Technology Guides

People all over the world have been using the much touted Mozilla Firefox web browser for ages it seems but has anyone really, truly explored it yet? When I found all these tips and tricks, I realized that I had just scratched the surface of Mozilla Firefox and I had a ways to go. The tricks listed below will hopefully allow you to utilize Firefox alot better.

Tip 1

Unlike most browsers, Firefox has the ability to open multiple tabs on startup. Maybe you want the weather and Google, or possibly Technology Guides and Cutedge, but whatever your combination, you can have it. Just pick those two, three, or however many tabs you want and then make your way to Tools–>Options–>Main Tab–>Use Current Pages and presto, you’re done.

Tip 2

How many times have you accidentaly closed a tab without knowing it and wishing it could come back just like you wished your pet dog could come back. Well in Firefox’s case, the tab can come back. Just press ctrl+shift+t and the last tab you closed will come back instantly.

Tip 3

I never realized this, but each browser has a different scrolling speed. By default, Firefox scrolls only a few lines with one turn of the scroll wheel on the mouse. If you’re fed up of taking too long to scroll on a Firefox page, there’s an easy way to change this. Type in about:config in the address bar and hit enter. In the filter box, type mousewheel.withnokey. Right click mousewheel.withnokey.sysnumlines and click Toggle. Then right-click mousewheel.withnokey.numlines and click Modify. Set the number to whatever you want until you find a scroll speed that suits you. 

Now there’s still a way to slow down the scroll speed if you want to at times. Just hold Alt and continue scrolling but now it goes one line at a time.

Tip 4

If you’ve made a mistake in a form on Firefox ever, then you’ll want to read this little tidbit to help you from making that same mistake again. Again, go to about:config in the address bar and type in spellcheck. Right click spellcheckDefault and then modify. Change the number from 1 to 2 and restart Mozilla Firefox. From now on, the majority of web forms will have spell check.

Popularity: 7% [?]

Apple has its App Store and when Google released the G1 phone, it also released the Android App Market. What happened when Microsoft released its Windows Mobile OS, well I think you know the story. It might just be a reason why Windows phones don’t sell as well as they used to. Well, now the story is about to change with the release of Windows Marketplace hopefully by the end of the year. 

If you are a developer, expect Microsoft to start accepting registrations for a developer by Spring, mobile applications in the Summer, and then if you’re a user, expect to see Windows Marketplace on your phone when Windows Mobile 6.5 ships later this year.

There are many things alike between Apple, Google and Microsoft when it comes to their respective application marketplace including the initial annual cost of $99 to be able to submit there applications, developers getting a 70% cut of their app sales and being able to set their app prices. There is a difference though and Microsoft gets the advantage here. Microsoft allows students to submit applications for free through the Microsoft DreamSpark Program whereas Apple charges the same for everyone except they charge more ($299) if you are a company with over 500 employees. 

Another big advantage Microsoft has if they continue on the right track, is they plan to make their approval process more streamlined. Apple has always been critized for the long process to get their apps approved and it is also very secretive. There have been stories where apps have mysteriously disappeared or were rejected without any reason. Microsoft plans to do the complete opposite by giving detailed feedback during and after the possible acceptance of their apps, having a more open system, and cutting down the time from submission to approval or rejection. In a statement by Microsoft, they said it wants developers to spend more time “writing innovative applications, and less time trying to navigate the approval process.”

Update: Blackberry is also planning to introduce its own App Store called App World but they are taking a slightly different approach. It will work with Blackberry devices running OS 4.2 or higher that either have a trackball or the Surepress touchscreen that is on the Blackberry Storm. Only available in the U.S., Canada and the U.K., Blackberry is aiming not at general consumers, but at the business market. You can register online to become a developer at RIM’s website. 

The biggest difference is the pricepoints that Blackberry will skip. It will offer some free apps, but will not offer any apps at the $0.99 and $1.99 pricepoint which is usually the price that the topsellers on the App Store is sold for. The bizarre thing is they will sell Apps for a price of $999, the price at which 8 people bought a useless app called I Am Rich. Will there be another one for Blackberry?

Popularity: 7% [?]

On the same day Apple released an update for iTunes, Apple releases a new iPod Shuffle that has everyone talking, including the iPod Shuffle itself. The new Apple iPod Shuffle, scheduled to be released on April 3, 2009 has revolutionized the sub-$100 mp3 market, once again. Not only does it talk with its feature called VoiceOver, but it also is much smaller with a size of 1.8″ by 0.3″. This is about half the size of the previous generation, and that was small, but it is also smaller than a key! There are no controls on the actual device as they have been moved to earphone cord. The 4GB version, which can hold 1000 songs is available at a price of $79 USD or $99 CDN with two colours, black and silver. For some reason they’re phasing out the 2GB version, and keeping the 1GB. If anybody can explain this to me, be my guest. 

New Apple iPod Shuffle

The new iPod Shuffle has some things that might shake your head, but that might just be because your listening to your tunes with it. In any case, I’ve spotted some flaws with it. First off, the headphones with VoiceOver are great but what happens if you lose it or break it. Then you’ll have to shell out another $50 for the earphones themselves and that’s about half the cost of the mp3 player. It’s almost like buying a printer and paying for an ink cartridge. Another small thing is the lack of colour in the lineup. Only silver and black Apple? Come on now. To coincide better with the Nano lineup, I think it’d be better if they released the same colours so one sibling who is older can have a Nano and the younger sibling can have a Shuffle in the same colour. Last but not least, is the fact that the controls are on the headphones so you have zero flexibility in respect to changing headphones (as they fall out of my ear) and if you are using it while running or it’s cold, some people like to loop their headphones under their clothes and then you have a problem with changing tracks. 

With all it’s problems, comes benefits, definitely, in my opinion, outweighing the drawbacks. Previously you could not communicate with the Shuffle because the lack of a screen, but now it’s communicating with you, giving you an update when your battery needs charging or if you want the song/artist name, you can press a button and as the music volume dips, the iPod will tell you. On the new Shuffle, there is now the ability to have multiple playlists with the addition of VoiceOver. There are also 3 different modes of listening to your music, shuffle (if it didn’t have this feature, what would they call it?),  straight, and just regular.

Conclusion

This is without any doubt in my mind that this is the best Apple iPod Shuffle to date. Who knows what they’ll think of next. My hope would be a way to call someone. But that’s just a wish, first they’ll have to do it on the Nano. What’s your wish?

Popularity: 7% [?]

How many times have you found yourself looking through a drawer and seeing charger after charger for your cell phone with no use at all? I know I have a bunch and I have no idea what to do with them. It’s the same with mp3 players and laptops. Every company has its own way of making chargers for its many products. Apple and Nokia, have always made their chargers respectively the same. It’s helped Apple become a major player, as its whole line-up is compatible with the same charger made over 5 years ago.

On Tuesday February 17th, 2009, a historic landmark was agreed on where 17 of the largest cellphone makers including Samsung, Nokia and Motorola, decided to work together to make a universal standard charging system for cellphones by the year 2012. This system will be identical to the trapezoid-shaped microUSB format used by RIM’s most recent devices, the Bold, Storm and Pearl Flip. Unfortunately, this standard will likely be released in 2012—light years in my mind. Nonetheless, it’s better than nothing. Apple will likely stick its trusty charging standard that has proven golden over the years.

At first glance you might think, oh why would these big companies change things that have worked for them for so long? Well this is a completely valid question because, like cheap printers with their more expensive replacement ink cartridges, cell phones have expensive replacement charging cords that see huge revenue. At the beginning of the implementation, companies will see slightly lower revenues but it will be made up later with lower packaging and manufacturing costs. Instead, companies will sell charging cords separately so big companies like Nokia will now not need to include it in their phone packages. Since it will save costs, these companies will also reduce their greenhouse gas emissions from 21.8 million to 13.6 million tonnes per year, as well as cut energy consumption globally by 50%. 

This might not be the biggest news though because as technology progresses, we will see more and more demonstrations of wireless charging. When Palm unveiled its Pre smart phone, it also introduced the Touchstone wireless charging adapter. 

Excerpt from wiredathome.blogspot.com

The power cord has long been the enemy of many people around the world. You always had to place things according to where the plugs were or you’d have some cord running all across the room. Nobody really notices or thinks about the power cord once it’s being used and has found its place. However, if it could be thrown away, it would make a world of difference.  Now there is a solution to get rid of some of those plugs, wireless charging. To get things straight, this piece of technology won’t replace all of your plugs but is a huge step in the right direction to making the power cord obsolete. Currently there are two ways to wirelessly charge a device, and they are being offered by two different companies. WildCharge will start selling a conductive charging pad and eCoupled will offer an inductive laptop specific pad with a compatible notebook all by the end of 2008. Both companies will offer adapters at a range of $30. If you are the type to enjoy science, then you’ll probably be able to guess the difference in technologies between the two. Conductive charging passes electricity when two objects come in contact. Inductive charging happens when there is a physical gap between two objects.

Popularity: 7% [?]

Everyone knows that Microsoft Windows Vista is pretty slow, especially when you have all the add-ons but there are a few things you can do to help speed it up. 

Sidebar

The sidebar is nice and all, but do you really need another clock, an RSS feed or some random stock prices? Not really. So right click the sidebar, and click properties. At the top, uncheck start sidebar when Windows starts. At the next boot, you’ll get rid of the CPU draining sidebar.

Visual Effects

In the system properties box, (from Control Panel–>System & Maintenance–>System–>Change Settings. At this point click the Advanced tab and then the Settings button. From here, you can choose which parts of Vista’s visual effects you’d like to take off. I personally have only “Enable desktop composition” and “Use visual styles on windows and buttons “. 

Always remember to take out programs you don’t need, removing them from the start menu so they don’t load when your computer boots. If you go to Windows defender, you can change the start up programs so they don’t load at the beginning. Virus software should always be loaded, but not Windows Messenger. 

Hopefully these tips will help you speed up your computer and if you have any more to share then please feel free to comment away.

Popularity: 5% [?]

I’m sure you’ve heard many times that the Apple iPod Touch is basically the same as the Apple iPhone except for a few notable differences. The Apple iPhone has a camera and can make calls. Well not anymore. With a free application from the App Store, now the only difference between these two devices is the fact that the iPhone has a camera.

Download Fring or TruPhone from the App Store. I prefer Fring as it offers not only free calling, but it offers Skype, MSN, Twitter, Google Talk and much more. Once you’ve done that, register for all the services that you apart of and now you are one step closer to start calling. You are allowed to dial straight from the Cellular tab within Fring. A small drawback for the application, Fring, is that when you search for your buddies it will only look at the beginning of the personal name. For example. Your buddy Bob has an email called bob@cool.com and has a personal name called (L) Bob (L). If you search bob, nothing will up. If you search (L), Bob will come up. This search feature is horrible for people who have friends that constantly change their name.

Next, what you’ll need is a set of headphones much like the Apple iPhone ones that offer a pair of headphones and microphone. Xpress Canada offers very cheap in-ear headphones that offer the required mic.

If you’re looking for a more true calling application then TruPhone is the better option. It allows you to make free Wi-Fi calls with VoIP with other Touch users and Google Talk users. They have plans to add the ability to place calls to landlines. They also plan to offer services such as MSN, Twitter, Skype and Facebook.

Do you have a different method for turning your iPod Touch into a phone? If so, share it here.

Update: The new Apple iPod Touch that will be released sometime in September will have a built-in mic so you won’t have to buy headphones with a microphone. Read about the new Apple iPod Touch.

Popularity: 33% [?]

In a shocking move today, the United States House of Representatives denied the bill to pass that would extend the digital tv transition date to June 12. Around 6.5 million American households are still not prepared for the switch that will now take place on February 17th 2009. All of them will have no access to government funds that would have helped them get discounts on the required equipment to prepare them as the fund has run dry. It was almost certain that the bill would pass and even this writer thought the date would be changed. This bill was special though as it needed 2/3 of the vote to pass. The vote was 258 to 168 in support of changing the transition date. 

Personally, I am happy to hear that the transition is back on track where it should be, as I’ve seen countless ads supporting the move and to say “If you don’t have it, your screen is going to go black on February 17th 2009″ and not follow through on it, that would just put another lie in the books for the government. Soon the airwaves will be free for better things to come including more cell phone coverage and would open up competition.

What’s your take on the situation? Do you feel that the U.S. government made the right choice by sticking to the date? Share your opinion on this controversial issue.

Update: I’m sad to announce that the U.S. government somehow got the date pushed back to June 12, 2009. This is a setback and it has further caused the U.S. government to spend more money on advertising when it could have just bought those 7 million people a converter.

Popularity: 2% [?]

It’s official guys, President-Elect Obama has a blog and by no means is it mediocore. I have been truly amazed by his ability to go about things in a completely different manner than most presidents. He has sparked change from the Youtube debate to his actual platform entitled Change. So to me, it’s no real surprise that he has started a blog called Change. It has since moved to Whitehouse.

Obama

For starters, it’s not really a blog in my mind, it’s more of a comprehensive website, with slideshow images, countdown, and many pages. What I like most about it, is the fact it has his agenda so we can make sure he is doing the right things. He Twitters, Vlogs, and posts often. This makes for a more personal connection for the President, who up until now, was like a martian to the majority of American citizens. This helps him connect on a lower level with people which is really important. 

There are also tons of opportunities for the American people to learn more about what’s happening. Whether it be his agenda, or different policies. The big one I found was people are able to submit stories to the blog which opens up another connection between the reader and the American Goverment.

So far all you people who want to start a blog, this should be your base, and work around it. All the features here are great and it should be something I implement.

Update: Currently I am waiting on a response from President Obama on whether or not I can get a bailout in the next little bit. My good friend Callam Graham suggested this to me and I decided to take him up on this.

Popularity: 2% [?]