Chrome Extension of the Week: Page Monitor

Posted 03/24/2010 at 10:01am | by David Murphy

2

Comments

Print

Simple. Easy. Efficient. Page Monitor is one of the most stress-free extensions you could possibly slap onto Google Chrome. However, don't let its simplicity fool you--the feature it builds into the browser sits somewhere between a Twitter and an RSS feed, yet it's one that is still entirely useful for anyone who checks a batch of favorite Web pages on a daily basis. That would be all of you.

Page Monitor drops a tiny little icon to the right of Chrome's address bar--as many of these extensions do. Surf on over to the Web sites you check on a pretty frequent basis and, once there, click on the icon and select the "Monitor this Page" option. You're done. Whenever Page Monitor notices an update to said page, it'll turn the icon green (with a number detailing just how many of your pages have been updated).

Click on the button again and select the "view changes" option under any of the Web sites that have been marked as updated. One of the extension's coolest features awaits you: It'll automatically show you the difference between the last-noticed version of the page and the update, akin to how Wikipedia shows you the changes between two revisions of the same Web page. Not only does this extension tell you that something has been updated, it does everything in its power to make it easier for you to notice said update. That's awesome.

You'll obviously want to jump into the extension's settings and change the update interval. It's not as if your favorite pages just tell your browser the second they've been updated. The extension's default checking time of 180 minutes is a wee high for my tastes. Drop that lower--and add a sound to alert you that something new is afoot--and you'll never miss an important Web page update ever again. Ever.

Maximum PC picks one new Chrome extension as its favorite of the week each... week. Have a nifty extension that you can't live without? Twitter David Murphy @acererak with your latest suggestions.