Sogou cloud Chinese pinyin is a Google Chrome extension that allows you to enter Chinese characters inside text boxes using the pinyin method (as opposed to writing each ’stroke’ of a character). The extension itself works to synchronize the visibility of the Sogou cloud pinyin input bar across all tabs of the browser.

You can see an example of it in action here:

As it is in its first iteration, it is quite basic, however it seems to have a wide range of vocabulary stored already, and accessibility for China is an extremely important step towards Google’s world domination. It will also be really helpful for various other sites, such as PartyPoker (partypoker.com 中文), as it should bring in a whole range of new clients. This is an interesting plugin as it may pave the way for input methods to be removed from the operating system, and as Google plan to release its Chrome OS late next year, they will need to have a number of options available for non-English writers and speakers to access their languages.

Google itself have a standalone product for inputting Chinese via pinyin, however that is tethered to the Windows operating system. This sort of option could be an excellent way for them to move away from the Microsoft dominated product.

The plugin itself should be properly tried and tested, but for now it is exceptionally promising!

Sogou Cloud Chinese Pinyin

Homepage: https://code.google.com/p/sogou-pinyin-chrome-extension

Download: http://sogou-pinyin-chrome-extension.googlecode.com/files/sogou-pinyin-extension-0.0.1.crx [Mirror]

gPDF is a Google Chrome extension that allows you to read PDF files in your browser without a plugin. It scans pages for the links and then redirects them to Google Docs in built PDF viewer.

After installation there is very little to configure with this smart little plugin – you simply browse to a page with a PDF link and you can see when you mouse-over a link that it is now set to open in Google Docs.

It is difficult to find fault with this extension. As it doesn’t actually follow the links it finds on the pages, on slightly annoying factor is that sometimes the PDF link doesn’t work – this is due to some download managers taking the URL of a file that they want to monitor and adding it to the URL, like this:

http://www.website.com/downloadmanager.php?document.pdf

To the gPDF extension, this looks like a PDF file, but actually it is not, and so it will not open in Google Docs.

Apart from this small thing, however, the software is sound and seamless. It’s clear that developers are quickly making plugins and addons for Chrome to bring it up to some ‘industry standards’.

You can download the file directly below, or visit the developer’s website to find out some more information about the extension.

gPDF Chrome extension

Direct download – http://blog.arpitnext.com/get-gpdf/gPDF.crx

Homepage – http://blog.arpitnext.com/gpdf

Smooth Scroll is a must for all iTouch and iPhone fans – it attempts to replicate the ’smooth’ movement of a webpage when scrolling down it (similar to the way yo ucan interact with these devices when browsing the internet).

It is difficult to describe the function of the Smooth Scroll Chrome extension without seeing it in action, and it’s also hard to say what its real utility is (other than making your browser a little bit more ’smooth’!). It has a lot of different options available to experiment with, including Frames per Second, pulse algorithm settings and experimental keyboard support – so have some fun!

After installation, when you smooth scroll (for example on a tablet) you can really notice the difference in terms of a less jerky performance, but otherwise it’s slightly difficult to recognize. One small issue which has not been added is the ’scroll wheel’ on the mouse is not affected by the smooth scrolling ability, so you’ll still find yourself jerking around if you use the mouse.

It is, whatever its faults, another good experimental plugin and it is another project which is showing everyone the future of extensions is bright! Check out the developer’s website today and download the .crx file!

Smooth Scroll Chrome extension

Download – http://chromium.exxe.ath.cx/smoothscroll

Developer’s page – http://chromium.exxe.ath.cx/smoothscroll

If you’ve found any other good scrolling plugins or addons for Chrome, let us know in the comments and we’ll get them reviewed quickly!