Windows only: Free, open-source application WebWallpaper loads images from any URL or desktop location and swaps out your desktop background on a schedule. Originally designed for use with webcams, the application works with any image URL you point it to. WebWallpaper comes with a few webcam URLs baked in with beautiful streaming images, so it’s easy to get up and running with live-updating backgrounds. If you know of a high-resolution webcam in your area that streams to a static URL, this app is potentially very cool—your desktop becomes a window looking outside, updating your wallpaper with the current conditions automatically. If WebWallpaper isn’t quite what you’re looking for, check out previously mentioned John’s Background Switcher—which integrates with popular photo webapps like Flickr, Picasa, and even Facebook—or the recently released Wallpapers from MSN.
WebWallpaper [via gHacks]Windows only: ChromeMailer, a free email utility for users of Google’s Chrome browser, pops open a Gmail compose window by default when you click an email address in Chrome. Actually, ChromeMailer seems to replace the default mailto: handler at the system level, so it’s advised only for fans of Gmail’s web interface. While ChromeMailer is potentially very useful, there are two big caveats: It requires an up-to-date .NET installation in Windows XP, and Windows Vista makes you answer a User Account Control nag on every click. If you’re more a Firefox fan looking for a similar fix, try our previous method for integrating Gmail into your browser. ChromeMailer is a free download for Windows systems only. Thanks, How-To Geek! ChromeMailer [Skaelede.hu]
Firefox only (Windows/Mac/Linux): Firefox extension Geode adds experimental geolocation features to your browser. Done well, that could make a big difference:
You’ve arrived in a new city, a new continent, a new coffee shop. You don’t really know where you are, and are looking for a good place to eat. You pull out your laptop, fire up Firefox, and go to your favourite review site. It automatically deduces your location, and serves up some delicious suggestions a couple blocks away and plots directions there.
YouTube has added two new features to long videos: Theatre View and Lights Out mode. These features aren’t available on all videos yet (here’s an example of a video with the new features), but it’s a welcome addition to YouTube. [via Google Operating System]
IBM is offering the public a peek at Bluehouse, an online office portal aimed at making it easier for employees to share documents and desktops, host web conferences, and reach out to clients from one location. Any sized business can sign up to try out the service, though not everything works at the moment. One notably cool feature is the “Live Charts,” which does exactly what it sounds like. There’s tagging, importing from Outlook or Lotus Notes, and a lot more to fiddle with. Bluehouse is free to use (for the moment), requires a sign-up.
Bluehouse [via Ars Technica]Software engineer and Lifehacker reader William Bartholomew loves previously mentioned Firefox extension Ubiquity, but would prefer it were a bit more… well, ubiquitous. One of the biggest limitations I see is that its keyboard shortcut is only available from within Firefox; I really want to be able to invoke it from whatever application I’m currently using.
Windows only: Bandwidth monitor NetWorx is packed with tools to help you keep on top of what’s happening on your network. As shown above, Networx offers network Statistics, Incoming Traffic, and Speed Meter readouts; it also includes traceroute, netstat, and a ping module to help you keep an eye on your network. If you’d like to monitor your bandwidth at the router level to see how much bandwidth everything on your network consumes instead of just one terminal, check out our guide on how to set up router based bandwidth monitoring. Networx is a free download for Windows only.
Windows only: ExtractNow is a free application with a singular focus: extracting your files lightning fast. Sometimes it’s worth eschewing all the bells and whistles of more robust program for a feature that works extremely well. ExtractNow is a bulk extraction tool that supports ZIP, RAR, ISO, BIN, IMG, IMA, IMZ, 7Z, ACE, JAR, GZ, LZH, LHA, TAR, and SIT archive formats. Configure the basic settings, such as where you want the files to be extract to, whether or not to preserve the folder structure of the archive, etc. and from then ExtractNow becomes a drag and drop extraction workhorse. ExtractNow extracted the test files used in the screen shot above so quickly that I almost missed a screenshot of it in action as my hand traveled from the Enter to Print Screen key. ExtractNow is Windows-only donationware.
ExtractNow [via Download.com]
