Hasta La Gadget!

Mar 02

WrapUp: Digsby Portable, Better Gmail for Chrome, and More

This article was written on March 30, 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–

Real-Time Google Translations
Google China has released a special version of their toolbar for the Internet Explorer web browser that is able to perform translations on-the-fly, even for pages that use a lot of JavaScript or have an SSL connection.

Xobni Breaks Out of Beta
The Outlook add-on called Xobni has finally left the Beta phase, and is a great way to search for contacts, email, and more from within Outlook. Version 1.7 boasts some significant performance improvements, which are always welcomed… especially for those of you with large inboxes.

Early Windows 7 Mockups
It’s always fun to see how companies end up at their final product, and Neowin managed to get their hands on some sketches and mockups of where Microsoft pondered going with Windows 7. Some of them are interesting to say the least, but I guess that’s what brainstorming is all about.

Tesla Model S Starting at $50,000
Tesla is looking for ways to merge a sports car that’s fully electric, and affordability. They are getting a little closer with their newly announced “Model S”, but at $50,000 it is still going to be out of the range for most consumers. The enormous touchscreen console does look like a geeks dream though.

Mythbusters Explosion Breaks Windows
I’m sure a lot of you watch Mythbusters because that what geeks do, right? I guess recently they detonated 500 ponds of ammonium nitrate, and it shattered windows in a town that was about a mile away. It even knocked on lady off her couch, but she said it was fun. Don’t worry… all the broken windows were replaced the same day.

Opera Mobile 9.7 to Include Flash Support
The next major version of Opera Mobile will include all kinds of nice stuff: Google Gears support, Opera Turbo compatibility for faster page loading, improved JavaScript engine, and even Flash Lite support.

Google Docs Find & Replace
If you’re a Google Docs user you’ll be happy to know that the team has pushed out an update that offers a more robust find and replace tool. Now it shows a bar at the top of the screen so that it doesn’t get in the way, and even accepts regular expressions… assuming you know how to use them.

–Tips, Tutorials, and Reviews–

Digsby Goes Portable… Unofficially
Digsby is definitely my favorite messenger for Windows, and someone took it upon themselves to create a portable version that you carry with you. This new release even has the ability to update Digsby without needing to download a new portable build.

XWindows Dock and Application Launcher
There have been a lot of Mac-wannabe docks for Windows that have been released over the last few years, and we can add one more to the list. XWindows, however, has to be one of the most Mac-like docks that I’ve had a chance to play with.

Disable the Close Button
If you have been known to accidentally close a window here or there you may want to checkout the freeware utility called NoClose. With it you can simply press Ctrl+1 to enable/disable the close button in the upper-right corner of the window.

Create a Flowchart or Diagram in Google Docs
Finding free software to create diagrams or flowcharts isn’t all that hard, but finding a free online service can be a little trickier. That’s where Google Docs comes into play. If you head over to the Insert -> Drawing menu you’ll be presented with an easy-to-use interface for creating flowcharts or diagrams. And all you have to do is drag and drop them where ever you want.

Meebo Desktop Notifier
Interestingly enough Meebo has released a desktop notifier for Windows users who want to know when they receive messages without keeping their browser open all the time. This is probably a smart move, but I’m a little shocked that they are releasing any kind of software.

Make Firefox Forget a Site
The Close’n Forget Firefox extension is like having the option to enable private browsing mode after you’ve already visited sites you didn’t want Firefox to remember. It can clean up your history, cookies, and more for any particular site without having to wipe out your entire history.

Better Gmail for Google Chrome
Lifehacker has posted instructions on how you can get the widely used Better Gmail functionality in the Chrome browser. It’s not quite as simple as installing a Firefox extension, but it’s worth it if you want the functionality it has to offer.