Hasta La Gadget!

This article was written on July 24, 2008 by CyberNet.

Tutorial Thursday

Windows only
One of the things that I’ve always done on my Windows computers is have them show all of the hidden files. Some people think I’m crazy because this adds a lot more clutter, but it always seemed as though I frequently had to access files there were otherwise hidden. Sure I liked when some files were out-of-sight because I only ever mess with a handful of them, but the hassle of going into the Windows Explorer options every time I needed to see some hidden files just wasn’t worth it.

After a little research I had come across an article on the PCWorld forum that outlined how I could create a shortcut that would enable or disable hidden files on the fly. If the setting is enabled it would disable it when run, and vice versa. It’s one shortcut that serves as an on/off switch for hidden files. Here’s how you do it:

1. Open up Notepad and paste in the following text:
   Set sh = CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
theKey = "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced\Hidden"
setHidden = sh.RegRead(theKey)
If setHidden = 1 Then
setHidden = 0
MsgBox "System and hidden files will no longer appear in Explorer.",64,"Hidden File Exchange"
Else
setHidden = 1
MsgBox "System and hidden files will appear in Explorer.",64,"Hidden File Exchange"
End If
sh.RegWrite theKey,setHidden,"REG_DWORD"
Set sh = Nothing
2. Save the file with any name you want, but make sure to designate the extension to be “.vbs”:
   
3. Run the file that you just saved. Give it a few seconds to take affect, but you should see the results without even having to restart Windows Explorer.
4. If you want you can place this script file anywhere you’d like on your computer, and then you can create a shortcut to it by right-clicking on the file. I recommend placing a shortcut to the file in the Windows Explorer Favorites for fast access from the Favorites menu.

Compatibility: I’ve verified that this works on Windows XP, but it only works on Vista when User Account Control (UAC) is disabled. This is because it needs access to the registry, and Vista doesn’t allow that unless it is run as an administrator. Since it is a VBS file the “Run as Administrator” option does not appear when right-clicking on the file.

By default the script will prompt you with the current setting for the hidden files each time you run the script. That way you know whether you are turning them on or off. If you don’t want to see the prompts just remove the following two lines that I’ve highlighted in the code:

Now you are all set with a shortcut that can enable or disable hidden files in Windows Explorer. This should help reduce the clutter you see on a regular basis by keeping the hidden files out-of-sight when they’re not needed, and then pulling them up when you need to make a change. How convenient is that?

Copyright © 2010 CyberNet | CyberNet Forum | Learn Firefox

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This article was written on March 28, 2007 by CyberNet.

Web Browser Wednesday

Firefox is an extremely customizable browser, and combining that with the growing popularity of widescreen monitors results in more sidebars. I used to never use sidebars before I got a widescreen computer because it just took up extra screen space that was otherwise pretty useful. Now you’ll hardly ever find me with a sidebar not open on my computer!

There are so many things that you can do and so many Firefox extensions available to utilize your sidebar space. Most commonly it is used for bookmarks, but there are a lot of other things that you can do with it as well. For example, Digital Inspiration recently noticed that you can place Google Talk in your sidebar:

It may sound like you need an extension to do something like this, but surprisingly, you don’t. Firefox is designed so that you can have any website open in a sidebar and since Google made the Google Talk client available on the Web, it is possible to chat with your friends in the Firefox sidebar. We’ll use the Google Talk as an example of embedding a website into a sidebar:

1. Right-click on this URL: http://talkgadget.google.com/talkgadget/client and bookmark it.
   
2. After you have saved the bookmark, go back to the Bookmarks menu and right-click on the bookmark. Choose the Properties option.
   
3. Now check the box that says Load this bookmark in the sidebar:
   
4. Now the next time you click on that bookmark to open it will popup in the sidebar!

You can use that trick with any website, but it is really only useful if the website is designed for smaller screens so that it fits the width of the sidebar well. I would also say that it doesn’t work too bad with Meebo, but if you have a lot of chat windows open it can quickly become cluttered.

If you wanted to put your Google Personalized Homepage in the sidebar it wouldn’t look quite right since there is a huge header area that you probably don’t need, and all of the modules are spread out over three columns. There is an actual extension called iGoogle that will bypass this problem by putting all of your modules into a single column, and you’ll still have access to your tabs:

But how do you manage all of your sidebars in a quick and easy way? For that you’ll probably want to use All-in-One Sidebar which makes it easy to switch between all of your different sidebars. Not only that but it also lets you configure which side of the screen, left or right, the sidebar actually appears.

Now if you are fortunate enough to have a lot of extra screen space, you might want to use multiple sidebars. There is an extension for that as well called MultiSidebar that lets you pick the position of the sidebar in the browser as well as open multiple sidebars:

There is so much that you can do with the sidebars that it may seem a little overwhelming at first. Once you start getting used to them, you begin to wonder how much more productive they let you become. Let us know in the comments below how you use your sidebar to help you be more productive or useful.

Copyright © 2010 CyberNet | CyberNet Forum | Learn Firefox

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This article was written on October 06, 2007 by CyberNet.

I’ve never really understood why the idea of creating a laptop that includes a third mouse button never really took off. Would it be all that bad to have some miniature button squeezed in between the left and right buttons on the touchpad?

The middle mouse button is important to me because I use it to activate special actions in all kinds of different applications, especially in my browser. I can middle-click on a tab to close it, or middle-click on a hyperlink to have it open in a new background tab. That kind of functionality is hard to give up once you’ve become accustomed to it, but so many laptop users just forget about it. Well, not me!

–Two Button Middle Click–

I’ve heard that most laptops simulate a middle mouse button when the user presses both the left and right buttons at the same time. I was initially excited, and thought that this would cure all of my problems. Unfortunately, it has never worked on any laptops I’ve tried.

That was my ideal solution, and I searched like a mad monkey trying to find a way to make it happen. To my dismay I was on my own because Google didn’t come through for me. Then it dawned on me that I could easily do this myself with an AutoHotKey script! In fact it only took two lines of code:

~LButton & RButton::MouseClick, Middle
~RButton & LButton::MouseClick, Middle

That essentially checks to see if both mouse buttons have been pressed down at the same time, and if they have then simulate a middle-click of the mouse. Pretty cool, huh? I also put it together in a standalone application that you can throw in your Windows Startup folder without needing to have AutoHotKey installed:

Download the Middle-Click Simulator

There is one downside to using this though. If you use a Rocker mouse gesture (holding down one mouse button and pressing the other) to navigate in an application, such as going backward/forward in a browser, you’ll be disappointed to know that it will no longer work. I’m not quite sure how I can circumvent that problem in the script, but for right now I would rather have the middle-click simulation available. It is possible to “pause” the script (a.k.a. temporarily deactivate it) from the System Tray icon if needed though.

–Middle Click Tap Zone–

Some mouse software also lets you setup a “zone” that you can tap on the touchpad to serve as the middle mouse button. Below is a screenshot from my Synaptics TouchPad configuration screen which shows that I’m about to assign the bottom-left corner of my touchpad to the middle-click action.

Copyright © 2010 CyberNet | CyberNet Forum | Learn Firefox

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This article was written on March 31, 2009 by CyberNet.

Windows only
Searching for a specific image on the Internet can be like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Some sites, such as Google Image search, try to make the process easier, but shuffling through one page after another of results can quickly get tedious.

That’s where the free desktop application called Ginipic comes into play. You can view hundreds of results at a time, and inserting an image into an app like PowerPoint is as easy as dragging-and-dropping it. To see how easy it really is checkout their video tour.

Here are some other features that make Ginipic worth it:

• Multiple Sources – You can choose to search your favorite search engine or photo-sharing site (Flickr, Google, Yahoo!, SmugMug, deviantArt, Picasa, Photobucket, Facebook, and more), or expand your search to unlimited results with a click of a button, with our tailored “All Sources” option.
• No Duplicates – Did you know that, on average, “big search engines not be named” give you 200 duplicates for every 1,000 results? Not with ginipic.
• Incredible Variety – Ginipic gives you the power of the web to find ANY picture in ANY category with NO restrictions.
• Advanced Search – Advanced search gives you the ability to customize your queries in each source – just as you would on their site.
• Resizing – Choose your own preview size for the best possible experience! Maximize to enjoy the picture in all its glory, work small if you’re just browsing away.
• Tagging – Tag your pictures away and see them all in a heartbeat by choosing your tag in the comfortable Favorites source. Not a tag person? Just favorite the picture and you’ll still have a super easy access to it.
• Drag & Drop – Drag & Drop functionality gives you the ability to start working immediately – you see something you like, just drag it in your work space and continue working.
• Save Images Locally – Want to backup or save it for later? No need in clumsy “right click, save as, too hard to understand what’s going on” options – just save the picture right from the preview window when you’re satisfied.
• Set as Wallpaper – Do you feel like changing your background? Just hit the “Set as wallpaper” on any picture and instantly your desktop will change and renew before your eyes.

This is definitely a slick app, and truly handy for those heavy images searchers out there. Give it a whirl and let us know what you think.

Get Ginipic for Windows [via Lifehacker]
Thanks Sanji for the tip!

Copyright © 2010 CyberNet | CyberNet Forum | Learn Firefox

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This article was written on November 23, 2009 by CyberNet.

Welcome to the WrapUp by CyberNet. This is a collection of news stories, downloads, and tips that we have collected over the last few days, but never got around to writing about. Don’t forget to send in your own tips, or just leave a comment on this page if you think you’ve got something we should include.

–News–

Google Chrome OS
This was a pretty big week for Google, and in the middle of it was their announcement that they were open sourcing the Chrome OS already. They are doing this so that they can start working with partners, the open source community, and developers prior to the launch late next year. Running the new OS isn’t exactly a point-and-click operation, but some sites have already posted instructions as to how you can have it up and running in a virtual machine with very little work.

Gmail Creator Thinks Email Will Last Forever
The creator of Gmail, Paul Buchheit, was interviewed by TechCrunch with the topic of whether email was ready to die. They talked about whether something like Google Wave would be enough to kill it. In a nutshell he said that email is not going to fall off the face of the Earth… well, at least not “until robots kill us all.”  

Adobe Flash Player 10.1 and AIR 2.0 Beta’s Available
Both Beta versions of Adobe’s flagship frameworks sport multi-touch gestures, which will be an important addition as Windows 7 touch-screen machines increase in popularity. They are also both significantly better in performance, or they are at least in the quick checks that I’ve performed.

–News in Brief–

Google Calendar Testing “Sneak Preview”
Google Calendar users will be able to enjoy a Labs feature (being rolled out) letting you preview whether an appointment you’re creating conflicts with something else on your schedule.

Windows 8 Expected in 2012
Looking at Microsoft’s roadmap it appears as though they will try to stick to a three-year release cycle for Windows 8.

Office 2010 Mobile Beta Available
Microsoft has posted the mobile version of Office 2010 Beta for anyone running Windows Mobile 6.5.

eBay Completes Skype Sale at $2.75 Billion Valuation
eBay has sold off a majority (70%) of their ownership of the Skype software company.

Automatic Captions in YouTube
Google has employed an automatic speech recognition system on YouTube videos so that users can get closed captioning on nearly all uploads.

Remember the Milk Gadget for Google Calendar
Remember the Milk (RTM) users can enable a sidebar gadget in Google Calendar for easy task management.

Internet Explorer 9 Announced
At PDC Microsoft unveiled some of the things that should be expected from IE9, including hardware acceleration.

Mininova Breaks 10 Billion Torrent Downloads
The popular BitTorrent search engine hits the huge 10 billion download milestone.

Silverlight 4 Beta Released
The new version of Silverlight includes huge performance gains as well as support for the Chrome browser.

Explore Images with Google Image Swirl
Google showed off a new way to search for images this week called Google Image Swirl. It tries to group images according to the subject of the photo.

Ubuntu One Music Store
Canonical is working on a music store for their Ubuntu operating system that could compete with iTunes.

Templates Available in Google Sites
Anyone looking to create a quick website can find refuge in the new templates offered by Google Sites.

A New Look for Google Translate
Google Translate can now translate your text as-you-type, and provides phonetic pronunciations for people who can speak languages like Chinese but don’t know how to read/write them.

–Tips, Tutorials, and Reviews–

Use Aruna to Share Files  
Finding a good way to share files with friends can be difficult because of limitations many of them impose, but GoAruna knocks off most of those barriers. You can upload an unlimited number of files as long as each one is under 100MB in size. They can then be shared with anyone that you want through a simple URL. You can even manage the files you’ve uploaded through a convenient interface.  

Listen to Entire Music Albums with Lala
There aren’t many sites out there that will let you legally listen to entire songs or albums, but Lala is one of them. The catch? You can only listen to each song once. That is a pretty big limitation, but what’s nice is that this gives you the chance to preview entire albums before you decide whether there’s just a few songs you want to pickup.

Office 2010 “Quick Steps” Feature
One of the new features in Office 2010 Beta is the ability to add “Quick Steps” in Outlook. These are essentially easy-to-create macros that make managing your emails that much better. They can be used to forward/send email, archive emails to a certain folder, and a lot more.

–Tips in Brief–

How to Run Google Chrome OS from a USB Drive
This is a guide showing you how you can run Chrome OS on your PC using a USB drive.

Grep on Windows
Search multiple files on Windows using the same popular format found in Unix/Linux.

iTunes in your Mac Menubar
Mac users can control most aspects of iTunes right from the Menubar with this free app.

Foobar2000 v1.0 Beta Available
It’s been over 7 years in development, but version 1.0 of Foobar2000 is on the horizon with features like Windows Media streaming support.

Add 50 Pidgin Plugins with One Download
Grab all of the most popular Pidgin plugins without having to hunt them down one-by-one.

MinimizeToTray for Firefox
The new version of this popular extension now supports Firefox 3.0 and beyond.

FastStone Image Viewer 4.0
The update to this image viewer includes performance improvements, Windows 7 compatibility, and more.

Find “Secret” Messages in Website Headers
This isn’t all that useful, but can definitely be fun!

Extensive Ubuntu 9.10 Review
Ars Technica provides an in-depth review of the latest Ubuntu 9.10 operating system.

Convert FLV Video to AVI
Convert your favorite Flash videos to a format that is more device-friendly.

Seesmic Desktop for Windows
This is one of the first Twitter clients for Windows that doesn’t use Adobe AIR, and the interface fits in better with other aspects of the operating system.

mmKeys.dll Makes iTunes Work with Multimedia Keyboards
This DLL will address compatibility issues between iTunes and multimedia keyboards.

Sumatra PDF Reader 1.0
Sumatra still keeps things lean in terms of it’s PDF capabilities despite hitting the big 1.0 milestone.

Monitor a Website for Changes
Get notified when the content on a website changes.

MyPorts Gives You Detailed Info on Open Ports
See what ports are currently being used on your computer, and which applications have them open.

–Downloads–

• Adobe Air 2.0.0.10760 ^Beta [Mirror]
• Digsby Build 73 ^Beta [Mirror]
• FastStone Image Viewer 4.0 [Mirror]
• FeedDemon 3.0.0.45 [Mirror]
• Firefox 3.6 ^{Beta 3} [Mirror]
• Flash Player 10.1.51.45 ^Beta [Mirror]
• Google Chrome 4.0.249.4 ^Beta [Mirror]
• Google Desktop 5.9.911.3589 [Mirror]
• Google Earth 5.1.3509 ^Beta [Mirror]
• Google SketchUp 7.1.6087 [Mirror]
• Growl 2.0 [Mirror]
• MediaMonkey 3.2.0.1294 [Mirror]
• Miranda 0.8.10 [Mirror]
• Mozilla Camino 2.0 [Mirror]
• Opera 10.10 [Mirror]
• Paint.NET 3.5.1 [Mirror]
• PDF-XChange Viewer 2.0.42.9 [Mirror]
• PeaZip 2.8.0 [Mirror]
• RSS Bandit 1.9.0.972 [Mirror]
• Screenshot Captor 2.76.01 [Mirror]
• Silverlight 4.0.41108 ^Beta [Mirror]
• Sumatra PDF 1.0 [Mirror]
• VirtualBox 3.0.12.54655 [Mirror]
• WindowBlinds 7.0 [Mirror]
• uTorrent 2.1.17350 ^Beta [Mirror]

Copyright © 2010 CyberNet | CyberNet Forum | Learn Firefox

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