Chrome Extensions: Floating YouTube

A chrome extension has recently caught my attention. The floating YouTube extension on the chrome browser allows you to view YouTube videos over top of other windows. Someone like me, I watch videos all the time. Often I'll sit back and watch a plethora of videos as I casually play a game. Usually this is done at my home computer, where I have a set up with multiple monitors. Watching a video while playing a game is a breeze with multiple monitors. But when I don't have access to a set up with multiple monitors, It sometimes gets annoying. If I want to watch and play a game on a single monitor, the only option I have is to split the window for both the video and the game, offering a not as desirable experience for gaming.

On my tablet, I often watch videos or live streams on Twitch. The twitch app offers an interesting feature. You can hit a button to have the live stream overlay on your home screen. From there, you can open up any app and continue to watch the live stream. I love this feature because it allows me to multitask on my mobile devices. Recently I decided there must be a program similar on computers.

Away to Google I went, and discovered that people shared the same problems as I, and developed programs to solve it. On the Google web store, there was a few extensions that solved my dilemma. The most popular one Floating for YouTube allows you to input the video URL that you want to watch, and then plays in in a resizable, movable, floating window. It works well, and I haven't experienced anything wrong with it. 

A few things that could be improved include a method of switching videos after finishing one. Currently, the only way to change your video is to close out of the window, and then relaunch the extension. A button in the current UI that would bring up the opening interface would be perfect.