LH-Firefox

Remains of the Day: The Declaration of Google Wave Edition [For What It's Worth]

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:00:00 -0800

The Declaration of Independence hits Google Wave, Firefox CPU problems are causing some laptops heating issues, and a brilliant little application may someday turn your webcam into an impressive 3D scanner.

Declaration of Independence on Google Wave
Folks may or may not ever catch onto Google Wave for productive purposes, but it's been gangbusters for fun ideas like this Declaration of Independence wave. (You'll need a Wave account.) [Google Wave]
Thanksgiving themes for Firefox
Weblog Mozilla Links rounds up a few fun Thanksgiving-themed Firefox personas for your one-click skinning enjoyment. [Mozilla Links]
Firefox: Heat and the CPU usage problem
Firefox CPU usage problems are apparently causing some problems on laptops, particularly of the ultraportable variety. [CNET]
Amazing Software Turns Cheap Webcam Into Instant 3D Scanner
A very cool 3D-scanning software turns your regular old webcam into a saucy 3D scanner. [Wired]

Make Your Extensions Work with Firefox 3.6 [Firefox]

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 12:00:00 -0800

Firefox only: If you've already started using the Firefox 3.6 Beta release, you're going to need more than the old checkCompatibility trick to get your extensions working again.

To stop everyone from simply ignoring the compatibility checks and using problematic add-ons that haven't been updated in a while, Mozilla removed the ability to turn off extension compatibility checking entirely and now are forcing users to add a separate about:config entry for the specific version they are using.

So instead of adding a new entry called extensions.checkCompatibility, you'll need to add the Firefox version to the preference name, followed by "a" or "b" if you are using alpha or beta versions, respectively. For the current Firefox 3.6 Beta release, you will need to add a boolean key with the following name, and a value of false:

extensions.checkCompatibility.3.6b

If you aren't already an about:config expert or just want some hand-holding, hit the link for the full walk-through to make your extensions compatible. Readers will probably note that you can also use the Nightly Tester Tools extension, but for those of us that would rather not install another bulky extension, this tweak works perfectly.

61 Free Apps We're Most Thankful For [Downloads]

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 05:00:00 -0800

As we prepare to stuff our faces with a bountiful Thanksgiving feast, we turn our Thanksgiving spirit to the gobs of free software we love to say thank you to the developers, and to give our computers a feast of their own.

Earlier this week we asked you to share the free apps you're most thankful for, and after rounding up thousands of your suggestions, considering our own favorites, and performing a little spreadsheet magic, we've cooked up our own cornucopia of excellent free software and webapps we're extremely thankful for. So whether you're an American celebrating the season or not, the selection of apps below is like gravy-drenched turkey and mashed potatoes for your computer. Happy Thanksgiving, everybody!

61 Free Desktop Applications, Webapps, and Tools We're Most Thankful For

Firefox (see also: Power User's Guide to Firefox 3, Top 10 Firefox 3.5 Features)
VLC (see also: Master Your Digital Media with VLC, VLC Hits 1.0 with Better Playback and File Support)
CCleaner (see also: Five Best Windows Maintenance Tools)
Dropbox (see also: Use Dropbox for More Than Just File Syncing, Sync Files and Folders Outside Your My Dropbox Folder)
7-Zip (see also: Five Best File Compression Tools)
OpenOffice.org (see also: OpenOffice.org 3.1's Usability Tweaks, OpenOffice.org Screenshots Preview a Ribbon-Like Toolbar)
Google Chrome (see also: The Power User's Guide to Google Chrome, 2009 Edition)
µTorrent (see also: Tweak uTorrent's Settings for Faster Downloads, Five Best BitTorrent Applications)
Notepad++ (see also: Five Best Text Editors, AutoSave Adds Reassurance to Notepad++ Editing)
Gmail (see also: Our full Gmail coverage)
GIMP (see also: Gimp 2.7 Beta Improves Text Editing, Streamlines Saving)
Paint.NET (see also: Paint.NET Releases Big Update, Still a Killer Photoshop Alternative, Paint.NET Plugin Lets You Open Photoshop Files)
Microsoft Security Essentials (see also: Microsoft Security Essentials Free Antivirus App Leaves Beta, Stop Paying for Windows Security; Microsoft's Security Tools Are Good Enough)
Revo Uninstaller (see also: Lifehacker Pack 2009: Our List of Essential Free Windows Downloads)
Evernote (see also: Evernote 3.5 Beta Brings Tons of Tiny Fixes to Windows, Expand Your Brain with Evernote)
Thunderbird (see also: Thunderbird 3 Release Candidate Available for Download)
Audacity (see also: Geek to Live: Make a ringtone from any MP3)
ImgBurn (see also: Turn Your PC into a DVD Ripping Monster, Five Best CD and DVD Burning Tools)
Picasa (see also: Picasa 3.5 Organizes Your Photos with Facial Recognition)
Skype (see also: Our full Skype coverage)
Pidgin (see also: Ten Must-Have Plug-ins to Power Up Pidgin, Five Best Instant Messengers)
Ubuntu (see also: First Look at Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala, Dual-Boot Windows 7 and Ubuntu in Perfect Harmony)
iTunes (see also: iTunes 9 Improves Syncing, Network Sharing, More)
foobar2000 (see also: Screenshot Tour: The beautiful and varied world of foobar2000, Hack Attack: Roll your own killer audio player with foobar2000)
Foxit Reader (see also: Five Best PDF Readers, Lifehacker Pack 2009: Our List of Essential Free Windows Downloads)
FileZilla (see also: Five Best FTP Clients, Build a Home FTP Server with FileZilla)
VirtualBox (see also: The Beginner's Guide to Creating Virtual Machines with VirtualBox)
TrueCrypt (see also: Geek to Live: Encrypt your data, Five Best Portable Applications)
Avast! (see also: Five Best Antivirus Applications)
Defraggler (see also: Five Best Disk Defragmenters)
KeePass (see also: Eight Best KeePass Plug-Ins to Master Your Passwords, How to Use Dropbox as the Ultimate Password Syncer)
Opera (see also: Opera 10.10 with Unite Media Server Released)
AVG (see also: AVG 9 Free Now Available for Download)
Digsby (see also: Five Best Instant Messengers, Digsby Sees the Light, Removes (Some) Bundled Crapware)
Google Reader (see also: Our full Google Reader coverage)
Winamp (see also: Win7shell Adds Windows 7 Jump List Support to Winamp)
Google Earth (see also: Google Earth 5.1 Speeds Up Your World Browsing)
TeraCopy (see also: Five Best Alternative File Copiers)
Launchy (see also: Our full Launchy coverage)
Transmission (see also: Lifehacker Pack 2009: Our List of Essential Free Mac Downloads)
Eclipse IDE
SpyBot Search & Destroy (see also: Five Best Malware Removal Tools)
Adium (see also: Adium Updates with Security Fixes, Better Facebook Integration)
PuTTY (see also: Add Tabs to PuTTY with PuTTY Connection Manager)
Songbird (see also: Songbird 1.0 Release Official, Fixes Bugs, Plays iTunes Purchases, Killer Add-ons Make Songbird So Much Better)
Sumatra PDF (see also: Sumatra 1.0 is a Blazing Fast Replacement for Adobe Reader)
XBMC (see also: Build a Silent, Standalone XBMC Media Center On the Cheap, Customize XBMC with These Five Awesome Skins, Turbo Charge Your New XBMC Installation)
Blender (see also: Learn Blender with free e-book)
CDBurnerXP (see also: Five Best CD and DVD Burning Tools)
Everything (see also: Everything Finds Windows Files As You Type, Top 10 Tiny & Awesome Windows Utilities)
HandBrake (see also: HandBrake Updates to 0.9.4 with Over 1,000 Changes, 64-Bit Support)
Rainmeter (see also: Rainmeter 1.0 Brings the Enigma Desktop to Everyone)
AutoHotkey (see also: Turn Any Action into a Keyboard Shortcut, Hack Attack: Knock down repetitive email with AutoHotKey)
Google Calendar (see also: Our full Google Calendar coverage)
MediaMonkey (see also: MediaMonkey 3.2 Syncs with More Devices, Adds Auto Folder Watching)
Quicksilver (see also: A beginner's guide to Quicksilver)
WinSCP
Google Voice (see also: Make Unlimited Free Calls on Your Cellphone with Google Voice, How to Ease Your Transition to Google Voice)
Boxee (see also: Build a Cheap But Powerful Boxee Media Center, Boxee to Launch Beta with Loads of New Features)
AdBlock Plus (see also: Top 10 Must-Have Firefox Extensions, 2009 Edition)
Media Player Classic (see also: Five Best Video Players)

In case you're curious, here's a broad look at how your votes broke down among the 10 most popular:

The list above represents every application that garnered roughly ten votes or above. The highest vote-earner, Firefox, pulled in a couple hundred. If you're interested in how the full count went down, you can check out a Google Spreadsheet of the results here. Happy Thanksputering!

Firefox 3.6 Beta 4 Available with Many Fixes [Downloads]

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 12:30:00 -0800

Windows/Mac/Linux: Nobody told Mozilla's developers it's a day off. They've just pushed out a fourth beta of Firefox 3.6, with more than 100 fixes from the last beta and more add-on security and compatibility.

There's no reason not to grab this beta if you're a bleeding-edge Firefox fan, as it doesn't seem to remove any features or support (as its predecessor did), and Mozilla notes that more than 70 percent of its add-ons are now compatible with the 3.6 betas.

How to Fix Your Relatives' Terrible Computer [Tech Support]

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 13:00:00 -0800

Drop your bags, grab a drink, and grab the XP CD—it's time for the holiday ritual of fixing up your relatives' computer. Here are some tips and downloads to keep handy while you're cursing all the auto-starting crapware.

Photo by Justin Marty.

For this guide, we're going to do a bit of assuming. We're assuming the relative with the busted computer is running a Windows system, and has an internet connection that works when the computer does. We're assuming all the physical pieces of the computer work—hard drive, memory, disc drives, and anything else that's crucial. We'll also assume the computer's in one of two states: Failing to boot and needing an OS re-installation, laden with unnecessary system tray/startup applications and/or spy/mal/ad-ware, or just needing a little optimization.

Computer won't boot, needs a re-install

The problem: Turning on the computer results in a message that states Windows can't boot because something is missing (a boot loader, an important file, etc.) or something is wrong. There are many variations on this message, but they all say basically the same thing: You will not be getting into Windows.

Quick-fix triage: Load the original XP, Vista, or Windows 7 (Really? Broken already?) CD or DVD in the system and boot the system from there, which might require hitting a key to bring up "boot options" or pressing a key when asked to "Press any key to boot from CD." Wait for the CD to load—it may seem like it's installing, but it's just loading a mini-system for installation and, in this case, repair. Follow the prompts to repair an existing installation, or, in the case of Vista or 7, ask it to repair the startup process.

What you'll need:

XP, Vista, or Windows 7 installation CD/DVD: It may be from a computer manufacturer and not look like a Microsoft-obtained, holograph-packed disc, so look around a bit. If it's a "System Restoration" disc, be sure that you can boot from it and install a full copy of Windows from it.
USB thumb drive: At least 1GB in size.
External USB drive or blank DVDs: For backing up important files.
Ubuntu Live CD or Knoppix Live CD: Both are Linux distributions, but we're just using them because they run on most kinds of hardware without installing, and can transfer the files you need to your backup media. Ubuntu should work; if it doesn't, give Knoppix a go. You can use the free tool UNetBootin to transfer the ISO you downloaded to a thumb drive, which is necessary if you're backing up to DVDs, and recommended in any case to speed things up.

If that doesn't work, and you really feel this system can boot again except for some silly error, try creating an Ultimate Recovery CD, as detailed at the How-To Geek's home away from Lifehacker.

If that worked, hooray! If not, soldier on to the next step.

Back up the files: Have your USB hard drive or blank DVDs handy, and remove the Windows CD/DVD from the computer if you tried to use that for a fix. Stick your thumb drive with the Ubuntu (or Knoppix) image into a USB slot, then boot up the computer. You may have to hit F12 or another key to boot from USB, or change a setting in the BIOS (which you can access by hitting a key—written in that fast-disappearing text—at boot-up). You'll be asked to choose a language, then hit the option to "Try Ubuntu without any changes." After some loading, you'll arrive at an Ubuntu desktop.

Move your cursor to the "Places" menu, and check to see that your USB drive (MyBook, in my case) or blank DVD is showing up. You should also see the hard drive Windows is running from. On an XP or Vista system, there's usually just one, but on Windows 7, there are two—a "System Reserved" (fairly small) and a larger, main drive. Check to see that you can open and access those files as well.

Ask your relatives which files and documents are important to them. When doing my own tech support work, I usually back up the entire "My Documents" folder (with "My Music" and "My Pictures" included), their Outlook or (yes, sometimes) Outlook Express email data (explained here), and their Firefox profile or, more likely, their "Favorites" folder for Internet Explorer (C:\Documents and Settings\Username\Favorites in XP, or C:\Users\Username\Favorites in Vista or 7). In any case, always ask, and make sure there isn't any software they can't locate a license for.

When you're ready to back up, simply open your USB drive from the Places menu, then open your main Windows drive, and drag files to copy from your Windows system onto the backup medium.

If you're burning to DVD, head to the Applications menu in your temporary Ubuntu system, mouse over the Accessories sub-menu, and select "CD/DVD Creator" when it pops up. You'll get a folder you can drag files you want to burn into, then hit "Write to Disc" to burn them.

When you're all done backing up files, head to the menu with the power icon next to it (labeled "Live user," most likely) and select "Shut Down." You'll eventually be prompted to remove your live CD or USB stick—do so, and swap in the Windows installation CD or DVD. Turn off the system, then turn it back on. Follow the instructions to install Windows on the system, erasing whatever partitions or data exist on there at the moment (assuming you're sure the important stuff is backed up).

Clogged with crapware

The problem: The computer boots up ... eventually. Programs open very slowly, the hard drive seems to click and whir endlessly, and messages, reminders, and pop-up windows jump onto the screen every few minutes.

Quick-fix triage: If you don't suspect there's anything actually malicious and infectious on the system—that is, you're fairly sure they've been running and updating an anti-virus and anti-malware client—grab a copy of Revo Uninstaller Portable (direct ZIP file link), and run it off the USB stick you brought with you.

Click the "Tools" button, choose the Autorun menu on the left, and look through the items on the right. Uncheck the stuff that's really unnecessary—most of it, really, unless they constantly use a printer/scanner or run an antivirus app—and remind your host to un-check the toolbars and "helper" apps offered when installing things.

If things are much better now, and you don't imagine that malware is an issue, you're all done. Otherwise ...

What you'll need: Mostly a small batch of software, recommended by this author and the How-To Geek. You can run these once and remove them, or run them off a thumb drive, in some cases. The last download is one you'll keep installed on the system.
- Revo Uninstaller Portable: Completely, utterly removes the programs, toolbars, and other junk apps that aren't needed.
- SuperAntiSpyware: For cleaning (you guessed it) spyware.
- Malwarebytes (or its portable version): For the clingy cookies, add-ons, and apps that try and do unauthorized stuff.
- CCleaner Portable: For freeing up hard drive space and clearing out temp/cache files that bog down the system index.
- Microsoft Security Essentials or Panda Cloud Antivirus: The former for a system that's got enough horsepower to be adequate, the latter for a system that's light on resources.
The fixing process? It's nothing special, actually—just run the quick-fix triage in any case, removing the auto-run apps that bog down system resources, and then run these secondary apps, generally in the order they're listed. Keep Security Essentials or Panda Cloud Antivirus installed (not both!), and, while you're being helpful, back up this computer's pictures, music, and important documents.

Tuning up and bomb-proofing

Maybe everything technically "works," but watching your relatives open emails in Outlook Express and browse on Internet Explorer 6 is just, well, painful. Here are the steps we recommend to get things moving:
- Run the basics of the "clogged with crapware" section: The one involving Revo Uninstaller and startup programs, under the "quick-fix triage" sub-section, and installing either Microsoft Security Essentials or Panda Cloud Antivirus.
- Install Firefox and make it the default: Be sure to use the bookmark and setting import from Internet Explorer. You could even go with Google Chrome for even tighter security and speed, if your relatives wouldn't mind the abrupt shift in look and feel.
- Set up their email in Gmail: Gmail has made it much easier to import email accounts, whether they're AOL, cable company, or other defaults that just stuck around. You can make a simple switch in the settings to keep your relatives receiving and sending email from their same address (or multiple addresses). Save their Gmail password in Firefox, but make sure they know it, and they'll even get some new-fangled email portability.
- Physically clean the beast: Stop by the local office store, grab a can of compressed air, and clean out the "dust bunnies", especially if you can hear the exhaust fans over the mid-day football.
- Replace cruddy programs with superior alternatives: Gina's 2008 recommendations still hold up, but we updated them a bit, and made them super-easy to install in one shot, with our Lifehacker Pack 2009. Or use Ninite for a similar one-click awesomeware package.
That is, at least, how one Lifehacker editor is fixing at least one relative's computer this long holiday weekend. What's your own 1-2-3 process for being the holiday software savior? Share your success stories in the comments.
Unless you're writing "Buy them a Mac." In which case, take your truly helpful comments elsewhere, and prepare to get banned.