Extension Watch: Rubber Tab for Google Chrome and Chromium

Productivity Sauce

The new tab screen in Google Chrome and Chromium is neither exciting nor particularly useful. And the Rubber Tab extension transforms a new tab page into a hub of useful information. Once installed, the extension adds default bars to the new tab page, including current date and time, new email message count (it supports Gmail only), weather conditions, browser history, and news.

The improved interface also conveniently lists all installed Chrome apps, and the links in the lower-right corner give you quick access to bookmarks, Chrome (or Chromium pages), and Google Chrome Web Store. If the default bars are not enough you can add other items, such as Google News, Reddit Inbox, RSS feed, and others. You can also rearrange added bars as well as modify their settings.