One common complaint I've heard from people about Google Chrome is the lack of more/better options for the new tab page. Now that the Extension Gallery is open, of course, there should be plenty of mods available to solve the problem.

I've started using Speed Dial, which provides a more Opera-esque screen. You'll no longer be limited to two puny rows of four thumbnails -- Speed Dial supports combinations all the way up to 6 x 6. You can also select one of seven background colors and show or hide the Google search box via the options screen.

Want a little more visual sizzle? Drop in the URL of a favorite image and use it for your background. Local images aren't currently supported, but they're coming -- and you'll have the option as soon as the extension auto-updates.

To add pages, simple click the Speed Dial icon on your toolbar. The extension sets itself to be your new tab page by default, but you can also pull up your page from its icon.

Speed Dial can be found on this page at the Google Chrome Extensions Gallery.