Speed up your browsing with Google Toolbar

When Internet became massively used, user’s didn´t had many browsers available. As the network grew, these started to grow, too. At the same time, due to the wild competition between them, they are constantly updated. This implies changes in their interface that many times confuse users. A good tip to avoid this problem is to add to your browser Google Toolbar.

Thanks to this bar, we can keep the same interface, while enjoying all the features it offers. What`s more, Google Toolbar allows searching from any site we are, without needing to use the site engine itself. On the other hand, Google Toolbar allows you to search words even within the same site. It also includes a direct link to its translator as well as an application that makes Google bar complete forms for us.

What´s more, Google Toolbar lets you add custom buttons from a gallery so we can visit our favorite sites with just one click. Another thing we can do with just a click is sharing links on social networks.

Without a doubt, Google Toolbar is very convenient, to users, advance or beginners. The many advantages it offers as well as the customization possibilities make of this, a convenient tool to enhance any browser. You can download Google Toolbar from here.

Mozilla Rainbow: Record audio and video directly from the browser!

Some time ago, Mozilla’s creators publish the releasing of a new application for Mozilla Firefox browser, released under the name Rainbow.

This new application allows Mozilla Firefox to record audio and video directly from the browser, and after the file creation, to upload the new content on any site user wants. However, the extension of the file created is OGG, but in the near future WebM format is expected to be supported. Rainbow is currently available for the latest Nightly Builds of Mac OS, but they are working so this application has versions for Mozilla Firefox browser and Windows and Linux platforms.

Finally, it is worth mention that Mozilla Firefox developer leaves Rainbow´s open source at this stage of the project with the aim that advance users can review or modify it so it has an optimum performance when installing the application on Mozilla Firefox.

Search, play, download and convert audio and video with Miro

Miro is an excellent application that in times where more and more multimedia content is uploaded on the net and many portable devices are launched day after day, the utility that this application offers is incredible. With a built-in browser engine, a multi-page searcher, a TV player and a converter, Miro is one of the most complete programs.

When we run the program we find on the left panel a number of options that allow us to access the different resources Miro has. It has its own guide and an application as well as a series of pages that we can set up as we want.

On “Web Sites” section we will see the sites we can have quick access from Miro, and from where we can download. So in a practical way we can download videos from YouTube as from the main streaming online sites.

At the same time, Miro allows you to create playlists based on online content as well as audio or video files that you previously stored on your computer.

Without doubt, one of the most interesting utilities Miro offers is the converter. With this exciting tool we can make conversions based on the most popular format profiles taking as reference the device we use. This way, we don´t need to worry about format compatibility problems, as well as the ideal size for our laptop.

As we can see, Miro is a very complete program that allows us to get the best of the web easily. Whether we want to view multimedia content, download it or convert it to take it everywhere on portable devices, Miro is an application that will give us practical solutions.

Google surprises everyone by announcing updates every 6 weeks

After the European League forced Microsoft to offer its users different browsers to choose from in March 2010, the war got hot. Within this framework, Google has announced that Chrome will offer a stable updated version every 6 weeks.

Surprising as it may seem, the news implies a change that had already been adopted by Mozilla somehow, although its proposal had not been as bold. Google wants Chrome’s periodic safety updates to be more than just that and to include functions.

According to Google’s director, this change in Chrome’s release dates implies a change in the internal flow of work. Even so, it has been guaranteed that Google Chrome’s updates with new functions are the ideal, and they will be achieved as long as there are not important failures that divert attention from the project of improvements.

The change in Google Chrome’s release scheme will surely benefit the users, who won’t even have to bother since the updates will be automatic. On the other hand, this move will definitely make Microsoft’s Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox or Opera to come into play.

Internet Explorer 9’s preview is already available for download

Microsoft has finally released Internet Explorer 9’s preview and it is already available for download. This preview of the platform is mainly intended for web developers and designers to test the most popular browser in the world up to now.

With this preview of the new version, Microsoft wants to re-position its browser in the increasingly competitive market. After losing users worldwide, Internet Explorer 9 seeks to regain them with its new functionalities.

Internet Explorer 9’s preview is just an engine of the browser. It does not include the user interface nor the security options. As far as we can see, this new version enables us to test the improvements in the rendering engine. In Internet Explorer 9’s preview we can test the support for CSS, SVG2, HTML5 and XHTML parsing standards, video and audio tag, for speeding up audio and text.

Before downloading Internet Explorer 9’s preview, it is worth noting that it is only compatible with Vista and 7 operating systems and not with Windows XP.

Remote runtime with ChromeOS

“Adding new capabilities all the time. With this capability in particular, unofficially called “chromoting”, Chrome OS will not only be a great platform for running modern web apps, but will also enable you to access legacy PC applications right within the browser.” These were Gary Kackmarcik’s actual words when announcing ChromeOS new characteristic to be released in future versions.

The announcement that ChromeOS will allow access to the legacy PC application through a process that the biggest Internet company called Chromoting, clarified doubts about how Google engineers would answer questions about this function. The process emulates Windows’ Remote desktop connection, which enables the user to manipulate a computer remotely in real time. Thus, by downloading a client in any computer one can use the application in any netbook that has ChromeOS. What remains a mystery is the function’s constitution.

This new concept attracts Google users because it benefits their interests since it enables them to run usual applications always within Google Chrome. Although it is not an original offer in itself, Google ChromeOS’s new feature may become an interesting option for users of Google Chrome browser.

The best email clients to manage your emails

When it comes to choosing an email client, you need to take into account several different things, above all functionality, security and accessibility. Although the vast majority of users now tend to use webmail accounts, desktop email clients are still a practical alternative for when you need to manage several accounts at once, plus they also offer the possibility of creating emails that have professional multimedia layouts.

We’re going to focus our analysis on the five most popular clients: Eudora, Outlook Express, Mozilla Thunderbird, Pando  and Incredimail.

Eudora

Eudora is one of the most popular e-mail clients both for Windows and Mac.

Eudora is one of the most traditional email clients for the Windows platform. It features support for multiple mail accounts, powerful filters, customized text layouts, drag and drop support, IMAP support, and options for automating processes. It also has a wide range of plug-ins available, which can seriously enhance the usefulness of the program.

The application’s interface is simple and accessible. The only negative for this email client could be the strong resemblance it bears to Outlook.

Outlook Express

Perhaps the most well-known email client in the world, Outlook Express is freely distributed along with the Internet Explorer web browser.

Among the features in version 6 are the administration of multiple accounts and identities, its HTML compatibility, the address book and the directory services. It also allows you to synchronize accounts without the need for a connection. Its interface is very accessible and it’s easy to find the latest version in practically any language on the official web site.

Without a doubt the biggest flaw is the program’s poor security. It is still highly vulnerable to worms and other types of threat that circulate in emails.

Mozilla Thunderbird

Mozilla Thunderbird is the new email client from Mozilla, and is perhaps Outlook’s most serious competitor.

It has an extremely simple and intuitive interface that presents an easy and practical application in which everything is designed to work with and complement Firefox, the Mozilla web browser.

Although it may not offer as many bells and whistles as some other clients, it has some interesting features, such as support for themes, powerful mail filters, and the ability to use plug-ins to add new functionality.

Mozilla Thunderbird also has some flaws which, although they don’t occur too frequently and normally have a solution, can cause headaches at times. Following a crash, for example, email accounts may disappear, along with some messages. Plus, over very slow connections, it may not be possible to download large attachments.

Pando

How many times have you wished you could send large files via email? Well, Pando  lets you do just that. Using this client, you can send files of up to 1 GB in size.

Thanks to its attractive and simple interface, resembling that of a P2P file-sharing program and complete with a Wizard and permanent online support, you can send enormous files easily.
Pando  also comes with its very own multimedia player.

However, since it is primarily designed for sending large files, Pando  has hardly any of the extra features that you’d expect to find in a regular email client.

IncrediMail

Incredimail has turned managing email accounts into an artistic experience thanks to the graphical characteristics of its interface. And, best of all, it does so without sacrificing functionality.

When writing messages you can choose from a large number of effects, including animations, backgrounds, electronic greetings cards, sounds, special fonts, and even animated text. For these features the program comes with two extra applications: Incredimal Gallery and Letter Creator. This second program lets you turn a regular old email into a letter designed in the program’s own word processor.

Incredimail also includes all the features common to most email clients, such as multiple account handling and an address book. Plus, it has some very original new mail alerts.

The downside to this client is without a doubt its vulnerability to harmful software. According to some more advanced users, this app has some security holes within its multimedia features.

As you can see from this analysis, there aren’t any really huge differences between the most popular email clients, apart from perhaps in the particular case of Pando  . As such it’s difficult to rate one over the others unless it’s in terms of each individual’s expectations.

For example, if you’re looking for a practical and secure email environment, you’d maybe be better off with Thunderbird. However, if you want to be able to create customized messages that include different types of text, graphics and multimedia content, Incredimail could well be the best choice for you.

One the Opera´s main feature is its customization. Each user can set it up to suit their needs. For instance, you can set a specific number of websites to add as homepage as well as choosing among several search engines. Let´s see how to add browser windows and search engines to Opera in a few steps.

One of its most interesting and original features of Opera is to set several websites as homepage. One of them is Speed Dial, a websites’ graphic menu that enables users to customize it either by adding or removing websites to the links grid.

Opera allows users to increase the number of websites in their Speed Dial homepage, since Opera uses by default a 3×3 grid for the SpeeD Dial.

Follow these instructions to add more websites to the grid:

1)    To modify the main grid, we must modify a configuration file called speeddial.ini. The latter´s path changes according to the version of the Opera and the operative system you´re using. Use Windows search function to find it.

2)    Next, close Opera and open the file speeddial.ini con  with any text file -such as notepad or WordPad- and add the following lines:

3)    Save the file and open Opera again, you´ll notice the change at once.

By doing this, we can modify the number of rows and columns just by modifying the numeric values set in the lines “Rows” and “Columns” in speeddial.ini.

Add search engines to Opera

Every web browser includes a default search engine. In this way, the user doesn’t´ have to enter the search engine website (ex. www.Google.com). Opera includes some of the most popular search engines, but you can still add others. Follow these instructions to add search engines.

1)    Once you choose the search engine, right click inside the search box and choose the option “Create Search”.

2)    Next, complete “name” and “keyword” text fields.

3)    Now, click on a tab and then right click on it and choose the “customize” option.

4)    Another window will now open. Choose the “Buttons” tab and once inside choose the “Search” option. The search engine you added will be listed there.

5)    With the left mouse click drag the search engine outside the window and place it anywhere you where. Once you´ve followed these steps, you´ll have additional search engines on your list.

Opera is an application that can be fully customized, giving the user the possibility to adjust its options and features to the utmost. If you properly followed the above-mentioned steps, you won´t have any issues increasing websites to the grid or adding more search engines.

Download Opera

Are you looking for new ways of surfing the internet? There are many web browsers, some of them deliver stability, others provide overall speed and there is Google Chrome, which offers stability, speed and more.

Who has never heard of Google? This internet giant began as a search engine allowing users to search the internet to find anything they wanted, and without a doubt it´s the most popular and fast search engine on the planet up to date.

Google kept developing software for internet users, and now they bring us Chrome, a browser that combines a minimal design with sophisticated technology to make the web faster, safer, and easier. With its revolutionary Chrome tries to improve what´s been done up to now by Firefox, Opera and Internet Explorer and it´s set to be one of the leaders in the field. On the performance side Google has implemented their own JavaScript rendering engine, called V8 that is reported to be 100 times faster than other browsers around.

Unlike the other browsers each new tab you open runs individually of the others. That way if a page or web application crashes it doesn’t affect the other tabs. You just close the offending tab and continue browsing.

Chrome comes with a default dynamic home page. As you use it, the program remembers the sites that you visit most often. The top nine of those appear in snapshots on your home page, along with your most commonly used search engines and bookmarks.

No longer do you search from one box and enter URL’s in another. You use the Omni box for everything including running a search on Yahoo, Live.com or any other search engine. Just start typing Yahoo.com and then hit your tab key and you will see what I mean. Rather than those cluttered up menus, Google Chrome has merely 2 controlling options for all your needs. Namely “control the current page” where it has numerous sub choices in them and “customize and control Google Chrome” tool which acts similar to “choices” in other web browsers. This feature makes Google Chrome really neat in its look and clutter-free.

Chrome continues fixing bugs and errors, so problems are bound to crop up over the coming months. If like most people you rely heavily on Web browsing, you run a risk by putting your online life into the hands of an unproven product. Chrome’s History functions are less versatile than the powerhouse ones built by Firefox. Chrome offers only a simple screen showing your day-by-day history. The ability to sort everything by date, site, or most visited appear to have joined the distaff and spindle on the ash heap.

To sum up, we have to say that Chrome is better than other browsers such as Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox, though it may take some take for Google to fix all the bugs and errors we encountered with Chrome. Still, it´s an amazing web browsers. Calling the design of Chrome’s interface streamlined is an understatement. The program barely looks like a program, and the vast majority of your screen space is devoted to the site you’re visiting–with no buttons or logos hogging space. So there you go, give Chrome a try, as in all Google products and services, this web browser won´t disappoint you.

Download Google Chrome