The Download Blog

We all know the mathematical adage detailing how many words a picture is worth. The principal applies equally to search results. Search for anything in Google, Bing, and Yahoo and see how long it takes your eyes and brain to max out on all the written input. (The concept of text fatigue also applies to blog posts, which is why we've included a nice, large picture near the top of ours.)

If you browse the Web with Firefox (Windows | Mac), the free extension SearchPreview (Windows | Mac) breaks up text blocks by inserting thumbnail images of the site's homepage to the left of the text, where your eye naturally goes. If you're unsure which of the many returned links you really want, a glance at the thumbnails could settle the dispute.

If the thumbnail image scenario sounds familiar, that's because until recently SearchPreview has been known as GooglePreview. An upgrade to version 4.0 added support for Microsoft's Bing search engine and repositioned the product with a name change.

As you use SearchPreview, you may notice some results tagged as SearchPreview's sponsored links. These are the developer's way of recouping costs, but you can disable the sponsored results from the Options menu of the add-ons manager.

Google released a new version of the free Google Mobile App for Symbian Series 60 (S60) phones on Monday. The update gives phone owners the ability to press the Talk button and speak search terms into the phone. While a new feature to the S60 operating system, users on other platforms, like BlackBerry and iPhone, have been able to turn speech into search results for some time.

The new Google Mobile App shows up as a shortcut widget on the Nokia home screen, which makes sounding out searches on those Nokia N and E series handsets faster than on other mobile platforms, where you must open the Google Mobile App to begin a search.

Whether you talk or type, Google Mobile App uses GPS or cell tower triangulation to fill in your location and find the closest whatever-it-is nearby. This is consistent with Google Mobile App for other platforms, though Windows Mobile is the only other one that also uses the home screen plug-in.

In addition to adding digital ears to search, Google has made them more global. Mandarin Chinese has joined Google's speech recognition database, so Nokia seekers can speak queries in English or in Mandarin. Google warns that the Mobile App is better at distinguishing certain accents better than others; a Beijing lilt may search more successfully than southern-flavored speech, for instance.

Mandarin recognition is currently only available for Nokia phones, but Google says in an official blog post that they're working to expand the capability to other mobile platforms, like Google Android and iPhone. Also, not every S60 owner can take advantage of the new Google Mobile App, only those running version 3. The app is not yet supported on touch screen phones, which run version 5 of the system software.

You can download Google Mobile App for Nokia S60 by pointing the mobile browser to http://m.google.com.

Mozilla released a major update Tuesday to the beta build of its desktop e-mail client Thunderbird, debuting a new search feature, "smart" folders, an activity manager for monitoring communication with your mail server, and better Gmail integration among the list of improvements. Thunderbird 3 beta 4 is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux.

The smart folder view condenses your various in-boxes into one gestalt in-box, but it's easy to switch back to the traditional view if you don't like it. In the folders pane, use the left and right arrows at the top right to change your folder view until you're looking at the one you prefer. Thunderbird will remember your last setting, so when you restart it won't jump back to the smart folder setting. If you have multiple e-mail accounts, though, this should make managing your e-mail stream much easier.

Apparently, there was a lot of code that was overhauled in this fourth beta and that might explain why my default button bar and toolbar settings reverted to normal. It might also have been because of the introduction of the new search bar, which defaults to a significant chunk of window space. The global search bar features auto-complete as well as more robust filtering tools for narrowing down a broad search quickly.

I found the new search to work well, opening the results in a new tab, although occasionally narrowing down results did not produce the desired result of fewer e-mails in the results window. Searching by tags also appeared spotty at times. Searches do produce a nifty chart, accessible by clicking on the blue bar graph at the top of the search results, that's good for numbers junkies who want to see how often that particular search term shows up.

Windows users should also find that Thunderbird results will now appear when search in Windows Vista and Windows 7, while Mac users will find Growl notification support for new e-mails, integration with the Mac OS X address book, and support for Mail.app. Beta 4 doesn't support legacy versions of Windows prior to Windows 2000 or Mac OS X 10.3 and older.

Thunderbird 3 beta 4 supports the nightly builds of the calendaring plug-in Lightning, but many other add-ons are likely to break until their publishers release compatibility updates. The full list of Thunder 3 beta 4 changes can be read here.

Known for its desktop search application, Copernic has a new service for the remote crowd.

MyCopernic on the Go lets you remotely search for and access files on your home or office PC.

By subscribing to the $9.95-per-year service, you can find and view files on your PC from any remote device--desktops, laptops, or smartphones including Apple's iPhone, Palm's Pre, or BlackBerrys.

The service requires that either Windows Desktop Search or Copernic's own desktop search app be installed on your source computer. (Copernic offers three variations of its search app--a free Home edition with basic features, a $50 Pro version, and a $60 Corporate edition.)

To get started, you set up your subscription at Copernic. You install and load the MyCopernic connector on your source PC. From there, you open the MyCopernic on the Go site on your remote device and log-in to your account. And then your source PC is ready to be searched.

The MyCopernic on the Go search screen

(Credit: Copernic)

MyCopernic on the Go boasts that it can find just about any file type--document, image, e-mail, attachment, contact, or calendar item. You can search for files by name or category and even run advanced searches to include options like date and file size.

... Read more

I recently heard about a trick for iPhone 3GS owners who have the latest version of the Yelp app. Yelp, as you probably know, lets you search for restaurants or other services and read user-written ratings and reviews. I've noticed that the Yelp app particularly comes in handy when I'm on vacation: it lets me find out right away what the locals think about a particular restaurant without having to find out for myself. But a hidden feature in Yelp for iPhone 3GS owners has been revealed recently that adds a whole new dimension to Yelp ratings.

Make sure you download the latest version of Yelp (free) to try it out. Start up Yelp, then shake your iPhone a few times until a blue dialog box appears. This will unlock a button in the top right of the Yelp interface called The Monocle. Touch the button and you should be looking through your iPhone camera lens, but now you will be able to see restaurants, theaters, stores, and more with their ratings displayed on the actual location. This means that if you were in a busy area with restaurants and shops, you could look through The Monocle to get ratings for each place you're looking at in what they call augmented reality.

I had seen a demonstration of augmented reality on a jailbroken iPhone some time ago, but this is the first iPhone app in the iTunes Store to use augmented reality. Like I mentioned before, this will only work for those with the iPhone 3GS because The Monocle is using the compass (not available for iPhone 3G) along with GPS data to figure out which direction your pointing so it can display the correct reviews. If you get a chance, check it out and let me know what you think in the comments.

This week's apps include a useful tool to browse Craigslist and a fun new first-person shooter game.

CraigsPro (99 cents) lets you browse Craigslist with numerous features for searching and viewing listings and even posting your own listings. If you need to do a quick search, use the search bar at the top of the interface to search all listings. But for more-refined searches, you can adjust several post-type specific attributes by going into the Options screen. CraigsPro has buttons across the bottom to store favorites, sort listings by category, and search listings by city (you can add or remove cities to widen or narrow your searches). There also is a post tab where you can choose the category, write your post, and immediately attach pictures from your iPhone camera or select images from your iPhone photo library.

In some ways, CraigsPro is better than browsing listings on the actual Web site. Search result lists show up with photos and the first few lines of each posting so it makes finding what you want much easier without having to open up each listing. The Favorites tab is especially useful when you're apartment hunting, for example, because you have all of your chosen locations handy on one page when you're out visiting apartments--no need to write anything down. Overall, if you want a better way to search or post to Craigslist on your iPhone, CraigsPro has plenty to offer, with several added features to make finding what you want easier.

Modern Combat: Sandstorm ($6.99) is a brand-new first-person shooter for iPhone and it might be the best one yet. The game is set somewhere in the Middle East, and you will find and use several different kinds of weapons as you complete mission objectives in dry sandy locales. You have three different types of control schemes to pick from, with variations of onscreen joysticks and touch-screen actions. I found the default control method to work best for me with a movement joy stick on the left and using the touch screen to aim and fire with my right thumb. Some added controls appear in certain situations where you need to pick up an item or jump down from a wall, for example. You can reload your weapon with a single tap on the gun in the upper right or you can double tap to switch weapons.

Though the iPhone touch screen will never be as easy to use as a keyboard or console controller, Modern Combat: Sandstorm manages to make the controls fairly easy to use. Autoaim (found in the options) helped a lot to offset the less-than-optimal controls in the beginning, but after spending some time with the game I was able to turn it off for a more realistic experience. Along with the great gameplay, Modern Combat: Sandstorm has great audio, with explosive-sounding guns, and good voice acting in-game and during cut scenes. Overall, if you've been waiting for a good first-person shooter to come to the iPhone, Modern Combat: Sandstorm is an excellent choice with exciting gameplay, challenging missions, and a control scheme that's fairly easy to get used to.

What's your favorite iPhone app? Have you tried the augmented reality Easter egg in Yelp for iPhone 3GS? Have you used a better Craigslist app? Are you excited to see more complicated games like Modern Combat: Sandstorm on the iPhone? Let me know in the comments!

If you are using a Windows machine or even a Mac running Windows in a virtual environment, you need to pay attention to security. At the very least, you should always have at least one program for each of the major security threats: antispyware, antivirus, and a software firewall (if you don't already have a router-based firewall). Some antivirus suites have begun to include antispyware in their software, so if you have antivirus software, check to make sure you're covered. But if you're reading this and you don't have software to cover these three areas, we strongly suggest you visit our Download Security Center and browse through each of the categories.

To get you started, we've rounded up the top free antispyware software options. Most of these programs offer a paid upgrade with added useful features, but we made sure to only pick software that followed through and removed spyware without the need to buy during the initial trial. It's important to note that each of these programs has its own set of algorithms and different times they update their definitions, so we recommend using two antispyware programs to make sure you catch everything.

Spybot Search & Destroy was one of the first antispyware options available and it still is a fairly strong contender for finding threats. Other useful tools, including Secure Shredder, complement the program's basic functionality for completely destroying files. The interface is pretty dated, but with all the added extras of this 100% free program, it's worth a look.

Ad-Aware Anniversary Edition has been in the antispyware game for a long time as well. They have always been close to the top of our list for antispyware detection, but you'll need to pay for added features like scheduling and shield-based protection. With several interface refinements, faster scanning times than previous versions, and numerous other enhancements, this might be the easiest-to-use Ad-Aware yet.

Spyware Terminator is a free option that offers an easy-to-understand interface and lets you schedule your scans for the time most convenient for you. The real-time protection for this program is stronger than most, but can get distracting as you'll need to personally approve many actions. Fortunately, you can designate a lower level of protection to keep you safe without all the hand-holding. This is one of our favorites at Download.com for its relatively quick scan times, free real-time protection, and the ability to designate how deep of a scan you want to use.

CounterSpy makes it simple to schedule and customize spyware scans or run scans on demand, while also offering an adjustable level of real-time protection. Added features like a PC Explorer to browse running ActiveX controls and running processes are useful additions. This one offers a 15-day trial with which you'll be able to remove threats found by CounterSpy, but you'll need to pay to use this program regularly.

SuperAntiSpyware Free Edition, despite its rather uninventive name, is a solid antispyware program. This program offers a number of options for the types of files you want scanned. Like many of the programs listed here, you'll need to pay for the full version of SuperAntiSpyware to unlock the ability to schedule your scans and use real-time protection.

Malwarebytes is our Editors' Choice at Download.com so we recommend it as one of your choices in your antispyware arsenal. Scans are quicker than other programs in this category, and Malwarebytes is often able to distinguish between real threats and common false positives. You'll also be able to scan individual files on demand and a handy File Assassin lets you delete locked malware files. You'll need to pay to set up regularly scheduled scans and real-time protection, but with this solid program, registering is worth your money.

If you're the type of person who uses a lot of search engines and doesn't mind having a toolbar installed, you might want to check out Firefox Super Search. This Firefox-only add-on puts the power of 160 search engines in one toolbar, with about 70 that can be searched right from the toolbar itself.

If you're used to Firefox's built-in search box, this is a pretty big step up both from selecting one engine at a time and having to add additional engine tools from Mozilla's catalog. It's also laid out in a really straightforward manner, putting search engines with which you can search (from within the toolbar) in drop-down menus on the right side of the query box. There's also a directory of the other 90 or so engines that require a visit before beginning a new search.

My only qualm is that you cannot reorganize the order of the engines or make a shortlist of your favorites. It's also missing out on modern search box niceties like auto-complete and search-as-you-type suggestions--two things that require the search box to know which engine you're searching with first. On the plus side, though, the curation and organization of the engines is spot-on.

Note: This add-on is experimental, which means that it may not work perfectly in your browser. We used Super Search on Firefox version 3.5.1 without issues.

In Firefox, one of the awesome bar's awesome tricks is guessing which URL you meant to type. It does it by querying Google and using the Browse By Name search feature to take you directly to a site.

For instance, if I just type "http", Firefox can't find anything definitive in the history for just that part of a URL, so it kicks it over to the keyword search. Google takes you to the top search result for that keyword, which is the Wikipedia article on HyperText Transport Protocol.

But, if you don't like Google, you can change that. Here's how:

Type about:config in the location bar and press return.

This takes you to a warning, asking you to be careful. Do be careful. Once you're sure you mean it, press the "I'll be careful, I promise button."

Now type keyword.URL into the box marked Filter.

Double-click on keyword.URL and a dialog box will pop up with a Google URL in it. This is the URL the awesome bar uses to do a search when it can't make sense of what you typed.

I suggest saving that URL somewhere, in case you want it back. Though it is currently in the article for keyword.URL at MozillaZine.org.

In the text box, replace the URL with whatever search engine you'd rather use.

Press OK.

Now go to the awesome bar and for a test type "http" again.

Instead of taking you to the Wikipedia article, it gives you Bing search results for http.

You can change the keyword search to hit other sites, as well.

For instance, Scroogle is a site that returns Google results without your IP address being logged or cookies being set.

And Nathan Thompson, Class of 2011, e-mailed me about how he's using CNET search to power his keyword lookup in Firefox. He just uses the cnet.com search string and ends it after query=.

That, my friends, will give you a few more options to tweak your Firefox awesome bar's awesomeness.

Selected Search is a new add-on for Firefox that makes it easier to start a search from any page you're on. It works by taking text you've highlighted with your mouse, and then bringing up a small pop-up list of all the search engines you have installed. From there you just pick the one you want and it opens up behind the scenes in a new tab.

Firefox has its own built-in contextual shortcut that does this with whatever search engine you've got set up as the primary. The big difference with this extension is that you can very quickly pick whatever engine you want to search with depending on what you've highlighted.

What I really like about this tool is that you can continue to do all the normal things with highlighted text you'd normally do, including dragging it off into other programs or open windows, or using keyboard and contextual shortcuts to copy. It also does not always come up when highlighting text that's in a form, meaning you can keep it installed without interrupting your usual work flow, however this was hit or miss. It came up on certain form fields, but not in others.

Another tool that does the same thing with a little more visual flair is Drag and Drop Zones, which lets users drag highlighted text into a grid of search engines and keyboard shortcuts. It's a little more customizable, but may be a little harder to learn than this.