Windows/Mac/Linux (Firefox): Firefox makes it pretty easy to save all your open tabs into a bookmark folder, but Taboo makes it really simple to keep everything, including form text and scroll position, in an unseen memory bank. Installing Taboo adds two buttons to your browser, one to mark and another to call up Expose-like thumbnails of what you've tagged, with quick-elimination searching and calendar or grid views. For projects involving a lot of info-juggling or preventing a cool bookmark from falling from memory, Taboo is like having someone take dictation on what you've found on the web. Taboo is a free download, works wherever Firefox does.

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Find yourself on the wrong side of the ocean (or border) from a US-only YouTube video? Don't want to log in to glimpse a clip that might have content that's "inappropriate for some users"? Both are fairly easy to get around by slightly altering the video's URL, according to the Google Operating System Blog. Most YouTube URLs take the form of:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEOID

Note the 11-character code at the end, and place it like so:

http://www.youtube.com/v/VIDEOID

The swift move brings up the widget normally used to play embedded videos—a bit over-sized, sometimes, but nicely distraction-free as well.

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The Shutdown Day website throws down the challenge - can you live without your computer for one day?
The site is promoting a computer free day on May 3rd. It aims to get people thinking about their lives and the world outside the computer screen:

" It is obvious that without computers we would find our life extremely difficult, maybe even impossible. If they disappeared for just one day, would we be able to cope?"

There's a comments thread on the website where people can answer the question of what they'll do on their computer-free day. Amusingly, one chap who didn't seem to get the point of Shutdown Day said he'd spend his time playing Xbox 360. Bzzt, wrong answer!
May 3rd is a Saturday, so most people would be able to unplug for the day if they wanted. My perfect computer-free day would involve the beach, a puppy, good coffee and a good book, followed by a mid-afternoon siesta. How about yours? :)

Bugger it, it's Friday, let's celebrate some unproductivity time. Downtime's important after all. :) Alex Kidman has penned the "2008 Geek Movie Guide" over at PC Authority. I've heard that King of Kong is a ripper documentary, but I'm quite scared to contemplate a sequel to the X Files after all these years!
One gross omission from the list is my must-see movie for 2008 - Indiana Jones and the Kindom of the Crystal Skull, which comes out next month (w00t!). No, it has no computers in it, but I suspect that geeks and nerds of all stripes will be hanging out to see it. :)

Windows/Mac/Linux: Free, open source application BananaSplit divides DivX or Xvid AVI videos into user-defined chunks. There are plenty of reasons you might want to split a video using this app, but the two most obvious that come to mind are to highlight a small section of a long video or to share a large video over the internet when you're limited by filesize constraints. BananaSplit is free, cross-platform, requires Java. For a quick howto, head over to Simplehelp's step-by-step tutorial for BananaSplit.

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US-centric: Hot on the heels of Windows Live Maps' traffic-based directions, Google Maps unleashes its own traffic predictions. To use it, just click the Traffic button on the top of a map and then click the change link to... Read More »

Windows only: Freeware Microsoft Outlook add-on Newsgator Inbox delivers RSS feeds directly to your Outlook inbox. NewsGator Inbox isn't new, but this latest release is the first time we've featured it. Aside from the Outlook integration, NewsGator Inbox synchronises with all the other NewsGator readers, like its popular FeedDemon and NetNewsWire. Best of all, they're all freeware. NewsGator Inbox is Windows only, requires .NET 2.0. If you've considered making the jump from web- to desktop-based newsreaders, NewsGator Inbox or one of the other NewGator solutions are all excellent choices.

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Apple often boasts the security of OS X, but tech web site Ars Technica suggests that your Mac is no more secure than you make it, rounding up a handful of security features you should set on your Mac to bolster its security. Off the bat, for example, the article recommends setting a firmware password for your Mac that prevents anyone from booting your Mac at all without entering the password. Why?

If someone can get to your computer, the chances of them acquiring your data just skyrocketed. Physical security is the critical first step in keeping your Mac safe. A firmware password prevents a user with physical access to the computer from starting up from an optical disk, a network boot volume, a separate drive connected in Target Disk Mode, or into single-user mode.

The article also examines several other OS X security features that aren't enabled by default that can do a lot to enhance your Mac's security. Got a favourite Mac security tweak of your own? Let's hear about it in the comments.

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If you already liked the original CD/DVD spindle cable organiser, a creative user from DIY web site Instructables has taken it to the next level, cutting a couple of slots in the organiser and using it to conceal desktop cable clutter. We're no strangers to the cordless workspace around here, but this is easily another great option to add to our already extensive list of the top 10 ways to get cables under control. Even better, assuming you've got an unused spindle or two, this method won't cost a dime.

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Whether you want to watch a movie on your iPod or back up your too-easily-scratched DVDs, DVD ripping is a mysterious realm for many. Even those in-the-know find it difficult to keep up with the best tools for the job, especially in the face of increased copy protection. On Tuesday we asked you to share your favourite DVD ripping tools; today we've sifted through hundreds of comments to bring you the five most popular answers. Hit the jump for a closer look at five of the best and most popular DVD ripping tools, then cast your vote to determine the best ripper of the bunch.

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Fortune magazine drops in on a Q&A Warren Buffett offered to 150 business students, and the advice dispensed by the Oracle of Omaha on investing and money in general is elegantly simple. When one student asked Buffett how to best spend his free time to further his investing knowledge, Buffett avoided generalised advice and told him to stick to what he knows. Fortune paraphrases:

For most people, the bulk of their income is going to come from earning power in their chosen profession. Therefore, from the standpoint of building wealth, free time is better spent sharpening one's professional skills rather than studying investing.

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Windows Vista includes a feature, "Receive Window Auto-Tuning," that you've likely never seen mentioned on your desktop, but which can cause noticeable drag and even crashing when browsing certain web sites or using some routers or other network hardware. If you're noticing browsing glitches that only occur in Vista, the Wise Bread blog has a tip, pulled from PC Magazine's recent issue, that explains how to turn off auto-tuning and skip the spinning blue circle of death.

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Many web-based feed readers, such as Google Reader, don't support RSS and Atom feeds protected by passwords, including the Gmail's unread messages feed. A new web service, FreeMyFeed, re-packages authenticated feeds without the password requirement by acting as a go-between. A co-worker of the site's creator states that usernames and passwords are "never stored on the server," and discarded immediately after parsing your feed, but it's up to you to determine if you can take the risk of offering up credentials on a protected feed. Or you could always stream only a certain Gmail label to your reader to avoid exposing your whole inbox. FreeMyFeed is free to use, no sign-up required.

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