I’ve an update to the Better Gmail 2 Firefox extension, adding a few new features and cleaning out the Better Gmail 2 features that have been incorporated into Gmail Labs. More »
In our latest browser speed tests, I half-heartedly complained that Firefox eats up memory over long periods of use. Our lovely, helpful commenters pointed out that there is, indeed, a tweak to help with that. It’s important to note that this about:config tweak doesn’t actually change how Firefox uses (and hoards) memory over actual use. For the purposes of user speed, then, it’s not much change. But while Windows can normally grab memory back from applications that are minimised, Firefox prevents that and keeps all the memory it acquired during your multi-tab wanderings—unless you enable this tweak, which some have claimed also makes Firefox scale down the big memory pile it had going upon re-focusing.
Windows/Mac/Linux: Love yourself a little Thunderbird? Mozilla’s desktop email client has released an update for early adopters in the form of Thunderbird 3 Beta 2. The majority of changes in this release come in the form of massive bug fixes, but you’ll also see cool new features like archiving (à la Gmail) and the new Activity Manager, which helps to give you a better idea of what Thunderbird is actually doing at any given time. Lastly, you’ll also see better Growl notifications on OS X and more keyboard shortcuts. [Thunderbird 3 Beta 2 via gHacks]
The latest eye-candy beta of Safari was released earlier this week for Windows and Mac, but Linux users can now (mostly) use Safari 4 using the Wine compatibility tool. The flapjacktastic weblog runs through the process of installing Safari on Linux, which requires setting up Wine with some extra tweaks, copying a file from a Windows machine, and fixing some font problems—ending up with a (mostly) functional Safari installation. There are still some unsolved issues with the tabs not working, and the process is not beginner-friendly, but it’s a great proof of concept—and could be very useful for testing web pages from a Linux machine. If you are new to Linux, be sure to check out our guide to running Windows apps in Linux with Wine, or take a look at how to install Google Chrome in Ubuntu.
Safari 4 on linux with WINE: solved [flapjacktastic]Windows only: The latest cutting-edge developer build of Google Chrome adds a new full-screen mode accessible through the F11 key. There’s no UI—just a full-screen browser window with a scrollbar, so you’ll have to take it out of full-screen mode to enter a new URL (though you can open a new tab with Ctrl+T and search from there). You’ll need to download the Google Chrome Channel Chooser and switch to the Dev channel to get the latest updates if you’re brave enough to deal with potential problems of an experimental build. [via CNet]
Windows, Mac, Linux (Adobe Air): Group to-do list application KonoLive shares project tasks easily—with useful collaboration features like live discussions, Google Docs, and Box.net integration. Using the application requires nothing more than creating an account, logging in, and creating your tasks—which can be shared and discussed with other members of your team using the built-in collaboration features. Your tasks will be stored on the KonoLive servers, and can be accessed from more than one computer—although your data is also cached for offline access. The signup process automatically creates a Box.net account, or you can link to Google Docs for file sharing between team members—the Box.net integration isn’t optional, which is a little annoying—but otherwise it’s a very interesting idea worth a look for any team that needs better collaboration tools. KonoLive is a free download, runs anywhere the Adobe AIR platform does. For a simpler AIR-based to-do application, check out previously mentioned MiniTask; alternately, you might be more interested in integrating Remember the Milk with your desktop using previously mentioned Remember the Task.
KonoLive [via gHacks]A Flickr user and Digg beta tester posted the above screenshot of the toolbar in development by the 900-lb. gorilla of link-sharing services. It’s JavaScript-based, offers Twitter-style URLs, and meant for hardcore Diggers. As you can see in the upper-right, the Digg toolbar, which should work with any modern browser, offers a StumbleUpon-like “Random” button to take you to a new, popular-on-Digg page, based in part on your own past Digg activity. And social network sharing links are ready to roll as well.
It’s obviously not something a casual Digg voter would get into, but would having a random Digg pointer make the link-voting site worth your free time? Cast your votes, and impressions, in the comments.
playing around w/diggbar bera [scottmeinzer's Flickr stream via TechCrunch]Windows only: If a lot of un- and re-installs left your system a bit messy, Little Registry Cleaner can clean it up, along with startup items and other system utilities. Little Registry Cleaner’s primary function is scanning your Windows registry for invalid entries. You can select which types of entries it will scan for, allowing you to be cautious and only scan for orphan program entries, but leave anything related to the system drivers or DLLs untouched. Little Registry Cleaner has a built-in backup system; once you’ve done a sweep, you can restore to the registry’s previous state if you notice things have gone awry.
In addition to speedy registry cleaning, Little Registry Cleaner also has an uninstaller to ensure you don’t end up with orphaned files and registry entries to begin with. You can also edit your startup items, as Little Registry Cleaner has a clean and easy to use interface for seeing which programs are set to start at boot and their associated registry keys. Previously reviewed and popular CCleaner has a similar set of features with a more fire-and-forget style interface, but Little Registry Cleaner is a tool for cautious, incremental cleaners. Finally, it should be noted that cleaning your registry isn’t a magic potion for turning an aging cart horse into a a derby winner; it benefits you most when it removes entries that are causing buggy performance or misapplied software tweaks. As always, be cautious before rooting around in your computer’s brain. Little Registry Cleaner is freeware, Windows only.
Little Registry Cleaner [via Download Squad]Want to send out a high-resolution clip over social networks or email, but don’t want to sign up for a video uploading account? TinyPic, the video-focused cousin of Photobucket, offer free, no-sign-up HD-ish uploads. You get up to 200MB to play around with per upload, and the site can be a little ad-tastic at times—not to mention the large number of videos you don’t want your mother to end up searching through. But the embeds are free, and look pretty great for no-commitment video sharing. Here’s a clip uploaded by a CNET editor for testing:
Safari 4′s Top Sites is a flashy, useful feature, but it’s not exactly intuitive how to manually add a site to it.
As the Tech-Recipes blog points out, one of the easiest ways to bulk-add your links to Top Sites is to create links to each site on the desktop, either by dragging the URL from any browser’s address bar or manually creating them with a right-click New/Shortcut action. Then simply launch Top Sites and drag your desktop bookmarks into the grid. You’ll see the site thumbnail soon, but you won’t see the delete/pin/update notifications while Safari is running this time. Launch Safari again, and all is well. I’ve found that another, semi-easy way is to simply type in the URL of a site into Safari’s address bar while Top Sites is open, and don’t hit enter or head to the site. Then just drag the URL you typed in down into the Top Sites grid, and you’re good to go. Got an easier solution, or another Top Sites hack? Tell us about it in the comments. Safari 4: How to Add a Site to Top Sites [Tech-Recipes]
