The browser wars are heating up again. Microsoft's touting the improved performance and security of Internet Explorer 8, dozens of new Firefox extensions are released every day, and, according to Apple, Safari 4 will be even faster than its speedy predecessor. Meanwhile, Opera just keeps chugging along at version 9.64, with version 10 beta 3 now available.
Just a few weeks ago, Google announced its plans to create an operating system based on Chrome. Considering that the browser itself is barely a year old, such plans may be premature. Then again, maybe not. But for right now, I'll keep looking for ways to make the Chrome browser more useful.
Last June, I described ways to change Chrome's default settings. Here's a look at ways to revamp the browser's interface and access some of its useful hidden features.
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I'll save us both some time by getting right to the descriptions of three Firefox add-ons that shave minutes off my workday. Hey, they add up!
Navigate Web pages using only your keyboard.
When it comes to speed, I'll take a keyboard over a mouse any day of the week. A post from April 2008 explains how to create a keyboard-shortcut list you can access quickly. I also wrote about using your keyboard to move and resize windows and shortcuts for Word and Excel.
Now I can park the mouse when I surf. Instead of clicking, I enter the number Rudolf Noe's Mouseless Browsing add-on places next to each link. If I want to put the cursor in the address bar, I enter 0, while pressing 00 puts the cursor in the search field. Each open tab gets a number, each text box on the page gets a number, each drop-down menu gets a number. (I just wish the bookmark toolbar options and the reload, stop, and home buttons did.)
The Mouseless Browsing Firefox add-on assigns a number to each link and option on a Web page so you get there from the keyboard.
(Credit: Rudolf Noe)The program is loaded with options, including the ability to use only the numeric keypad to enter the numbers, so the top-row number keys aren't used to enter shortcuts. You can also require pressing the Enter key before the action occurs or change the delay between entering the numbers and taking the action.
Granted, the numbers can play havoc with a page's layout, but I can't count the number of times I've struggled to get the mouse pointer over just the right tiny link in a sea of tiny links. Being able to enter a number instead of clicking is a joy for this keyboard aficionado. (Warning: the add-on also slows your page-load speeds a bit.)
Finally! Copy Web text without the formatting.
I know how to create a keyboard shortcut that pastes plain text, but I didn't have the ability to copy and paste text from Web pages without the formatting until I downloaded Jeremy Gillick's aptly named Copy Plain Text add-on for Firefox. Just download the extension, restart Firefox, and when you copy text from a page, you'll see a Copy as Plain Text option just under the Edit menu's regular Copy option.
Copy Plain Text lets you do just that from Web pages in Firefox.
(Credit: Jeremy Gillick)You also get the Ctrl-Shift-C keyboard shortcut to copy the text without formatting. You can say what you want about one-trick ponies, but I only wish all software was this straightforward. Of course, Firefox could have this feature built in, but I'm not complaining.
The latest scores are a right-click away.
OK, I admit it. If I'm working late and missing a big game, I visit a sports site to check the scores. Now I save myself time by right-clicking Vinny 2020's SportsFox add-on, choose the sport, and see that yes, the Tigers dropped another one to the Bosox, and even worse, the Red Wings lost their second game of the Stanley Cup finals the the Penguins. (Might as well keep on working.)
Get up-to-the-minute sports scores inside your browser with the SportsFox add-on.
(Credit: Vinny 2020)Now I'm going to enjoy some of the time these add-ons have saved me. Go Wings!
Forget the iTunes Remote. The newly released Air Mouse 1.5 ($5.99) makes a mean universal remote out of the iPhone and iPod Touch. With it, you'll be able to control almost any program on your Mac or Windows computer.
I was always a big fan of this app, which works with the help of a Windows and Mac servers to establish a local network between the computer and the iPhone. It then gives you two modes for controlling the keyboard and mouse: a touch pad, and a slightly less effective (read: higher learning curve) and more traditional air mouse that you activate by pressing a button and arcing your arm. Version 1.5 completely blows away every competitor we've seen by adding an incredible array of new features without bumping up the price.
... Read moreIf you're a keyboard shortcut junkie in Google Reader, Gmail and Google Docs you might have noticed Google.com, the mother of all Google services, is a bit lacking in the keyboard shortcuts department. There is currently an official Google-sanctioned experimental keyboard shortcuts program you can opt into, although there's the slight chance that the company may one day kill it off. That and it won't remember to give you the shortcut keys the next time you search if you're not signed in to your Google account.
If both of these things are holding you back from keyboard shortcut dominance, worth downloading is Janakan Arulkumarasan's Google Keyboard Shortcuts extension for Firefox. When installed you can simply use your arrow keys to sift through the results, which get highlighted in a lovely pallid yellow. There are two ways to open up the result links: you can either hit enter, which opens the link in a new window, or enter plus control which opens it up in a new tab. The extension trumps Google's own keyboard shortcuts program in this regard.
As with many of the other neat extensions we've blogged about recently, Google Keyboard Shortcuts is experimental, which means you have to be registered with Mozilla's add-ons site to download it.
Once installed the Google Keyboard Shortcuts extension lets you browse through search results using your arrow keys.
(Credit: CNET Networks)Small and swift, Find and Run Robot makes searching files and launching programs go faster than a Black Friday deal. Also known as FARR, the program is great for those who love options. If you're the indecisive type, though, you may want to stay clear.
Running in your system tray, FARR is innocuous and uses little RAM. Hit the Pause/Break key to bring up the launching window; as you type, FARR narrows down your choices. In that sense, FARR functions like many other launchers. Search results are numbered and automatically sorted using built-in scoring systems unique to the program. If you want returned-result number nine, for example, simply type ALT+9 and hit enter--there's no need to touch the mouse or continue typing a longer string. A Launch History tab keeps track of what you've launched.
While the launching and searching functions are fairly basic, the options are almost overwhelming. Users can do nearly anything with the app, from adjusting the font size, style, and color to monitoring your clipboard, taking basic screen captures, Web searches, customizing hot keys, and calculation functions. FARR is also fully portable, making this a must-have whether you're on a desktop or a laptop.
Find and Run Robot keeps your hands right where you want them, if you're a keyboard addict. This launcher seems to have been designed for people who want to keep their digits pounding the plastic, so every step of the program has been keyed for those with quick fingers.
FARR uses a quick key combo, the arrow keys, or your mouse to launch programs and files.
(Credit: Donation Coder)Hit the Pause/Break key to bring up the launching window, and as you type FARR narrows down your choices. Search results are numbered and automatically sorted using built-in scoring systems unique to the program. If you want returned result number 9, for example, simply type ALT-9 and hit enter--there's no need to touch the mouse or continue typing a longer string. A Launch History tab keeps track of what you've launched.
While the launching and searching functions are fairly basic, the options are almost overwhelming. Users can do nearly anything with the application, from adjusting the font size, style, and color to monitoring your clipboard, taking basic screen captures, Web searches, customizing hot keys, and calculation functions. FARR is also fully portable, making this a must-have whether you're on a desktop or a laptop.
Running in your system tray, FARR is innocuous and uses little RAM. The installer weighs in at about 5.5MB, while it chews up not even 7MB as it runs. Given that there are more than a dozen pages of settings you can tweak in the options menu, you may want to stay clear if you're the indecisive type. Otherwise, Find and Run Robot should keep you rockin'.
KeyboardLink is a great little tool for turning your standard Windows keyboard into both a program launcher and a program controller. The app is open source and uses a scant 3MB of RAM. Getting started requires configuring the activation keys, called the master keys, in the program's General features tab. People can set one or two master keys, an important feature that prevents you from accidentally launching a program. Basic capabilities, such as running the app when Windows starts, also live in the General tab.
Other tabs allow customization of your media player and major software programs such as your Web browser, Notepad, Calculator, WordPad, and others. There's also support for global hot keys, such as emptying the Recycle Bin and launching your screensaver. Unfortunately, KeyboardLink can't be customized to support other applications, and the installer is a ZIP file. Still, the program remains an easy way to set up hot keys.
Faster is almost always better, at least when it comes to computers. So what's the fastest way to open a word processor?
You can create a keyboard shortcut to open Notepad, WordPad, Word, or any other word processor on your PC by right-clicking the program's shortcut on the Start menu, choosing Properties > Shortcut > Shortcut key, entering your keystroke combination of choice (be sure not to overwrite one that's already in use), and pressing Enter. I described how to get fast access to all your keyboard shortcuts in a post from last week.
Now press the keystroke combination to open the program, and start typing (or navigate to an existing file you want to open). When you're done working in the file, press Ctrl-S, give the file a name (if it doesn't have one already), choose a location to store it (or accept the program's default storage folder), and press Enter. What could be simpler?
Well, skipping the file-naming and storage location-choosing steps, for one thing. And having access to the notes from any Internet-connected computer, for another.
Web word processors auto-save files
You can create a keyboard shortcut that opens Google Docs or any other Web word processor. Start by opening a new document in the service. Select the URL in the Address bar, and type Ctrl-C to copy it to the clipboard. Now open Windows Explorer to the Desktop or any other folder, right-click anywhere in the folder, choose New > Shortcut, paste the URL of the service into the location field, press Enter, give the shortcut a name, and press Enter again.
Next, right-click the shortcut you just created, click Properties > Shortcut > Shortcut key, type your preferred keystroke combination for opening the service, and press Enter. Now you can open the service ready to create a new file by pressing that keyboard shortcut.
Unfortunately, if you're not already logged in, you'll have to enter your username and password before you can open the blank file. You can avoid the login step by creating the shortcut to the Writer online word processor that mimics the look of old DOS-based text editors running on a green-phosphor display. (The service's bare-bones look is itself modeled after the free Dark Room word processor, which, in turn, is the Windows version of the WriteRoom word processor for Mac OS X.)
Since Writer doesn't require you to log in--or even to create an account--you need not give your files a name. Just stick with the default, and when you want to reopen the file, select it from your list of documents, which appears just below the text window.
Use the Writer online word processor for instant--and universal-access to your notes.
(Credit: John Watson/BigHugeLabs.com)Writer remembers your files by leaving a cookie with the identifying information. If you delete the cookie, you lose access to the files, unless you sign up for a free account. The account has the added benefit of providing access to your files from any Internet-connected PC.
Should you find Writer to your liking, be sure to make a donation to its creator to help keep the great services coming.
Monday: get more use out of Windows' taskbar.
While few keyboards have reached the high level of customization or the exorbitant price of the Optimus Maximus, not to be confused with Optimus Prime or Fortress Maximus, KeyboardLink is a great little open-source tool for turning your standard Windows keyboard into not just a program launcher, but also a program controller.
KeyboardLink creates fast and easy to use hot keys for most major Windows functions and programs.
(Credit: CNET Networks)Compatible with Windows 2000, XP, 2003 Server, and Vista, and using a scant 3MB when in use, KeyboardLink gives you the power to set nearly any hot key combination for launching programs and controlling your media player.
To get started, once you've installed it, you need to configure the activation keys--called the Master Keys in the program's General features tab. This will be the key or keys that you'll need to use whenever you want KeyboardLink to do your bidding. It's an extremely important feature, too, that prevents you from hitting, say, F5 in Windows Explorer to refresh the page only to have Notepad launch every time. Users can set one key or a two-key combination made from the Windows key, the Alt key, the Shift key, or the Control key.
Also in the General tab, you can set the program window transparency, determine whether the program starts with Windows, turn off QuickTray tips, and set the program language.
The second tab controls your media player. Here you can set commands for Play, Pause, Stop, Next Track, Previous Track, and raising and lowering the volume. You can also check off a box that supersedes the default media player and controls whichever media player is currently running.
The Software tab is where most of the action is. Here you can set the hot keys for running Notepad, Calculator, Web browser, media player, MS Paint, and WordPad. For the Web browser and media player, users can specify which program they want the hot key to activate. If you have a program such as NoteTab Light configured to replace MS Notepad, the hot key will launch the replacement program.
The Office and System tabs give you control over more generic functions: global volume control, mute, emptying the recycle bin, launching the screen saver, and the Microsoft Office suite of programs. Unfortunately, there's no way to reconfigure the Office settings to work on OpenOffice.org or any other productivity suite replacements. There is, though, a command for disabling KeyboardLink.
My only real problem with the program is that it can't be configured to recognize other applications and launch them, too. It would be great to have hot key controls for utilities such as a disk defragmenter or process manager. Beyond that, KeyboardLink is a must-have for power users who hate repeatedly jumping over to the mouse.
Editor's note: The topic of this Spyware Horror Story submission isn't among the usual culprits of computer stop-ups, but it was too amusing a story to pass up.
Published by Penny; Fallon, Nevada
My computer was running slower and slower, but it said I still had 75 percent hard drive space. I should have been suspicious when I started digging the ultra-fine undercoat hairs of our long-haired dog out of the keyboard as a way to fix my having to pound on it to get a response! I gave up, sent the computer in, and waited for the tech to call back: "Your computer was full of your hair, dog hair, and dust bunnies."
I had to laugh, and asked if mine was the worst he'd seen. He said no, so I asked what the weirdest stuff was he'd ever had to clean out. His reply? Dried Coke and Gummy Bears.
Editor's response
Before becoming a computer zombie, I was a bookworm. "Stop feeding the library books!" my mother would yell while I craned over the crumbly toast slice or bowl of macaroni I had wedged between me and my read. Books, homework, or keyboards, Mom had a good point. Too bad Penny didn't have my mom around to lend sober household sense. (You see, Mom? I listened!)
It turns out quite a lot of you have experienced a malware scare that had its root in monstrously destructive (but harmless-looking) dust bunnies. Or worse, cigarettes or roaches (see comment #5). The key is to stay aware of your surroundings and regularly douse your keyboard with pressurized streams of compressed air--or bug spray. Keep a screwdriver handy to rid yourself of hardware maintenance excuses, and monitor your energy consumption with a program like the free Local Cooling, to help keep internal processes cool and calm.
And when you can, brush the shaggy coat on your long-haired cat/rabbit/dog outside, not in the computer room.
