CyberNotes: Using Basic Paint.NET Features

This article was written on July 23, 2007 by CyberNet.

CyberNotes
Microsoft Monday

Paint.NET is one of my favorite free options for editing photos because it’s got a lot of great features, yet it is simple and easy to use.  We’ve mentioned it on the site before, and some of you may already use it. While it may be a program that you use, you may not be aware that it actually started as a senior design project which was mentored by Microsoft.  According to the Paint.NET website, it was originally intended to be used as a replacement for the current Paint which comes with Windows.  Today’s article will focus on some of the basic features found in Paint.NET and how to use them. We’ll follow up with another article that goes into some of the more advanced features.

Red Eye Removal

We’ll start with one of the most basic features, but one that gets used quite often, red eye removal.

To remove red eyes from a picture, use a selection tool to select an area including the eyes. Next, go to the Effects menu and select Red Eye Removal. There you have it, your red eyes are removed! Below is the image from the Paint.NET tutorial which shows what the before and after looks like.

Redeyeremoval

Auto-Level

This is another feature that gets used quite often once you know it’s there. Instead of manually adjusting the levels of the image so that it looks just right, use Auto-Level! It does all of the work for you. Sometimes the difference will be subtle, other times it will be drastic. Below is an example of what an image looked like before and after using auto-level.

Auto-level

Keyboard shortcut: Ctrl + Alt + L

Curve

If you like to have control over how the colors of your photo are adjusted, use the Curves feature. When you click to use the curves feature, you’ll notice a graph. Just start dragging your mouse around to notice the differences in your image. Horizontal values are the intensity input and the vertical values are the output.

Curves

To use the curve feature, go to Adjustments > Curves

Keyboard shortcut: Ctrl + Shift + M

Other Effects:

There are a handful of effects that you can play around with to add something special to your image. And remember, if you don’t like the way it looks, you can always undo it by clicking on Edit > Undo, or by pressing Ctrl + Z.

Some of the effects that you can play with include:

  • Oil Painting
  • Outline
  • Frosted Glass
  • Pencil Sketch

Below is an example of what a photo looks like using the oil painting feature with a brush size of 5. The larger the brush size, the less detail you’ll notice.

Oilpaint

Wrapping it up

As mentioned, these are very basic features within Paint.NET that some of you may already be very familiar with. For those of you who aren’t familiar with them, take the time to play around with them because while simple, they can add a lot to your photos.

Next week we’ll get into some of the more advanced things that you can do with Paint.NET.

UPDATE: Want to make a Web 2.0 Logo Using Paint.NET? Here is CyberNet’s Tutorial including video!

Download Paint.NET

Copyright © 2010 CyberNet | CyberNet Forum | Learn Firefox

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Twitter from Your Outlook Inbox

This article was written on July 10, 2009 by CyberNet.

twinbox-1.png

arrow Windows Windows only arrow
Are you addicted to Twitter, but afraid to use it while you’re at work? We’ve got the cure for your addiction! Well, not really a cure… I guess it would be more like throwing fuel on the fire. What if I said there’s a way for you to post on Twitter directly from your Outlook Inbox? Not only that but you’ll also be able to read posts from the people you’re following? Sounds great, right?

The app that will let you do all of this for free is called TwInbox. It integrates directly into your Outlook client so that you can both read and post to Twitter… all while looking like you’re sifting through hundreds of emails. The toolbar serves as a quick access point for all of your Twitter needs.

Want to know what all this is capable of? Here’s a list of features:

  • Update your Twitter status directly from Outlook.
  • Receive your friend updates in Outlook.
  • Archive, manage, group and search your tweets the same way you manage your email.
  • Search, track keywords. TwInbox will automatically download ALL tweets matching the keywords you specify, even if you are not following the tweet sender. This feature is perfect for keeping up to date with the Twitter buzz on your name, brand, interests, etc.
  • Group tweets by sender, topic, etc using the Search feature.
  • Upload and post picture files and Outlook email attachments.
  • See new tweets at a glance.
  • Assign custom folder and categories to new messages.
  • Use Outlook’s “Reply” and “ReplyAll” commands to send twitter direct messages and @replies.
  • Automatically sort new tweets into per-sender folders.
  • Shorten URLs with tinyurl.
  • See graphs of your Twitter usage statistics.
  • Tweets sent to you (@replies and direct) are marked with high importance, so you can see them at a glance.

Honestly, this is the most creative interface I’ve ever seen for managing a Twitter account. When I first saw this I didn’t expect it to do much more than provide a popup box for posting to Twitter. The thing is a full-featured Twitter client right in your Inbox! I could see this being a huge hit in the corporate world… especially for people who are forced to tweet for the company they work for. Pretty much everyone is familiar with Outlook, and this undoubtedly minimizes the learning curve. Not that Twitter is difficult to use, but this makes it feel no different than sending a short email.

I give mad props to the developer(s) for not only creating this, but for also making it free. And, in case you’re wondering, it works with both Outlook 2003 and Outlook 2007.

TwInbox Homepage (Windows only; free)

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CyberNotes: Best IE7 Scripts

This article was written on April 30, 2008 by CyberNet.

CyberNotes
Web Browser Wednesday

One of the most popular extensions for Firefox is Greasemonkey simply because it gives developers and users a chance to customize their browsing experience with very little work. The extension has been downloaded over 165,000 times which is pretty incredible, and new scripts that power the extension are always being created.

Given the popularity of the scripting system it comes as no surprise that Internet Explorer has something very similar, but it too requires an add-on before you’ll be able to get it to work. It just so happens that one of the best add-ons for doing so is IE7Pro, which in general is an awesome tool to have installed in Internet Explorer 7.

Once you get IE7Pro installed and running you can check out some of the scripts that it comes with by pulling up the configuration screen. Along the left side you should see a section dedicated to the User Scripts:

ie7pro scripts.png

It comes with over a dozen different scripts out-of-the-box which is definitely a nice touch. Some are more handy than others, but there are a few that really stand out to me. The Show Password onMouseOver is really nice because it will reveal the contents of a password field when you hover over it with your mouse.

One problem with finding more is that you can’t go and grab a script designed for Greasemonkey because not all of them will work. The creators of IE7Pro realized that, and that’s why they setup their own script site that hosts only the scripts that function properly with their add-on. We thought it would be fun to go through the scripts they have posted, and pull out our favorites. So that’s exactly what we’ve done.

–No JavaScript Errors (Homepage)–

iescript no javascript erros.pngIf you’ve ever used any version of Internet Explorer it’s very likely that you’ve been pestered by those annoying popups saying that there is an error with the JavaScript on the page you’re viewing. I’m not sure if anyone really knows why Microsoft decided to show the general population this message when the developers are really the only ones who can do anything about it. Oh well.

This script will, however, save you some frustration by hiding those popups from you. Is it not amazing that something so simple can be the number one script on the site with over 64,000 installs!

–Google Redesign (Homepage)–

If you’ve been wanting to make Google look a little better then this is the perfect opportunity. With this script your Google search results will use up the full width of the screen, and each result will be nicely divided making it a lot easier on the eyes. Check it out:

iescript google redesign-1.png

–Google Two Columns (Homepage)–

If the previous Google redesign wasn’t for you, then maybe this one will be! This takes your Google results and splits them up into two different columns. You might find this especially useful if you have a widescreen monitor and like to browse the Internet using all of the screen space that it has to offer.

iescript google two column-1.png

–Compatibility Script for IE7Pro (Homepage)–

This script doesn’t actually “do” anything. It’s sole purpose is to make more Greasemonkey scripts compatible with IE7Pro. It consists of over 1,500 lines of code that try to replicate the functions and features provided by Greasemonkey so that it’s a lot more likely for these scripts to work. I’m actually a little surprised that this doesn’t come with IE7Pro.

–EZ Resize (Homepage)–

iescript resize.jpgI find this script to be one of the more essential ones. With it you’re able to resize any text area or input field on a site. If it’s an input field that you’re dealing with (such as the search box on Google’s homepage) just put your mouse along the right side and you should see your cursor turn into the double-ended arrow. You’re then ready to resize the box.

Similarly, if you’re trying to resize a text area (such as our large comment box) you’ll want to put your mouse in the bottom-right corner. The cursor will once again turn into a double-ended arrow indicating that you can begin resizing the box.

–Inline MP3 Player (Homepage)–

iescript inline mp3.jpgEver come across an MP3 on the Internet that you wanted to play, but didn’t want to download? This script will add a small icon next to any MP3 file that will let you stream the song instead of downloading it first.

–Overview–

Right now the number of scripts that are on the site is quite small, but I suspect that they will be growing as more people realize that they are available. Not only that but with the help of the Greasemonkey compatibility script that I mentioned above you should be able to use most of the scripts that are already out there.

Hope this helps some of you who are still using Internet Explorer!

Copyright © 2010 CyberNet | CyberNet Forum | Learn Firefox

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CyberNotes: Top 10 Copy Paste Firefox Extensions

This article was written on April 23, 2008 by CyberNet.

CyberNotes
Web Browser Wednesday

Could you imagine going through a day of using your computer without being able to copy and paste stuff? I know, it sounds crazy! Being able to copy and paste saves me unbelievable amounts of time every day, and I have a huge appreciation for the copy/paste keyboard shortcuts.

With the help of some Firefox extensions we’re going to demonstrate how something as simple as copying and pasting can be taken to a new level! I’m sure you’ll find at least one or two extensions that can make you more productive. Here are our top 10 Firefox extensions for copying and pasting:

  1. CoLT (Homepage)
    Do you find yourself copying and pasting hyperlinks into forums or sites that require specially formatted links? This extension will take care of that problem by copying the selected link into any format that you designate, and if it doesn’t include what you need out-of-the-box you can always add your own.
    colt
  2. Paste and Go (Homepage)
    Imagine for a minute that you have copied some text or a URL from within your browser. What do you plan on doing with it now? Maybe you’ll paste the URL into the Address Bar to open it up, or maybe you’ll paste the text into the search box to pull up the search results? Paste and Go simplifies the process of doing either task with a simple context menu entry or buttons that you can add to the toolbar. With it you’ll be able to paste a URL and go to it, or paste some text and perform a search all with a single click!
    paste and go
  3. PasteIP (Homepage)
    How often do you go hunting around for your current IP address? Let Firefox do the work for you with this simple extension. Whenever you decide that you want to insert your IP address just right-click in the text field and select the “Paste IP Address” option.
    pasteip
  4. Copy All URL’s (Homepage)
    With this extension you’re able to copy all of your open tabs to the clipboard, and then paste them into a new window. It also has some more advanced options that make sharing your open tabs with other people a little more convenient. Take a look at the options to see the different ways that you can format the output.
    copy all urls
  5. Table2Clipboard (Homepage)
    If you’ve ever tried to copy and paste a table from the browser into Microsoft Excel or OpenOffice Calc you may have noticed that things do not copy over as well as they should. This extension aims to ease the tedious burden of reformatting an HTML table to look right in a desktop application such as Excel. Just highlight the cells that you want to copy, and in the context menu there is a new “Copy table elements” option that will take care of the formatting for you. Then go ahead and paste them into the application just as you normally would.
    table2clipboard
  6. Extended Copy Menu (Homepage)
    You’re probably familiar with copying content from Firefox and pasting it into a word processor. All of the formatting and everything is typically carried over, but with this extension you’ll be able to specify whether you want the text copied as “plain text.” Not only that but you’ll also be able to grab the underlying HTML using the “Copy as HTML” option in the context menu:
    extended copy menu
  7. Lorem2Clipboard (Homepage)
    You can never get enough Lorem Ipsum text, can you? This extension will let you quickly copy a few paragraphs of Lorem Ipsum text to the clipboard so that you can use it in any way you desire. All you have to do is click the button located in the Status Bar to have it automatically copied to the clipboard:
    loremipsum
  8. Auto Copy (Homepage)
    This is an extremely simple extension that serves a valuable purpose for a lot of people. The Auto Copy extension, as the name implies, will take any text that you highlight and copy it to the clipboard automatically. No right clicks and no keyboard shortcuts… it’s automatic baby!
  9. Copy Links (Homepage)
    I’m sure it’s happened to you before where you’ve wanted to copy several different hyperlinks that appear in a body of text. With Copy Links you can actually do that. Just select a body of text and hit up the respective option in the context menu.
    copy links
  10. Copy/Paste Form (Homepage)
    Note: This is an experimental add-on and will require that you login before being able to install it.

    Have you ever gotten burned out of filling in the same form one after another? Copy/Paste Form will let you copy every field from a given form, and paste it directly into another form! Or even better… save the form and paste the content back in later on. It supports text fields, passwords, selections, checkboxes, and radio buttons.
    copy form

Now I know that not every one of those extensions will apply to you, but hopefully there are a few that sound like they could be helpful. Copying and pasting content has always been about being more productive, and many of these extensions assist in that area. Let us know in the comments how you make the most of copying and pasting.

Copyright © 2010 CyberNet | CyberNet Forum | Learn Firefox

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Image Morphing Freeware

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

Sqirlz Morph

Have you ever wanted to morph multiple images together? You know, take a picture of your friend and have it morph into a monkey or something? I accidentally came across a free application today called Sqirlz Morph that will do just that.

A screenshot of the program can be seen above, but don’t let the stripped-down toolbars deceive you. This program has a powerful array of options that will help you morph images with ease. With that being said it took me 5 or 10 minutes before I fully understood how the program worked, and so I thought I would give some pointers:

  1. You can use as many photos as you want in the morphing process, but the more images you use the more work you’re going to cause yourself. So you may want to be selective.
  2. After you have your images open you’ll need to add a few morphing points to start with. This is done with the green plus sign on the side toolbar. When you add a morphing point on one image it will be added to all of them.
  3. What you need to do now is switch over to the other photos that you’ve opened, and move the points around so that the key features match up between all of the images. You can move the points around by clicking the black arrow in the side toolbar, and then clicking on a morphing point. In the example above you can see that I made sure the eyes, mouth, and edges of the face matched up.
  4. Go to Image -> Animation Order if you want to change the image morphing order.
  5. I chose to output my morphed images in a GIF format so that I could easily post the result in this article, but you can also save it as an AVI. When saving the image it asked for a frame rate, and 15 frames per second is pretty standard. I, however, chose just 3 frames per second so that you could clearly see the morphing process:

Morph Smiley

Adding the morphing points to the photos are a critical part of how Sqirlz Morph works. The result will not look right if you don’t take the time to properly align the points on the photos. That’s why in Step 1 I told you to be selective in how many photos you choose to use.

I have to admit that this is a pretty cool program, and I haven’t seen any other freeware that does the same sort of thing. You may not see a purpose for it right now, but at some point you may realize that this is just what you’re looking for. Bookmark it even if you don’t plan on using it right now.

Post links below to any images you decide to morph together. Can’t wait to see what some of you come up with. ;)

Sqirlz Morph Homepage

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How to Do (Almost) Everything With a Kindle 3

Photo of third-generation Kindle. Courtesy Amazon.com

Amazon’s Kindle can do a lot more than just buy and read Amazon-sold e-books. This is often a surprise. I usually wind up in conversations where someone says “I’d like to try a Kindle, but it can’t _______.” Usually, it can.

I was actually surprised when I bought my Kindle not just by how much it could do, but by how well it did it. The Kindle suffers from two things: 1) it’s never going to do everything that a full-fledged computer or even a color touchscreen tablet can do; and 2) the Kindle 3 has improved on a whole slew of features that were either poorly implemented in or entirely absent from earlier iterations of the Kindle.

Here I want to gather up knowledge generated from and circulated by many of my favorite e-reader blogs, just to try to give you an inkling of all the things that a new Kindle can do. For organizational purposes, I’m going to do it as a Q&A. Most of these questions I’ve actually been asked (some of them frequently); others are rhetorical. (There are many features you wouldn’t even think to ask about.)

Q. Can the Kindle read PDFs?

A. Yes — and it actually handles them very well. You don’t need to email yourself copies; you can hook up your Kindle to your computer through a USB cable, mount the Kindle’s drive, and drag-and-drop.

One big suggestion. Just because of its screen size, viewing PDFs on the Kindle is much better if they’re oriented in portrait rather than landscape, and if they’re single-page documents rather than spreads (i.e., where a book is scanned/photocopied two pages at a time). Printed office documents, downloaded journal articles, maps, etc., all look great. They’re monochrome, obviously, but they read as well as an e-book. You can even highlight and annotate them just like you can Kindle books — that is, assuming they’re real text PDFs, not just bundled images.

Q. Can I read free/public-domain books on the Kindle?

A. Yes, and you should. Amazon “sells” a number of public-domain books for $0 through the Kindle store. You can also download public-domain books from Project Gutenberg and Google Books. In fact, that’s where a lot of Amazon’s free books come from.

At TeleRead, Kindle World blogger Andrys Basten points out that Project Gutenberg actually has a mobile version of its website where you can download Kindle-compatible e-books directly. Just fire up your Kindle’s web browser and go to m.gutenberg.org.

Virtually all mobile-optimized web sites look terrific on the Kindle’s web browser, and Project Gutenberg’s is no different. You can search or browse by author, title, subject, release date, or popularity, and download Kindle books with or without images included.

Select a book, scroll downwards (using the “next page” button allows you to scroll quickly), and select the “Kindle” version. (There are also HTML, EPUB, and TXT available, usually.) Your Kindle will show you a scary message, saying “Do you really want to download pg###.mobi? It will be available on your Home screen.” Don’t worry. “pg###” is just the Project Gutenberg internal title of the book. It will still show up on your Kindle by its proper book title. And it’s GOOD that the book will be available on your home screen; that’s where all of your other books are kept.

Q. Wait a minute, you just said something about Google Books. Can I read EPUB files on the Kindle too?

A. It’s true: Google Books allows you to download public-domain books not in Kindle’s AZW or MOBI formats, but in the competing EPUB standard. But there are a couple of good ways to convert EPUB files without DRM (like those you download from Google Books) into Kindle-compatible formats.

If you are For Real about digging into e-books, I advise you to download the multi-platform e-book management app Calibre immediately. Among its other virtues (e-reader client, e-library manager) Calibre is an e-book-converting monster:

Input Formats: CBZ, CBR, CBC, CHM, EPUB, FB2, HTML, LIT, LRF, MOBI, ODT, PDF, PRC**, PDB, PML, RB, RTF, TCR, TXT

Output Formats: EPUB, FB2, OEB, LIT, LRF, MOBI, PDB, PML, RB, PDF, TCR, TXT

If you are like 90% of Kindle users, the important input formats in that list are EPUB, and the two comic-book formats CBZ and CBR. The important output formats are MOBI and PDF — either of which your Kindle can read without a problem.

What’s more, Calibre will sync these files to your Kindle, either through USB or by setting itself up as a server. Mounting the Kindle and dragging and dropping files to it is pretty easy already, but since your library of converted/downloaded books is already in Calibre, this can make it even easier.

If you don’t want to bother with Calibre — for some people, the sheer scope of the application is overwhelming, and even I haven’t tried everything it can do — there’s also RetroRead, a free site/service that converts EPUBs from Google Books to Kindle- and iOS-friendly formats.

Q. I don’t like using a USB cable, and some of these sites say they’ll send books to my Kindle wirelessly. But don’t I have to pay to have documents sent wirelessly to my Kindle?

A. You do have to pay Amazon to have non-Amazon docs converted and sent to your device IF they’re sent over 3G. The key thing to avoid charges is to always sign up for services using your username@free.kindle.com email address. If you do this, then your device will only add documents when it’s using Wi-Fi — and that’s free.

Q. What’s my username?

A. It’s often identical to the username of the email address that you use to sign in to Amazon. If you’re not sure, go to Amazon’s “Managing Your Kindle” page, which is a great resource for all of this.

Q. Can other people send things to my email address to spam me/make me pay for document delivery?

A. You have to authorize every user who can send a document to your Kindle. I’ve actually never used this to authorize a group of trusted friends to share and convert e-books, but that’s a great idea.

Q. How can I read blogs and websites on my Kindle?

A. The new web browser — based on WebKit, the same rendering engine as Safari and mobile Safari — is so much better than previous instances that usually you can use this to read blogs without any special conversion.

For some reason the web browser is still listed under the “Experimental” menu, but this thing is ready to go. Among friends, we suspect that Amazon doesn’t actually want to advertise how good the web experience is, because it’s on the hook for all the 3G data its users consume.

Again, I prefer the mobile versions of most websites to the standard ones; you don’t have to pan/zoom, but it’s not hard to bookmark your favorites. (Liberal use of bookmarks also saves you from repeat typing, which is improved but still not fantastic.) Mobile versions of text-heavy websites (like mobile Twitter, Instapaper, Google Reader, etc.) look and function the very best.

The other amazing improvement in the new Kindle browser is something called “Article Mode.” This is identical to the new “Reader” button in Safari, or the Readability bookmarklet. Basically, if you go to an ordinary web page, and it’s cluttered with images, ads, or laid out in a way that’s hard to read on your Kindle, click the “Menu” button and then “Article Mode.” Instantly the web page will be laid out in an easy-to-read text column, just like if you’d sent it to Instapaper.

Q. Instapaper? I love Instapaper!

A. Me too!

Q. How can I send web articles I save in Instapaper to my Kindle?

A. Ah. Well, you can navigate through the web interface, which is pretty good. Or, you can have Instapaper send articles to your Kindle device. Now, instead of being in your browser, your Instapaper articles will be grouped with and formatted like Newspapers and Magazines. Instapaper’s Marco Arment has said that using the Kindle is his “favorite way to read content from Instapaper.” And that was on the janky old Kindle 2.

Unfortunately, for reasons I’m not smart enough to understand, Instapaper can’t automate delivery to your @free.kindle.com address. Arment, though, recently CTO of Tumblr, has recently announced that he’s going to start working full-time on Instapaper. Might a Kindle Instapaper app be in the works? Methinks quite possibly yes.

Q. I’d hate having to scroll through a long home screen. Can I sort my books, articles, PDFs, or whatever into folders?

A. Yes. They’re called “Collections.” From your “Home” screen, click the “Menu” button — there are a lot of keys on the keyboard, but “Menu,” “Home,” the directional keys, Return, Select, and the page turn buttons are your friends — and choose “Create New Collection.” Once you’ve created it, you can add/remove items, change how you sort through them — the works. Great way to group by kind, genre, category, or even levels of attention.

Q. How can I share books I read with my friends and family?

A. Ah. This is a sore spot, as Barnes and Noble’s Nook has promised some limited ability to lend out e-books. Kindle doesn’t really have that. However, there are some clever ways to get the same functionality.

First, you can share an Amazon account with another person and authorize both of your devices to download e-books purchased from that account. This is probably most obvious for families, who often buy from a single Amazon account anyways. But there’s no reason why you couldn’t do the same with a group of friends. The trouble is that each Kindle is tied to one account. So if you’re reading e-books in a group account, you’re only reading e-books in that group account.

With free books, it’s not a problem to share either. As I mentioned above, every user can authorize a number of e-mail addresses to send documents to their Kindle. This is a great way to share PDFs or free books you’ve converted in Calibre.

Q. I read a little bit in English, but my first language is German. Can I change the default menu/user-interface language?

A. Aha. As far as I can tell, definitely not on the Kindle itself. The only way you can change the “country” setting is by entering in an address on the web site. I think this is a huge disadvantage to the device, and shows some of the limitations in how Amazon thinks of its user base. Even in the United States, there are plenty of readers who would prefer to have their menu language displayed in Spanish, French, or other languages.

Q. Can I use Twitter on the Kindle?

A. Yes. Kindle’s 2.5 update added a feature where you could share passages or tweet about books. As for working with Twitter itself, again, I recommend the mobile site, mobile.twitter.com. New Twitter is translucent and beautiful in an ordinary web browser, but that beauty if totally lost on the Kindle.

Reading mobile Twitter on the Kindle is a blast. You can even use your page turn keys to quickly scroll up and down. You can easily favorite or use the built-in retweet.

The biggest problem — and this is a giant hole in the whole Kindle browser experience — is following links out on Twitter. It tries to open links in a new window. Kindle’s web browser doesn’t support multiple windows. It tells you: your browser doesn’t support multiple windows. Does it let you click through to the link anyways? No, it does not. It’s hateful. The browser should either redirect all tweets to open in the same window, or give you a nag prompt with the option to open or not open the link.

Typing tweets on mobile Twitter… Hmm…

Well, I’ll say this. I don’t like writing tweets using Twitter’s web page anyways. And the keyboard on the Kindle 3 is much-improved, but still no champ. If you’re used to either a full keyboard OR a smartphone’s software typo corrections and autofills, the Kindle is bound to disappoint.

The Kindle excels as a reader, not a writer. Really, the keyboard is there to enter in search terms, not to compose. It doesn’t have number keys, for example — although you use those to enter in URLs or email addresses all the time. (You have to press the “Sym” button to get access to numbers, @-signs, etc.)

Okay! For now, that’s all I’ve got. I hope I’ve answered at least some of your questions. If you have more, let them rip in the comments and I’ll do my best!

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CyberNotes: Auto-hide any Firefox Toolbar

This article was written on November 12, 2008 by CyberNet.

CyberNotes
Web Browser Wednesday

Having toolbars in a browser can be both frustrating and convenient. On one hand they can often cram a lot of useful functionality into a small area, but on the other hand they eat up precious space that could be used for viewing websites. After all, we know what your browser can look like when you’ve installed a few too many toolbars.

I’ve managed to find a happy medium by automatically hiding the toolbars so that they only appear when my mouse hovers over any other toolbar (ex. the navigation/address bar), and that’s what we’re going to show you today. First we’ll go ahead and demonstrate how to do this with just the bookmarks toolbar, and then we’ll walk you through the steps needed to apply this to just about any Firefox toolbar such as the Google Toolbar.

–Auto-hide a Toolbar–

  1. Make sure you have the Stylish extension installed in Firefox.
  2. In the bottom-right corner of the Firefox window you should see the Stylish icon sitting in the Status Bar. Click on the icon, and go to Write Style > Blank Style.
    stylish blank style.jpg
  3. Provide a description for the toolbar that you’re about to auto-hide, such as “Auto-hide the bookmarks toolbar”. In the code box copy and paste the following:

    #PersonalToolbar{display:none;}
    #navigator-toolbox:hover > #PersonalToolbar{display:-moz-box;}

    The “PersonalToolbar” ID refers to the bookmarks toolbar, and when all is said and done your Stylish window should look something like this:
    firefox autohide toolbar.jpg

  4. As soon as you hit Save the changes should take effect immediately. The bookmarks toolbar will be out-of-sight, but it will reappear when you hover over another toolbar (like the address/navigation bar).

–Find the ID of a Toolbar–

Now what about the toolbars who’s ID you don’t know? That’s a little trickier, but it won’t take you long to catch on. The toolbar we’re going to use in this half of the demonstration is the Google Toolbar, and we’ll show you step-by-step how you can find its ID so that you can auto-hide it.

  1. If you’re using Firefox 3 you’ll need to go and download the DOM Inspector since it’s no longer included with the browser. It is bundled with versions of Firefox prior to version 3.
  2. Once it’s downloaded and installed you need to start it by going to Tools > DOM Inspector. This tool will give us the ability to get the ID of any element in the browser, including toolbars.
  3. Go to File > Inspect Chrome Document, and choose the first item in the list (it may say something different than what my screenshot does).
    chrome inspect.jpg
  4. Now in the DOM Inspector click on the icon in the toolbar that has a mouse cursor pointing to a rounded box. Then switch over to the Firefox window and click on an item on the toolbar you want to auto-hide. You should see a red box appear around it as you’re clicking.
    firefox dom inspector-1.jpg
  5. Now if you switch back to the DOM Inspector it will have highlighted the item that you clicked on. We’re looking for the ID of the toolbar itself, and not the item that you clicked on which was likely a button on the toolbar. If you look a little above the item that you clicked on you should see the ID of the toolbar:
    firefox dom inspector id.jpg
  6. Now we just need to plug that ID into the Stylish script that we provided above. So auto-hiding the Google Toolbar would look something like this:

    #gtbToolbar{display:none;}
    #navigator-toolbox:hover > #gtbToolbar{display:-moz-box;}

That’s all there is to it. It may take a little while for you to get the hang of using the DOM Inspector, but it will be worth it.

–Overview–

Now the power is in your hands to auto-hide as many toolbars as you want. This trick will also work for hiding multiple toolbars simultaneously, and they will all appear at the same time when you hover over the navigation bar.

Also, feel free to leave the ID’s of any toolbars you find in the comments below so that you might save other people a little bit of trouble.

Copyright © 2010 CyberNet | CyberNet Forum | Learn Firefox

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How to Stop the Government From Tracking Your Location (Illegally!) [How To]

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals just decided that it was legal for the police to put a GPS tracking device on your car, sitting in your driveway, on your property. Here’s how to protect yourself. More »

Lightscreen: Fast Easy Screenshots

This article was written on February 05, 2009 by CyberNet.

lightscreen.jpgarrow Windows Windows only arrow
Taking screenshots is something I find myself doing all the time whether it be for an article I’m writing, or just trying to troubleshoot a problem at work. Lightscreen is the perfect tool because it’s not only open source and free, but it’s also unbelievably simple. It doesn’t include any annotation features, but you can choose to snap a screenshot of the entire screen, a particular window, a selected region, and more. Here are some of the highlights from the app:

  • Can execute at Windows startup (hidden or displaying the main window).
  • System tray icon for easy access.
  • 5 configurable actions, each with it’s own hotkey (screen, window, area, etc).
  • Multiple image formats (PNG, JPEG, etc) and image quality selector.
  • A notification when the screenshot is taken.
  • Screenshot delay.

If it sounds like something you’d like to try out, but don’t want to install it you can head on over to PortableApps.com. There you’ll find the no-install portable version of Lightscreen that you can play around with, and even carry on a USB drive for when those screenshot emergencies arise.

Get Lightscreen for Windows [via Lifehacker]
Thanks Sam K.

Copyright © 2010 CyberNet | CyberNet Forum | Learn Firefox

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WrapUp: Windows 7 Relaxes CableCard Restrictions, Google Spreadsheets’ SQL-like Syntax, and More

This article was written on September 14, 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–

media center.jpgWindows 7 Relaxes CableCard Restrictions
Microsoft released information last week stating that Windows 7 would give all PC owners the ability to add CableCards to their machines. Prior to this you could only buy CableCards with select OEM PC’s. What does this mean? Basically with CableCards you’re able to record encrypted cable channels using Windows Media Center. This could prove to be some stiff competition for Tivo considering there are no monthly service fees associated with a Media Center PC.


ipod touch camera-1.jpgLeaked iPod Touch with Camera Photos were Real
Last week Apple released new iPod Nano’s with video recording capabilities, but many people were left puzzled when the same functionality was left out of their high-end iPod Touch product line. The internals of the new iPod Touch show striking similarities to the photos that were leaked prior to Apple’s announcements, and provide some solid evidence that the iPod Touch was indeed supposed to have a camera.


dropbox.jpgDropbox Adds More Functionality
Dropbox is an amazing way to keep files in sync between all your machines, but their web interface has always been a little lackluster. They’ve added some new functionality including keyboard shortcuts, interface and usability improvements, and true bulk operations that make their website a lot better.


drop.io yahoo mail.jpgAttach 100MB Files in Yahoo! Mail with Drop.io
Yahoo! only lets you attach files up to 20MB to your emails, but thanks to some third-party integration that limit is now five times larger. To use the service you’ll have to click the “Get Started” link on this page to enable the use of apps, and then you should see an option in your mail sidebar to “Attach Large Files.” It’s not as integrated as I’d like to see it, but it’s still nice being able to send 100MB attachments without leaving the Yahoo! Mail interface.


jump to google.jpgGoogle’s “Jump to” Option in Search Results
When performing certain searches on Google you may find a “jump to” option offered right before the description of the result. Clicking on this link will take you directly to the part of the page related to what you’re searching for. For this to work Google is looking for “internal bookmarks/links” on a page. That’s why you’ll often find that Wikipedia results will show up with this option since it uses internal links in their table of contents to jump to various parts of the page.


–News in Brief–

opera moble.jpgOpera to Unveil “the Next Generation in Mobile Browsing”
Opera has put together a teaser page for something they will be unveiling very soon.


chrome extensions.jpgChrome Turns Extensions on in Dev Channel
Google Chrome users running the developer version of the browser should be pleased to hear that you can now install extensions by default, which means this feature should be getting closer to prime time.


windows 7 background harmony.jpgWindows 7 RTM not Affected by Latest Flaw
A recently discovered vulnerability makes it possible for a hacker to remotely control a system, but only affects Windows Vista, Server 2008, and pre-release versions of Windows 7.


android logo.jpgAndroid has 10,000+ Applications Available
The Google Android mobile OS now has over 10,000 applications available for download, and 65% of those apps are free.


firefox warning.jpgFirefox 3.5.3 Introduces Flash Update Notifications
In an attempt to keep users safe, Mozilla will now display a notification for anyone running Firefox if they have an old version of the Flash plugin. In the future the browser will also look for updates to other common plugins.


facebook lite.jpgFacebook Lite Keeps Things Simple
Facebook users in the U.S. and India can now take advantage of a simpler Facebook interface that feels a bit Twitter-like.


live hotmail.jpgHotmail Getting More Improvements
Hotmail is rolling out some changes including auto-saving of drafts, keyboard shortcuts that closely match what’s used in Gmail, mobile improvements, and more.


opera unite beta.jpgOpera Unite Hits Beta Stage
The first Beta of Opera Unite has finally been released, and it’s significantly more stable than previous versions according to Download Squad.


hubble photo.jpgHubble Takes more Amazing Photos after Repair Mission
These are the first photos sent back from the Hubble Space Telescope after undergoing a rather extensive repair and service mission.


google earth.jpgGoogle Earth 5.1 Gets Faster
The newest Beta of Google Earth not only uses less memory than previous versions, but is also 25% faster at starting up.


–Tips, Tutorials, and Reviews–

windows 7 login image changer.jpgWindows 7 Login Background Changer
Want to freshen up that background image you see when you login to Windows 7? This free and open source application will let you select an image you want to use when logging into your machine. What I really like about this WPF-based solution is that it doesn’t modify any system files on your machine.


itunes watched folder.jpgiTunes 9 Introduces a “Watched” Folder
iTunes 9 has finally added a highly requested feature: a watched folder. This folder resides in your music library, and any music added to it will automatically be imported into your library. Unfortunately this directory cannot be changed, and I suspect that Apple added it for the new “Home Sharing” features that let you automatically add music from other libraries on your network. It’s still nice to have though.


gmail down.jpgHow to Access Gmail when it’s Down
With the recent Gmail outages some people are trying more than ever to make sure that they’ll still be able to access their messages even when the service is down. Normally when Gmail’s web interface goes down the IMAP/POP3 is still functional, and that’s what most people turn to. This article provides a few other alternatives such as checking the mobile version, using the iGoogle gadget, and more.


postbox email app.jpgPostbox Email App Leaves Beta, Charges $40
Over the last few months Postbox has definitely been one of the most talked about desktop email clients. It was available for free when it was in the Beta stage, but now it will run you $40 for a license. It is definitely a nice email client, but they are in a tough spot. There are a lot of free desktop email clients out there, and I’d venture to guess that a majority of the money spent on desktop email clients goes towards Outlook. And then there’s also the fact that the web interfaces for email services like Gmail are evolving at a rather rapid pace.


google docs query.jpgGoogle Spreadsheets Gets SQL-like Syntax
Anyone familiar with SQL might enjoy the new “QUERY” function that was recently added to Google Spreadsheets. This function uses Gviz syntax to imitate SQL syntax right there in your document. It’s still a bit limited at this point… “SELECT” statements are the primary use, but you can add “ORDER BY,” “GROUP BY,” “LIMIT,” and more within your query. Hopefully it will branch out to become even more powerful.


–Tips in Brief–

itunes 9 windows 7.jpgiTunes 9 has Jump List Support in Windows 7
iTunes 9 was released last week, and anyone using Windows 7 can already take advantage of the included Jump List support. If you hover over the icon you can pause, play, or skip music, and you can receive additional options by right-clicking on the icon.


pause emails.jpgPause Incoming Emails
This Outlook 2007 add-on from Microsoft will let you pause incoming emails so that they are not shown until you are ready to read them. This keeps you from getting distracted while you’re trying to work, and can also keep things quiet while you’re giving a presentation.


coral ie tab.jpgCoral IE Tab for Firefox
This Firefox extension is based on the popular IE Tab add-on, but takes it one step further. It is able to save your cookies and also works with Adblock Plus, which are things the original extension can’t boast.


google voice sms.jpgGoogle Voice Adds Email Forwarding/Replies to SMS
Google will now let you view and reply to any SMS messages received through Google Voice right from your Inbox.


easeus backup.jpgAnother Free Backup Utility
As we’ve said in the past… there’s never a shortage of free backup utilities. What makes this one a bit different is that you can use it to backup and restore an entire partition or drive.


–Downloads–

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