If you're into getting the latest, greatest, most-untested updates to Google's Chrome Browser, the developer channel is the place for you. New updates to Chrome on all platforms just hit the dev channel, with a bug fix that should solve some problems with HTML5 audio and video. The big news is just for Mac users, though: Chrome Extension support is here!

That means OS X users now can share in the epic winningness of Download Squad's 10 must-have Chrome extensions, compiled by our own Sebastian, and a collection of 15+ extensions put together by Lee. Or, if you prefer to find extensions on your own, head over to Google's Chrome Extensions Gallery and start browsing. 

Windows/Mac/Linux: If you're living life on the bleeding edge of Google's Chrome browser, good news: Google just pushed out an update to the dev channel, improving HTML5 audio and video for all platforms, bringing extension and bookmark sync to Macs, and more.

The Windows build didn't see many changes, but Mac users should be particularly happy with the update. Having been excluded from extension support when the Chrome extension gallery first opened, Mac users can now officially join in the fun. (See these 18 extensions worth downloading for Chrome to get started with Chrome extensions.) Mac users also gain support for much-needed bookmark sync and support for favicon-only pinned tabs.

It's the second of January 2010 and the figures are in from December. In just 16 months, Chrome has caught up and passed Apple's Safari browser. Google Chrome now has 4.63% of the global market share, while Safari has only4.46%!

Chrome only: Google's Similar Pages for Chrome extension adds a button to the toolbar that uses Google's search algorithms to find other web sites similar to the one you are currently browsing.

Once you've installed the extension, you can simply click the new button in the toolbar to see a list of related pages, complete with thumbnail previews, descriptions, and a link. The related sites are usually fairly accurate, but where it seems to work best is when browsing more permanent articles on a specific subject—for example, using the similar pages button on the Wikipedia article on Shadow Copy brought back a list of useful related pages, but if you are on the home page of a site, the results will be more general.

If you need to do a lot of research and can't always think of the right query to use on Google, this extension could come in handy. Google Similar Pages is a free download, works wherever Chrome extensions do.

Chrome only: Notifier extension One Number checks for unread messages in Gmail, Wave, Voice, and Google Reader and displays the unread count right on the Google Chrome toolbar.

Once you've installed the extension, you'll immediately see the button added to the toolbar, where you can see the previews for each service, and access the settings page. You can enable or disable services that you don't use, and customize the colors or how often the extension checks for new unread messages. It's a simple extension, but if you've been looking for an unread message notifier, One Number might be worth a try. One Number is a free download, works wherever Chrome does.

Google Chrome extension A Bit Better RTM is one of our favorite ways to tweak the popular Remember the Milk online to-do list web app, and now it's been ported as a native Google Chrome extension.

We've mentioned the A Bit Better RTM Greasemonkey script twice before as one of our favorite user scripts for Greasemonkey in Firefox, and the the native Chrome version works much the same way—the most noticeable feature moves the tabs over to the left, saving precious vertical space for widescreen laptop users, and making them more readable in general.

In addition, you can rearrange the lists, hide the lists you don't use, use keyboard shortcuts to switch between them, and even move an item to a folder from the keyboard. It's an extremely helpful extension, and this author, at least, is thrilled to finally have it on Chrome. A Bit Better RTM is a free download, works wherever Chrome does. Thanks, CookingCat!

While Google's stance on a lot of things is "just search it," that's not always the most comfortable way to do things. For example, when I poke around my browser's history page it's nice to have things sorted and grouped rather than deposited in a large pile.

History2 provides a more flexible way to peruse Chrome's archives. Install the extension and click its icon in your toolbar, and the History2 page above is displayed. It doesn't replace Chrome's built-in page -- you can still access that via ctrl + H or under the wrench menu.

Chrome extension WOT adds the Web of Trust community web site rating service to the Google Chrome browser, so you can check the trustworthiness of a web site without leaving the page.

Once you've installed the extension—by simply clicking on the link and accepting the install—you will see a new icon in the Chrome status bar that shows the community rating for the site you are browsing. Clicking the icon will display a dialog on the page with full details about the trustworthiness of the site, and a link to the rating page for more information. You can configure which of the rankings to use in the settings, but unfortunately you can't move it from the status bar to anywhere else.

Google CEO Eric Schmidt said in an interview a couple of days ago that Chrome for Mac is very important to Google, and that a final version of Chrome should be available for OS X "within months". It's pretty vague, but seems entirely reasonable, considering that the Chrome dev channel version for Macs is actually very usable. Have you been using Chrome on your Mac—or are you waiting for a stable release? If you have been using Chrome's dev channel releases for OS X, let's hear how happy you've been with it in the comments. [AllThingsD via Gizmodo]

We've learned to be skeptical of Chrome OS rumors, but PC World picks up on a manufacturing news tip about at least one netbook manufacturer possibly installing "preview builds" of Google's Chrome Operating System and shipping those devices in late October. While we'd guess that the market for a thoroughly untested Chrome OS on non-name-brand netbooks would be fairly thin, if the report is accurate, we'd at least get to see the ideas behind Google's quick-loading system sooner rather than later. That said, drink this in with a huge grain of salt.

[PC World]

A number of Download Squad readers have been echoing the same sentiment in recent posts about Google's browser: as soon as LastPass is available, we're leaving Firefox for good.

Well, gang, grab your parachutes, it's time to bail! The LastPass crew has released an alpha version of their Google Chrome extension, and it rocks. Check out the screens after the break!

Windows/Mac/Linux: The official, actually-made-by-Google Chrome OS won't hit netbooks until late 2010, but you can try out a custom-built Linux distribution that's somewhat stripped down and puts Google's browser at the center of everything.

"Chrome OS" was built using SUSE Studio, a distribution and virtual appliance builder spawned from the OpenSUSE Linux distribution. It loads up with a Chrome icon, uses built-in webapp links to Google Calendar, Gmail, and other Google services as apps, and carries a copy of OpenOffice, just in case you need some straight-up desktop editing done. Most importantly, it holds the latest development copy of Google Chrome inside, along with a pre-built Flash plug-in.

Windows only: Chrome turned one year old just a couple weeks back, and as a belated celebration, the folks at Google have just pushed out a brand new stable release in the form of Google Chrome 3.

Chrome 2 (stable) hit servers back in May, and while the folks at Google are currently on Chrome 4 in the dev channel, those of you who haven't been eager to play on the bleeding edge of Chrome releases have a lot of nice improvements in store for them in Chrome 3, including:

Google Chrome's Incognito mode is great for doing a little under-the-radar browsing on your computer, but if you want to use Chrome to search in private from the get-go, these Windows and OS X-friendly methods can help.

Last October we showed you how to start Chrome in Incognito mode with a JavaScript file, but since then Google's added a startup flag (-incognito) you can add to your Chrome shortcut in Windows to automatically start in Incognito mode. (Right-click your Chrome shortcut, then add -incognito after the target like you see in the screenshot.)

That's simple enough, and it's not a new trick by any means, but if you're running OS X, starting Chrome in Incognito mode from the get-go is a bit more difficult. Luckily weblog Cool Geex details how to do just that with a little help from AppleScript. Head to the link below for a guide (with video) for creating and compiling the Chrome-in-Incognito-mode script and you'll be good to go.

While you're polishing up your Chrome skills, take a look at our power user's guide to Google Chrome.

The latest developer builds of Google Chrome enable extensions by default, add support for skins, and even improve compatibility with Windows 7.

If you aren't using the developer releases of Chrome, you'll still need to download the Channel Chooser and switch to the development stream, but you won't have to mess around with command-line parameters anymore—extensions have been enabled by default. This means you'll be able to install themes for the browser, and while there are only two themes to choose from at the moment, the theme specifications have been published and there is likely to be an explosion of new skins released very soon.

The other noteworthy fix, although not mentioned in the linked article, is that Google Chrome's "Application" shortcuts will now show up as separate taskbar items in Windows 7, a very helpful change for those of us that use them extensively.