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New hint of gallery for Chrome themes emerges

Judging by the browser itself, it appears Google could be getting close to launching its themes gallery for Chrome.

Stephen Shankland Former Principal Writer
Stephen Shankland worked at CNET from 1998 to 2024 and wrote about processors, digital photography, AI, quantum computing, computer science, materials science, supercomputers, drones, browsers, 3D printing, USB, and new computing technology in general. He has a soft spot in his heart for standards groups and I/O interfaces. His first big scoop was about radioactive cat poop.
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Stephen Shankland
This excerpt from Chrome's new-tab page shows a thumbnail for the 'Google Chrome Themes Gallery.'
This view of Chrome's new tab page shows a thumbnail for a 'Google Chrome Themes Gallery.' CNET reader

It looks like Google is nearing release for a gallery showcasing themes to customize Chrome's appearance, judging by one reader's experience.

When a person opens a new empty browser tab in Chrome, the browser shows an array of thumbnails of previously visited sites. One of those sites, the reader said, was labeled "Google Chrome Themes Gallery." The screenshot shows a multicolored array of themes for the browser.

It's a good thing Google apparently is working on the Web site, because already Chrome is ready to be directly connected to it.

The latest developer version of Chrome supports themes more easily for those who want to re-skin the browser. Most notably, there's a "Get themes" button in the Options dialog box that links to what at present is an empty Web page.

Though themes, skins, and the like offer merely cosmetic changes, they're often popular among users. There's even a start-up, Brand Thunder, that re-skins Firefox for sports teams and musicians.

Mozilla is working on a better Firefox personalization system called Personas.