Google has just added a new gimmick to the latest beta of its Chrome browser, throwing in “Hands-Free Google Voice Search” for desktop users. As the name suggests, the new feature means that you can search Google simply by ‘asking’ your computer whatever it is you want to know.

Here’s Google’s software engineer Ji Adam Dou to explain how it works:

“If you’ve ever tried to cook and search at the same time – say, when your hands are covered in flour and you need to know how many ounces are in a cup – you know it can be tricky. With the latest Chrome Beta, you can search by voice on Google – no typing, clicking, or hand-washing required. Simply open a new tab or visit Google.com in Chrome, say “Ok Google,” and then start speaking your search.”

According to Dou, the hands-free voice search will be available on Windows, Mac and Linux versions of Google Chrome, while integration with the Chrome OS will come later. The feature is currently only available in English, although Dou says that other languages will be added “soon”.

All well and good, but the feature isn’t really “hands-free” at all. The fact is that you still need to use a mouse, touchpad or touchscreen to navigate to Google’s home page or click open a new tab, and so you’re still going to end up with a sticky keyboard (though maybe less sticky than normal). With that in mind, it’s debatable whether people will actually bother using this feature – or whether it really is just another ‘gimmick’ that’s quickly forgotten about.

Google Nanny?

Hands-free voice search isn’t the only change winging its way to Google Chrome. The new beta release has also managed to upset quite a few Chrome users, according to posts on the browser’s discussion forum.

The issue is that Google has ‘kindly’ disabled browser extensions downloaded from places other than its official app store. Once the browser is updated, only those extensions installed from the Chrome Web Store will actually work – others will have to be enabled manually.

According to posts on the forum, Google says that the move is to provide “greater security” for users, protecting against developers who try to hide malware within their add-ons. Not surprisingly, quite a few users have complained, accusing Google of acting like a “nanny” and trying to tell people what extensions they should and shouldn’t use.

“If I wanted my browser to hold my hand and treat me like I don’t know how to use a computer I’d use IE. I installed the extension knowingly. I read through the source, read the security warning when I manually attempted to install it, and installed it because I wanted it and I saw that there was nothing suspicious going on. Now I wake up to find that you took the pegs off of my bike and installed training wheels. Thanks for that,” posted user Scott732.

“You just disabled my Norton Identity safe. That is supposed to make me feel safer on the internet?? Do we have to buy our protection software from you now? We have used and trusted NORTON for years and I cannot believe you just disabled our security software,” complained Annelies Van Gysegem.

Unfortunately, it looks like we’re just going to have to live with these changes. A forum moderator posted to say that Chrome Beta will not be changed, and that those who are unhappy with it can always go back to using the stable build of Chrome – although that’s only a short term fix as the ‘feature’ will likely be enforced once Chrome 35 is released.