releases in June 2023, and stop running MV2 extensions entirely in January 2024. But as of December 9th, it’s postponing the January experiments and placing future milestones “under review.”
In his post, Vincent says the timeline has been pushed back to address feedback from developers. “We’ve heard your feedback on common challenges posed by the migration, specifically the service worker’s inability to use DOM capabilities and the current hard limit on extension service worker lifetimes,” he writes. “We’re mitigating the former with the Offscreen Documents API (added in Chrome 109) and are actively pursuing a solution to the latter.”
While rival privacy-focused extension Ghostery has opposed the MV3 changes, it’s worth noting they have the support of Adblock Plus. But ad-blocking is a sensitive topic when it comes to Google, given advertising still provides so much of the company’s income. And since the changes are being made to the Chromium project and not just Chrome specifically, they’re likely to impact other browsers like Edge, Brave, and Opera.
Despite the delays, it sounds like Google doesn’t have any plans to ditch its migration to MV3 entirely. Vincent says that Google will announce an “updated phase-out plan and schedule” in March next year.
Feature Image Credit: Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Google Chrome is the most popular web browser in the world, but did you know it holds some secrets, too? You might be using Chrome to access your social media, work-related programs, and more, but there’s a lot of other interesting built-in features in the web browser that can prove to be very useful throughout your busy day.
From sending webpages to your phone to controlling media more easily to so much more, we’ve uncovered several things that you didn’t know you could do in Google Chrome.
Group and manage your tabs with built-in controls
Arif Bacchus/Digital Trends
Are you a person who has a lot of tabs open at once? You might be doing some shopping or working on an important project for school or work. Well, Chrome has your back with several built-in features. These include Tab Group, as well as some manual tab controls that are built into the right-click menu on the New Tab bar.
We’ll start with Tab Groups, which lets you couple together tabs under a specific colour and name, rather than keep them separate across the top of your browser window. This is useful for separating out the things you might be shopping for online, for example, or a specific part of a research project, or even anything you might be currently actively browsing for or on.
To use Tab Groups, you need to have a set of tabs open. Then, right-click on the tab that you want to group and choose Add tab to new group. You can then name the tab group and assign it a colour. Any subsequent tabs can be added to the group by also right-clicking and then choosing Add tab to group. You can close and remove groups at any time by just right-clicking the group.
You also can manage your tabs manually from the right-click menu on that tab. If you right-click a tab, you’ll see access to controls for moving the tab to a new window, closing all tabs to the left or right of it, or even opening a new tab next to it.
Send webpages to your other devices
Arif Bacchus/Digital Trends
Want to send a webpage you’re currently looking at on your PC to another device you own? Chrome makes it easy to do this. If you’re using the Chrome app on iOS, Android, and your other devices, and are signed in to the same Google account, you can send pages across devices with just two clicks.
All you need to do is simply right-click on the tab at the top of the tab bar in Google Chrome. From there, choose Send to your Devices. You’ll then see a list of your devices with Chrome installed, and you can quickly send the link from there. Just make sure that Chrome is active on the device you want to open the link on and choose the Open link on the Tab Received pop-up you see within Chrome.
Reopen that window or tab you accidentally closed
Arif Bacchus/Digital Trends
Were you working on something important and accidentally closed the tab or the window? No worries, accidents happen and Chrome has your back. All you need to do to get your tab back is to right-click on the new tab button and select Reopen closed tab. This also works for Reopen closed window, too. This is a nice shortcut that keeps you from having to go through the history menu.
Scan a QR code so you can open a website on your phone
Arif Bacchus/Digital Trends
We mentioned sending open Chrome tabs to your other devices earlier, but this requires signing in with a Google Account. If you’re not using Chrome with a Google account, you can still open websites on your phone, without the use of Chrome or even a Google account.
This is possible thanks to the use of a QR code. Just note that only certain websites support it. You’ll know when it is supported when you see a little QR code in the address bar when you click a URL (it will show up next to the favourites icon.) Just click on the QR code icon to summon a special QR code for sharing.
After that, you can swipe down on the home screen on your iPhone and search for Scan Code. Click Code Scanner to open up a barcode reader. You can then scan the code you see in Chrome on your desktop. Your iPhone will show you a cool animation and will automatically open up the Chrome webpage from your desktop in the default web browser on your iPhone — it doesn’t have to be Chrome!
Use the integrated media controls
Arif Bacchus/Digital Trends
Listening to some tunes on YouTube? Or how about watching a YouTube video? If you want to play or pause the song or video, you don’t actually need to head into the tab or the video player itself. Chrome has built-in media controls.
To control media that’s currently playing from an active tab, or another tab, you’ll just want to look for the little music icon next to your profile icon in the top bar in Google Chrome. If you click this, you’ll see a media player, with pause, fast forward, and rewind buttons. On some websites like YouTube, you even can pop out the video from here, too. This will ensure the video follows you around.
Change the default search engine
Arif Bacchus/Digital Trends
If you find yourself looking through another search engine other than Google Chrome, maybe DuckDuckGo, you can actually save yourself some time by adding that website as a search engine inside Chrome. Doing so will allow you to use the Chrome address bar to search the site, rather than having to go through the website itself.
You can add a website as a search engine manually by clicking the three downward-facing dots next to your profile icon, and then choosing Settings. From there, pick Search Engine from the sidebar. Then, click the Manage Search Engines > Add. In this case, we’ve added Wikipedia manually, but you also can search for it using the Search feature. Now, any time you typeWikipedia into the address bar, you’ll see a prompt to press Tab to search through it!
Cast your screen
If you want to connect your laptop or PC to a second screen to showcase something, you might think you need wires to do so. However, if you purchase (or already own) a Google Chromecast or other Chromecast-enabled stick and then hook it up to your TV or monitor (they are usually around $20), you can wirelessly beam whatever is on your Chrome tab or desktop right to your display.
To cast in Chrome, you just need to click the three downwards-facing dots next to your profile icon and then choose Cast. Be sure that your Chromecast-enabled device shows up in the list. From there, you can then select Sources, and pick a source from the list.
Microsoft’s new Edge browser is here in preview, and it’s already garnered a lot of interest. But will it really be able to beat Chrome?
Microsoft released the first public preview builds of its new Chromium-powered version of Edge. And it was positively received. Microsoft Edge hasn’t really received this kind of positive press coverage before, ever, with people online calling it faster than Chrome, and incredibly stable for “pre-release” software. The Chromium engine brings with it more than just better web performance; it includes the stability and security of a platform that’s been in the works with the open-source community for more than a decade.
When the new Edge browser leaked a couple of weeks ago, a few people tried it out, but otherwise, no one outside of the Microsoft sphere really cared. I even wrote a piece suggesting that this version of Edge might finally compete with Chrome. Today, now that Microsoft has shipped preview builds publicly, a lot more people are interested, and these initial previews are nothing to scoff at. I’ve seen plenty of tweets online from people saying that they’ve switched from Chrome or even outright uninstalled it to use the pre-release version of Edge as their primary browser.
Of course, it’s still early days, so it’s not a definitive “win” for Edge just yet. Chrome is the dominant browser, and it likely will be for years. However, the new Edge is already proving itself to be a real contender, because it really is just like Chrome, but if Microsoft had made it instead of Google. Brand loyalty exists, but I don’t think brand loyalty is what got Chrome popular. I think it got popular because people were told it’s the best, and not because they prefer Google over Microsoft.
Chrome bundled with Windows 10
For a lot of people, the fewer programs they must download every time they set up a PC for the first time, the better. If Windows 10 came with Chrome preinstalled, the world would cry out in cheer. Well, that’s precisely what’s happening now that Edge is built on Chromium. Microsoft is essentially bundling a Chrome browser with Windows 10, except without all the Google stuff. Of course, if you’re tied into the Google ecosystem, it makes sense to continue using Chrome, but if not, there’s little reason not to use Edge instead.
And it’s not like the new Edge is just “Chrome in disguise,” either, because Microsoft is making some real changes to the browser to differentiate the user experience. Web performance and browser stability should be the same across Edge and Chrome, but Microsoft is working to differentiate Edge with surface-level features and unique selling points. Microsoft has already named several Chromium-related things that it’s thrown out for Edge, because it either doesn’t need them or plans to rebuild them with a Microsoft twist.
The other advantage is that since Microsoft owns Windows 10, arguably the most popular desktop platform around, Microsoft can tie the new Edge into the OS in many more ways. That could be done in big ways, like bundling it as the default browser, and in smaller ways that users might not necessarily even realize, like having the browser only communicate with Microsoft services and not Google.
I am genuinely curious what people think about the outlook of the modern “browser wars.” Can Microsoft really take back the crown from Google? I think it can, at least when it comes to desktop browser market share. This won’t happen overnight, of course, but if this positive press continues, word will spread that Edge is at least worth a try. And that could be the foot in the door that Microsoft really needs.
But what do you think? Vote in our poll, check out the results, and then drop us a comment with specifics.
Chrome is the biggest web browser. Use these extensions to get it to work for you
Chrome’s web store is full of little digital gadgets to help make your web browsing simpler, more productive, and more enjoyable. Here are our top eight extensions that tick those boxes and are all downloadable for free in a matter of moments.
LastPass
LastPass means you only have to remember one password to keep all your other login details together in one place. It will also help keep your other accounts secure by generating super secure passwords that it will fill in automatically as needed. There’s space for notes for offline information that you want to be well protected too. Install it here.
Colorzilla
When you simply have to know the precise hue of something online, Colorzilla’s eyedropper can check any pixel and tell you. You can then paste that colour’s data into another programme or adjust the values and save it within the extension for future reference. It’s an invaluable extension for digital design work. Get the extension here.
TinEye
When finding the source of a picture’s proving difficult, try TinEye’s reverse image search. It focuses on the closest possible matches instead of just similarity, making it useful for finding originals, higher resolution versions, or checking for online fakes. The extension itself makes searches available in only a couple of clicks. Install TinEye’s Chrome extension from here.
Unpaywall
For those who want to read academic papers without stumping up for subscription fees. As you look for research, this extension searches for free (and completely legal) versions of the same articles, and pops into view if it finds a match. A potential saver of both time and money. Get it here.
Save to Pocket/Instapaper
Either of these extensions will let you to save web pages and articles for reading on your synced devices later, even without an internet connection. Both have premium versions too, if you want to support the developers and get extra features in return. Get Pocket and Instapaper’s extension here.
The Great Suspender
It’s all too easy to open absurd numbers of tabs in your browser. The Great Suspender helps to manage your computer’s performance by stopping abandoned tabs until you click back on them. There is a lot of room for configuration too, the extension able to keep certain sites open indefinitely, or unload others after a shorter period of time. Install it here.
Backstop
It’s happened to all of us. One bad key press and you’re on the previous webpage and all the info you were just typing into that form has disappeared. This simple extension stops your backspace key from taking you to the previous page, saving you from wasted time and frustration. Get it here.
Websites that run annoying ads such as pop-ups may find all ads blocked by Google’s Chrome browser starting next year.
The digital-ad giant’s announcement comes as hundreds of millions of internet users have already installed ad blockers on their desktop computers and phones to combat ads that track them and make browsing sites difficult.
These blockers threaten websites that rely on digital ads for revenue. Google’s version will allow ads as long as websites follow industry-created guidelines and minimize certain types of ads that consumers really hate. That includes pop-up ads, huge ads that don’t go away when visitors scroll down a page and video ads that start playing automatically with the sound on.
Google says the feature will be turned on by default, and users can turn it off. It’ll work on both the desktop and mobile versions of Chrome.
Google says that even ads it sells will be blocked on websites that don’t get rid of annoying types of ads.
But there might not be vast changes online triggered by the popular browser’s efforts. It’s a “small number of websites that are disproportionately responsible for annoying user experiences,” Google spokeswoman Suzanne Blackburn said.
“I’m sure there are some publishers who will get hurt,” said Brian Wieser, an ad analyst with Pivotal Research Group. But in the long term, he says, cracking down on irritating ads should make the internet experience better, encouraging people to visit sites and click on links. That, in turn, benefits Google.
The company is also starting a program that could help publishers deal with users who have downloaded popular ad blockers. Some individual websites have come up with their own countermeasures. Forbes.com, for example, won’t let you read stories without disabling your ad blocker or logging in with Facebook or Google accounts, so the site can track you.
Google would work with websites to set up messages telling users to disable their blockers for the site or pay for a version of it with no ads. It’ll take a 10 percent cut of those payments.
To protect its ad business, Google has tried to improve user experiences in other ways. It launched a way for websites to load faster on phones. And it used its sway as the dominant search engine to push companies to make their sites mobile-friendly. Such sites show up higher in mobile searches.
Google also has tried to address advertisers’ concerns about their ads running next to offensive content by banning its ads from some objectionable videos on YouTube, like those that promote discrimination or advocate illegal drug use. Google also won’t place its ads on web pages with objectionable content — porn, for example, and or sites that promote suicide or violence.
Facebook, too, is trying to make links from inside its universe less spammy for users. It says it’s trying to cut down on posts and ads in the news feed that lead to junky pages with “little substantive content” and “disruptive, shocking or malicious ads.”
Image: Google’s ad blocker will allow ads as long as websites follow industry-created guidelinesLeon Neal/AFP/Getty Images
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