The chrome extension definitely helped me keep up with the site.. Their should definitely be a version for IE8 and a Windows 7 sidebar gadget would be a nice add-on
Toolbar / addon for Firefox (4.0 +) would be good for me! Not sure how many other people use Firefox however...guess you need a good few people to confirm their use before proceeding with the work.
In all honesty the "New Posts / Threads" option on the website is good enough for me - the website works a treat!