What’s On My Chromebook Shelf Right Now (April 2015)

THE MOST USED APPS ON MY CHROMEBOOK, AND

WHY THEY’RE THERE

This is my latest Chrome OS shelf line up that I’ll probably stick with for at least the near future. While my iPhone and Google Nexus 7 Tablet are mainly used for leisure, my Chromebook is used mostly for work, I spend I’ve most of my day, it’s what I use to update this blog and work on various other projects. So I thought I’d do a post in the style of the what’s on my Mac Dock and why, but for Chromebooks, so here’s what’s on my Chromebook Shelf and why. First off we’ll cover some of the stock Chrome apps, and there are a few. The first is Chrome as it’s permanently placed on the Shelf by default, Files as it’s easier than having to go through the App Drawer to find it, finally I've got the Wallpaper Picker as it’s convenient for quickly changing my Desktop Wallpaper. Now onto the rest of my Apps.

• Blogger. Since moving my blog over to Blogger from WordPress I've started using the Blogger Chrome web app to work on my blog.

• Chrome Remote Desktop. I've got Chrome Remote Desktop pinned to my Shelf for the odd times that I need to Remote Desktop into my Windows Laptop.

• Clock Calendar.  Clock Calendar adds a nice convenient Month view Calendar and Clock that can be used like a widget.

• Google Calendar. I Use Google Calendar on a daily basis, not always to add events. So it’s essential to have Calendar in easy reach.

• Google Cloud Print. With Google adding the ability to create your own web apps from websites to Chrome OS I've created a web app for the Google Cloud Print Control Panel.

• Google Drive. It’s essential for me to always have quick access to all of my work with more advanced features than using Files.

• Google Docs. I've now pinned Google Docs to my Shelf as I've now branched out into story/novel  writing as well as writing Blog Articles.


• Full Screen Weather. I use Full Screen Weather, because it’s always nice to keep an eye on the weather.

• Google Keep. I've started using  Google Keep as it's a handy little Note taking app that syncs with Google Keep on my Google Nexus 7.


• Google+ Photos. I use Google+ Photos as it’s a nice simple way to view all my photos that are backed up on Google+& even shared to Google+.


• Google Play Music. I use Play Music as a lot of my music is already stored on Play Music, and having it on the Shelf makes it easy to use when I want to listen to anything.


• Hangouts call. Hardly ever used, but it’s still there if I need it.

• Hangouts. Since Google spun the Hangouts Chrome extension off to it's own web app I've replaced Hangouts Call with Hangouts as I use Hangouts more than Hangouts call.

• iCloud. I've replaced WeVideo with iCloud since I never did my Home Office Tour video, an since I've started using my iCloud email address as well as my Hotmail,Outlook & GMail addresses I thought that I might as well add it to my Shelf line up and maybe I’ll get some use out of the other iCloud features.

• iCloud Beta. I've replaced the iCloud web app with a self created web app for the iCloud Beta website so I can take advantage of the new features of iCloud that are included in the beta.

• imore. I visit the imore website a lot, so I created a web app from the website for easy access.

• Inbox by Gmail. I've been using Inbox by Gmail for my review Article and continued to use it as the design makes it easy to focus on your Email without all the added UI features of Gmail.

• Notifier for Twitter. I've started using Notifier for Twitter as it adds pop-up Notifications via the Chrome OS Notification Centre. Even though Notifier for Twitter is a Chrome extension it has a pop down Twitter Client that can also be detached from Chrome and pinned to the Chrome OS Shelf as well as docked to the left or right edge of the Chrome Desktop. Currently I'm using Notifier for Twitter along side TweetDeck, but if I like the Notifier for Twitter Client over the TweetDeck Client I’ll probably switch to it full-time. I've stopped using Notifier for Titter as a Desktop Client, but I'll still use it as a Desktop Notification service for Twitter.


• Offline Dictionary. Offline Dictionary adds a nice hand searchable Dictionary that does what the name says and works while offline.


• OMG Chrome. As it’s nice to keep an eye on the latest Chrome & Chrome OS news.

• Outlook. As I've got an outlook.com & hotmail.co.uk email address I need quick access to them without going through the App Drawer.


• Spotify.  I like using Spotify & it’s nice to be able to use Spotify from the Shelf.


• Sunrise Calendar. I've started to use Sunrise Calendar on my iPhone and the Android Beta on my Google Nexus 7 for review purposes, so I thought that it makes sense to use the Chrome/Chrome OS version as well and it has some nice extra features that you don’t get in Google Calendar, so Google Calendar has taken a back seat for now.

• TweetDeck by Twitter. I've still got TweetDeck on my Shelf despite hardly ever using it any more as I prefer Notifier for Twitter to TweetDeck just for the simple fact that Notifier for Twitter displays Chrome OS Notifications even when the App is closed. I've gone back to TweetDeck by Twitter as it's far more simpler to use as a Desktop Client than Twitter Notifier.


• Weather Now. I've replaced Full Screen Weather with Weather Now as Weather Now is clean and simple and displays like a Chrome OS Notification so it doesn't take up the entire screen just to check the weather.

• WeVideo. I've added WeVideo to my shelf as I'm planning on doing a tour of my Office/Desk at some point during the next week and thought that it would be an ideal time to experiment with WeVideo, so it’s gained a place on my shelf for at least the next few weeks.

• WordPress.com. Since my blog is hosted on WordPress.com it makes sense to keep the WordPress.com app on the Shelf.

• Windows Central. Since going back to using a Windows Phone it makes sense to have the Windows Central website pinned to my shelf.


• YouTube. I watch YouTube videos nearly every day, so keeping the YouTube app on the Shelf makes sense.


• Google Play Music Mini Player. Having the Google Play Music Mini Player on the Shelf means that I can get access to some of the Google Play Music features without having to go into the Google Play Music app, would be nice to be able to use the Google Play Music Mini Player while the Google Play Music app is closed though.

That’s everything on my Chromebook Shelf. I've got loads of other apps on my Chromebook, but the list I've provided in this post are the select few that I use enough to allow to grace a spot on my Shelf. That’s enough about my Chromebook, what about you? Be sure to share your Chrome Shelf set-ups in the Comments.

Roland