Google Chrome users, type about:internets into the address bar to get a fun little animation. Don't clog the tubes, yo. (Check out some more of our favourite software Easter eggs here.)

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Windows only: The free Orca Browser is a web browser based on the Firefox 3 core with the same speed and features of Firefox in addition to a handful of extra features. Those extra features include a built-in ad blocker, flash blocker, auto form-filler, and perhaps most useful, an online storage account that syncs your bookmarks, auto-form information, and more with an online account. Orca is made by the same folks who developed the freeware Avant Browser, which is based on Internet Explorer with an emphasis on speed and improved features.

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Windows only: Freeware application Click&Clean works in conjunction with previously mentioned favourite CCleaner to cover your browsing tracks with the click of a button. To use it, first make sure that you've already installed CCleaner and then download and install Click&Clean. Once installed, Click&Clean will add an entry to your quick launch bar. You can stop with that if you like, but Click&Clean also provides a Cleaner button for you Firefox and Internet Explorer toolbars—you just have to add them through the customise dialogs. Once there, clicking the toilet paper icon will automatically run CCleaner's browser cleanup tools to give your browsing session a deep clean. Click&Clean is freeware, Windows only.

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Windows/Mac/Linux: The final version of the Opera 9.5 web browser is in the open as of this morning. We've previously highlighted some of its features, including the browser-syncing, speed-dial- Opera Links, but there's also an integrated BitTorrent download manager, mouse gesture control, and a claim by developers that JavaScript and HTML render more than twice as fast as Opera 9.2. Opera 9.5 is a free download for Windows, Mac, and Linux systems.

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Having a good set of bookmarklets on your browser's toolbar is like having a web-savvy Leatherman handy—you can take them anywhere, use them in many situations, and they just simply work. A bookmarklet is a little different than a plain old bookmark—it's a snippet of JavaScript that can perform all sorts of magic on the web page you're currently viewing. You add bookmarklets to your bookmarks collection to get all sorts of things done as you surf the web. Let's take a look at some of the best bookmarklets available, which can help you search and email, download videos, and work out some of the web's kinks.

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Opera has taken the latest version of its mobile browser, Opera Mini, out of beta this week. The new Opera Mini 4.1 gives the browser a speed bump and offers several new features for quicker scrolling, navigation and page rendering.
One feature carried over from the 9.5 Beta 2 version of Opera's desktop browser is the ability to guess the URL you want when you enter a search term in the address bar.
4.1 also supports offline viewing, and users with Java-enabled mobiles supporting JSR-75 will be able to upload and download any file via Opera's mobile web.
Opera Mini 4.1 is not compatible with all mobile phones, so check the full list of compatible phones here. Most Java handsets are supported, including BlackBerry and Palm phones.
Opera Mini 4.1 is a beta, so the usual warnings apply. It can be downloaded here. [via]