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!

BlockFlash Plus is a Google Chrome extension which disables Flash and Silverlight animations and videos in your browser’s webpages until you say otherwise.

In terms of advertisement blocking, this is a little more ‘brute force’ than the Adblock+ Chrome extension we looked at previously, however it is just as effective. Whenever you open a webpage with a flash animation or silverlight video, they will automaticaly be neutered until you click on the ‘play’ button which will be inserted into the box.

Here is the BBC News website before:

And after activating the BlockFlash Plus code.

You can see that it is totally disabled, which leads for a much more enjoyable user experience when surfing the net.

As stated previously, this is a little more ‘brute force’ than the other advertising blocker, and so there are no configuration options or settings to play with. That said, if you’re looking for a basic way to pause Flash and Silverlight until you want to play them – this could be just the ticket for you.

BlockFlash Plus Chrome extension

Direct Download – http://userscripts.org/scripts/source/56912.user.js

Homepage – http://userscripts.org/scripts/show/56912

Do you know of any other Google Chrome extensions which are similar to this? Have you had any experiences with this addon that you want to share? Let us know your feedback in the comments!

ChromeMUSE is a fantastic URL shortening and lengthening plugin for Google’s Chrome browser. It has a variety of options, but is simple and doesn’t clutter up your browser like some plugins can.

The essense of URL shortening is based in need for space. Twitter was the first web service that totally embraced the idea that less could be more, and URL shorteners like bit.ly and is.gd sprung up to provide users with links which were tiny, and so could fit into their 140 character limit.

After installing ChromeMUSE you have a little link icon in your broswer. After this point, whenever you click on it it will create a short URL for the webpage that you are looking at at that moment.

There are a few settings that you can play around with, including changing the service which provides your short links. This is useful for those people who live places where some of these services are blocked (Bit.ly is blocked in China, for example).

You can also turn on URL lengthening, which means that when you mouse over any link which is shortened using on of the installed services (and all the major players are there) it will show you the long address in a tooltip. Very handy.

Overall, this is an excellent plugin for Chrome for those who use social networking to any degree. It’s clean, simple, intuitive and it – just works. Download from the developer’s site below:

ChromeMUSE Chrome extension

Direct Download – http://sites.google.com/site/nighthoundchrome/chromemuse/chromemuse-1.0.crx?attredirects=0 [File mirror]

Homepage – http://sites.google.com/site/nighthoundchrome/chromemuse