There are some really cool GeekTool desktop screenshots out there on the web. This list contains 20 screenshots uploaded in February from DeviantART and Flickr. (To view more information about the screenshot, click the link below their titles.)

FROM DEVIANTART

Geektool desktop by D-Money-16

http://d-money-16.deviantart.com/art/Geektool-desktop-124906820

Hit the Bottom by iamthejaypaul

http://iamthejaypaul.deviantart.com/art/Hit-the-Bottom-152531275

Mac desktop feb 10 by woomera

http://woomera.deviantart.com/art/Mac-desktop-feb-10-153983449

Modern X – Screenshot by FloStyler0408

http://flostyler0408.deviantart.com/art/Modern-X-Screenshot-154072937

screenshot 21-02-10 by multini

http://multini.deviantart.com/art/screenshot-21-02-10-154819762

Sing Along by Sharcuk

http://sharcuk.deviantart.com/art/Sing-Along-152549885

veritas pro by 11tsetm1

http://11tsetm1.deviantart.com/art/veritas-pro-153360965

FROM APPLEVIEWS FLICKR POOL

City by tomcraig

http://www.flickr.com/photos/33209565@N06/4264048772

Citypark Desktop by taipan_snake

http://www.flickr.com/photos/taipan_snake/4334310586

Current desktop wallpaper by KingScooty

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kingscooty/4389854481

Desktop 1-31-10 red by JediSLUzer

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jedisluzer/4326913578

Geektool Desktop by Peter Thomas Simmons

http://www.flickr.com/photos/peterorpete/4383831494

Geektool Desktop by Peter Thomas Simmons

http://www.flickr.com/photos/peterorpete/4383840322

Interloper Desktop by taipan_snake

http://www.flickr.com/photos/taipan_snake/4358157333

untitled screenshot by I2not_know

http://www.flickr.com/photos/35167705@N03/4392518048

minimal by jeffmincey

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffmincey/4372492100

My Current Desktop by DaveBinM

http://www.flickr.com/photos/davebinm/4391264252

Zoom in, there is some cool stuff going on…by Cain Novocaine

http://www.flickr.com/photos/29349409@N07/4344401351

Other Favorites

New desktop :D by Automatic Entropy

http://www.flickr.com/photos/automaticentropy/4344491243/

Peaceful (with sidebar) by TeknoFTW

http://www.flickr.com/photos/teknoftw/4369960534/

If you have any interesting or unique GeekTool desktop screenshots you’d like to share, click here to go to the Appleviews Flickr group and upload to share them with others. If you liked this article, don’t forget to spread the word and leave a comment.

I personally like to have some applications accessible from the menu bar. A few of the applications listed below run in my menu bar most of the time. It just makes it easier for me personally. The items with the * in front of the title are the applications that are my favorite and are used on a daily basis.

I normally do not run all these applications at the same time. Only 6 or 7 of them are run on a daily basis. I took the screenshot to give you an idea of what the icons look like in the menu bar. The icons in the above screenshot from left to right are: coconutWiFi, Ecoute, CoverSutra, CoverStream, GimmeSomeTune, Snapplr, Skitch, Spark, JustNotes, Evernote, Dropbox, Twitterrific, DeliBar, DragThing, Cinch, MailUnreadMenu, ShoveBox, (WeatherDock2), SlimBatteryMonitor, Facebook Notifications, and MenuCalendarClock.
Now, let’s get to the list of these useful menu bar applications.

DESKTOP CUSTOMIZATION/SYSTEM TOOLS

Cinch

Cinch gives you simple, mouse-driven window management by defining the left, right, and top edges of your screen as ‘hot zones’. This application lets you instantly resize any document by dragging it to one side of your screen.  To maximize your window, just drag it towards the top of your display. To return back to the original location, just drag the window back. There is a free trial (nagware) or you can purchase for $7.00 from Irradiated Software.
http://www.irradiatedsoftware.com/cinch/

*coconutWiFi

coconutWiFi displays a small aqua-bubble in your menubar which indicates whether you’re in range of a wireless network or not. It also lets you know if the wireless networks in your range are encrypted or open. (FREE)

http://www.coconut-flavour.com/coconutwifi/index.html

*DragThing

DragThing is a dock designed to tidy up your desktop. It puts all your documents, folders, and applications just a single click away. It is also highly flexible, allowing multiple docks, customized to suit your exact needs. Free trial/$29.00 to purchase.

http://www.dragthing.com/english/about.html

*Mail Unread Menu

Mail Unread Menu is a simple menubar application which can provide you with a quick and easy way to see how many unread email messages are in Apple’s Mail.  (FREE)

http://loganrockmore.com/MailUnreadMenu/

*SlimBatteryMonitor

SlimBatteryMonitor is a space-efficient replacement power gauge for your Mac OS X menu bar. It is highly customizable and takes up little space. (FREE)

http://www.orange-carb.org/SBM/

SOCIAL NETWORKING

DeliBar

Delibar is a full featured Delicious.com Mac client. It focuses on giving you a quick and easy tool for searching, managing and sharing your Delicious bookmarks.  Free to try/$18 to purchase.

http://www.delibarapp.com/

*Facebook Notifications

Facebook Notifications adds notifications to your desktop, alerting you when interesting activity happens in your Facebook account. It gives you quick access to your feeds, friends updates, and more by opening your default browser. (FREE)

http://www.facebook.com/notifier?v=info

*Twitterrific

Twitterrific runs in your menu bar allowing you to both read real time updates from your friends and publish ‘tweets’ to your Twitter account. It also has a really nice HUD like interface. Free to try/$14.95 to purchase.

http://iconfactory.com/software/twitterrific

FILES AND CLIPPING SERVICES

Dropbox

Dropbox works like iDisk and allows you to store files on the Dropbox server. You can use a free Dropbox account that offers 2GB of free storage. They also offer paid accounts which offer $50 a year for 50GB storage and $100 a year for 100GB storage. Using Dropbox allows you to share your files with others also.

https://www.dropbox.com/

Evernote

Evernote lets you easily capture information from any environment and makes your information accessible and searchable at anytime, anywhere. Using the menu bar icon gives you the option to add a new note, paste to Evernote, clip screenshot into Evernote, and Find in Evernote.  (FREE)

http://www.evernote.com/about/download/

*Shovebox

Shovebox sits in your menu bar and allows you to add snippets of information by dragging to the icon or using a hot key. You can also organize your information from the menu bar icon. This is one of my most used menu bar applications. Free to try/$24.95 to purchase.

http://www.wonderwarp.com/shovebox/

PRODUCTIVITY

JustNotes

JustNotes runs in your menu bar and is ready for you to enter notes whenever you need to enter a quick note. It syncs (to your SimpleNote account or iPhone) and saves your notes automatically and you can mail your notes with a simple right-click or Control+M. (FREE)

http://selfcoded.com/justnotes/

*MenuCalendarClock

This application sits in your menu bar and gives you instant access to your iCal calendars from the icon.  MenuCalendarclock is also available for Entourage users. Free basic features/$19.95 for advanced features.

http://www.objectpark.net/mcc.html

Spark

Spark is an application that sits in your menu bar ready for you to create lists with notes. It also allows you to group your lists to create projects. Spark also syncs with iCal. (FREE)

http://www.sparkmac.com/

IMAGES

Skitch

Skitch sits in your menu bar and once you click the icon, it brings up a window for you to start using. Skitch also allows you to snap a website, capture a chat moment, screenshot an application and much more. (FREE)

http://skitch.com/

Snapplr

Snapplr takes and shares screenshots. It offers a wide range of options but its main feature is to upload screenshots automatically to Snapplr.com, giving you a URL in your clipboard that you can share. Free to try/$19.99 to purchase.

http://www.snapplr.com/

MUSIC AND ITUNES

CoverSutra

CoverSutra gives you a handy way to control iTunes without having to leave the currently active application. It features a powerful music search feature along with global keyboard shortcuts and informative bezels that provide you with song and album details in an unobtrusive way. In addition, it has integrated support for Last.fm. Free to try/$19.95 to purchase.

http://www.sophiestication.com/coversutra/

CoverStream

CoverStream allows you to control, browse, and search you music, without interrupting your workflow. It presents you with an iTunes Cover Flow view in a floating window right on your Desktop, for quick and easy access from any application. Free to try/$14.95 to purchase.

http://www.coverstream.net/

Ecoute

Ecoute plays your iTunes music, videos, and podcasts without having to launch iTunes. Some other included features are the ability to search for missing artwork, last.fm, customizable themes and more. Free to try/$10.00 to purchase.

http://www.ecouteapp.com/

GimmeSomeTune

GimmeSomeTune allows you to download lyrics and album covers without having to do anything. Some other features include Last.fm integration, use of Apple remote, customization of GimmeSomeTune window, and more. (FREE)

http://www.eternalstorms.at/gimmesometune/GimmeSomeTune/GimmeSomeTune.html

This is a continuation from a previous article about menu bar apps. Just to refresh your memory, the items on that list are GeekTool, Anxiety, aLunch, AllBookmarks, *WeatherDock2 (I use on a daily basis), Bowtie, *Growl, Yahoo Widgets, iStat, and Flux. Click here to be directed to that article. Of course, if there are any applications that I may have missed that you find to be useful, leave a comment and share the wealth with our fellow readers. If you liked this article, leave a comment and share the link with others.

Money is always king – to some people. The Internet has a lot of information on it but some information is from a better source than others. But does that give them the right to charge you to see or read that information? A company can put a price on any service or product it does not mean you have to buy it. No one is forcing anyone to buy that service.

The Associated Press (AP) is a media organization. They have reporters embedded all over the world. A lot of outlets depend on their information. Many people read their stories. The AP knows their content is valued so they have decided to place a premium on that content. Yes, their articles are refreshing but are they that enticing? Soon, the marketplace will answer that question.

Their medium is the new device spun out by Apple; it is their iPad tablet product that is supposed to shake up the world. The AP wants to take advantage of that platform and charge the users of this device to read their stories. Why would someone pay to read their stories on this device when they could just read them for free at home or at work? Why read them at all when that same information is free on Fox News or other media outlets? Well, AP believes if you can buy the tablet, you can pay a little extra to read their articles.

This will be a paid subscription model. AP’s chief executive, Tom Curley, has been promoting this revolutionary idea. It may not just for the iPad, this idea could spread over to smart-phones and eReaders in the future.

This week, I have found several links that you might find interesting.

WebExpedition18

Here is a cool tutorial of how to create an undersea abstract wallpaper by Philip Brunner.
http://webexpedition18.com/articles/how-to-create-an-undersea-abstract-wallpaper-in-illustrator/

Kevin Martineau

Three ways to find rest when you really need it by Kevin Martineau.
http://kevinmartineau.blogspot.com/2010/02/three-ways-to-find-rest-when-you-really.html

makeuseof.com

In the latest makeuseof.com site, I found this interesting article that lists 3 Firefox Add-ons to help you save money when shopping online. I love shopping and even more, I love saving money when shopping.
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/3-firefox-addons-save-money/

buildthatlist.com

Tom discusses the importance of focusing when blogging, describing his experiences and goals.
http://www.buildthatlist.com/internet-marketing/f-o-c-u-s/

PSD Collector

In this site, you will find a huge collection of wallpapers for Mac (or any computer).
http://psdcollector.blogspot.com/2010/02/400-most-wanted-apple-mac-wallpapers.html

Eternal Storms Software

This application allows you to hide your top bar in Mac OS (also the dock) in your chosen applications.
http://www.eternalstorms.at/utilities/presentyourapps/index.html

Dan Rodney

Dan has compiled a list of keyboard shortcuts for Mac OS X onto one page. It is a very useful list.
http://www.danrodney.com/mac/index.html

Autodesk Project Dragonfly

I absolutely LOVE this site! It allows you to build your own house and save it. It provides all the tools needed. The only problem is that once I’m on this site, I’m on it for hours building my dream home.
http://dragonfly.autodesk.com/

I hope that you find these links useful. If you have any links or news you’d like to share, click on ‘Submit News‘ in the top navigation bar and fill out the form. Please, leave a comment and tell me what you think. Don’t forget to share this with others!

On February 25, 2010, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals various concepts behind a newly advanced touch screen login system that uses a signet based concept that could take on many shapes – such as a specialized card or cool ring. In fact, it would act very much like a secret decoder ring was supposed to – though you won’t find it in your cereal or Cracker Jack box – hopefully, that is. The signet based system could act as a form of security system and the actions could initiate when logging onto your home computer or a computer network so as to permit authorized individuals access to restricted areas of the computer or computer network, loading a user profile associated with a user’s preferred arrangement of the computer desktop and so forth. The signet based system would or could apply to all present and future Apple touch screen based systems and the patent in fact makes it clear that that will include the iMac, MacBook, Mac Pro and also extend to public computer systems at schools, libraries, kiosks, gaming machines, restaurant reservation terminals and more. This could and should be a lot easier to use than keying in a sophisticated security password while making it incredibly more difficult for hackers to crack – being that the signet could include patterns and shapes unique to the individual user or institution.

Much more, including patent app illustrations, in the full article here.

There are hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of iPhone cases that have been created and, Webdesigner Depot has compiled some of the most creative ones, but also a few of the wackiest and most unusal iPhone cases they have ever seen. We agree!

Originally posted at Webdesigner Depot

Continue Reading

Apple today announced that music fans have purchased and downloaded over 10 billion songs from the iTunes Store, the world’s most popular online music, TV and movie store. The 10 billionth song, “Guess Things Happen That Way” by Johnny Cash, was purchased by Louie Sulcer of Woodstock, Georgia. As the winner of the iTunes Countdown to 10 Billion Songs, Louie will receive a $10,000 iTunes Gift Card. iTunes is the number one music retailer in the world and features the world’s largest music catalog with over 12 million songs.

“We’re grateful to all of our customers for helping us reach this amazing milestone,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s vice president of Internet Services, in the press release. “We’re proud that iTunes has become the number one music retailer in the world, and selling 10 billion songs is truly staggering.”

Apple’s iTunes Store currently has a catalog of over 12 million songs, over 55,000 TV episodes and over 8,500 movies including over 2,500 in high definition video.

[Via MacDailyNews]

NY Times posted an article today on how to make your own video madlibs. “Making your own Hitler video turns out to be refreshingly easy, which is why so many of them can be found on YouTube. All you need is a PC and Microsoft’s Movie Maker, a program included with both Windows XP and Vista. (If you run the new Windows 7, you will need to download the old Movie Maker 2.6, rather than the new but less powerful Windows Live Movie Maker. If you’re a Mac user, Apple’s built-in iMovie application will handle the job.)”

Read full post here.

I just recently started using Google Chrome for Mac OS and it seems to be working great so far. Firefox of course is still my browser of choice at the moment. Chrome still has some tweaks to work out and one of the things that irks me is when you add extensions, there is no way to change the layout in the toolbar (in Firefox, you can customize what you want in the toolbar). All the extensions are placed in your toolbar, not the status bar which I don’t like. The only time I see a status bar is when a new page is being loaded; however, one of the things that I like about Google Chrome is that when you install an extension, there is no need to restart. The installed extension is active immediately. They have a growing list of available extensions which is good. I would like to see a better separation of the list though. It would be nice to know where the themes are installed as well. I would definitely like to see Google display their extensions in a format similar to Firefox Addons (which is easier to navigate). The following is a list of top rated extensions for Google Chrome that I have installed.

ON MY TOOLBAR (in order from left to right):

Handy Google Shortcuts

This is a very simple chrome extension for all useful Google Products. Currently this extension has total 40 Google shortcuts.
https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/ajdcjichkpcfidaebcomohkhipfokoga?hl=en-us

Firebug Lite 1.3.0 beta for Google Chrome

Firebug Lite is not a substitute for Firebug, or Chrome Developer Tools. It is a tool to be used in conjunction with these tools. Firebug Lite provides the rich visual representation we are used to see in Firebug when it comes to HTML elements, DOM elements, and Box Model shading. It provides also some cool features like inspecting HTML elements with your mouse, and live editing CSS properties. (View more info. from link.)
https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/bmagokdooijbeehmkpknfglimnifench

One Number

One Number offers previews of unread items, a UI that fits with Chrome, the ability to selectively choose which services you want to check with One Number, and two-click access to open all services with unread items at once. The following items included preinstalled are Google Voice, Google Reader, Google Mail, and Google Wave.
https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/cfkohgkpafhkpdcnfadadcibfboapggi

SEO Site Tools

This extension pulls PageRank, domain links and rank metrics, aggregates social media reactions from Twitter, Facebook, Digg and SEO releated tags. It validates CSS and HTML, displays server software, checks for gzip compression, page headers and shares even more on-page suggestions based on accepted SEO knowledge… oh and it can defeat those stupid no right click scripts and does window resizing to see where fold would be on different size monitors. (View more info from link.)
https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/diahigjngdnkdgajdbpjdeomopbpkjjc

Chrowety

This extension is a twitter client for Google Chrome.  Some of the features include desktop alerts**, follow your Twitter lists, translate your tweets, change your Twitter API, alerts that display the most recent tweet and more. (View more info. from link.)
https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/ffcbeckjmgmgigkmnhmgjplmomcpfall

Google bookmarks

This extension is for convenient syncing of bookmarks by using Google Bookmarks. It is very simple and easy to use.
https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/fhaicgmeeafgboeobjagfmlcdhbkijhf

Friends Mural for Facebook

This extension allows you to create a personal “Friend Mural” to keep updated with your favorite friends and family profiles. Some of the features include a one click to see your news feeds directly in the extension, notifies you of updates from the Chrome toolbar, and customize the wallpaper for extra style points. Some of the upcoming features will include the ability to update your status from the Friends Mural and comment on friends’ posts directly in the Friends Mural.
https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/fmhkjheddgkdhejgollcmdnhmpfagaed

Bit.ly (shorten, share, and track your links)

This extension allows you to launch the Bit.ly Sidebar with the click of a button. Preview long urls beneath short urls before you click them. A note to users experiencing problems directly after install: Chrome doesn’t allow execution of content scripts on already open pages. If you try this immediately after install on existing tabs, it won’t work, so we recommend to restarting Chrome after installing the extension.
https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/iabeihobmhlgpkcgjiloemdbofjbdcic

VerticalTabs

This extension allows you to search (filter) tabs and drag and drop to rearrange tabs. It displays a tabs counter and has a keyboard control. It also gives you the ability to view your tabs in a vertically by clicking on the icon in the toolbar.
https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/imimolldggofidcmfdkcffpjcgaggoaf

Chromelicious

This extension is pretty straight forward and there are really no fancy features. It will let you browse your bookmarks by tags with an integrated browser feel, do a quick search of your bookmarks and tags, view your recently added bookmarks, save a new bookmark with code from the bookmarklet (made available by the Delicious team), automatically sync your bookmarks when an update is detected or manually sync your bookmarks. (View more info. from link.)
https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/jhjeaonknehkebginocakiakmiogeblg

Shareaholic for Google Chrome

This extension allows you to share any web page with your friends right from the page you are on!  It adds a button to your browser toolbar. Click the shareaholic icon or use a custom keyboard shortcut whenever you want to share, save, or e-mail the page you’re visiting. They currently support over 100 services with weekly updates and additions.
https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/kbmipnjdeifmobkhgogdnomkihhgojep

StumbleUpon

StumbleUpon helps you discover great websites that match your interests. Simply click the Stumble button and see the best websites. There are over 500 topics to choose from, and, the more you use it, the better your recommendations become! The current features include stumbling, rating, sharing, and reviewing. PLEASE NOTE: Some of the features you might be familiar with on StumbleUpon aren’t available in this extension. (For more info. click the link.)
https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/kcahibnffhnnjcedflmchmokndkjnhpg

Facebook for Google Chrome

This is an unofficial extension lets you check your Facebook news feed, wall and notifications.  Additionally, you can now refresh the news feed and your wall, by clicking the currently selected tab.
https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/lkdedmbpkaiahjjibfdmpoefffnbdkli

dA Message Notifier

This is a simple extension that watches for deviantART messages. When you have messages, the number of messages will be displayed in the icon on the toolbar. For security reasons, this extension doesn’t save login credentials – it prompts user to login manually if deviantART is logged out.
https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/ocinjngecpdhlnhggcnhjdpengmifjdl

Google Similar Pages beta (by Google)

This extension helps you discover web pages similar to the page you’re currently browsing. When you click the Similar Pages button, your browser will send a search query to Google to see if there are any similar pages for the page you are viewing.  Please be aware that this extension is still an early beta release so many aspects of the extension may change in the coming months.
https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/pjnfggphgdjblhfjaphkjhfpiiekbbej

THESE EXTENSIONS RUN IN THE BACKGROUND:

AdBlock

This replacement for Firefox’s AdBlock Plus does everything possible to make your browsing experience awesome, including speed optimizations to save every millisecond of your time that it can, an intuitive blacklisting wizard (press Ctrl-Shift-K on any page with an ad), and a button beside the Wrench that is there if you want it and gone if you don’t.
https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/gighmmpiobklfepjocnamgkkbiglidom

Better Gmail (Unofficial)

This extension is a compilation of userscripts and userstyles for Gmail. It makes e-mail better. It gives you options to remove ads, fix page width, reposition the print button, hide Chat, hide the Footer, hide the Invite Friends field, hide sponsored messages, show unread message counts in the tab Favicon, show attachment icons of the attachment file type, adds row highlight on mouse over, and handles e-mail (mailto) links with Gmail by opening the gmail compose screen. To change the Better Gmail options, click Window>Extensions then scroll down to Better Gmail (Unofficial) and the options will be on the right hand side. Then change whatever you want to change.
https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/gmfocnipihcoejdieiimhiecclokidea

Super iGoogle

Super iGoogle allows you to toggle the header, footer and sidebar; (your toggle settings are automatically saved). All useful links will be gathered into a neat menu in the top-right corner (with keyboard short-cuts). A mini search-field will (optionally) be added to the top of the page. Finally, your email address will be compacted and will link to compose a gmail.
https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/ncindhlccodninkgiofmmjdidmcmllhd

Faviconize Google

This extension adds favicons to each link offered in Google search results. It also works well with AutoPager with continuing throughout the screens.
https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/fijobgpmmkilncagclaejpjlccfhopdo

Google reader RSS Subscriber

This extension adds a button to omnibox, allowing you to click on it when you want to subscribe to a feed in google reader.
https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/kghdjdlccddmkepckhfgjdeohkcabahl

GoGoogleImage!

This extension relinks the Google Image results thumbnails to the actual images. It works on all current Google TLDs. (google.com, google.de, etc.)
https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/ndgeneoiaiiepfiipihplflacbljfmcb

Google Reader Plus

This extension enhances Google Reader by adding missing favicons, fixing missing images in enclosures, better unread counter, better viewing on wider screens, fullscreen, preview, colored list view, filtering, multi columns display, jump top bottom, close entry, fit height, open in background tab, read by mouse, share news on Facebook, Twitter, Instapaper, mark as read, and simple advertising remover. You can choose your favorite theme in different available skins, shortcuts can be easily customizable and this extension supports translations (english, french).
https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/hhcknjkmaaeinhdjgimjnophgpbdgfmg

Autopen – Email Signatures

Autopen is a google-chrome extension that allows you to create html email signatures for gmail/google apps.  It has a full rich text editor that makes creating html signatures easy and still allows you to drop into the html source for more power. You can create as many signatures as you want and associate them with your ‘from’ addresses to set up multiple defaults. (For more info. click the link.)
https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/cmjcoiohflenpehfaalahocpmacjloof

Beautify Facebook

This extension makes Facebook a little bit nicer to look at by displaying a nice gradient background, shadows, rounds corners, the navigation bar is fixed in position, the title of the page is changed, adds an emotion bar for chat, displays favicon alerts, and the ability to use keyboard shortcuts (Shift+H for Home, Shift+P for Profile, Shift+F for Friends, Shift+I for Inbox, and Shift+S for Settings).
https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/ipnenhkngeiigfbhacdhadcnjjklhblm

Better Facebook Fixer

The official extension was loading the core code from an external site, making it slower to load (and less secure), so this one is faster than the original Facebook Fixer. When saving the photos from the “Show Big Pictures” option, each image was always named photo.jpg, overwriting the previous. Now each image has the correct file name. It fully supports the latest Facebook layout. To configure this extension, go to Account (in Facebook menu) and scroll down to Configure Facebook Fixer.
https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/pfminakhmgplohaiaclohnofbanpdgam

Facebook Chat Emoticons

This extension adds emoticons to Facebook chat. It is based on a script first made by Mike S., then edited by DMaster and finally converted in a Chrome extension by me.
https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/fadhfaodlifdejmlhpokpajfndpcoaeh

SocialPlus!

This extension adds many news features in Facebook. It adds a color status, smileys, ‘I don’t like’ next to ‘Comment’ and ‘Like.’ and allows you to skin your profile (which didn’t work for me), allows you to use a star rating, and more.
https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/eidogommnbbcgnhfjkcgjnlonijjhmjl

Fittr Flickr

This extension is for enhancing Flickr.  It adds keyboard shortcuts, tag autocomplete, a lightbox for large previews, quick access to EXIF data, easily copy Flic.kr short URL to the clipboard, and a page action that allows you to easily get from a Flickr image URL back to it’s photo page.
https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/fhaledancjhefginmkkondfjpnkhdglh

Image Preview

This extension links to image files (JPEGs, PNGs, GIFs etc) as a default open up in a new tab or the current tab. Many websites have begun to use lightboxes to display images instead of just linking to them, but not all.  This extension creates the lightbox functionality for all web pages. Image Preview is unobtrusive and you’ll barely notice that it is even there. If you want to save an image or view it in a new tab, you can still right-click on it or do it from the menu. This extension currently does not work with links to images that were rendered with AJAX requests.
https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/onjnjkdpcenccelaggaiakhmkjlcedab

Stop Autoplay for YouTube

YouTube autoplay is annoying when you open a lot of pages at a time, but many extensions that turn it off also stop the pre-buffering of the video, which is crucial for slow networks. This extension stops YouTubes autoplay but continues buffering.
https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/lgdfnbpkmkkdhgidgcpdkgpdlfjcgnnh

Overall, Google Chrome is fast and easy to use. If you use Google Chrome and have tips and tricks you want to share or any extensions that you want to add to the list, please leave a comment. If you liked this article, share it with people you know and leave a comment.

The iPad isn’t going to be the only Apple device using the iPhone operating system for long. Computerworld reports that Apple put up a job posting last week for an “Engineering Manager (Platform Bring-Up)” position. The position’s sole purpose is to help bring Apple’s iPhoneOS — the stripped down operating system running on the iPhone and iPod Touch — to new platforms.

That Apple is looking to spread iPhoneOS’s reach isn’t too surprising. From most hands-on accounts, the operating system translates well to the larger iPad — a device which likely would have been over-burdened by a full installation of Mac OS X. Given the iPhone OS’s success on small devices like the iPhone, and now the larger iPad, Apple would be blind not to see its potential in other devices.

The addition of iPhoneOS could completely revitalize the struggling Apple TV device. In particular, the Apple TV would be well-served with the introduction of applications via the App Store. Not only would it be useful to run certain iPhone applications right on your television, but it would also open the door for specialized apps developed specifically for the Apple TV. This could allow for developers to bring more functionality to the historically restrictive Apple TV without hacking — perhaps a paid Hulu application like the one being considered for the iPad.

Computerworld speculates further that Apple’s new A4 chip architecture, which was unveiled for the iPad, would likely follow iPhoneOS to new devices as well. The chip is certainly powerful enough to drive HD content to the AppleTV, and it could also lead to cheaper and smaller versions of the device in the future.

Smartphone chips are the new hot-ticket item in the semiconductor industry, as recently reported by the New York Times. But they can also be used in more than just smartphones, as the iPad shows. Apple likely caught on to the importance of mobile processors early with its experience with the iPhone. Now it’s the only major tech company out there that controls both the hardware and software of its devices — something both Microsoft and Google are likely wary of.

If Apple cut the price of each TV episode in half — to 99 cents, from $1.99 — would sales on iTunes increase enough to offset the price drop? On iTunes, the PBS show “Arthur” is temporarily available for under $1.99. Much of the TV content on iTunes is $1.99, be it the newest “Lost” or an old sitcom. CBS says it will discount some shows. Experiments are under way to find out, and the head of the nation’s No. 1 television network, CBS, indicated last week that some shows, at least, would be priced under a dollar in the future. Apple wants to ignite TV show sales, especially as it prepares to introduce the iPad tablet computer next month. But its proposals to lower prices across the board are being met by skepticism from the major networks. Television production is expensive, and the networks are wary of selling shows for less. They are equally wary of harming their far more lucrative deals with affiliates and cable distributors, who may feel threatened by online storefronts like Apple’s and those operated by Amazon, Microsoft and Sony.

But the networks do not want to ignore the 125 million customers with credit cards who have iTunes accounts, either. “We’re willing to try anything, but the key word is ‘try,’ ” said a TV network executive who requested anonymity because his company had declined to comment publicly on talks with Apple.
For more:

- see this New York Times report