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Mozilla Launches Jetpack Gallery for Firefox, Offers No-Restart Add-ons

Pulkit Chandna — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 18:44:14 -0600

Mozilla today unveiled the Jetpack Gallery, a place for developers to showcase their Jetpack add-ons. Jetpack is a Mozilla Labs project that lets developers build Firefox add-ons using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. While the newly launched gallery – still in beta - gives developers the opportunity to host and promote their Jetpacks, it lets Firefox users browse, install and rate Jetpacks. Installing Jetpacks is quite easy and doesn’t even require a browser restart, save for the very first Jetpack that a user installs. The Jetpack Gallery currently features over 30 add-ons.

Firefox Add-on of the Week: FEBE

Florence Ion — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:30:00 -0600

As your library of Firefox Add-ons continues to grow, so does the worry that a system crash will wipe out your carefully assembled collection of extensions. To quell this fear, all you have to do is download just one additional add-on that will ensure your extensions say safely backed up in a folder on your computer or portable storage device. FEBE (Firefox Environment Backup Extension) is a worry-free backup system that will preserve your highly-customized Firefox settings in the case of a crash.

FEBE's includes a myriad of customizable options.

FEBE backs up your Firefox extensions, themes, bookmarks, preferences, passwords, cookies and individual user profiles. From the preferences toolbar, you can select only the items that need backing up or restoring, schedule automatic backups, and save them to a specified folder on your hard drive. After backup, you can verify to make sure that FEBE correctly executed itself; it also does a quick back up and trashes any extra junk that may bundle itself with your saved files.

Restore a number of features to your precious browser.

FEBE comes with an information button attached to almost every function to help even the most computer illiterate backup their favorite Firefox add-ons and is also available in beta for Thunderbird.

Download FEBE here

Every Tuesday, we pick a new Firefox Add-on as our favorite of the week. Have an Add-on that you can't live without? Send suggestions to fion [AT] futureus.com with "Firefox Add-On" in the subject line.

Download of the Week: Inkscape

Florence Ion — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 18:30:59 -0500

Vectors marked the beginning of the evolution of graphics for the Web 2.0 generation. Almost every button and rendered image an Internet traveler sees on the web these days is a vector image drawn with expensive professional software like Adobe Illustrator or CorelDraw. For non-designers looking to venture into the vectorizing sphere of the World Wide Web, we suggest Inkscape, an open source vector graphics editor with the same tools and resources as other drawing applications.

Art is not really our forte, but you get the idea.

Off the bat, Inkscape impresses —unlike other open source freeware, Inkscape actually supports the W3C standard Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) file format and incorporates SVG features like markers, clones, and alpha blending, as well as a streamlined interface that does not lag with every mouse click. The program itself is a bit of a hefty download, as this is not a light app. The toolbar interface includes medium sized icons with rollover descriptions for easy learning and every action is smooth and fluid. And, if you get stuck, Inkscape’s main site also includes tutorials in a variety of languages, so there’s no need to feel intimidated by the blank palette laid out on your desktop. Use Inkscape to create icons, design web pages, web buttons, and your own free-hand vector art.

Open source freeware may take awhile to finally catch on and become as all-inclusive and capable as our paid application counterparts, but for the graphic design world, it’s great to get a fresh start with something that is easy to use and supports the open source community’s efforts to make programs like these accessible to everyone, regardless of income bracket or computer abilities.

Download Inkscape here

Every Wednesday, we pick a new free or shareware download as our favorite of the week. Have a nifty application that you can't live without? Send suggestions to florence [AT] maximumpc.com with "Download of the Week" in the subject line.

HP to Offer Rare Books On Demand with BookPrep

Paul Lilly — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 13:22:46 -0500

With a lot of help from the University of Michigan, Hewlett Packard on Wednesday unveiled its beta BookPrep project, which seeks to make more than half a million rare books available through a print-on-demand system.

Using imaging and printing technology from HP Labs, HP is able to automatically scan rare books and then clean up, brighten, and align the text. As of this writing, there are exactly 472,509 books available for purchase, most of which were published before 1923.

"HP BookPrep technology allows publishers to extend the life cycle of their books, removes the cost and waste burdens of maintaining inventory, and uses a full spectrum of technologies to deliver convenient access to consumers," said Andrew Bolwell, HP's director of New Business Initiatives.

In addition to rare books, HP said it is also extending its BookPrep project to publishers and content owners who want to offer their full catalogs of titles online, The Inquirer reports.

BookPrep Link

Sky Songs Service Looking to Challenge Rival iTunes, Spotify

Paul Lilly — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 08:48:42 -0500

The idea of dethroning Apple's iTunes service to lord over the domain of digital music downloads seems like a long shot at best, just don't tell that to BSkyB, the satellite broadcaster who has high hopes for its upcoming Sky Songs digital music service.

Perhaps rightfully so, as BSkyB has inked deals with several music suppliers, including EMI, Sony, Warner, and a bunch of independent labels. But unlike iTunes and its per-track business model, Sky Songs will be a subscription-based service charging subscribers a flat fee every month. This also differs from Spotify, which serves up free access to music but plays ads.

"[Sky Songs] will offer access to unlimited music as well as premium fan-oriented content, while ensuring our roster of artists are appropriately rewarded for their creativity," said Eric Daugan of Warner Music, Europe.

Sky Songs is expected to launch next week with two subscription options available. For £6.49, subscribers will be able to download and keep a single album or 10 songs but forgo unlimited streaming, while the £7.99 subscription ups the ante with unlimited streams and 15 individual downloads to keep.

Firefox Add-on of the Week: History Tree

Florence Ion — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 16:00:00 -0500

The history library of any browser can be the most convoluted maze to navigate, especially if you’re looking for a very specific URL. The interface is always austerely simple and clogged with duplicate links that seem to take up most of your history archive’s free space. If you oftentimes forget to bookmark important sites, or desire for a simpler way to sift through URL archives, then History Tree will make your Firefox history library easier to navigate by displaying it as a tree diagram.

History Tree in thumbnail mode.

History Tree gives you a quick visual layout of the tabs and windows you’ve opened, and lets you find the page you’re looking for no matter how far back on your browser’s back button it is. Like Firefox's default history library, this Add-on includes a search function, as well as color-coded and time stamped information. You can also collapse the tree if it becomes too cluttered to display just one tab a time, allowing you to trace your web steps one link at a time, or switch to thumbnail view if the tree isn't enough to jog your memory. Simply put, if you’re someone who prefers to live in the past (sorry about that, by the way), the History Tree will deliver to your needs.

Download History Tree here

Palm Pre Shuns iTunes and Embraces Amazon

Pulkit Chandna — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 16:15:45 -0500

After the USB Implementers Forum reprimanded Palm for using Apple’s USB Vendor ID to re-enable iTunes sync on the Pre – Apple had blocked Palm’s Vendor ID, Palm was left with little choice but to abandon the practice. With the release of webOS 1.2 for the Pre, Palm has grudgingly abandoned its fixation with iTunes and opted for Amazon in its stead. Users can now download their favorite tracks from the Amazon MP3 store using either WiFi or WAN. But iTunes aficionados, who own a Pre for some reason, can use third-party alternatives like double Twist and iTunes Agent to enable iTunes sync on their own.

Image Credit: Gadgetsteria

Firefox Add-on of the Week: Open IT Online

Florence Ion — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 14:00:00 -0500

We hate to sound like a sales(wo)man, but this Firefox extension is so handy, it deserves its own infomercial-like introduction. Thus, have you ever had one of those instances where you really needed to open up a Word document, but didn’t want to fire up Microsoft Office and waste precious memory? Open IT Online makes it so you don't have to! This extension for Firefox (and, if you prefer, Internet Explorer) enables you to open and edit your document in the browser window, as opposed to downloading the file and opening it via an external application.

After you install the add-on, you will be able to right-click on any Office file link from within your web browser and select which document viewing service you’d like to use; choose from Google Docs, Zoho Viewer, Vuzit, or View Docs Online, which is the default. You can also choose a web service for viewing images and specify which file extensions Open IT Online will support.

Unfortunately, Open IT Online will not open documents attached to a web based email message, but if you’re a college student it will work with documents hosted by your University’s online teaching and learning systems, such as iLearn.

Download Open IT Online here.