Wednesday, June 18, 2008

TrID Identifies Files with Unknown Extensions

11:50PM Lifehacker US Edition | Windows only: When you’ve got a file with an extension you don’t recognise, the free command line tool TrID can help. We’ve covered how to use the web to find out what kind of file you have, but TrID adds a probability output. Rather than simply listing all the file types that have ever used the extension you’re searching for, TrID analyzes the file itself and returns the probability of the file being a certain type, as shown. More »

Skype 4.0 Beta Overhauls Video Chat

11:00PM Kevin Purdy | Windows only: Skype has released an early beta of their 4.0 release for Windows users, and the best word for it is “bigger.” (Odds-on this is the “fundamental change” Skype hinted at earlier this week.) The client itself is now a full-screen affair, putting your contact list at left and offering all the user options in a big central box. Video calls are both literally bigger, with full-screen streams and picture-in-picture chat, and a larger part of the client’s focus. Hardware setup has also been streamlined to detect compatible hardware, or recommend it if troubleshooting fails. It’s still an early beta—my XP box just couldn’t run it without crashing—but worth checking out if you regularly use Skype video chat. Skype 4.0 beta is a free download for Windows systems only (for now). Skype 4.0 Beta [via eWeek] More »

Use Speed Dial as Opera’s Startup Page

10:30PM Kevin Purdy | Opera 9.5, the latest edition of the free (and pretty speedy) web browser, doesn’t make it readily apparent how to set its multi-page Speed Dial function as your start page. The How-To Geek points out that by setting your “Startup” to “Blank Page” in Tools->Preferences, and then heading to Advanced->Tabs->Additional tab options to un-check “Allow window with no tabs,” you’re good to go. This somewhat disables auto-starting with your last session’s tabs, but for Speed Dial fans, it’s a handy hack. While you’re tweaking Opera, try adding more sites to Speed Dial. Update: A watchful Mac/Opera user notes that the trick appears Windows only—any Mac users out there know which settings to tweak? Set the Speed Dial as the Opera Startup Page [The How-To Geek] More »

MySpace users should race to Gears

4:39PM Angus Kidman | If you’re a regular visitor to MySpace and you haven’t already installed Gears, you might as well go ahead and do so before the site starts nagging you to get it. MySpace has used Gears for a while to provide localised message stores, but has only pushed the option to users with more than 5,000 messages stashed away. At today’s Google Developer Conference in Sydney, MySpace revealed that it will shortly lower that threshold, prompting anyone with more than 2,000 messages. Shifting to Gears enhances your ability to sort and manage messages, which sounds like something anyone with 2,000 messages could use. Gears is supported on Windows, Mac and Linux (principally via Firefox, including 3; IE is fine, Safari is, at this moment, not). More »

Quikmaps lets you doodle on Google

1:24PM Angus Kidman | While it’s always been possible to add buttons and other information to Google maps, doing anything complicated has generally required a fair degree of developer nous. Quikmaps (developed by a Canadian now resident in Australia) greatly simplifies the process, allowing easy drawing of straight or freehand lines on any Google map, as well as drag-and-drop buttons and text labels. Registering (a free process that requires nothing more than a user name at this stage) lets you save your doodled maps and generate code to add them to your own site. Quikmaps  More »

How to get the most out of Apple’s Sydney store

12:10PM Angus Kidman | Apple Store #215 opens at367 George St on June 19, with 125 employees just itching to meet all your Mac and iPod-related needs. Our nine-point guide (after the jump) will help you get the most out of a visit to the three-storey store; head over to Gizmodo for a pictorial tour. More »

Firefox 3 Portable Available for Download

8:27AM Adam Pash | You may be helping Mozilla set a download record today, but if the majority of your Firefoxin’ happens on a thumb drive, Portable Firefox 3.0 is officially available. Talk about turnaround. More »

WebcamXP Streams Live Video from Your Webcam over the Internet

8:00AM Adam Pash | Windows only: Freeware application webcamXP turns your webcam into a security camera by streaming live broadcasts over the internet or scheduling captures at regular intervals. Once installed, you’ll need to set up the application with your router so you can properly access the stream, and if your webcam can move, webcamXP can even remotely pan and tilt your webcam through its interface. The application comes in a few varieties with varying restrictions, but the free version should do the trick for home use. If webcamXP isn’t quite what you’re looking for, check out other free ways you can do more with your webcam. webcamXP More »

Sydney Apple Store users’ guide coming today

7:19AM Angus Kidman | Sydney’s Apple Store is due to open on Thursday, and the company is hosting a media preview today, so check in later for a gush-free guide on how to make the most of a visit to the most-hyped retail opening in Australia since Krispy Kreme. Nick at Gizmodo (who is, let’s face it, somewhat more excited about this than I am) will also be there with live coverage and loads of pictures. In the meantime, you can check out this panorama of the recently-revealed store front. (Thanks Aaron!). More »

Search Your Read Items in Google Reader

7:00AM Adam Pash | All-things-Google weblog Google Operating System details how to set up a read-items search in Google Reader. By default Reader searches all of your items, read and unread, and the results are sorted by date and not relevancy. If you subscribe to a lot of feeds, you may end up with a lot of unread items in your results when you know you’ve already read what you’re looking for. By subscribing to your own read items feed, as detailed in the Google Operating System post, you can quickly and easily search only your read items. Not bad, though more sorting options for search results (like relevancy) would be better. You can also improve your search results by getting to know Google Reader’s supported search operators. Search Read Items in Google Reader [Google Operating System] More »