KatMouse Scrolls Background Windows with Ease

This article was written on March 10, 2011 by CyberNet.

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Last year we wrote about a useful program called WizMouse that would let you scroll windows that were in the background (i.e. a window not in focus).  I use this kind of functionality all the time when writing articles, but it also carries over into other situations. For example, the other day I had two spreadsheets open and was comparing values between them. Normally in Windows I’d have to constantly switch focus between the two spreadsheets if I wanted to scroll each of them. With an app like WizMouse that’s not the case because I can simply hover my mouse over any window, and then use my scroll wheel to navigate through the content. This kind of behavior is built-in to Mac OS X, but not Windows.

I’m not here to talk about WizMouse though. When we wrote the article Amber left a comment with an alternative app called KatMouse. It has some settings that set it apart such as the ability to push in the middle mouse button to have it send the foreground window to the background. You can also specify custom scroll settings on a per-application basis, which is definitely helpful for those programs that seem to scroll at different rates. Plus you can always click on the cat icon in the System Tray to quickly disable/enable the functionality.

How do some of these features work? Here’s a slightly abbreviated version of the KatMouse usage as described by the developer:

  • Scroll most windows page wise by holding the wheel button over the window and clicking the left (up) or right (down) mouse button. If you hold the left or right mouse button, you’ll get continuous, accelerating pagewise scrolling.
  • To push a window to the stack bottom, just click with the wheel button on the window (double click on ‘always on top’ windows). This works even while dragging something with the mouse (i.e. copying files from one explorer to another). To raise that window again, click and hold the wheel button on it for some time.
  • Choose individual wheel scroll settings for applications and windows. In the Applications tab, choose the applications executable file in the file dialog and set the desired scroll width by double clicking on the new entry in the list.
  • In the Classes tab you can select the kind of window (its class) to customize by draggin the crosshair to the window. If the chosen window does not behave correctly you can disable the ‘Window has wheel scrolling support’ checkbox in its settings dialog. This will force KatMouse to use a different, possibly less efficient approach to scrolling the window.

The good news is that KatMouse is just as efficient as WizMouse in terms of memory usage. I found it consuming a mere 1.1MB on my system, and I’m definitely willing to give it those resources for the functionality I get in return.

KatMouse Homepage (Windows only; Freeware)

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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Convert T-Point loyalty points to earthquake relief funds

Tsutaya and its parent company Culture Convenience Club yesterday began to offer a service where consumers’ loyalty points can be used as donations to the earthquake relief funds needed due to the catastrophe that has afflicted north-east Japan.

This follows other gestures by mobile phone companies like Softbank offering free wi-fi, and NTT allowing its payphones to be used for free when the quake and tsunami struck on Friday afternoon.

The T-Points donation is an effective system that means you can contribute in a tangible way with “money” you might not even have used and in a way that means you don’t have to hand over cash to someone.

t-point-t-card-earthquake-japan-relief-funds

At time of writing, since the service began on March 12th there have been over 54,000 conversions-donations and an accumulated total of nearly 22 million points.

T-Points is the biggest loyalty points system in Japan, spearheaded by Tsutaya, a massive DVD and game rental store. With your T-Card you can collect, save and use points (1 point = 1 yen) at 69 affiliated chains, including FamilyMart convenience store and ENEOS gasoline stands. As of September 2010 there are 36.08 million T-Card holders, usable at 34,780 outlets.

The T-Points Charity service overall started in 2007 and is associated with unicef, the Japan Red Cross Society and other smaller regional non-profit projects.

At least some other similar points conversion donation schemes have been set up, including Hatena and online shopping site EC Navi.

Tsutaya’s points conversion period for the earthquake funds is currently set to run until the end of April, though it may well be extended given the unprecedented level of destruction we are seeing on our TV screens here.

Also, at present you have to be a registered member of Tsutaya’s online services and log in to convert your T-Points. This is a slightly irksome task for the more casual consumer (like me) and I wouldn’t be surprised if Tsutaya and other affiliates offer people the chance to convert points to donations at the retail counter, in the same way staff usually ask you if you want to use or save your points.

Hulu for Android coming soon, destined for ‘select’ phones with Android 2.2?

Since the dawn of Flash on Android — yes, that was just ten months ago — Google smartphone users been largely unable to access their favorite Hulu programs on the go. At CES 2011, we heard that Hulu would indeed come to Android, but not when or where. Today, we’re a step closer to the answer. An eagle-eyed Engadget reader spotted this image at the company’s website, depicting a most unusual combo: an image of a Samsung Nexus S (which comes with Android 2.3) and a suggestion that Hulu Plus will soon be available on a subset of devices running Android 2.2. We can’t say which devices quite yet, but we’ve heard this tune before, and suspect Hulu will only run on phones that have DRM baked into their hardware. Now how about that Google TV?

[Thanks, Raymond D.]

Hulu for Android coming soon, destined for ‘select’ phones with Android 2.2? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 12 Mar 2011 22:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPad 2 ship times reach 3 to 4 weeks

Shipping times for the iPad 2 continue to be extended, with Apple’s most recent estimates pushing up to a month for new buyers.

Originally posted at News – Apple

Sprint’s Dan Hesse differentiates between unlimited and ‘unlimited’ in latest TV spot

We’re not the biggest fans of new tiered data plans that are slowly but surely becoming the norm, and if the latest ad from Sprint is any indication — that particular carrier isn’t either. CEO Dan Hesse takes the offensive, reminding viewers that the word ‘unlimited’ shouldn’t include things like metering or throttling, while touting the company’s “Simply Everything” plan that actually does include, uh, everything. With customer gains on the upswing, the move is probably a good one — though that whole ‘premium data‘ thing is a little iffy. Full PR after the break.

Continue reading Sprint’s Dan Hesse differentiates between unlimited and ‘unlimited’ in latest TV spot

Sprint’s Dan Hesse differentiates between unlimited and ‘unlimited’ in latest TV spot originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 12 Mar 2011 21:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: AT&T already shipping iPad 2

Does AT&T have better shipping times than Apple for the iPad 2? According to one report, that might be the case.

Originally posted at iPad Atlas

iPad 2 specs discerned, 900MHz dual-core ARM CPU and PowerVR SGX543MP2 GPU blow away graphical benchmarks

iFixit may have physically uncovered Apple’s latest silicon, but it’s the processor gurus that have discovered what’s truly inside — using software benchmarks, they’ve unearthed the speeds and feeds of the Apple A5. As you’ll no doubt be aware having read our headline above, there actually isn’t a 1GHz CPU at the helm, as AnandTech and IOSnoops report the dual-core ARM chip is dynamically clocked around 900MHz, likely in search of reduced power consumption. Perhaps more interestingly for all you gamers in the audience, the iPad 2 reports that it has a dual-core PowerVR SGX543MP2 GPU on the die as originally foretold — and, spoiler alert — it mops the floor with both the original iPad and the Motorola Xoom. Though the new chip didn’t quite demonstrate 9X the graphical prowess of its predecessor, it rendered 57.6 frames per second in a GLBenchmark test where the (admittedly higher-res) Tegra 2 tablet managed only 26.7fps, and last year’s iPad pulled only 17.6fps. That’s some serious Tai Chi. Hit up our source links to see the difference it can make in games like Infinity Blade.

Update: Though it sure sounds like there’s a dual-core ARM Cortex A9 in there, that’s not yet a proven fact — we only know that it’s a dual-core ARM v7 chip which performs relatively similarly in non-graphical tests. [Thanks, Jim]

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

iPad 2 specs discerned, 900MHz dual-core ARM CPU and PowerVR SGX543MP2 GPU blow away graphical benchmarks originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 12 Mar 2011 20:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google Minesweeper to Replace Microsoft’s Classic?

This article was written on June 19, 2006 by CyberNet.

Google Minesweeper to Replace Microsoft's Classic?
 

What all started as a joke has been taken a little bit further and turned into a reality. The joke being that Google was releasing an Ajax version of Minesweeper with features such as ‘online collaboration cooperate with co-workers to uncover mines or “Integrated GTalk for real time trash talking.”

The joke was taken a bit further when someone actually designed an on-line version of Minesweeper complete with fake ads on the side to resemble an official Google page. Check it out!

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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Hello, I must be going

It’s hard to believe that I’m currently writing the words I seem to be writing, though a casual stock-taking of my senses dictates that it must be true. Here I am, at my computer, typing letters one by one into a plain text document, rolling along through one of the strangest posts I’ve ever penned for this site. Okay, probably the strangest ever.

After nearly four years at Engadget, it’s time to make my exit. There are things I’m after and challenges I want to take on that just don’t fit with my day-to-day schedule here, so off I go.

I didn’t make this decision lightly. The time I’ve spent here has been — without question — the most amazing, rewarding, and just insanely fun period of my life. And I like to think I’ve had some pretty good times. The Engadget staff is easily the greatest collection of human beings I’ve ever encountered, and they’ve made waking up and freaking out over tech news for 12 to 18 hours a day into basically a party. I’ve never worked so hard or had so much fun doing it. I don’t use religious terms very often, but if there’s such a thing as being blessed, I would say the opportunity I had to work with these people certainly made me feel that way.

And it’s not just the core team at Engadget; all the groups at Weblogs (and its director Brad Hill), have been tremendous friends, partners, and peers.

Then there’s you guys — the readers. The hive mind. The Engadget fan-boys and -girls. It’s hard to sum up my experiences with the readership of Engadget in one paragraph. It would probably be hard in a hundred. But I can say that you’re simply the most informed, passionate, and excited group of people anywhere on the planet. Sure, you can get a little crazy sometimes — but what an astounding group of super-geniuses you are as well. Writing and working for the throngs of people who visit this site every day has been a huge challenge, a learning experience, and just kind of awe-inspiring.

But as I said, it’s time for me to step away. I’m not leaving the industry or the news game — in fact, I’ve got a few fantasy projects in mind that hopefully you’ll be hearing about soon.

Don’t worry though, Engadget is going to keep doing what it does best: being awesome. We have an amazing staff of senior editors and writers that will keep the machine chugging along (and growing!) for years to come. My friend and our editorial director Josh Fruhlinger will be taking on a bigger role in our day-to-day during the transition, and I won’t be completely disappearing from the site — I’ll stay on as editor-at-large, to advise and direct when necessary. I’ll also be sticking around to host more episodes of the Engadget Show, so you can continue to get your fix (if you’re into nerdy video shows about gadgets and technology, that is).

And with that, I’m shuffling over towards the door, just underneath that dim exit sign that keeps blinking on and off, its fluorescent bulbs cracking with some syncopated rhythm all their own. It’s just started to rain a little bit outside, but I’ve got my coat and umbrella. I’ll be fine, and so will you.

Till we meet again…

(You can follow me on Twitter right here (@joshuatopolsky), or just check my personal blog too if you’re feeling lonely)

Hello, I must be going originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 12 Mar 2011 18:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HTC Droid Incredible 2 smiles pretty for the camera, shows off its fresh VZW tat

HTC Droid Incredible 2 smiles pretty for the camera with Verizon branding

It hit Verizon’s system a few weeks ago and now it’s hitting a white corner for some pictures, showing VZW branding no less. It’s the US-spec version of the Incredible S, said to be running Android 2.2 but word is that Gingerbread will be on-tap before it ships. The rest of the specs on this four-inch slab line up with what we’ve learned before, meaning the only question now is the all-important when.

HTC Droid Incredible 2 smiles pretty for the camera, shows off its fresh VZW tat originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 12 Mar 2011 17:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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