Over the last few months, Chrome has been adding value to my life, enabling me to complete a variety of tasks using built-in tools which are discoverable and easy to use. I thought I would share this as others may also find this useful!

First, the Google ‘Translation bar’ (which is part of the Google Toolbar) has saved me hours if not days of work! When visiting a site which is displayed in a language other than my Toolbar language, it displays a prompt to translate text into my default language (in my case, English). This is powerful and can be of use to practically anyone – student, professional, or the curious casual reader who wants to know what’s happening in other parts of the world which lacks coverage in English.

Second, I have found the Chrome Find bar to be reliable and much more user-friendly than similar features exposed in other browsers (i.e. the Firefox Find bar, which almost never works and is case sensitive too!).

Third, Chrome comes with a rich set of built-in Developer tools, including (but by no means limited to) the ability to obtain the data sizes a web-based request and response. The Developer tools window can be accessed either from the ‘Tools’ -> ‘Developer Tools’ menu (from the menu bar displayed at the top of the browser) or by clicking on any web page and choosing ‘Inspect Element’.

Again, all of the above translate into making my life simpler, easier, and getting things done quicker. It is obvious that Google Chrome’s developer tools and extensions are designed to address practical, common use cases with a simplistic and intuitive UI and in a manner that is reliable. Very nice, Google Chrome team!