MakeUseOf.com: “Sony Pictures Online Hacked Using “Primitive and Common” Vulnerability, Data Unencrypted [News]” plus 13 more |  |
- Sony Pictures Online Hacked Using “Primitive and Common” Vulnerability, Data Unencrypted [News]
- Latest Hilarious Picks [MakeUseOf Geeky Fun]
- Cool Websites and Tools [June 2nd]
- How To Transfer Music & Other Media To Your iPod Or iOS Device [Linux]
- 6 Cool URL Shorteners With A Twist Which You Should Try Out
- Two Chrome Extensions For Working With Multiple Links & Tabs
- Get Paid By The Media For Your Twitter Pictures With Zuu.li
- Hot Tech Deals – Samsung DualView ST700 16MP 5X Digital Camera w/ Front Facing 1.8in LCD for $184.77 + more
- How To Find Files Online Without Having To Use P2P Software
- Plus One For Everyone – Google Launches +1 For Websites [News]
- Create Better Online Shows With The Uprompt Teleprompter
- Maximize Screen Space and Functionality on Firefox With AwesomeBar HD & LessChrome HD
- Download, Clip & Convert Web Videos With The Help Of Clip Converter
- What You Need To Know About Touchpads Before Buying Your Next Laptop [Technology Explained]
| Sony Pictures Online Hacked Using “Primitive and Common” Vulnerability, Data Unencrypted [News] Posted: 03 Jun 2011 07:31 AM PDT
The group left a message on PasteBin revealing the full extent of the intrusion, which includes thousands of email and password combinations, personal information (including names, addresses, dates of birth and phone numbers), nearly 3.5 million “music coupons” and over 60,000 “music codes”. The group also announced that Sony’s security was overcome by a simple SQL injection attack. In a statement, the group said: “SonyPictures.com was owned by a very simple SQL injection, one of the most primitive and common vulnerabilities, as we should all know by now. From a single injection, we accessed EVERYTHING. Why do you put such faith in a company that allows itself to become open to these simple attacks?”
The group also stated: “Every bit of data we took wasn’t encrypted. Sony stored over 1,000,000 passwords of its customers in plaintext, which means it’s just a matter of taking it. This is disgraceful and insecure: they were asking for it.” The group has released much of the plundered data, though these only contain a small amount of the compromised data. Full databases have also been posted online, along with a database layout text document to aid the extraction of data. The database contains both military and government email and password combinations, and also admin accounts to Sony Pictures Online.
The following excerpt was taken from the “FILE CONTENTS.txt” document that accompanies LulzSec’s limited release: Contents of our plunder: The group were also responsible for several other recent security breaches, including the defacement of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) website and Sony Music of Japan. Sony has acknowledged the claims and is said to be investigating.
Source: LulzSecurity.com / @LulzSec Read comments: Loved it? Hated it? Join discussion here ...
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| Latest Hilarious Picks [MakeUseOf Geeky Fun] Posted: 03 Jun 2011 05:19 AM PDT
If you would like to keep up with all latest Geeky Fun additions, please subscribe to the Geeky Fun feed here. You can also subscribe and get the latest additions via email. Download videos from the sites like YouTube, Break.com etc. Convert videos to almost any format.  Read comments: Loved it? Hated it? Join discussion here ...
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| Cool Websites and Tools [June 2nd] Posted: 02 Jun 2011 08:31 PM PDT
These are just half of the websites that we discovered in the last couple of days. If you want us to send you daily round-ups of all cool websites we come across, leave your email here. Or follow us via RSS feed. Download videos from the sites like YouTube, Break.com etc. Convert videos to almost any format. Read comments: Loved it? Hated it? Join discussion here ...
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| How To Transfer Music & Other Media To Your iPod Or iOS Device [Linux] Posted: 02 Jun 2011 06:31 PM PDT
Unless you’re using the 4th generation device (or iPad) you shouldn’t have any issues transferring media, provided you’ve got the right software on your side. Unfortunately iPod Touch 4, iPad and iPhone 4 users running iOS 4.1+ won’t be able to use this method until the vital libgpod library used by gtkpod is updated to support these devices. Until then, they will mount (using the first method below) as read-only. As soon as libgpod gets an update we’ll pencil in the details here. For the rest of you it’s easy, and you’ll be loading music onto your Apple device in no time. Getting Penguins To Talk To FruitsNote: If you’re using a non-iOS device, e.g. iPod or iPod nano, you do not need this – skip to the next section below. If you are using an old iPod Touch (1G, 2G, 3G) or iPhone (1G, 2G, 3G) then you do need this. In order to get Linux and your iPhone or iPod Touch (old ones, remember) on speaking terms you’re going to need to download libimobiledevice. Once you have installed this package, your Apple device and Linux operating system will play along nicely. Visit libimobiledevice.org to either download a package suitable for your particular distribution, or compile from source if you’re that way inclined. Ubuntu users who would like a quick install can open a Terminal window and paste: sudo add-apt-repository ppa:pmcenery/ppa sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get install libimobiledevice1 Note the 1 at the end of the command! There are other packages available for OpenSUSE, Fedora, Mandriva and Debian, all located at the above URL. Once you’ve set that up, you’re good to go – time to plug in that iPhone!
On most distributions the device will mount itself automatically. If it doesn’t you’ve either not installed the above package or will need to mount the device according to your distribution’s guidelines. You now have filetree access to your device. Prod around if you want, you’ll find your camera images in the DCIM folder if you want to quickly copy and paste them to a local folder for backup.
Note: don’t delete anything from the DCIM folder (or any location, really) as this does not update your iTunes database. Your iPhone will think the files are still there and you’ll have to manually delete a bunch of fuzzy thumbnails later. Transferring Music & VideoFrom experience, there’s only one program I would recommend for this task – Banshee, a clever little all in one solution. The app supports music, video, podcasts and audiobooks. In fact, you can use anything listed at the bottom of this gtkpod webpage and this includes a few familiars like Rhythmbox, Amarok and podtool. Here I’ll be sticking to Banshee as it is the standard music player for Ubuntu 11.04, but if you’re using an older version or different distribution you’ll need to grab the appropriate one at the Banshee download page.
With your iPhone (or iPod Touch) connected and mounted, start up Banshee. Click on your device in the left hand sidebar and Banshee will display a page which allows you to determine whether you want manual or automatic music sync – manual is always best. Next you’ll need to add music to the Banshee database. Simply choose Media then Import Media then decide on whether to import your entire library or simply the selection you want on your device. There’s no support for .FLAC, .OGG, .APE or similar so make sure you’ve transcoded any of these to something like .MP3, .AAC, .ALAC, .AIFF or .WAV.
With your music imported, choose your default Music playlist. Next simply select the artists, albums or single tracks you would like on the device (Ctrl+Click for multiple choices). The next step is simple – drag your chosen artists, albums and so on to your device listed under Devices in the side menu (e.g. iPhone). Banshee will immediately begin transferring files, and your device should notify you that a sync is in progress. Note: This probably sounds obvious, but please don’t unmount or disconnect your device whilst sync is in process. You will probably corrupt your device’s database file and cause all manner of headaches.
That’s pretty much it, and it works just the same with video only you’ll need to make sure your device supports the video format you are trying to sync (supported filetypes include: .MP4, .M4V & .MOV). ConclusionIt’s a shame that gtkpod hasn’t updated for the latest Apple firmware, but it’s hopefully only a matter of time. With a powerful program like Banshee at the helm, controlling your media is a pretty straightforward task. You don’t quite get the same functionality as you’d get from iTunes (firmware updates are the big one there, I think) but it works. At least for some. Banshee also works on Windows and OS X, for those of you who are desperate to leave iTunes behind. Have you got an iPhone but also run Linux? Are there better tools out there than Banshee? Maybe you’re an iTunes refugee? Have your say in the comments below! Download videos from the sites like YouTube, Break.com etc. Convert videos to almost any format. Read comments: Loved it? Hated it? Join discussion here ...
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| 6 Cool URL Shorteners With A Twist Which You Should Try Out Posted: 02 Jun 2011 04:31 PM PDT
In this article I will show you 6 of the coolest URL shortening services that do more than simply shorten a URL. They can scan the inserted URL for malware, warn the unsuspecting visitor of unsafe content, check whether the visitor is human, unite multiple URLs into one, protect the URL with a question, or simply make the shortest and most weirdest looking URL you have ever seen. isNSFW
In case you didn’t know it yet, NSFW stands for Not Safe For Work. If you want to share a link that matches this description, then you should pick isNSFW. It allows you to further specify how the underlying website is not safe for work, by picking one of the following ratings: offensive, gore, nudity, or XXX. You can also specify a custom alias.
Once the link is used, the visitor is taken to a screen that previews the full URL and warns them of the rated content.
fur.ly
With fur.ly you can shorten and assign multiple long URLs to one short URL. This is a great way to share a collection of links with your friends. As you type URLs in an empty line, a new empty line will appear. Before you hit > Go at the bottom of the list, you need to enter a CAPTCHA.
The result is pretty cool because it automatically opens the first URL and lets you move through the other ones via tiny a fur.ly toolbar at the top of the page. You can view a drop-down list of URLs or view the usage stats for your short URL.
There are several services similar to fur.ly.
Finally, find more interesting tools in these articles:
imfy.us
Interested in security, but don’t need to shorten multiple URLs? Try imfy.us, which creates secure short URLs with anonymous referers, anti-bot protection (entering a CAPTCHA required), and unique thumbnail previews of the site you are about to visit. It may be a little annoying, but you actually have to enter the CAPTCHA in order to be let through to the full URL, not to create a short URL. This could be an argument against using imfy.us, but the idea is that the URL is protected from random or mindless clicking through.
Saf.liSaf.li is another URL shortening service that takes security to heart. It checks every link for malware with BitDefender before it is shortened.
You can instantly share a link created with Saf.li via Twitter, Google, and Facebook or simply copy the link to your Clipboard. Furthermore, you have access to statistics for your short URL, which among other things reveals the scan status for antivirus, anti-phishing, and java script.
Trick.lyThere is a lot of potential for fun in this tool as it allows you to protect your short URL with a password, riddle, or question.
Tiny Arrows
Tiny Arrows creates the shortest URLs on Earth by working with the Unicode standard IDN. It makes the links look kind of funny.
Moreover, when you use one of their short URLs, you are shown an eight seconds preview of the URL you are about to visit. You can skip the preview temporarily by clicking > Go Now or forever by choosing > Never show a URL preview again.
For more options, have a look at this article: 6 Interesting Flavors of Short URL Generation & Manipulation. And if you’re sick and tired of short URLs, how about swimming against the stream and making a URL huge instead? Just for the fun of it, check out huge URL. Because bigger is better, right? What is your favorite URL shortener and did you like any of the twists in the ones above? Image credits: Skobrik Download videos from the sites like YouTube, Break.com etc. Convert videos to almost any format. Read comments: Loved it? Hated it? Join discussion here ...
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| Two Chrome Extensions For Working With Multiple Links & Tabs Posted: 02 Jun 2011 03:31 PM PDT
Linkclump: Open Multiple Links At OnceOnce you install Linkclump, you can hold down the right mouse-button and start dragging a marquee around multiple links you’d like to open:
Note how intelligent this extension is. It knows it shouldn’t select any other link except for the actual links to the sites. So “Similar” or “Block site” links are not selected. Once you let go of the right mouse buttons, all selected links will open in their own tabs, in the background. If you change your mind and decide you don’t want to open those links after all, simply left-click anywhere and then let go of the right mouse button. The selection marquee will disappear, but no links will be activated. Even though Linkclump is very simple, it is customizable. This is what the options screen looks like:
So you can customize the button you use to activate the link selection mode, as well as specify an additional key. For example, you could set it so that whenever you hold down Ctrl and left-click, the link selection mode is activated. You can also add additional words to the ignored words list, so that the extension will not select them. All in all, this is a very simple extension, but it does the job quite well. Now that you’ve got all these tabs open, let’s take a look at … Revolver – Tabs: Rotate Between Tabs In Automatic IntervalsOkay, that may be a bit of a mouthful, but that’s the gist of what Revolver – Tabs does. There are situations where you may have several tabs open, and you need to go back and forth between them on a routine basis, to see if anything has changed. This can be true for eBay auctions, trouble ticket systems, or even news sites. Revolver – Tabs offers several options (and one odd hyphen in the name):
As you can see, it is rather bare-bones. You can set the switch interval, and specify whether or not Chrome should reload each tab as it is activated. The “Rotate only when inactive” option is interesting: It waits until you leave Chrome idle for 15 seconds, and then starts rotating tabs. Again, you need to leave Chrome idle, not just the current browser window. So if you want to use one Chrome window for your “real” browsing and another Chrome window for rotating between several sites, you’ll have to disable this option. Otherwise tabs won’t be rotated, because the browser isn’t idle. Once you’ve set it to your liking, it’s just a matter of opening the websites you’d like to monitor and clicking the Revolver – Tabs button. Tabs don’t start rotating immediately – the interval you’ve set must elapse first. Your TurnWhat interesting and uncommon add-ons do you use for managing your tabs in Chrome? I don’t mean the run of the mill extensions that pop up on the “most popular” lists; I’m more curious to hear about any special or esoteric tools you’ve dug up out of the depths of the Chrome Web Store. Tell me in the comments! Download videos from the sites like YouTube, Break.com etc. Convert videos to almost any format. Read comments: Loved it? Hated it? Join discussion here ...
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| Get Paid By The Media For Your Twitter Pictures With Zuu.li Posted: 02 Jun 2011 02:31 PM PDT
Zuu.li was created to fill a need: the need for users not only to maintain rights over their pictures, but to facilitate deals between a hungry news media and the users who have taken those newsworthy photos. Put simply, not only will the news get out via your Twitter stream, but if mainstream media wants to use your pictures you’ll get a good deal out of it. How Will Zuu.li Sell My Pictures?Zuu.li will only try to sell newsworthy pictures which you have deemed appropriate for sale. You manually choose this by checking a box marked “Scoop!” next to the photo you upload. So you can be reassured that your personal photos won’t be sold off.
These newsworthy photos will be marketed to Zuu.li’s connections within seconds and licensing arrangements will be made between Zuu.li and the news media. You’ll receive most of the profit from the licensing of these pictures. They work through a network known as Citizenside, which is the world’s largest citizen journalism network. Zuu.li enlists Citizenside to act as your agent and gives you 50-75% of the profits. You need to allow Zuu.li 15 days of exclusive licensing so that they can get you a good deal for your photos. But this means that soon afterwards while Zuu.li may still be brokering deals on your behalf you can be making your own arrangements directly with media outlets. To work out how much you might earn from your photos, you need to consider how important the news was, the timeliness of your upload, whether there were other photographers present and the quality of your photo. Zuu.li says, “If you’ve taken a picture that could make news in your town, it might net you enough to buy lunch. If you take a picture that makes news around the world, it could buy you a holiday on an island somewhere.” That’s pretty exciting stuff just for being in the right place at the right time – and using the right photo uploading service.
Zuu.li says payments will be made via Paypal, so it’s a simple process for most people worldwide. Using Zuu.liYou don’t need an account with Zuu.li — just connect Zuu.li to Twitter with oAuth and you’re ready to go. It doesn’t get much simpler than that. You’ll never be charged to use Zuu.li, so basically you’re ready to go. You could use Zuu.li simply for the peace of mind that your photos won’t be sold off unless you ask them to, unlike most other photo hosting sites for Twitter. But if you’re often taking photos that could be considered newsworthy, Zuu.li is the place to be uploading them if you want to protect your rights and your income.
More AlternativesThere’s plenty of other options to host and view Twitter pictures out there:
What are your thoughts on Zuu.li? Let us know in the comments! Image Credit: ShutterStock SuperTinTin – Skype Video Call Recorder Record and save your audio and video conversations on Skype or MSN. Easy to use. Read comments: Loved it? Hated it? Join discussion here ...
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| Posted: 02 Jun 2011 01:30 PM PDT
For more fresh hot deals, visit our Hot Tech Deals page, which is constantly updated.
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| How To Find Files Online Without Having To Use P2P Software Posted: 02 Jun 2011 12:31 PM PDT
For most people, Bittorrent is the definitive way to find less-than-legal files on the web. On the modern web, however, it’s not necessary to use Bittorrent or any other p2p network to find the files you want; you can find them straight from your browser. It’s just a matter of knowing where to look. This is handy, because some ISPs block all p2p software – very few block the web. Some sites are dedicated to pointing out where such files live, but you can also make use of Google to find what you need. Let’s run through your options. Dedicated File FindersWe’ve covered a few search engines that find what Google can’t in the past, some of which are very good at finding individual files. For example: FindFiles.net. This website searches, but not for pages; rather, it looks for files. Videos, music and pictures are among its features, but there’s more here than that:
Simply type your search term, then click the tab of the file you’re looking for. You’re going to need to browse a bit to find exactly what is you want, but it’s worth it. Another service worth checking out is FilesTube, which allows you to search sites like Rapidshare from a simple interface.
You’ll need some patience of course, because of the famous Rapidshare timeout. Happily you can download from Rapidshare without waiting if you want to. Just looking for a particular MP3? Check out azMP3s, a search engine for finding songs. Just type what you’re looking for it and see the results come in:
All of these sites are free, so check them out. Using GoogleIf you’d rather not use a separate site, however, it might help you to know that Google can search for files as well. It’s just a matter of telling Google what you’re looking for. Here’s the trick: in your search query, type “filetype:” followed, without a space, by the kind of file you’re looking for. For example, if you’re looking for a PDF called the Facebook Marketing Guide, you’d type “filetype:pdf facebook marketing guide” into Google:
You can use this to search for pretty much any file type. If you’re looking for music, use “filetype:mp3“; for movies, try “filetype:avi“. You get the idea, I’m sure, but you can find more information on Google’s Filetype FAQ if you need to. ConclusionFinding the files you want doesn’t mean using dedicated software. It means knowing which sites to search. Whether you use Google or a dedicated file search engine, you can find what you want without resorting to p2p software. Having said that, in many cases p2p software is faster than the above methods. What do you think is better? Share your thoughts in the comments below, because we love hearing from you and learning from you. Download videos from the sites like YouTube, Break.com etc. Convert videos to almost any format. Read comments: Loved it? Hated it? Join discussion here ...
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| Plus One For Everyone – Google Launches +1 For Websites [News] Posted: 02 Jun 2011 11:49 AM PDT
The exact algorithm behind the feature is still a bit of a mystery, but sites that you back with a vote should appear in your own search results more frequently. In addition, your Google contacts will see your recommendation if they come across the same site.
The button can be implemented on any website by visiting the setup page and going through the simple setup procedure. If you've used Adsense or Adwords, this will be familiar. Four different types of +1 button are available, although they're roughly the same size. Besides its appearance on third-party sites, the feature will also be rolling out on sites like YouTube and Blogger and will be implemented into the Android Market (although it's unclear if both the market website and the market app will be bestowed with the button). However, this is still considered an experimental feature, so you'll need to enroll before you'll see any new buttons to click. What do you think of Google’s latest venture into social networking? Does this look like a sure-fire winner or something destined to crash and burn? Should Facebook be worried? Source: Slashgear SuperTinTin – Skype Video Call Recorder Record and save your audio and video conversations on Skype or MSN. Easy to use. Read comments: Loved it? Hated it? Join discussion here ...
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| Create Better Online Shows With The Uprompt Teleprompter Posted: 02 Jun 2011 11:31 AM PDT
It was this experience that made me realize how talented all of those YouTube video bloggers and entertainers are. They make reciting monologues on-screen look so easy! Believe it or not, it actually is possible to come across on-screen in much the same professional way as these pros. What separates the expert video blogger from the amateur is the lack of mental pauses that distract the listener and take away from the message you’re trying to convey. The trick is to remove the need to memorize what you’re going to say, and instead just focus on saying it as professionally as possible. You can remove that need for memorization with free teleprompter software called uPrompt. We’ve offered other tools for making videos, like Israel’s list of 5 tools to make a home movie, and Travis’ list of 5 screencasting apps. But uPrompt is probably one of the most unique tools available. Let Teleprompting Turn You Into A ProEven some of the best TV commentators turn to teleprompting to deliver on-screen statements and monologues. It isn’t that they can’t memorize what they need to say, or that they can’t improvise – it’s just that many people don’t have the time to memorize everything they want to say.
When you first install and run uPrompt, it looks like a fairly simple application. There is a center area where you’ll see the uPrompt logo – this is where the scrolling text will display. There are three control areas that you can use to control the text movement and speed. There are clickable buttons on the lower left, keyboard shortcuts listed to the lower right, and then off to the right side of the window you’ll see two scrollbars, one for speed and one for “course” movement. If you right click where it says “Right click for menu“, you’ll see the different options you have to bring in the teleprompting script that you want to use. If you don’t have any existing text and you’re starting from scratch with your scripts, go ahead and choose “Quick Edit Script.”
This opens the Quick Edit editor, which is essentially a glorified text editor. The free version of uPrompt allows for about 2,500 characters, which is around 25 full lines in Microsoft Word – a couple of large paragraphs. Once you’re done writing, just click File -> Save and it’ll save the file in .upr (Uprompt) format, and then instantly open it in the uPrompter.
If you used the default font size settings in the editor, the font in the teleprompter will also show up in that same font. As you can see, it would be pretty hard to quickly read the text off the screen when the font is this small.
You can change this in the editor by clicking the “F” button in the menu and selection a larger font size. 36 usually works best if you’re going to be sitting right in front of the computer screen, and using the webcam placed at the top of the screen.
You can also modify the font from inside the teleprompter software itself by going to the right-click menu and choosing “Font“. When you’re ready for lights, camera and action, just click the “W” button on your keyboard, or click the button to increase the speed, and the teleprompter will start. The words will scroll up the screen at the speed that you select. Pause the scrolling by tapping “Q” (or clicking the mouse), and then restart it with the “W” (or clicking the mouse again).
It only takes a little bit of getting used to, but once you get used to using the teleprompter, you’ll be able to speak naturally while appearing to look at the camera – people will think that you’re a trained pro! Also, keep in mind that you don’t have to use the built-in editor. uPrompt is able to import script from text or rich text files as well. So, if you prefer writing your script in Word or Notepad, go for it.
In the display below, I’ve imported an RTF file into uPrompt. The speed and course slidebars are on the right, and elapsed and remaining scroll time is displayed at the small bottom panes.
The way to use the uPrompt teleprompter software when you have one of those laptop or computer screens with a webcam installed into the top of the screen is to place the uPrompt window at the very top center of the screen, closest to the webcam. This way, as the text scrolls across the teleprompter window and you read from it, it appears as though you’re actually looking right at the webcam itself. Set the speed of the text just right, and everything will look entirely natural.
If you struggle to create that YouTube monologue, or otherwise need to record yourself speaking on camera, give uPrompt a try and transform yourself from an amateur to an on-camera expert overnight. Give uPrompt a try and let us know if it improved your video quality. Do you know of other tools that work as well or better? Share your insight in the comments section below. Image credits: Jgclarke Download videos from the sites like YouTube, Break.com etc. Convert videos to almost any format. Read comments: Loved it? Hated it? Join discussion here ...
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| Maximize Screen Space and Functionality on Firefox With AwesomeBar HD & LessChrome HD Posted: 02 Jun 2011 10:31 AM PDT
Either way, hiding parts of Firefox temporarily is a hard task to accomplish without the help of an addon. Thankfully there are now two new addons from the Mozilla Prospector project that accomplish this as well as extend the functionality of the Awesome Bar, which is already by itself pretty awesome. InstallationInstalling the two addons is very easy, as are any other addons for Firefox. Just go to the Firefox addons page, search for “AwesomeBar HD” and “LessChrome HD”, and install each one when you find it (or follow the links later on in this article). Don’t be pushed away by the “Experimental” label. Yes, they are still experimental, but my own testing has shown that they are very stable and work as advertised. FeaturesAs a reference, here is a screenshot of my Firefox before the addons are installed:
LessChrome HDLessChrome HD doesn’t have very much to it, but it does exactly what it is meant to do. After installing the addon, you’ll first notice that if you’re using Firefox 4 you won’t have to restart the browser. The addon takes advantage of the new functionality that comes with Firefox 4 in order to reduce the number of annoyances (find other restartless addons here). Therefore, after installation, you’ll find that most of the user interface suddenly disappears. How do you bring back your buttons and Awesome Bar? Just mouse over your tabs and you’ll get them back! Move the mouse back over the page and the User Interface (UI) retracts once again, leaving only the title bar, Firefox menu button, and tabs. That’s all there really is to it!
You can see that when the UI reappears, it floats over the page rather than pushing it down to make room. The buttons at the top of the Google page and covered by the UI. The red box indicates where the Google buttons are slightly visible. Therefore, the Google buttons do not appear below the UI, but instead underneath.
AwesomeBar HDYou can hide your Awesome Bar now, but how about extending some of its abilities? There are a handful of addons that do a number of tricks with your Awesome Bar, such as automatically selecting the first result it returns. However, AwesomeBar HD extendeds the capabilities of your Awesome Bar in a different manner. Once you install the addon, you’ll be able to see the difference right away. Instead of having a blank box, you’ll have a number of options to choose from before you even start typing. You can choose between searching on the web, or looking for specific items, such as books, movies, music, shopping, and more. Just click on one, start typing, and you’ll be doing a specialized search in no time. Also note that the separate search box on the right side is gone. Instead, the two boxes have combined in a Google Chrome-like Omnibar.
ConclusionThese two tools are a great addition for those who value screen space and enhanced functionality. It’s an ever greater advantage for those who enjoy a lean interface with powerful features that appear right when you need them. Overall, they’re a great combination that will hopefully make their way into Firefox as definite options for those who like them. For browsers, is a lean interface a top priority for you? Will these addons possibly make you use Firefox if you don’t already? Do you think these addons are great in your experience? Let us know in the comments! Download videos from the sites like YouTube, Break.com etc. Convert videos to almost any format. Read comments: Loved it? Hated it? Join discussion here ...
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| Download, Clip & Convert Web Videos With The Help Of Clip Converter Posted: 02 Jun 2011 09:31 AM PDT
A slow Internet connection is one of the reasons why people prefer to watch downloaded web videos instead of streaming the content to their device. Other possible reasons include playing the web videos on non streaming-capable mobile devices and burning the videos to CD/DVD and playing them on TV. With so many video sites on the web today, we can never get enough of web video downloaders. Meet Clip Converter. This tool is no ordinary web video downloader, because it also allows users to clip and convert web videos before downloading them. Just Add The URLsIf you want to use Clip Converter only to download a web video, all you need is the video URL. Clip Converter supports many web video services like YouTube, Vimeo, Metacafe, and direct download video links. You can also upload videos from your hard drive to be converted if you want to.
You can copy and paste the URL of the webpage where the video is located, even though the address doesn’t have a multimedia extension. Clip Converter will detect the media file on the page.
But the power of ClipConverter lies in its ability to convert web videos to the format that you want or need, including audio only. Here are the supported media formats:
When you choose one of the formats before continuing with the download process, Clip Converter will display customization options related to that format. So for example, when I chose MP4, Clip Converter let me adjust the audio volume, audio channels, audio and video bitrate, and video aspect ratio.
Another great feature of Clip Converter is the ability to clip web videos. You can choose whether or not you want to download the full video (by checking the “Start of Video” and “End of Video” boxes) or only a specific part of it (by unchecking the boxes and typing in the start and end times).
After you click the “Continue” button, Clip Converter will analyze the page and show you the detected media. If the video is available in more than one quality and/or format, you can choose which one you want to get. One video might have three options: standard quality in FLV, high quality in MP4, and High Definition in MP4; while other videos might have only two.
After clicking the “Start” button, you will see the progress bars. In my experiments, I found the whole process to be lightning fast.
Next is the result page. Aside from the obvious download button, you will also find other related information about the converted video, including a QR code that can be scanned with a QR-enabled smartphone.
Taking A ShortcutIf you do a lot of web video downloading and converting, repeatedly copying and pasting video URLs is impractical. Everything would be much easier and faster if you could do the process straight from the video sites. There are two ways to do that. ClipConverter provides users with browser add-ons and extensions (available for Firefox, Chrome, and Safari), and bookmarklets (for other browsers, or as a complimentary tool to the add-on).
With the add-on enabled, you’ll have an additional Clip Converter button on the video sites. Clicking on it will bring you to the Clip Converter site to continue with the process. The same thing will happen if you click the bookmarklet button when you are viewing a video page.
As a person who loves web videos, I found Clip Converter to be very useful. What about you? Have you tried it? Or do you know and use other similar services? Please share them using the comments below. Download videos from the sites like YouTube, Break.com etc. Convert videos to almost any format. Read comments: Loved it? Hated it? Join discussion here ...
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| What You Need To Know About Touchpads Before Buying Your Next Laptop [Technology Explained] Posted: 02 Jun 2011 08:31 AM PDT
This is information you'll want to know, but in today's world of speedy processors and cheap RAM, many users will rarely ask about all their laptop has to give. As a result, the difference between a good laptop and a great one comes down to the little things, like the touchpad. Yet the touchpad itself is a mysterious item. It's there, it works, and it has for years. Not all touchpads are built the same however. The Basics Of Touchpad Technology
The first touchpads made their debut in the early 1990s, and were one of several responses to the problem of providing an portable input solution with a portable computer (trackpointers and trackballs were also common). The first laptop to have a touchpad –or trackpad, as it was officially called at the time – was the Apple PowerBook 500. Modern touchpads use a technology called capacitive touch. This is the same tech used by most modern touchscreens, and it works by detecting the electrical current of a human finger as it comes into contact with the touchpad surface. This allows for smooth, easy navigation that doesn't rely on physical pressure. However, capacitive touch does have one minor disadvantage, and that's the inability to detect inanimate objects or gloved human hands. Special touchpads, like the tablets from Wacom, are required for use with a stylus. Fortunately, only artists and Eskimos routinely bump into this problem. The Differences Between Touchpads
While virtually all touchpads use the same basic technology to detect input, there are a wide variety of ways to use this technology, and a wide variety of touchpad sizes and textures. The most important feature to look for in a touchpad is multitouch gesture support. Although this has become a common extra, it's not ubiquitous. For example, I recently tested a MSI GT680R gaming laptop, priced at about $1,500, which did not have multitouch. Determining if a laptop supports this feature is easy if you can use it hands-on. Just try scrolling down a webpage with your middle and index fingers. If a laptop doesn't have multi-touch, it should at least have scroll space available. This is a small vertical area, usually on the right side of the touchpad, that's exclusively designed to translate finger movement into an up/down scrolling motion. Material quality, although low-tech, is critical. Most inexpensive laptops will simply construct the touchpad out of the same plastic as the surrounding laptop, and that works alright, but it doesn't result in the smoothest feel. More expensive laptops, like the MacBooks, use a glass surface because it provides less resistance to finger movement. You'll occasionally find other materials used, as well. The ASUS Bamboo series, for example, crafts the touchpad out of the same bamboo you'll find on the rest of the laptop.
Finally, the touchpad buttons are important. The best option is a touchpad that offers two separate physical mouse buttons, but many touchpads use what is called a rocker-style button. This means there is one individual with a rocker in the middle, which means the button operates like a seesaw. Rocker-style buttons look sexy, but they can be annoying to use because pressing the button near the rocker requires more force than pressing the button at the edge. The perfect touchpad should offer multitouch support, a smooth surface, and two individual buttons with great tactile response. Finding all of these features together is difficult, particularly in inexpensive laptops, but it's not impossible. The Importance Of Software Support
Although your touchpad's hardware is important, the software being used also has an impact on how your touchpad performs. For example, Windows did not even support multitouch until Windows 7 (although there are ways to hack it), even if the hardware was capable of it. Although much has been made about the inclusion of multitouch as it relates to tablets, its impact on laptops has been more immediate and obvious. Navigating Windows with a touchpad is much easier than before. With that said however, there are still clear differences between Windows 7 and Mac OS X, which offers incredible multitouch support. Much of the difference between navigating Windows and Mac OS X on a laptop comes down not to the hardware (although the MacBook's glass touchpad is nice) but to the software support. Ubuntu also offers full multitouch support as of version 10.10. ConclusionIt's easy to forget about the touchpad when a sales rep is gushing to you about the great hardware packed inside the new laptop you have your eye on. Don't let that distract you. The touchpad is something you'll be using a lot, and it cannot be replaced or upgraded, so you need to be sure to buy a laptop with a touchpad you like. Download videos from the sites like YouTube, Break.com etc. Convert videos to almost any format. Read comments: Loved it? Hated it? Join discussion here ...
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