That changed recently when Google unrolled extensions for its browser. This was widely announced, but what was discussed slightly less was that Chrome is also fully compatible with thousands of existing Greasemonkey scripts.

For the uninitiated, Greasemonkey is an extension for Firefox that runs user scripts. These Greasemonkey scripts for Chrome modify a website, allowing users to customize how it looks or behaves. A script is essentially a light-weight plugin designed to do one thing very well.

Chrome can load these scripts, but adventurous users probably quickly discovered that not every script works perfectly in Chrome. The ones listed here do, however. Try them out!

How To Install The Greasemonkey Scripts for Chrome

Installing these scripts couldn’t be easier. Simply click the “Install” button featured on the pages linked to below, then follow the on-screen instructions the way you would with any Chrome extension. Your script is now installed!

YouTube Video Download

There are thousands of ways to download videos from YouTube, but if you’re looking for one that integrates perfectly into YouTube’s look and feel and allows you to download a variety of different formats – including iPod compatible MP4 and old fashioned FLV—then you should certainly check out YouTube Video Download.

Just install the script in Chrome and fire up your favorite video. You’ll notice a new “Download” link beneath the video. Click it to see the options depicted above, and download your favorite instantly.

Disable Google Fade-In

Some people love Google.com’s new fade-in feature. The page looks perfectly clean when it starts up, and only shows the various options and services when the user moves his or her mouse. It allows Google.com to be perfectly clean, yet full of relevant links.

If you’d rather Google.com appear in its full cluttered glory right off the bat, a Greasemonkey script called Disable Google Fade-in can do that trick for you. It works wonderfully in Chrome, so go ahead and try it out.

Google Secure Pro

If you love Google services, but feel vulnerable using them on public WiFi, using “https” is a great way to increase your security. Alternatively, you can install Google Secure Pro. Your browser will automatically use “https” for all Google services, giving you increased security and piece of mind.

Flashblock

Flash is pretty cool, but some websites overuse it for advertisements. This can really slow even the super-speedy Chrome to a crawl. Flashblock is a script that can speed everything right up again by blocking flash. Best of all, you can re-enable flash anytime by pressing “Alt” and “F,” so you don’t have to give up flash completely.

FavIcon Google

If you look at the tab of this website right now, you’ll see MakeUseOf’s super awesome icon. This tiny icon is called a FavIcon, and glancing at it tells you instantly that you’re reading MakeUseOf.

FavIcon Google adds these icons to your Google search results, giving you visual clues as to whether certain results are from familar searches. For example, check out this search result featuring our FavIcon:

This can quickly point out that information you’re finding is from sites you know and trust.

Conclusion

Adding support for Greasemonkey scripts for Chrome is nothing short of brilliant on Google’s part, assuming convincing people to replace Firefox was their motivation. Suddenly Chrome users have access to thousands of extensions. Even though the vast majority of those extensions don’t work on Chrome, anything done to extend the list of things you can do with Chrome has to be considered a good move.

All the above scripts came from the fantastic UserScripts, which features thousands of such little tools. Check that out, then let us know: was this a good move on Google’s part? Did you find any other scripts that work well in Chrome? Or do you have a favorite script you want to share? The comments are below for a reason, so let us know!

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While this is a good idea, the trend brings up some inconveniences. One of them is the unavoidable clutter of the browser tabs. It seems that the concept of opening only one tab at a time is alien to modern day people. If you are similar to most people, you’ll have many open many tabs simultaneously.

Terror of the tabs

All of these open tabs, which consist of the regulars (the ones that we always open) and the passersby (the occasional browse), will eventually choke your browser and drain your system resources.

But the worst part is the time when you have to re-open your browser – along with all the tabs. Even if you are lucky enough to have the last opened tabs remembered by the browser, the process will still take time and bandwidth.

What if you’ve quit your browser, but you need to check your inbox in GMail? Do you need to open all the tabs for the sake of only one?

It would be nice if the important links – the one that we often visit – could be opened independently in a site specific browser. Beside reducing the clutters, this method will also lighten up the burden for your system.

To be able to do that on Mac, you need the help from Fluid.

The turn and the tune

Fluid is an application that will help you build Site Specific Browsers (SSBs). Translation: you can create a dedicated browser for each of your favorite web address. Every browser instances is an independent application by itself.

Jackson discussed Fluid back in 2008, please refer to the article for more information and the background story. But there have been many improvements since then. So, let’s have another look, shall we?

To create a new SSB, tell Fluid the site address. Don’t forget to give name to it. By default, Fluid will put the end result in the Applications folder and use the web’s favicon as the app’s icon (even though the icon fetching action is not always successful). Click create to start the building process.

Several seconds later, your dinner is served.

Launching the new app will open the main page (or the address that you provide).

The interface is deliberately set to be clean and simple. But should you need the standard browser interface, you could do so via “View” menu.

You can adjust many behaviors of created SSB from the Preferences menu. There are many categories there, but we’ll just look into some of the most important.

First, the General Preferences. This is the place to assign shortcut keys and change the application icon.

You can also adjust the general look to your liking from the Appearance Preference.

The Userstyles Preferences pane is the “dreams come true” tab for most of creative people out there. You can assign CSS codes to alter the appearance of SSB’s sites and pages. After clicking the “Plus” (+) button, write down the specific address in the “URL Pattern” box and check the box. While selecting one of the URL Pattern, you add lines of the CSS codes inside the box below.

There is a short video explaining this feature in the developer’s blog.

And for those who aren’t into CSS, there are a lot of ready-made userstyles for Fluid. Each of them was usually written for a specific site/web service. All you need to do is search for them. Userstyles.org is a good place to start.

To get ideas on how far you can go with the customization, you could visit this site.

As the name suggests, SSB will only allow you to go around a specific site. But the strict rule could easily be bent by going to the Advanced Preferences. You could add more URL patterns – the open areas that could be visited – or you could just bypass the rule by choosing “Allow browsing to any URL” radio button.

(Almost) unlimited possibilities

Fluid and its ability to be customized really open up the door for possibilites. You could go from just creating simple SSBs of your favorite sites to building your own desktop clients made up of web services. Few of the popular web services among Fluid users are: Digg, Twitter, GMail, Remember the Milk, Google Docs and Facebook. While my personal favorite usage is to build specific blogging clients of the sites where I contribute.

The availability of bookmarks bar also allows you to add bookmarklets to enhance the ablility of the SSBs.

As a standalone applications, you could also add your SSBs to the startup list (System Preferences > Accounts > Login Items) so they will always be available every time you restart your system.

Have you ever tried Fluid? Do you have other ideas of using Fluid? Do you know cool customizations for Fluid’s SSBs? Share using the comment below.

Got Tech Questions? Ask Them on MakeUseOf Answers!

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These evil applications want to mess with your browser for a bunch of reasons. If they modify your main home page or search page they can start making money off your surfing and if you multiply this by millions they are getting rich off your misery! Some attacks will re-register your OCX and DLL files associated with IE.

I will walk you through how to change your homepage back to what you want to have it as, how to modify your search provider and how to re-register OCX and DLL files with Internet Explorer.

OK so something switched your home page. If you are using Internet Explorer 5,6,7 or 8 the setting is pretty much in the same place. You will need to go to your menu and then hit Tools – Internet Options.

Once you are at the internet options page you will see a screen similar to the one below. I am using Internet Explorer 8 so yours may be a little different. Just enter the site you want it to go to when you open your browser or click the use current or use blank buttons.

Click OK and hit the home button. Watch the browser work its magic. If your browser’s homepage gets hijacked, fix it immediately – that could be just the first step in the attack against you!

Next up is search providers. A malicious script or webpage can change your search provider. Now you wouldn’t want any profits from your searching to go to terrorists or child pornographers now would you? So if you don’t recognize your search results page it is time to switch it back. You can see the search box in the upper right hand corner on Internet Explorer 7 or better.

To modify who you are using for the search box click the arrow next to the magnifying glass.

You will see options there for default (or ones someone has installed) search engines. Click Find More Providers to grab the search engine’s code from the Microsoft website. They also allow you to create your own. Choosing from the predefined options is your safest bet though.

And last but certainly not least after a virus attack or when you are recovering from a spyware incident you need to fix all your issues. One of them can be Internet Explorer failing or not working properly. Who knows what the hackers are making your browser do! So let’s re-register all the DLL and OCX files associated with Internet Explorer to be safe.

There is a free little application that does this. It is called The Fix IE Utility located here. No credit for the awesome name of the application but it works wonderfully. Simply download and run the application.

The utility’s download link is right below the adsense under the article. Grab it, open the zip file and run it. It is truly portable.

Click the Run Utility button and let it do its magic!

Do you have other issues with your IE? Hit us up in the comments and let us know.

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Part of the reason behind Firefox’s success is the fact that there is an awesome team of individuals behind it, who work around the clock to make it live up to the stringent quality standards, which are a hallmark of Mozilla.

However, there is a second, almost equally important reason as to why each version of Firefox is a runaway success. There’s virtually no limit to the amount of customization you can apply to Firefox. Most of these come in the form of extensions (small add-ons, which add to the functionality).

However, today we are going to talk about another, more covert way of customizing Firefox. All the different settings of Firefox can be accessed from one convenient location using the Firefox “About Config” hack. By typing about:config in the address bar, one can bring up a page listing all the different options. Once on that page, it’s simply a matter of double-clicking and editing those settings to make your browsing experience even better.

Here’s a list of the best, most useful Firefox about:config hacks. All these hacks can be enabled by going into about:config. In case a setting doesn’t show up in the search, just right-click and select New to create it.

Make Firefox Free Up RAM When Minimized:

Unless you have a RAM behemoth for a rig, you will know that RAM is a precious commodity. Simply put, RAM is like a container into which all applications are thrown when they are first run. The applications carry out all their processing in the RAM and then leave the RAM when they are done.

The problem arises in the way Firefox handles RAM. Most programs return unused RAM when they are minimized. Firefox, on the other hand does not do so. So, the Firefox ninjas around the world found an about:config workaround for it:

• In the “Filter” search, type: config.trim_on_minimize

• Right click on the setting and click “toggle” so that the Value turns to “true“.

From now on, Firefox will act like any other Windows app and return all unused memory when minimized.

Stop Websites From Blinding You With Blinking Text:

Some webmasters have this crazy habit of making text on their pages blink. Maybe it’s their idea of looking cool, but in reality, it’s nothing more than a major irritation. Coupled with that is the fact that it really tires your eyes. Here’s how you can change about:config to disable blinking text:

• In the “Filter” search, type: browser.blink_allowed

• Right click on the setting and click “toggle” so that the Value turns to “false“. This disables the blinking.

Paste Text With The Middle Mouse Button:

Linux users will vouch for how awesome pasting with the middle mouse button is. Now, Windows users can get the same functionality within Firefox. You guessed it! You need to go to about:config to do the following:

• In the “Filter” search, type: middlemouse.paste

• Right click on the setting and click “toggle” so that the Value turns to “true“.

Open Search Results In A New Tab:

Every now and then I come across a term on a website that I really need to research. I quickly hit Ctrl+K (the Search Box shortcut), type the keywords, and hit Return, only to remember at the last instant that the search will take me away from my current page. Using the following about:config hack, I configured Firefox to open all searches in a new tab.

• In the “Filter” search, type: browser.search.openintab

• Right click on the setting and click “toggle” so that the Value turns to “true“.

Make Firefox’s Menus Load Faster:

Sometimes, the delay caused while opening a Menu is just a major headache. Here’s how to do away with it using about:config.

• In the configuration window, right click and choose New -> Integer

• Name it ui.submenuDelay and set it to 0

And that’s all that there is to it! It’s simply amazing how a few configuration changes here and there can make your surfing experience so much smoother. About:config hacks really make Mozilla Firefox all the more awesome. No wonder it is one of the most popular browsers in the world.

What about:config hacks are your favourites?

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It is for those two reasons that I tried out the Firefox extension that was then called “Twitterfox”.  It is now called “Echofon” and there has been an article written introducing it.  I love it because I get a little memo, while in Firefox, letting me know there is a new tweet so I can check it out, allowing me to easily keep up with the conversation.

A while back I began to also use Google’s browser, known as Google Chrome.  I’ve loved my experience so far with it.  It’s sleek, fast, and easy to use.  One issue I do have with it though is the lack of extensions, comparably at least.  Well, recently I upgraded to a version that allows the installation of extensions.  I then went on a search for some type of extension that would serve as a Twitterfox alternative and finally I came across Chromed Bird.

I would like to share 3 reasons why I think the Twitterfox alternative, Chromed Bird, is worth checking out.

1.  Chromed Bird Keeps You Notified

Some people may view notifications which Chromed Bird offers as distracting.  I actually find myself not distracted but kept abreast.  When I don’t have notifications telling me when someone I am following is tweeting something, I find myself forgetting to check and therefore neglecting the conversation!    Don’t like the intrusion of a notification dropping down?  Tweak the settings!

I think an extension such as Chromed Bird is worth checking out if you like being kept abreast with notifications.

2.  Chromed Bird Makes It Easy To Keep Up With @Replies & DMs

Chromed Bird saves you from having to go to Twitter’s home page or your chosen Twitter client to review the messages meant specifically for you sent via @ replies or direct messages.

All you have to do is click the nifty little birdie icon and you have a view of not only the latest tweets but also a set of tabs.  This drop down window in no way affects your browsing beneath it.  Access is easy and browsing is not interrupted.  I think the ease of access to messages sent to you makes Chromed Bird worth installing.

3.  Chrome Bird Makes Sending Tweets A Piece Of Cake From Within Your Browser

A click of the same birdie also gives you the option to write and send a tweet.  It makes it very easy to not only type a message but also to share a link with several URL shortening services to choose from.

I personally prefer to use a bookmarklet called “Hootlet” for tweeting links because I can use Hootsuite to track links shortened using the ow.ly shortening service to track click statistics.  That being said, if I just have something quick to tweet, or I’m just responding to an @ reply or DM, Chromed Bird makes life a LOT easier!  This too, I think makes Chromed Bird worth checking out!

What do you think of this Twitterfox alternative?  Do you see browser extensions helpful to your tweeting habits or would you rather just keep your respective Twitter clients?

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Firefox was designed to be a very minimalistic browser, which is a good thing. This way, each user can choose which extra features he wants to install. While it may inconvenience some users who, quite frankly, are downright lazy, the extensibility of Firefox reduces inherent software bloat and improves performance.

Anyone can develop an extension for Firefox, without any fees or approval procedures. While some conditions have to be met in order to make your own Firefox addon and have it appear in Mozilla’s online repository, you can host your own extension and users will be able to install it. Having your extension included in the official repository gives you more exposure, as most users will simply follow the link in the Add-ons Manager and not directly search Google.

A recent pilot program allows for self-hosted extensions in the repository search results, but they are marked as not verified my Mozilla. Add-ons that go to the AMO verification get a certificate which will trigger the Add-ons Manager on the user’s system to display a message that the extension was verified and comes from a trusted source.

Extensions can use these types of technologies: CSS (Cascading Style Sheets), JavaScript, DOM (Document Object Model), XPCOM (Cross-Platform Component Object Model), XPConnect, XPI (a cross-platform installer module), XUL (an interface to the XML – Extended Markup Language).

Your extension can add features, such as RSS readers, toolbars, bookmark organisers and FTP clients. You can also modify how pages are loaded; for example, a popular add-on called AdBlock Plus will remove advertisements from pages you visit. Another notable extension, Greasemonkey, will allow users to load the equivalent of “user style sheets” targeting the behaviour of web pages “on the fly”.

The Mozilla Foundation provides a website for developers, which contains a wealth of information about how to make your own Firefox addons – without registering or paying a fee. There you can learn all about the APIs, languages and even case studies that cover the development from start to finish. If you’re stuck, you can go ask for some help on the forums.

You should start with Firefox Add-ons Developer Guide, which was written by Hideyuki Emura, one of the first developers on the Firefox platform. It explains the thinking behind Firefox’s modular design, the different types of functionality an extension can have, all about the layers of technology that need to be combined in order to make extensions easy to sue while powerful. With its characteristic “no-nonsense” approach, you will be able to learn the basics of coding extensions in no time. Another good tutorial was written by Robert Nyman,  which covers the development process from top to bottom.

You might also want to subscribe to the Mozilla development blog, which keeps you posted about the latest updates to the repository, workshops & events,  and more. You might also want to check out other posts related to Firefox extensions on MakeUseOf.

Do you have any developing experience you’d like to share with our readers? Voice them in the comments.

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However, it’s much easier to simply recover the forgotten password, along with the username and other stored information. This article shows how you can recover passwords from you browser, instant messenger, eMail, and Word or Excel documents. It goes without saying that I have deleted my own user name and password information from the screenshots seen below. The password recovery tool, however, did work flawlessly.

A known issue of many of the following password recovery tools is that antivirus programs detect them as a Trojan/Virus. This is a false alert.

Disclaimer: The following tools are not meant to be used in any illegal way. You shall not recover or crack passwords from applications, profiles, or accounts that are not yours.

Browser

PasswordFox

This tool effortlessly recovers all user names and passwords stored in Firefox. PasswordFox reveals passwords stored in the default profile. Clicking on the folder icon, you can select any user profile from which passwords shall be extracted. The results can be stored in a text file.

If you need to recover the Firefox master password, try FireMaster.

ChromePass

ChromePass is a password recovery tool that reveals usernames and passwords stored in Chrome, Google’s internet browser.

IE PassView

This utility shows usernames and passwords stored by Internet Explorer. Using this tool, you can also delete passwords you no longer need.

Instant Messengers

MessenPass

MessenPass revovers passwords from the following Instant Messengers: AOL Instant Messenger, MSN Digsby, GAIM/Pidgin, Google Talk, Messenger, ICQ, Miranda, MSN Messenger, MySpace IM, PaltalkScene, Trillian Windows Messenger, Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger.It works only for passwords stored under the currently logged in local computer user.

Do you know of a free tool or way to recover a forgotten Skype password?

eMail

Mail PassView

Mail PassView can recover passwords stored in the following applications: Eudora, Gmail (if stored in Gmail Notifier, Google Desktop, or Google Talk), Group Mail Free, Hotmail / MSN mail (if stored in a MSN / Windows / Live Messenger program), IncrediMail, Microsoft Outlook, Mozilla Thunderbird, Netscape, Outlook Express, Windows Mail, Windows Live Mail, Yahoo! Mail (if saved in a Yahoo! Messenger application).

Word / Excel

Free Word / Excel Password

This password recovery tools can crack Word or Excel passwords. It requires Microsoft .NET Framework in order to be installed successfully. There are two possible approaches: dictionary recovery or brute force recovery. The latter is limited to eight characters, in other words, longer passwords can not be cracked.The utility comes with a text file containing the standard English dictionary, which is stored in the program directory. You can use any other dictionary text file.

Simon introduced Ophcrack – A Password Hack Tool to Crack Almost Any Windows Password. Guy has previously revealed How To View Passwords Hidden Behind Asterisk Characters. Saikat showed you How To Recover Lost Gmail Password With A SMS Message.

And in case you have forgotten your Windows Administrator password, there are several ways to recover or reset it. Karl shows you how to Recover Your Windows XP Administrator Password With The Installation Disk, T.J. found 3 Ways to Reset A Forgotten Windows Administrator Password, and Jack has 5 Tips to Reset The Administrator Password in Windows XP. Finally, Varun explains How To Reset Any Linux Password.

Do you need to recover passwords from applications not covered in this or former MakeUseOf articles? Please leave a request in the comments and we may reveal the possible solutions in a future article.

Image credits: CDWaldi

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Back then, Chrome still lacked the customizability of Firefox. Without Google Chrome add ons and extensions, it just wasn’t enough. That soon changed. Now, almost every Firefox add-on has a Chrome extension counterpart.

So it was time to make the switch. Finally, newfound speed, flexibility – and extensions!

Imagine the disappointment when discovering that Chrome does not support extensions on Mac OS X. Worse, they actually were supported up to December, before Google decided to disable the feature.

Luckily, as of this week, impatient Mac Chrome users can turn to the Dev Channel for a solution.

Google Chrome Dev Channel

Google Chrome passes through two testing channels before being officially released. Most people know about application betas – the rough candidate, one step from release. Beta users can experience some bugs, but for the most part, the application just isn’t as ‘clean’ as you’d expect from a release version.

Before going beta, Google Chrome resides in the Dev Channel. This is the developer playground. Here they’ll try out new features that might or might not be. If they’ve got a wild idea, they’ll first give it a try in the Dev Channel.

Obviously, these are two major steps in the production process. The Dev Channel releases are often very different from final releases; apart from rough edges, a lot of interesting Dev Channel features will never see the daylight of release.

Extension Support – Again!

Earlier this week Google released a Chrome build via the Dev Channel with, once more, support for Google Chrome add ons and extensions. The build also comes with a (still imperfect) bookmark sync, and fixed html5 audio/video streaming issues. More information here.

We usually don’t take too much issue with early builds like this, but you don’t need to be a programmer to install a Dev Channel build. Just point your current browser to the Dev Channel info page.

Scrolling down, you can find the latest Dev channel build (dmg). It’s that easy. Just download and install it like you always do.

Gear Up

With the Dev Channel build up and running, it’s finally time to get yourself some Google Chrome add ons and extensions. Mark recently wrote about 5 Google Chrome Extensions That Could Finally Make Me Switch From Firefox and before that, Saikat talked about his favorite 10 Extensions for Google Chrome.

No need to stop there, though – MakeUseOf hasn’t had a chance to take a look at all the cool extensions yet. In the meantime, you can already visit the Google Chrome Extensions page and have a look around. At the time of writing this article, there are already over 1,300 extensions available. Sure, that’s still far off from Firefox’s mark, but all things considering, they’re making good progress.

Help out your fellow MakeUseOf readers, and let us know your favorite Google Chrome extensions. Don’t be shy, give a shout in the comments section below!

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Well I continued on doing my due diligence and discovered the pre-alpha was created for a single device, the HTC Touch Pro. I am rocking an HTC Touch Pro 2 so I gave it a go.  And I had some rather surprising results. I documented my trip through FireFox for Windows Mobile here.

The first thing I did was to use the above link to grab the CAB file directly on my device from Mozilla’s FTP. Next up I navigated to the file using Total Commander. You can just as easily use the built-in File Explorer or any other Explorer for that matter. Simply run the CAB file and install it to YOUR DEVICE!

Do Not Install To The Memory Card!

Marvel in amazement as Fennec 1.0a3 installs on your device. It took me 1.6 minutes which is pretty long for a Windows Mobile install.

After the installation is complete you will have a Fennec icon on your start menu.  Simply click it and let’s see how she works. After launching the application it took almost another full minute to load up Fennec. I saw a progress bar as it loaded. Something you do not see much of on Windows Mobile.

And then boom just like that I was at a about:firstrun screen. That went away quickly and brought me to a Fennec page. But you can see on the search screen links to Google, Yahoo, Amazon and Wikipedia – sorry Bing lovers.

The Fennec screen shows that you can hold the device in any orientation you like and the application will recognize it using your devices built-in gravity sensor. Scroll to the right and you will see a button to add the page to your favorites and a gear button to open up Fennec’s settings. I clicked on the star button and it adds a favorite without any other intervention. Click on the gear and we will go to the applications preferences.

The first page of the preferences page shows you a button to see information about Fennec, the option to show or hide images (great for mobile slow browsing) Enable Javascript which is mind blowing on a mobile device and Enable Plugins which also brings a woo-hoo out of me.

Plugins make the desktop iteration of Firefox so powerful and now here they are on the handheld. Nice! Cookies, passwords and clearing the recent cache all can be set up and configured from this menu.

The puzzle piece brings you to the add-ons menu. I tried searching for add-ons but I could not find any!

Well in all fairness it said it couldn’t retrieve any add-ons. Either the server is not running or it is and there are no plug-ins to download and test. But this shows huge promise.

The arrow pointing down is your download manager – another very nice feature to extend to your mobile device. The last button did not do anything for me. If you know what it is (I thought volume control) let me know.

And last but certainly NOT least, here is me browsing the web with Fennec which works flawlessly for me and it pretty quick to boot. I was running Javascript on AskTheAdmin and it came through perfectly. I also tested cookies and the image blocking via preferences. All working very nicely. I don’t know if I will be switching from Skyfire any time soon but I will be testing it and watching it mature and progress.

Have you got any other information about Fennec?  If so, please leave it in the comments!

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But what if you want to access all of those tweets days later? The more Twitter followers you have the more quickly these tweets get lost in the shuffle, and unless you’re looking for them specifically they are unlikely to ever find you.

Luckily there are web apps for just that. In this article, we will be discussing two of the best options for Twitter commenting that are available right now in the form of Twitter addons for your browser, as well as how they allow you to add to the conversation and create your own Twitter comments.

Kutano

Kutano is one of the better Twitter addons for “weaving” Twitter discussions into your browsing. We mentioned Kutano briefly in our article 10 Firefox Add-ons To Find Friends On Social Networks. It is available as a browser extension for Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Google Chrome (Beta builds) and works on Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Kutano is a sidebar Twitter addon and docks to the side of your browser. When you surf the web, it updates with all of the tweets that took place about that particular page. You can see who tweeted about the page, what they said, and how popular it is on Twitter. If there are tweets that are similar (like re-tweets) you can see that too!

By switching to the ‘website’ tab, you can see what other pages are being tweeted about on the website you are viewing. This is a good way to find other articles you might be interested in from the same website.

While viewing the tweets of a particular page, the Kutano Twitter addon allows you to view the person’s Twitter profile, follow them, reply to their tweet, and re-tweet their tweet, all from within the application.

Need more than 140 characters to comment on a webpage? No problem. Kutano has a ‘discussions’ tab where you can write your comments and engage multiple people simultaneously in a discussion about the webpage.

If you sign up for a Kutano account you can login with your Twitter credentials and see your timeline, along with your @mentions, direct messages, and followers. If you don’t want to keep the sidebar visible you can minimize it and view tweet and discussion counts down in your browser’s status bar.

AddATweet

AddATweet is another good Twitter addon for viewing/creating Twitter comments on a page. Although it is strictly featured as an extension for Firefox at the moment, its simplicity and integration with Twitter is what sets it apart from other commenting and web annotation apps.

Like Kutano, AddATweet is a sidebar that allows you to see all of the tweets that were made about a specific webpage. There is a box at the top that allows you to add comments and tweet them out to your followers. Clicking the ‘tweet this’ box adds your comments to the webpage as well as your public timeline on Twitter.

You can reply to tweets, re-tweet them, @ mention the person, and even mark them as spam. When you re-tweet or reply from within AddATweet, your comments are posted right under those that you were responding to, making it a threaded conversation.

You can sort comments by ‘everyone’, those who you are ‘following’, and those based on ‘authority’. Authority means that only comments made by people who have the most followers will be seen first. This sorting ability is useful if a page has a lot of comments and you want to see those made by popular Twitterers or if you simply want to see what your followers have written.

Like Leaving Comments Yet?

Reading and leaving comments directly on the pages you find interesting is yet another great way to utilize the power of Twitter. Even those that don’t understand Twitter all that well can find Twitter addons like Kutano and AddATweet useful because they allow you to find like-minded people and converse with them about popular topics on the web.

If you’re in the commenting mood, why not leave a comment on this page? Let’s start a discussion!

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But now the Google Chrome Extensions Page has lots of browser extensions you can try out. As with everything else, it is populated with a lot of junk but the gems are there if you do a bit of searching.

To use them though, you need to change your version of Chrome to the beta version. You can find it here and updating is very easy. And it goes without saying that you need to open up the Extensions website in the Chrome browser (just covering all bases here!)

Here are 5 good Chrome extensions which are seriously tempting me away from Firefox.

XMarks (Previously Known As Foxmarks)

This is the one that has really got me excited.  One of the biggest problems I previously encountered with having two browsers was being unable to synchronize everything.   As well as two browsers, I also use two computers so being able to have my large set of bookmarks wherever I go was an essential must-have.

As long as I stayed with Firefox, I was safe with using XMarks but what about Chrome?  I briefly looked at Saikat’s suggestion of Transmute but it still didn’t feel right.   But now I don’t have to worry because Xmarks now works on Chrome too!   Just make an XMarks web account, keep it synchronized whenever you close your browser and you will always have an up-to-date set of bookmarks wherever you go and whatever browser you happen to be using – Firefox or Chrome.

Google Mail Checker

I have always been keen to have a decent Gmail Notifier but I didn’t want to install the Google Toolbar or the Google Talk client just to have an email notifier.  So this easy basic no-frills notifier extension is just the trick for me.

Once you have installed it, just open a new tab in Chrome, log into the desired Gmail account and then the notifier remembers the details.   It will also start monitoring the account and will notify you when you have new mail (as well as tell you how many new emails you have).

Since I use Google Apps instead of a regular Gmail account, I had to do some changing about but it’s very easy.  Just go to the Chrome options (that little wrench at the top right of the browser), choose Extensions and then choose Google Mail Checker –>Options.  Then enter your domain details and save it all.

Stumbleupon

I use Stumbleupon a lot on a daily basis and not having a Stumbleupon toolbar for Chrome was a tad annoying.  This meant I was constantly having to use Firefox for my stumbling when I would much rather have been using Chrome.  True, you can go to the Stumbleupon website and start up a web toolbar from there but being the lazy person that I am, even that was a bit too much effort for me when all I had to do in Firefox was click a toolbar button.

And now clicking a button is all you have to do in Chrome too.   This is still the web version of the Stumbleupon toolbar but going to it is made a lot easier now.  Just click the SU logo now on your browser and it will instantly open a web toolbar so you can go stumbling.  When you are finished, press the button again and the web toolbar goes away. Much faster and more convenient for those impulse moments when you want to have a quick stumble or two.

Evernote Web Clipper

I am starting to use Evernote a lot more now, especially for keeping records of URL’s, screenshots, general notes, as well as synchronizing my web account with my Android phone.  The company has now introduced an extension for Chrome that has the same functionalities as the Firefox extension, including being able to clip the whole page to your Evernote web account.

RSS Subscription Extension

One of the really big things lacking in Chrome was the fact that webpage RSS feeds were not being “auto-discovered”.  I was so used to the orange RSS box in the Firefox address bar that when I started using Chrome, I instantly found it really annoying that this feature, which I took for granted in Firefox, was gone.

But now RSS Subscription Extension addresses that issue by putting the “auto-discover” box back into the address bar (but really this should be a default feature).

With these five extensions, a lot of the main tasks I do in Firefox are now covered – email, RSS feeds, stumbling, synchronizing bookmarks and clipping material to Evernote.    It would be even better if I had small search boxes like Firefox but I can’t complain – Chrome is definately heading in the right direction.

Are there any Chrome extensions which you are finding invaluable and which are tugging you away from the clutches of Firefox?   If so, let us know what they are in the comments.

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Nowadays most games are graphic-intensive and have no real story line. These two games are fun and will open up your mind and imagination! The first one is text and ASCII graphics based and the second one is a full on flash RPG! Enjoy.

I love playing online role playing games aka RPG’s. Sometimes I want to play against the system and not against real people. I will show you 2 awesome free online adventure single player RPG games you can play by yourself. The first one is an old time favorite of mine called The Kingdom of Loathing aka KOL.

You go to The Kingdom of Loathing and create a new account. Click the Create a character button.

They will give you a bit of the background story above the dialogue to create your username password and character type. Think of The Kingdom of Loathing as a fun, less geeky type of Dungeon and Dragons. No one will tie you up a flag pole for playing this! No offense D and D lovers.

Get you character created and continue on….

Choose a character class. You would normally see Ogre, dwarf, warrior but here they are replaced with hysterical stereo typical classes like a Seal clubber, Turtle Tamer or Disco bandit!

Once you are ready to play you will have a set number of turns to go on quests, solve puzzles and have fun!

Next up is Darkness Springs. Head on over to their site and create a new character. Your appearance can be any of the following:

Choose you type and continue right into the flash based graphical game like so:

Your tool bar is at the bottom you can move by clicking with your mouse where you want to move to. Click on the sword to bring up your inventory and this screen

You see that you can learn spells, hold items and weapons. The shortcut key for this screen is I. You have the ability to create and rule your own realms, maps and quests. Some of their features are:

• Can be played directly in the browser, nothing to install. (Reported to work on PC, Mac and Linux)
• More than 100 maps in the default realm – dungeons, forests, villages, cities, secret caves and others
• More than 2000 items, including magic and unique ones
• 8 trainable skills, 4 trainable attributes
• 30 magic spells
• Lots of enemy types
• Non-linear gamplay: The player is free to explore the whole world on his own.
• More than 40 quests to solve (in the main realm alone)
• Everyone is free to use the easy-to-use editor to create and publish new realms with new quests, stories and adventures.

If you get into this one their will be no coming back! As you get further and further in it will become more difficult and challenging.

You can see the map of Enthpia below.

Darkness Springs is a awesome role playing game: You have the same options that you are used to in other RPG’s. You can explore the game world, solve quests and gain experience. You gain experience by questing and battling. You are not required to play the game in any linear fashion and may explore and play at your own hearts content!

Do you have a favorite online single player adventure role playing game? Whoa that’s a mouth full! We would love to hear from you in the comments gamers! For some more multiplayer online RPG’s check out MakeUseOf’s RPG tag here.

Got Tech Questions? Ask Them on MakeUseOf Answers!

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You can go to this URL to play the zombie game online. Once the loading finishes you can click the Skip this ad button in the lower right hand corner and you are on your way to becoming a zombie slayer. But you should go through the tutorial. What do you mean you just want to play?

Well we will cover the basics for you so you can jump right in. After hitting the tutorial button it will show you how to play.

The first screen shows us how to shoot using the mouse, move using the keyboard W, A, S and D keys. You can reload by hitting the E key and change your current active weapon by hitting the C key.

Next up they explain how you proceed and how you determine how much damage you can inflict by looking at the weapon tiers. As you go on you will get stronger to kill more zombies.

Weapon pickups add them to your inventory so you can hit the C key to switch or change to that new weapon. You can also pick up more ammo or health to help your stats.

Of course what would a game be without bosses?! You need to slay the bosses to continue on. There are four bosses spread out over the 20 levels of fun or the 20 levels of Undead slaughter as the author puts it!

When you are ready to hit start you will be shown only Round 1-1. As you beat more boards you will be able to jump right to that round!

You start out as an ambitious young go getter killing rats until you get your skill up. A few rounds of rat killing will lead to those Zombies coming to get you – maybe they miss their rat friend?! Who knows!

Ahh the Zombies have arrived, now we can really show what kind of skills we have. Blast away and step backwards to avoid them grabbing you. Keep shooting and you will see their health drop above the characters head.

More and more zombies will come at you and more powerful enemies will show up level by level. And keep your eye out for those bosses as well.

You can see the mayhem below as I am wasting those zombie scumbags! Get out your frustration and anger on Zombies, not on fellow human beings on the train commute home!  Post your screenshots or highest levels achieved! Come on make me jealous young gamer!

Do you have another favorite game for when you want to play zombie games online? We would love for you to share it with us in the comments!

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It’s safe to assume that you have more than one browser installed on your system. I have five. Though we may not use more than two, all of us suffer from a bit of browser fancy. As soon as developers announce a launch of a browser that promises to speed up the web for us, we click on the download link. That’s not a problem, but keeping the same set of bookmarks across the browsers is.

Xmarks is a nifty solution to migrate bookmarks across the world. But for now, it supports Firefox and IE (with Safari in Mac OS). The one for Google Chrome is in the works. The browser that’s missing is Opera. That leaves us with a job half done. Bookmark syncing using Delicious and its bookmarklet tool is one roundabout. But it’s public by default and you have to log-in to change it to private. So, it’s still not as easy a click.

Transmute attempts to fill the gap by letting us migrate bookmarks across all the browsers.

Why Is it Such a Headache to Migrate Bookmarks?

Not very much so, but every browser has its own way of storing its bookmarks. Most bookmarks are stored as HTML files. Opera uses an .adr format. Firefox 3.5+ too differs in that respect as it stores its bookmarks in a Places.sqlite file which is a database file. The bookmarks.html files that used to hold all the links in the earlier versions had been discontinued from Firefox 3 onwards.

Does this create problems in migration of your bookmarks to other browsers still using the HTML formats? No, because Firefox, just like all the others has an import export utility under the Bookmarks Library that allows you to convert the database format to the HTML one for it to be picked up by the other browsers.

The imported bookmarks also get added to the existing bookmarks usually in a separate folder with the name of the browser that was the source. For instance, imported Firefox bookmarks get located in a folder that’s marked Netscape. Imported bookmarks in Chrome get added under Other Bookmarks. You can then manually shift the bookmarks around into any other root folder.

Next, you have to manually weed out the duplicates by going through each and every link. This is where the headache can start.

Transmute Offers Better (& Quicker) Control Over Bookmarks

Why such a name? Is it because it does the job of bookmark transfer ‘silently’ and without fuss? Perhaps, because the Transmute interface is hassle free.

1. You have two dropdowns – Source and Target. You can use the path field to select the location of the bookmarks file for the individual browsers in case you ever changed the default location.
2. Use the dropdowns to select the respective source and target browsers. There are 12 supported browsers and I am guessing that should cover most of what the world uses. The 13th placed XBEL format (XML Bookmark Exchange Language) covers a few other browsers like Galeon, Arora and Midori which use this one to store their bookmarks.



3. Transmute gives you two more options to migrate bookmarks – Overwrite Collections and Backup Collections.
   • Duplication can be handled if you select the overwrite option as it will plant a fresh copy of the bookmark links (but will also remove the older but unique bookmarks in the target).
   • Backup collections are a safety net in case something goes wrong with the conversion process and you want your old bookmark collection back. By default Transmute timestamps and backs up your bookmark collections before changes are made, providing extra safety.

   

   • To restore the old order, just browse to the bookmark folder location and rename the time stamped backup file to the default file name.
4. Close the source and target browsers and press Start. An alert box pops up and with your agreement the transfer begins. A preview window is the last stop before the conversion starts.

And finishes! That’s it; you can migrate bookmarks across multiple browsers without the hassle of import and export.

Transmute also comes in a PRO flavor giving some extra bookmark selection controls and co-ordination with services like Google Bookmarks and Delicious. But for the simple task of keeping all my browsers with the same bookmarks, the free version more than stands up. If you hate installing things, then there’s a portable option too.

Having the same bookmarks across all your browsers is such a basic need and keeping them all updated with each other is where Transmute steps in with a speedy click.

Transmute v1.63 is Windows only and requires Microsoft .NET Framework. It may also run on Linux and Mac OS X with Mono Framework 2.0 or higher installed.

Got Tech Questions? Ask Them on MakeUseOf Answers!

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Being an Opera long-time fan (back to the days of Netscape vs. IE), I’m also curious about what goodies Opera 10 has to offer. So I gave Opera 10 – Mac version for me – a test drive, and here is my Opera browser review with several nice features that I like.

Speed Dial those pages

The first thing that users will notice is the “speed dial” page which will always be shown every time a new blank page is opened. The idea is that users will be able to access their favorite pages using these pre-configured “dial-pad”. Something like “Top Sites” in Safari.

There are nine default boxes, click an empty one to add a web page and click on an assigned one to go directly to that page.

Users can configure how many dial-pad boxes they want – from 4 (2 x 2) to 25 (5 x 5), what background image to show, or whether they want to hide or show speed dial.

What makes this feature special is the ability to synchronize these speed dial boxes to other Operas in other places, even under different OSes and different devices.

Link with Opera Link

The synchronization process discussed above is done using a feature called Opera Link. Using this service, users can synchronize Speed Dial, Bookmarks, Personal Bar, Typed History, Notes, and Searches.

But before using it, users should sign up first for an Opera account.

I think this synchronization feature could be Opera’s strongest selling point because of the existence of Opera Mini. As one of the leaders in mobile browsers, Opera Mini could “persuade” its users to try the desktop version just to have all of their data synchronized between devices.

Playing with Panels

Opera has a customized side panel which can be opened by clicking the “Panels” button next to tabs.

Users can fill in the panels with useful tools like Bookmarks, Widgets, Notes and History, by going to Tools –> Appearance menu

and then choosing the Panels tab.

Mail and Chat

Opera has an email client built-in the browser. Even though some users might prefer a stand-alone client, others would likely embrace the idea of Mail-Browser integration.

The first step of using this client is creating an account.

Beside email, there are other kinds of account that could be set, such as Newsgroups and IRC chat. (I wonder whether anybody still use these two classics and I also wonder why Opera included them).

Peeking through tabs

This one is a simple feature which I think is very useful. Users can peek into the background tabs just by hovering the mouse above the tab.

Turbo-charge the browsing experience

Opera 10 has another unique feature called Opera Turbo. Opera claims that this feature is able to boost the Internet bandwidth speed on slow connections by using Opera proxy servers to compress data and image traffic before they reach the browser.

To enable the feature, just click on the Opera Turbo’s teeny-weeny button on the bottom-left corner of the window.

Users should customize the turbo setting first before using it. There are three settings available: Automatic, On and Off.

Those with slow internet connections will be grateful for this free service provided by Opera as there are many similar services out there that charge high monthly fees for more or less the same features.

Surely, there are many more features in Opera 10 such as mouse gestures and widget support (similar to addons for Firefox), but for now, I’ll limit myself to these favorite features of mine.

And if you think you still need a little bit “nudge” to try Opera, please look at the CPU usage comparison between Opera and our favorite Firefox. (Those are dynamic numbers which always change slightly from time to time, but you get the picture, right?)

One more thing, for this Opera browser review I used Opera for Mac, but I assume the features would be the same under different OS. Opera 10 is available for Windows, Mac, Linux, Solaris, FreeBSD, QNX, OS/2 and BeOS.

Do you use Opera? Which features do you like? Share your thoughts and opinion in the comments section below.

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Doing my research for this post (yes, it’s almost like real journalism here at MakeUseOf), I was surprised to read the first version (1.0) was released only five years ago, in November of 2004. Even with the recent extra competition brought on by Chrome from Google, Internet Explorer and Opera, it kept gaining popularity. Mozilla Firefox now has a market share of about 22%.

Alright, enough with the history lesson. Many people like to take Firefox with them on a USB drive to college or work so that they can use their personalized settings and plugins. A lot of these places still use Internet Explorer 6 or something like that, so using a portable version of Firefox seems like the smart thing to do. Installing is easy when you use the portable version PortableApps, but updating Firefox portable is not so easy. If you don’t have a portable version of Firefox installed yet, read this article on how to turn your USB drive into a fully functional PC or just go to www.portableapps.com to install it. But if you want to update a portable Firefox app, you can’t just click the auto-updater button that pops-up when there’s a new version. You have to install a normal version of Firefox, with some special settings. Here’s how.

Download the regular setup file

You can download the regular setup file from Mozilla. The latest version at the time of writing is 3.5.2. So if you have a previous one, it’s wise to update because Mozilla keeps plugging security holes all the time.

Start the installation

Double-click the file you have just downloaded. Click ‘Next’ in the first window. Now pay attention as it goes a little differently than usual. In the second screen, select “Custom” and deselect the check-box next to “Use Firefox as my default web browser”.

Click ‘Next’ to continue.

In this screen, click “Browse” to search for the folder where your portable Firefox is installed on your USB drive. Select the “DefaultData\Firefox” folder so the location ends with “\FirefoxPortable\DefaultData\Firefox”. This way, you overwrite the files from the current installation but keep all your settings and plugins. Click ‘OK’ and ‘Next’.

In the next screen, deselect the options to create icons since you already have icons from the previous installation. After this, you can click ‘Next’ to check the summary and press “Install” to do just that.

There you have it, your portable Firefox is updated, all secure and future-proof. Until the next update anyway. Click “Finish” with the checkmark in place to check out the newest version of the open-source browser. You can take Firefox with you to your school or office. It’s also a great way to try out the newest alpha versions without endangering your stable version. You can find the latest test versions here, but as Mozilla themselves claim it “might delete all your files and cause your computer to burst into flames”.

If you’re new to the portable apps, I recommend looking around at their site Portableapps.com. There is a suite of the most used software that you can start with. Some apps to check out are OpenOffice.org Portable, Pidgin Portable and FileZilla Portable. Here are some more portable app suggestions.

Do you use portable apps? How do you update them to the latest versions? Share your technique in the comments.

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Today, not only can browsers go to websites and view information but they can also interact with the websites they visit and that can end up leading to trouble if you’re not careful of what you download, specifically with installing Active X controls.

A brief history of ActiveX before we start. ActiveX is a software and coding framework made by Microsoft in 1996 and now competes with Sun Microsystem’s Java platform. ActiveX controls are almost like “mini” pieces of software that can be used not just in Internet Explorer, but also in other pieces of software such as the Offfice product suite and Windows Media Player. When the controls are in your browser, they are usually used for visual plugins, such as specialized 3rd party media players, remote control applications, online virus scanners and other things of that nature.

You might visit a website occasionally which will prompt you to download/install ActiveX in your computer, and say “yes” to the couple of security confirmation prompts that come up not knowing what you’re really accepting, but this is exactly where the danger lies. Most people only care to get to the content they’re visiting, so they will keep clicking “yes” and “accept” as many times as it takes to see the final page, and that is where the danger lies for you to be opened up to viruses, trojan horses, spyware and even phishing attempts.

ActiveX controls can be dangerous because, once you finish installing Active X controls, they have most of the functions a regular Windows program running on your desktop has, which is a significant security problem if the control was from a malware infested site or was downloaded by mistake. That’s why if you have a prompt for a questionable or suspicious ActiveX control from your browser, the worst thing that can happen will simply be that you won’t be able to see the site or page you’re trying to visit.

If you think you’ve installed a risky ActiveX control, it is easy to remove. If you’re using Firefox, click on Tools, click Add-Ons, then click on the Plugins tab and disable the control that you’re trying to remove by clicking disable.

In Internet Explorer, click on Tools then on Manage Add-Ons and make sure that the “Toolbars and Extensions” type is selected on the left menu. Click on the control you’d like to remove and then click disable by its information in the lower right corner.

Finally, a word about how to stay safe. Some online toolbars (such as the Google Toolbar) and many browsers (including Internet Explorer 8 and Firefox) can help by warning you that a site you are trying to visit is known for downloading malicious code to its visitors browsers so if you do get such a warning from a browser, be sure to pay attention to it. Most browsers usually show a red screen before loading the page to make sure you get the message!

Do you have tips on how you stay safe while browsing? Share them with us in the comments below!

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Being the native Mac OS X browser, Safari – which should have been a no brainer choice for Mac users – faces a fierce challenge from Firefox – the browser that can be anything you need it to be. Add-ons are Firefox’s ultimate weapon.

But Firefox is not the only browser that can add functionalities using add-ons. The Safari browser also has plugins to expand its ability. While there are far less Safari browser plugins than there are for Firefox, not everybody needs everything.

So for anybody who are still deciding which one of the two should be the main browser, maybe these list of Safari browser plugins can help you choose sides.

Multifunctional

1. Glims is on top of my list of all other Safari plugins. It has expanded the search box functionality of Safari plus some other bonuses such as: re-opening closed tabs, automatically re-opening the tabs from the last session and full-screen browsing.  It’s been discussed here.

2. SafariStand also adds a few helpful features to Safari such as: Stand Bar (for quick access to bookmarks), history, Stand Search with Spotlight support, an Action Menu, option to restore last workspace, a site alterations preference window with the option to put custom CSS layouts on specific sites, and syntax coloring in viewed source. Go to more detailed explanation here.

Please note that you need to install SIMBL 0.8.2 or later before you can use SafariStand.

Searchbar

3. Inquisitor beautifully extends the functionality of the search bar. It auto-completes your search term, gives you search recommendations and lets you quickly see the results for your specified terms on another sites. If you need to have the powerful searchbar only without additional extra functions choose this one over Glims. Inquisitor also supports IE and Firefox. More about it here.

Multimedia

4. CoolIris (Preview and PictLens) will transform Safari into a picture and movie viewer – in style. ‘Nuff said.

We’ve covered CoolIris before, and it’s nice to know that this product is also working fine under Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Linux; and for other browsers like Firefox, IE 7 and IE 8, and Flock 2. Safari under Windows is not supported though.

Blockages

5. Safari AdBlock and SafariBlock are the ultimate tools to block ads and provide cleaner browsing. Most web publishers would hate these two as parts of the publishers’ revenue come from advertising. But for users, blocking ads means less clutter and more browsing speed.

6. Click-to-flash – will prevent any flash content from automatically loading and will replace it with an empty grey box. Just click on the box to load the content. Anyone with a slow internet connection will find this webkit plugin indispensable.

Social Media

7. Safari140 is the tool to tweet. This plugin will allow you to send direct tweets from Safari, auto filled with the current site while the long URL’s are shortened.

8. DeliciousSafari is self explanatory. This is the tool to create and use del.icio.us bookmark from Safari.

Tools

9. Greasekit is the comparable Firefox’s Greasemonkey in Safari. It gives users the scripting ability to change looks and add new functionality to their favorite sites. Greasekit is compatible with most Greasemonkey scripts.

Just like SafariStand, Greasekit need SIMBL.

10. Firebug lite is the answered prayer for users who want to have Firebug ability – once Firefox exclusive – in other browsers. There are two ways to activate Firebug under non-Firefox browsers: insert the code in the site, or use the bookmarklet.

This one is not exactly a plugin but it is the solution for those who said that the only reason he/she stays with Firefox is Firebug.

More

11. Pimp My Safari – is the place to go to find more Safari add-ons in the form of plugins or bookmarklets. Please note that not all of the plugins are free.

This list is far from complete, but I think it’s a good start. So if you know (and use) other good Safari plugins, please share them using the comments below.

Got Tech Questions? Ask Them on MakeUseOf Answers!

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Alternative web browsers are aplenty and have a low barrier of entry even for less technically savvy computer users, but people are generally not keen to change their habits or spending time researching, downloading and installing another application – especially when the one that comes preloaded appears to be working just fine.

1. Firefox is not perfect software, but its vulnerabilities are fixed in a considerably shorter amount of time. Many new users are curious – is Mozilla Firefox safe? Updates are released immediately, not on a monthly schedule, and clock in at fewer than 10 MB. Users are notified automatically and prompted to install the update with a single click. The update process doesn’t take more than a minute on a modern computer.

2. Since Firefox is open source, anyone can look at the source code, anyone can spot a problem and contribute a fix. Would you leave your car keys with a guy that says “trust me” or at a car lot with video surveillance and a logbook?

3. ActiveX applets, the way IE extends the functionality of the browser, are a known highway for malware and viruses. Firefox works with verified and signed add-ons. Even if you choose to install a malicious add-on – and the browser warns you – the damage is limited to the information in the browser whereas ActiveX exploits could be used to take over the whole computer.

4. Conscious users can install NoScript, an add-on that takes care of vulnerabilities that are not yet patched, either in Firefox or other plug-ins such as Java, JavaScript and Adobe’s Flash. It achieves this goal by allowing the user to selectively enable interactive objects that the user decides to trust, automatically blocking the rest.

5.  Security through obscurity; malicious programmers will always target the browser with the largest user base, especially if that user base is less tech savvy.

6.  Firefox uses a service provided by Google that notifies the user before entering a potentially malicious web site. These websites ask for your financial data under false pretenses or contain malicious software often posing as something useful such as codecs or registry fixes.

We check the radiator on the car when the temperature indicator turns red; by the time the computer starts acting up or not starting at all, and by all chances appearing to work just fine, your documents, passwords and financial data might already siphoned half a world away. Most people don’t realize this, there are no clear warnings, but using Internet Explorer is in itself a security threat.

I substantiate that statement by citing the Google Analytics on my blog – there are still people using old, un-patched and therefore vulnerable versions of Internet Explorer. The reasons behind this range from the hassle of dealing with Windows Update, millions of machines without a valid license which cannot access updates and users not realizing the importance of having up to date software.

This is not news, yet there are people unaware of the danger posed. Washington Post’s Brian Krebs reports on the Security Fix blog “Internet Explorer Unsafe for 284 Days in 2006”. Even a fully patched and up-to-date version of IE 6 contains at least 22 discovered vulnerabilities; IE 7 stands at 9 and IE 8 at 2. By comparison, the latest version of Firefox (3.5.1), a free and open source browser, has zero un-patched vulnerabilities; the previous version (3.0.x) also stands at zero.

As always, you’re welcome to leave a comment below. Is Mozilla Firefox much more safe compared to IE? You might also want to check out some MakeUseOf posts on security, Firefox or browsers in general.

Got Tech Questions? Ask Them on MakeUseOf Answers!

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Unite eliminates the need for a third party server that would normally proxy or relay the content, such as Flickr, Twitter or Yahoo Messenger. It’s essentially like setting up a web server on your own computer, without the hassle of manually installing various software, configuring them and getting a DNS (Domain Name System) account. It also makes the installation of new functionality a “point and click” process.

I’m sure we’ll have a review of Opera 10 shortly, but let’s focus on Unite for the moment. Here are the steps you need to take in order to use the various Unite services.

1. Click on the propeller icon on the left sidebar.
2. Click on the icon labeled ‘Home’ and then on ‘Start’. A wizard will appear. Click next.
3. Create an Opera account for free or sign up for a new one. It is extremely simple and fast, just choose an username, a password and enter an email address.
4. Choose a name that would describe the computer. If you install Unite on more than one computer, this will enable you to differentiate between them and enable sharing. A descriptive name could also help a friend who wishes you to send photos, for example – naming one “The home PC” and another “The office laptop” can easily distinguish the two. Using UPnP port forwarding poses some security issues, but it allows access to your files from outside the local network (Internet) without using Opera’s proxy server which provides a speed boost. If you want a direct connection without UPnP, add port (8840) in your router’s ‘Port Forwarding’ list.
5. Click Finish to save the settings and close the wizard.

You will now be able to start any of the services listed in the left sidebar, such as file sharing. They are designed to be extremely easy to use. For example, to enable File Sharing, click on the File Sharing icon and then on Start. To protect your privacy, it will ask you to select the folder that you want to share.

After you click the OK button, a web page will open that will showcase the content you selected in the previous step. On the left, you’ll see your files, on the right the instructions for sharing with your friends and the permissions. All your friend has to do to access the files is to paste the link given in the right sidebar. A regular webpage will appear in your friend’s browser along with download links for all the files.

All the files are hosted on your computer and are never transferred to Opera’s servers. For the duration you wish to allow users to connect to your Unite services, you need to have the computer and browser open. Be aware that transferring unencrypted sensitive information is not recommended, as all transfers are done using HTTP. The Photo, Media and File Sharing use the same underlying technology while adding specific controls for each media type like a Flash music player and photo thumbnails.

This technology is not limited to the 5 bundled applications: Fridge (secure notes), Lounge (instant messaging), Photo and File Sharing, Media Player. It’s open to developers and uses well-known open standards such as HTML, CSS and JavaScript.

Below is a screenshot of the Lounge, a quasi-instant messaging application. To invite other people, the host needs to send a link to the other participants. They can use any modern web browser to join the discussion.  It is similar in functionality to a private IRC channel.

The Fridge application lets you leave notes for friends or yourself, similar to the ‘Wall’ on Facebook or direct messaging in Twitter.

You can write applications — in the form of Opera Unite Services — that use this server to serve content to other Web users. Why is this exciting? Well, it allows you to interact with contacts, sharing data and services without the need for any third-party Web sites/applications to be involved at all. –Opera Developer Blog

Opera lets the geeks get a taste of the next paradigm shift in web browsing, a great way to win hearts, minds and developers. I’ve radically changed my tune about Opera after hearing from tens of fans and Thomas Ford, Communications Manager.

I invite each one of you to give Opera Unite a try. Download the alpha which is available for Windows, Mac and Linux; and let us know what you think in the comments. What applications should the developers start working on to further extend Unite’s functionality?

Got Tech Questions? Ask Them on MakeUseOf Answers!

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The good, the bad, and the unscientific test

I’m just an ordinary Mac user and not a certified software tester, so don’t expect to find scientific result here. All I did was take this incomplete Mac version of Chrome for a ride, doing the things that I usually do everyday with a browser.

But first, I downloaded from here and installed it.

Opening, closing and re-opening the browser

As silly as they sound, there are reason why I do this: first is to know how fast the browser starts, and closes; second is to glance at the look; and third is to know whether Chrome saves the previously opened tabs upon restarting.

The results:

Chrome opens pretty fast. Actually, pretty darn fast. That is a good sign.

Google search functionality is embedded directly in the address bar. So, you may just enter your search queries into the field, hit Enter and boom, you’re redirected to Google’s search results page.

Chrome actually saves passwords using Keychain Manager and allows you to add bookmarks. There isn’t a bookmark manager as yet, unfortunately. So don’t go adding bookmarks unnecessarily, there’s no way to delete them!

Unlike what Damien said regarding the Linux version, Mac’s Chrome alpha does have support for complex tab management i.e. you can pull individual tabs out of their current window and shift them around.

Flaws:

There is no Flash support yet. This means that everything that depends on Flash like YouTube or flash games won’t work.

Generally, I think the appearance is OK for a Mac app, but that is personal preference. But just like with Safari 4 beta, I disliked the way Chrome arranges the tabs above the address bar because the page title would be partially missing when many tabs are open.

I found a few minor bugs, though — such as the absence of favicons and the also the absence of green button to maximize the window. Another bug is the missing titles from some opened tabs as shown below.

After restarting, Chrome did not re-open the previous tabs automatically. Although, this setting is easily enabled in the Preferences. They do inform you which tabs were recently closed, that’s a nice touch.

Read Emails in GMail

I’ve been a GMail fan since its first appearance. And because Chrome also comes from Google, I think it would be logical to try to open GMail from Chrome.

I don’t have high hopes because several early reviews of Mac Chrome stated that GMail was not rendered perfectly. Yet, I didn’t encounter any problems. Another good sign.

Open a whole bunch of tabs

I think the concept of tabs is one of the best things that have ever happened in the browser world. The Windows version of Chrome takes it further by separating each tab into an individual entity. The idea is, if one tab crashes, the others will not be affected.

To see whether the same concept was also applied to the Mac alpha version, I tried to open as many tabs as possible at once (more than 20 before I lost count), and hoped that one of them would crash.

I was unlucky. Everything went fine. But I found that opening lots of tabs consumes a lot of processing power, and there was a lag for a few milliseconds for a page to appear when switching between tabs.

Just for your information, Chrome uses the same key combination as Firefox to switch between tabs: Command + Option + Left/Right Arrow.

Downloading

Beside emailing, chatting and browsing, downloading is another main activity of the netizen.

By default, Chrome handles the download by itself. But to monitor the process, you have to open the download tab by going to the Window –> Downloads menu. No complains here either.

Editor’s note: By default, Chrome stores downloads to the Downloads folder but the settings to change the download location is bricked.

Blogging

Last but not the least, I tried to blog using Chrome.

Maybe it was my connection or maybe it was Chrome, but I felt that logging in to one of my Wordpress blogs took quite a while. Uploading pictures and saving post were not as snappy compared to Safari 4, and there were also several unsuccessful login attempts to other Wordpress blogs.

In Conclusion

This is just a short test drive of the Mac alpha version of Chrome, but I already like it – a lot. And after experiencing it first hand, I have to say that I can not wait for the final release. I must admit that it may be a tad more refined than its Linux counterpart. Read Damien’s article to see how it performed on Ubuntu

Have you tried it yet? What do you think? Does it give you hope for the final release? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Got Tech Questions? Ask Them on MakeUseOf Answers!

• (23)Testing Google Chrome Alpha: Test #1 – Linux
• (27)Stainless – Google Chrome’s Mac Twin [Mac Only]
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For those Linux users who have been waiting hard and long for the release of Google Chrome Linux Alpha, there are both a good and bad news for you. The bad news is, Google Chrome for Linux is still not available yet. The good news however, the alpha build is now available for testing, which could be a joy for some Linux geeks.

Last week, Google released the first alpha build (build 3.0.183.1) of Google Chrome for Linux (and Mac). I have tested the Linux version on my Ubuntu machine and compared how it fares against Firefox. It is apparent that there are plenty of features missing, but it also comes with some juice that proved to be a surprise for many.

Warning

On the Chromium developer’s blog, they have stressed that the alpha build is not meant for mainstream public use and should be used only by developers. Being a public user, you are still free to download/install the software, but do bear in mind that many of the features are still missing.

Next step, installation.

Installation

Installing Google Chrome on Ubuntu is very easy. Download the deb file from the Chromium Early Release Channel to your desktop. Double click on the downloaded file to initiate the installation.

When the installation is complete, a warning window regarding the instability of this software will pop up. In the window, you can also opt to help the development of Google Chrome for Linux by sending in the crash reports to Google.

First impression

The very first impression of running Google Chrome Linux on my Ubuntu is that it is very fast.

Whenever I click on the Firefox launcher, I always have to wait for several seconds (at least 10 seconds) for it to load in the background before I get to see the home page. The more extensions I installed, the slower it got.

For Google Chrome, the moment I click on the launcher, the browser loads instantly, almost without any delay. One could argue that Google Chrome doesn’t support any extensions now and most of its features are not available, so it is logical that it loads faster. That could be true, but still, the difference in the speed is enormous.

Other than the boot speed, the speed that it loads a web page, performs a search, accesses URL history, suggests the URL as you type is also much faster than Firefox. And also more intelligent, in my opinion.

We have already covered plenty of Google Chrome features, including the tips and tricks, so I shall not delve into that. Overall, what is working in this alpha build is basic browsing, new tabs, simple tab dragging, search from URL bar, incognito mode and full page zoom.

What is lacking for now?

In short, it is still lacking a whole great list of things. There is no flash support, means you won’t be able to watch any videos on Youtube, no printing, no complex text support, no complex tab dragging (pulling the tab out of the browser window), you can’t change the homepage, little or almost no configuration options in the Options page and many other features that are only partially implemented.

One thing that I also noticed is that the font rendering in Google Chrome is still not up to par with Firefox. In addition, the UI still needs some polishing to make full of the GTK+ theme.

Should you install?

Google has make it clear that this is still an alpha release and should be installed by developers only. I am not a developer, but I am already enjoying the benefits of its speed. For basic browsing (checking mail, reading articles, performing searches in search engines), Google Chrome can do its job well, but for anything that is more complex, you will have to fall back to your native browser. There is no harm in installing it and trying it out for yourselves, I am already using it as my default browser. For complex stuff, I guess I’ll have to stick with Firefox.

Don’t forget that this is only the Linux version. My colleague, Jeffry, will be reviewing its Mac counterpart. Watch out for his article. Will it be better or worse? Find out soon.

What do you think about this alpha release? Did Google do the right thing by releasing such a raw version of their browser? Are you satisfied with it? Let it all out in the comments!

Got Tech Questions? Ask Them on MakeUseOf Answers!

• (8)Testing Google Chrome Alpha: Test #2 – Mac
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But for the serious guys, the source code is often a mine of info. It’s the backdoor into a competitor’s SEO strategies – keyword use, design optimization etc. In brief, what’s the guy doing right and what is he doing wrong.

Every browser has an inbuilt viewer, much like a notepad. Commonly found under the View menu, it displays the client side source code at the touch of a mouse. Commonly though, it is not feature rich. For instance, a feature to change the font face would have been nice. Also, a simple addition of a comment before saving the file is not possible as it is usually read only. It is merely meant to be a viewer… the word ‘editor’ a bit ill-chosen.

So can we get the browser to use the editor of our choice? Thankfully, most of the browsers themselves are open to the idea. Here’s how we can foist our own choice on Firefox, Internet Explorer and Opera.

Mozilla Firefox

Firefox 3’s default viewer is accessed from View – Page Source. It has basic options to change the text size, syntax highlighting and a feature to wrap long lines. One feature I like is that Firefox lets me see the source for a selected area of the webpage (Right click – View selection source).

But to choose another editor, let’s do this:

1. Type about:config in the address bar. Ignore the alert which comes up and go ahead.
2. In the application preferences page, scroll to the bottom half of the page or use browser’s Find (CTRL+F) to search for two values.
3. Find and highlight view_source.editor.external. Double click and toggle it to “true”.
4. Next, just below it find and highlight view_source.editor.path. Double click on it and enter the new path of your preferred editor in the Enter string value box. If the path doesn’t exist or is not executable, the inbuilt viewer will be used.

It’s done!

Firefox has a host of add-ons which help to get under the hood of a webpage. Ann Smarty, a colleague here at MakeUseOf has covered seven of them quite comprehensively in an outside post at SearchEngineJournal.com. Of the 7 add-ons mentioned, only View Formatted Source is not updated for the latest version of the browser.

Internet Explorer

IE8’s source viewer, accessed from View – Source doesn’t add anything more than the standard options. But the inbuilt Developer Tools feature gives IE8 some extra teeth and us, an option to have an editor of our choice.

Developer Tools is a debugger which makes dissecting a webpage and its included elements like CSS, Javascript and HTML much easier. The developer tools can be opened by –

• Open IE8. Press F12
• Or on the Menu click Tools – Developer Tool.

It is a powerful tool and to explain it would require a few tutorials of its own. Here, we just want to change the source code editor.

1. Open Internet Explorer.
2. Press the F12 button to start the Developer Tools.
3. Click on File; Choose Customize Internet Explorer View Source.
4. Three options are presented: Default Viewer, Notepad, Other…
5. You can use Notepad or select Other for an editor of your choice. Browse to the location of your program, select the program’s executable file and click Open to set it up as the new editor.

Opera

Opera v9.64 does allow you to make changes and apply them on the fly in its source editor. The source editor is available from View – Source. Opera also gives you the option to change the default and it is easy.

1. On the Menu, click on Tools – Preferences.
2. In Preferences, select the Advanced tab. Under Programs, click on Edit for Choose application for viewing source.
3. Opera gives us three choices,
   • The Opera source viewer – use the inbuilt one.
   • Open with default application – specify the path of your preferred application.
   • Open with other application – here you can browse to the program of your choice, select its executable and set it as the editor. You can also fix launch parameters for the program in the Parameter field.
4. Click OK to close the source viewer options and set the changes.

A short note on Google Chrome…

Google Chrome does not allow us to change the default source viewer (yet!). Chrome has a Developer’s section under the page icon, from where you can view the source of the current page, use Debug JavaScript function and open a JavaScript console. The source viewer itself is minimalistic with syntax highlighting, line numbers and active links.

The view source option is akin to a diagnostic kit, especially for a web developer. Therefore, it makes sense to use the better ones on the table like for instance Notepad++, SourceEdit, or even dedicated but lean HTML editors like Homesite (good but not free). For more free options look at 3 Windows Text Editors For Programmers.

As we are talking about the ‘language of code’ why not also look at Damien’s post on tools to clean up CSS files.

Have you changed your source viewer/editor? Or are you sticking to the default? Also let us know your own editor of choice.

Got Tech Questions? Ask Them on MakeUseOf Answers!

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If you are a web developer, you sure have to take care of browser compatibilities and ensure that your web app looks and works almost the same, if not entirely the same across different browsers and platforms.

If you have been looking for an easy solution to see how your site looks in different browsers, then check out the new Adobe BrowserLab. Adobe BrowserLab provides you with exact renderings of your webpages as they would look in different browsers and operating systems. The service might remind you of Browsershots which also provides you with screenshots of your site in different browsers. There is however, no waiting required in Adobe BrowserLab and you get to see the results almost instantaneously.

Adobe BrowserLab allows you to preview your work in Firefox 2.X Windows, Firefox 3.X Windows, Firefox 2.X Mac OS, Firefox 3.X Mac OS, IE6.X and IE7.X and Safari 3.X; which is less than what you can get with Browsershots but includes the popular browsers.

You can view the results side by side (2-up) view, or any individual screenshot (1-up view) or compare the renderings with the “onion-skin” view which overlays one screenshot over the other (as seen below).

You can install BrowserLab MXP extensions to integrate Adobe BrowserLab with Dreamweaver CS4, which would then allow you to preview and compare the local files which you are developing for your site.

Looks too good to be true? Well it is true, at least for a certain period of time anyway. Adobe BrowserLab is a limited free preview service. While Adobe is testing the service, they are letting people hop on board. The final product would most likely require you to shell out some bucks. However, with the time most webapps take these days to drop out of beta stages, you might be able to use BrowserLab for at least a considerable amount of time. You can give it a thorough spin and decide if you would like to spend some money to avail its services in the future.

Interested in webdesign? Check out our MakeUseOf posts to help you become a web-designing wizard.

What clever ways do you use to preview your work in different browsers? Virtualization? Or you install all the browsers? Let us know about them in the comments.

Got Tech Questions? Ask Them on MakeUseOf Answers!

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The semantic web, as Wikipedia puts it, is:

an evolving extension of the World Wide Web in which the semantics of information and services on the web is defined, making it possible for the web to understand and satisfy the requests of people and machines to use the web content.

In this case, semantic recognition technology means that Glue can figure out when you are visiting a web page about the same “books, music, movies, wines, stocks, movie stars, recording artists” as your friends, but not necessarily on the same website.

If your friend left a comment on, let’s say, Slumdog Millionaire’s page on IMDB, that comment would also show in the Glue toolbar when you are visiting the Wikipedia page of the same movie. The technology basically aggregates information from across the web and serves it back according to ‘semantics’.

After you go to getglue.com and install the 500KB add-on, you’ll be presented with a bar at the top of the page you’re visiting. This bar shows friends that have liked the same thing you’re looking at as well as their comments. You can add it to your favorites or leave replies/comments.

It’s extremely easy to use Glue, it doesn’t seem to slow down Firefox and it only shows up when it detects one of the aforementioned categories i.e. you won’t see Glue popping up on the Wikipedia page for LHC.

It connects to Facebook – which makes importing friends easy for you and gives them a  great opportunity for exponential growth. They also invite you to give your Twitter, Flickr, Last.fm, Linkedin, FriendConnect and Myspace in order to allow fellow Glue users to “instantly see your books, music, movies, and more!”. However, it’s vey easy to close your account from: Glue For You>Account>Delete Account.

If you’re not sure yet whether to install Glue or not, check out this short video which explains how Glue works:

Glue Overview from AdaptiveBlue on Vimeo.

Glue is definitely a very interesting and useful Firefox add-on, and I invite you to try it and let us know in the comments what you think about it.

Got Tech Questions? Ask Them on MakeUseOf Answers!

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We will be looking at two similar services Fileai and FilesOverMiles. As simple as it can get, both of them only require a web browser for you to start sharing files. That is it. No setting up your own servers, no creating private torrents, no uploading the file to third-party server.

Just click on the Send Files button within Fileai or the browse button within FilesOverMiles and you can pick and choose the files you want to send. You will then be provided a unique URL that identifies the transfer you are about to initiate. Pass on the link to your recipients, and as soon as they visit the link, they will start downloading the file directly off your computer.

So what are the advantages? Apart from the ease of use, virtually zero configuration and platform independence, there are other significant benefits as well. For one, the file is available for download instantly because it is being transferred directly from your computer to the receiver’s computer. Moreover, since your files are not being stored on any servers and the fact that you get unique random URLs coupled with encrypted transfers, you can share your personal files with your friends and families without having to worry too much about privacy issues.

There is no limit on file size when you send files using FilesOverMiles. However, it uses flash for transfers and therefore requires the entire file to be copied to the RAM, so you might not want to try your luck with a 2GB file on a computer fitted with only 2GB of RAM. Similarly, the recipient can download files that are smaller than half of the RAM available on their side. In any case, if you have a fairly new computer this may not be a problem for you.

Fileai requires Java runtime and runs as an applet that allows you to choose files and generate URLs. Similar to FilesOverMiles, there is practically no limit on the file size you can transfer because you and the person on other end will be using your respective bandwidths.

The one thing that I found missing in FilesOverMiles was BitTorrent-like inter-peer sharing algorithm that is available in Fileai. Using Fileai, if you send download link to multiple recipients, they will interact with each other resulting in faster download speeds for them and less upload bandwidth usage for you. Password-protected links and the ability to limit the number of transfers are some additional features that distinguish Fileai from FilesOverMiles.

A potential downside of such services is that both sender and receiver have to be online and connected to the Internet at the same time. You must also keep the browser window open till the transfers complete.

All in all, you should keep both of these sites handy in your virtual toolkit. You can pick and choose amongst them depending upon your needs or may be the availability of flash player of Java runtime on the computer you are on!

Not convinced? Maybe Pando or Podmailing will work for you instead.

With all the options that are available these days we are curious to know what service(s) you use to send/share files (large or small). Mention them in comments

Got Tech Questions? Ask Them on MakeUseOf Answers!

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Internet has become an inseparable part of our daily lives and the web browsers are the gates to enter that virtual world.

And speaking of browsers, most Mac users rely on Safari and Firefox as their two main browsers. But those are not the only options. There are other browsers, such as: Opera, Flock, Shiira, Stainless, Camino and Sunrise. You can even try Chrome on your Mac if you really want to. Yet, there’s one great free browser that not many Mac users talk about: OmniWeb.

This browser – developed by The Omni Group (creator of many well-known Mac apps) – used to be a commercial application. Maybe that’s why OmniWeb is not popular among freeware seekers. The developer decided to make it available for free earlier this year – around February 2009. Due to the unbelievable number of free, great web browsers out there, I think it was a wise (and unavoidable) decision for the developers to make.

Why OmniWeb and why not?
Let’s start with the “why not” part first. There’s a catch behind the whole “free” statement: Omni Group have decided not to put this browser under active development anymore, although it is not discontinued. This might discourage some people to even try to use it. But still, it’s a good application and the latest available version (5.9.2) is two updates since becoming free.

If you are willing to try, OmniWeb is available as 23.3 Mb download for the International version or around 14 Mb if you prefer the English-only version.

As for the reasons to use OmniWeb, there are a lot goodies that users might find useful. A few of my favorites are:

• Thumbnail Tab Drawer –> All modern browsers have tabs but OmniWeb tried a different approach on utilizing this feature. Instead of placing the tabs above the browsing window like every other browser, OmniWeb’s tabs are located at the side, inside a drawer. The larger drawer space makes it possible to show thumbnails of the opened web pages. The thumbnails are arranged vertically. To move between tabs, users can use the shortcut Command + Up/Down Arrow.
  

• Multiple Workspaces –> Tabbed browsing cultivated a new habit for web surfers: opening many of web pages at once. When the number of tabs (and windows) increase to chaotic level, organizing them is a must. OmniWeb comes with a feature called Workspace (Command + Control + 0) where users can group tabs into different categories like: work, personal, fun, entertainment, or any category according to user’s preference.

• Customizable Search Box –> “Google” has become a new verb in the English language. It shows how often web users perform searches using Google. But there are other search engines that users may want to use/search on. OmniWeb lets users add/delete sites to the search box and also define the shortcut keys for different search functions. This process has a relatively simple learning curve.

There are many other features that you can read on the site or you can just download the manual if you would like to learn more.

OmniWeb will work with Mac OS X 10.4.8 or higher and is Universal Binary.

So, why not try this browser out and share your opinions in the comments below. Or if you are a part of the OmniWeb cult since the beginning, please share some experience below.

Got Tech Questions? Ask Them on MakeUseOf Answers!

• (7)Three Alternative Mac OS X Browsers Worth A Try
• (6)Shiira – Another Alternative Mac OS X Browser
• (29)Google Chrome – A New Chapter in Browser History?
• (100)7 Things Google Chrome Needs – Now That It’s Out of Beta
• (145)6 Reasons Why Firefox Dude May Want to Switch to Chrome

As user opinions sally back and forth about browser preferences, one thing is not open to question. Firefox is definitely more expandable and customizable than all others out there (Don’t they call it the Swiss Army knife for the web).

But if you like the Chrome’s agility then there are ways to make it more versatile. We at MakeUseOf.com have gone over quite a lot of ground with the Chrome. You can read about some tips and tricks here and here.

Here are some more ways to reach under the hood and exploit some handy Chrome features.

1. Make Chrome’s consume less memory

By default, Chrome is a multi-process browser. Yawn! What’s that? Simply, it means that each tab runs as a separate process asking for separate resources from the computer. The current working tab gets the most priority over the others. This was intentionally designed to make web apps run faster in Chrome. This feature makes the browser zippier and more stable even with multiple open tabs.

But if you aren’t a heavy user and use the browser to surf only a single site at a time then disabling multiple processes can free up some CPU resources. To handle each web process Chrome has three settings –

–process-per-tab
The default mode; each tab gets an independent process of its own. This increases the rendering of webpages and makes the browser stable as each tab is a separate process from the rest. But it also consumes memory.

–process-per-site
One process for each unique website; for instance a user with two tabs open for Gmail and another for MakeUseOf will have the two Google tabs running under the same process.

–single-process
The simplest mode; all tabs run in a single process, much like the other browsers we have now. This setting frees up memory for other applications. This is what we are looking for.

Create a shortcut for Chrome. Open the Properties tab. Edit the Target field as shown in the picture by appending –single-process to the path.



Similarly you can create two more shortcuts for the other two processes to handle your web sessions in three ways.

2. Manage tabs with the Task Manager

This is an offshoot of Google Chrome’s multi-process nature which allows each tab to run separate from the other. This allows us to manage, reload or shut down each tab without affecting the rest of our browsing. All this can be done through the Task Manager. Press Shift and Escape to start the task manager or right click on the blue top bar. An unresponsive tab can be shut down without bringing down the browser by a simple press of the End process button.



3. Some stats for nerds

There is a simple way to tell which browser is using the most resources on your computer. Chrome’s task manager lets you examine the memory use of the opened browsers on your computer irrespective of make. Open task manager and click on the ‘Stats for nerds’ link at the bottom. A new tab opens with detailed memory info for all running browsers. The second part of the page also describes Chrome’s process usage stats.



4. Some more stats on the Resources page

More for site administrators than for you and me but the resources page has a ton of info to offer. To track the resources used by a web page – right click inside the page. Select Inspect element – go to the Resources tab and reload the web page. You can view a list of images, scripts and objects from the web page and you can sort them by size or by loading time.



5. Drag to resize any text box

Do you feel that the size of a text box on any website is not worthy of your thoughts…then just place your mouse on the bottom right edge and drag to increase the size. Give MakeUseOf.com’s comment box the first drag.



6. Split Chrome into double-pane view

This bookmarklet from Chromeplugins.org is incredibly useful. The dual view feature is useful when you want to compare two websites or search results side by side. Drag the Chrome Split Browser bookmarklet into your bookmarks toolbar. When you click the bookmarklet, it asks you to choose the two websites you want and displays them in a double pane.



7. Startup with multiple pages

On launch, Chrome opens up with the ‘Most visited’ area. But it also lets us set options for starting the day by opening our most favored sites in several tabs at once. Click on the wrench icon (Customize and control Chrome) on the top right corner. Under Options – Basic tab we can add the pages we want to open on startup.



8. Drag and drop downloads from Chrome

After finishing a download, you can copy it to the desktop or to any other folder by a simple drag and drop directly from Google Chrome.

Did I miss any of your favorite tips or tricks? Let us know in the comments and lets help each other create a more sleek Chrome experience.

Got Tech Questions? Ask Them on MakeUseOf Answers!

• (100)7 Things Google Chrome Needs – Now That It’s Out of Beta
• (145)6 Reasons Why Firefox Dude May Want to Switch to Chrome
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• (22)View A Multi-Page Article On One Single Page With PageZipper

Luckily, in Linux, there are plenty of great alternative browsers that you can use. So, check out 12 alternative browsers for Linux.

1) Flock

Flock is also known as the Web 2.0 browser. It is based on the Gecko engine (the same engine used by Firefox) and it is geared toward many of the Web 2.0 stuff. You can easily connect to your friend in Facebook, MySpace, Digg. watch Youtube video, browser Flickr photos, write a blog post or save a public bookmark and many more Web services. It may not be the fastest, but it is surely the most complete in Web 2.0 sense.

2) SwiftFox

If you haven’t have the courage to ditch Firefox, but wish for it to run faster, then Swiftfox could be a good alternative. Swiftfox is an optimized build of Mozilla Firefox and is fully compatible with the Firefox profile and extensions. There are builds for both AMD and Intel processors and is based on the most cutting edge Firefox source code available.

3) Swiftweasel

Another optimized build of Firefox. The difference between Swiftweasel and Swiftfox is that Swiftweasel is open source while Swiftfox has a proprietary software license. Same as Swiftfox, Swiftweasel loads faster than Firefox and uses far less memory. The default installation of Swiftweasel also comes with the AdBlockPlus extension to block all the javascript and ads.

4) SeaMonkey

The SeaMonkey browser is part of the SeaMonkey Internet Suite, which comes with a browser, email and newsgroup client, IRC chat client, and Web development tool.

SeaMonkey has a well-designed menu layout, enabling you to access to various options in the menu bar quickly and easily. If you are looking for an all-in-one email and browser package, then SeaMonkey will be a good choice.

5) Konqueror

Konqueror is the default browser in KDE system. It is more than a simple browser. It is also a file manager and an universal document viewer.

One good thing about Konqueror is that it is fully integrated into KDE 4 and is able to manage the memory usage and allocation better. It is lightweight and loads much faster than non-native browser. The ability to double as a file manager and document viewer is also useful at times when you need to access the documents in the local system.

6) Midori

Midori is a lightweight web browser that is fully integrated with GTK+ 2. Midori uses the WebKit engine (the same as Safari and Chrome) and it is fast in rendering web pages. Midori uses the Open Search API and allow you to specify and define your own search engine easily. It is still in the early development stage and is currently under heavy development.

7) Epiphany

Also known as the Web browser for GNOME desktop, the goal of Epiphany is to be simple and easy to use. Epiphany is based on the Gecko engine and supports tabs and extensions. It may not be the best among all the browsers, but when it comes to simplicity and ease of use, Epiphany definitely lives up to its name.

Kazehakase

Kazehakase is a Gecko based browser that comes with plenty of surprises. On the surface, it looks like a stripped down version of Firefox, but further exploration reveals plenty of useful features that are only available via extensions in Firefox. It include a mouse gesture function and key accelerator to allow you to perform tasks faster. You can also customize the size, width and color of the tab and there are options to manage your current session. Kazehakase is definitely a great browser that is worth checking out.

9) Opera

Opera is another popular browser used by many people. Some of its innovative design such as the Speed dial, mouse gesture, panel splitting have been implemented in other browsers such as Firefox, Chrome and IE.

10) Arora

Arora looks like a super slimed down version of Firefox, but it is in fact based on the Webkit engine. It is a lightweight and minimalistic browser that is most suited for normal Web surfing. It does come with a private browsing mode that are not even available in the current version of Firefox (private browsing is available in Firefox 3.5beta)

11) Amaya

Amaya is more than a browser. It is also a Web editor that allows you to create and update documents directly on the Web. You can browse the Web and use the editor to change the color of the text, images layout or any other things that you see in the screen. A great tool for Web developers/designers.

12) Lynx

Lynx is the text web browser, which means that it is text based and you won’t see any images, javascript, advertisement or popup in the page. It is very useful for those who value speed over looks and just want to read the text rather seeing plenty of image advertisements.

This is a great list of alternative browsers for Linux. Do share with us which one is your favorite.

Got Tech Questions? Ask Them on MakeUseOf Answers!

• (100)7 Things Google Chrome Needs – Now That It’s Out of Beta
• (145)6 Reasons Why Firefox Dude May Want to Switch to Chrome
• (22)View A Multi-Page Article On One Single Page With PageZipper
• (11)Useful Widgets for the Opera Browser
• (2)Turning Any Web App Into Desktop App with Fluid [Mac]

We’ve seen multiple applications, trying to expend the reach of Torrent clients and the like. The Vuze and xTorrent clients both implement the web in their applications, allowing you to browse torrents as well as downloading them.

However, why is it that the web should be integrated in a Torrent client? Why not integrating torrents into a web client? Well, Wyzo manages to do just that, and the results are astounding.

Wyzo – The Media Browser

Wyzo’s long-term aim is to make web browsing smarter and more enjoyable. They want the user to feel home and to have the tools he needs, at any given time.

Most of this reflects upon the ease of downloading, but doing so without repressing the global browsing experience.

The browser is based on Firefox, and many things remain the same. Other things however, got a real makeover. You can read about the features of the browser below.

New Look

This third version of Wyzo has been completely restyled. You’ll notice that the tabs and buttons have adapted a slick chrome-like appearance. It’s a professional-looking skin that’s easy on the eyes – nothing too graphical, like some of the things we see these days.

Torrent Downloads and Acceleration

In the area of downloading, Wyzo comes with two major trump cards; FireDownload and FireTorrent, two great addons developed by the guys behind Wyzo.

FireDownload is a simple download accelerator. It doesn’t do anything particularly fancy, except speeding up your downloads. A lot. By using multiple connections with the server, FireDownload can accelerate your downloads up to ten times their original speed.

FireTorrent handles, as you might’ve guessed, the torrent integration. All torrents are simply added to your browser downloads. You can download in multiple sessions, and seeding happens automatically. Using FireTorrent, torrents become as easy as direct downloads.

FireDownload and FireTorrents are also available as Firefox add-ons via FireAddons.com.

Search … Everything

Wyzo comes with a customized startpage, which allows you to search the interwebz for almost everything, including torrents, images, video, news, blogs and maps. Each section gives you access to multiple search engines (e.g. you can search for torrents on YouTorrent, Mininova, Vuze and Torrentz).

Loaded With Add-ons

Besides FireDownload and FireTorrent, Wyzo is pre-loaded with various other Firefox extenstions, that enhance the user’s browser experience.

Remember your OS’s alt-tab function? Ctrl-Tab does the same in your browser. It’s a slick and easy way to visually navigate between your open tabs.

Cooliris - previously covered on MakeUseOf – gives you a visual representation of web content. On supported sites, it crawls for pictures, videos and articles, and presents these as a picture wall. It’s an extremely beautiful, and addicting way to surf the web.

FireGestures allows you to perform simple actions through mouse gestures. Hold a trigger and draw simple shapes to navigate and interact with web pages. You can also add new gestures, by using user-scripts.

So what’s your take on Wyzo? What do you, or don’t you like about it? Tell us, and your fellow MakeUseOf readers, all about it in the comments section below!

Got Tech Questions? Ask Them on MakeUseOf Answers!

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