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Oct 14

Executor – Another Free Application Launcher

Posted in: Features, Freeware, Screenshots, search, Software, Today's Chili

This article was written on October 04, 2007 by CyberNet.

Executer Application Launcher A few days ago we put together a list of the best application launchers, and as it turns out there were some that were mentioned by commenters which we had never heard of. FMsaziri mentioned one in particular, called Executor, that really caught my eye when I checked it out.

The main thing that I was really impressed with was the Keyword creation utility (screenshots are below). You can setup a keyword to do things like restart your computer, launch a program, open a website, or even have a single keyword perform multiple tasks (such as opening several sites and/or programs). Vista users will also like the fact that you can designate a keyword to always run a program as an administrator.

–Installation–

The download site has two different versions of executor available. One will install Executor onto your computer just like many other programs, but there is also a version available that doesn’t require any installation. I wanted to point out that this might appear to be a portable version at first glance, but it’s actually not. Your settings are stored in the Windows Profile, so your configuration will not carry over from one computer to another without copying the profile.

–Features–

Fully skinnable
Keywords have properties like shortcuts, and you can for example drag-drop a shortcut/file/folder/favorite to add it as a keyword
Auto-completion for keywords, file system and history
Enter URLs directly (for example, www.google.com)
Keywords support parameters (for example, “google [SEARCH PHRASE]“)
Executor can dynamically add matching start-menu items and control panel items to the drop-down/list
Keyword “find [TEXT]” for using Windows Instant Search (Vista) feature or Windows Desktop Search (WDS for XP)
Each keyword can be assigned a hotkey, so Executor can also perform like many popular hotkey managers
One keyword or text input can start multiple keywords, urls, programs, documents, and files (for example, one keyword opens three websites and/or programs)
All file-paths can be auto-completed
Option to override windows run hotkey (Win-R)

–Settings–

There are a ton of different options that you can configure in the application. At first the number of settings might be overwhelming, but just take a deep breathe and you’ll be okay.

The keyword configuration screen (pictured on the left) is extremely powerful. You should pay a visit to the Executor help site for more information on making the most of the keywords.

Daily Downloads: Netscape, MediaMonkey, Executor, and More

Enso – A Good Alternative to Launchy?

Windows 7 Jumplist Launcher

CyberNotes: Best Application Launchers for Windows

Oct 06

How to Stop Google, Yahoo & Bing from Tracking Your Clicks

Posted in: Google, search, Tips and Tricks, Today's Chili, Web Sites, Yahoo

This article was written on October 21, 2009 by CyberNet.

In 2008, Google said there’s no such thing as complete privacy. You’re being tracked all over the web by their AdSense ads, by sites that use Google Analytics and – probably the most important – their search engine. But Google Search isn’t the only search engine that tracks your behavior. Concerned about your privacy? In this article, we’ll show you how you can get rid of click tracking in search engines.

The secret redirect

Google

google tracking-2.png

Whenever you click a link in Google Search, your click is redirected through a secret URL. If the site you’re going to is http://www.cybernetnews.com/, Google will do a secret redirect through a URL that looks similar to http://www.google.com/url?url=http://www.cybernetnews.com/. In some cases, you can reveal the secret redirect by right-clicking on a linked search result. If that doesn’t work, your last resort is an HTTP sniffer.

There are several Firefox add-ons that claim to get rid of Google Search’s click tracking. CustomizeGoogle is one of them. Among other tweaks, it promises to remove click tracking and disable Google Analytics cookies. If you just want the anti-tracking feature without the bells and whistles, there’s a Greasemonkey script you can download called Google Tracking B-Gone. To use Greasemonkey scripts, you need to install the Greasemonkey add-on for Firefox. Also, if you use an international version of Google such as google.co.uk, you have to change the script’s URL range from http://*.google.com/* to http://*.google.*/* to ensure that the script is allowed to operate on your local Google site.

Yahoo

yahoo tracking-1.png

Unlike Google’s redirect, the one Yahoo uses is always easy to find. Right-click on a link and look at your status bar to reveal an intimidating garglemesh of strange characters originating from rds.yahoo.com. You can get rid of that by installing this Greasemonkey script. However, my HTTP sniffer revealed that Yahoo does some additional click tracking from a URL that starts with http://search.yahoo.com/ra/click?. To disable this, add http://search.yahoo.com/ra/click?* as a filter to Adblock Plus.

Bing

bing tracking.png

Bing seems to have a very subtle click tracking mechanism. The only fishy thing Bing does is call some URL’s that start with http://www.bing.com/fd/ls/ whenever you click a search result. Again, Adblock Plus can help you deal with this if you add http://www.bing.com/fd/ls/* to its filter list. Turning off JavaScript on bing.com seems to help too.

Shutting off the HTTP referrer

Although the tips listed above can help you stop search engines from tracking your clicks, it does not keep websites from gathering information about your web search. This is done through the HTTP referrer. Any page on the web can retrieve information on how you stumbled upon it, i.e. which URL referred to their web page.

The referrer is also known to be used by site owners to retrieve information about the search engine you used and what your search query was. On rare occasions, some sites alter themselves if you found them through web search. For example, I’ve seen sites display “Welcome, Googler!”-esque messages and even sites that highlight your Google search terms on the page you landed on. Although this rather creepy practice is not widespread, it just shows how much a site really knows about you.

Fortunately, you can disable the sending of the HTTP referrer to the websites you visit. While it is possible to disable the HTTP referrer entirely in Firefox’s about:config, this can break certain functionality on some sites. There’s a Firefox add-on called RefControl that does away with this issue by allowing you to add exceptions for sites that need the referrer.

Other browsers

It is possible to use the Google Tracking B-Gone and Yahoo Click-Tracking Disabler scripts in other browsers. So if you’re really serious about extending your tinfoil hat protection to other browsers, you can check out these resources:

To disable the HTTP referrer, follow these instructions:

IE/Opera: How do I Disable Sending Referrers?
Safari: Is there a way to disable header referrals in Safari?
Chrome: currently really difficult

Since I’ve only tested this with Firefox, I cannot guarantee that the content from these resources is accurate.

Yahoo Bribes Users To Set Them As Your Homepage

Bing Has Been Removed from CyberSearch

Yahoo! Acquires MyBlogLog (along with their statistics program too!)

Google Earth Being Made For Linux

Oct 04

Quickly Search Through Text Files

Posted in: Freeware, search, Software, Today's Chili, Windows

This article was written on September 16, 2011 by CyberNet.

Text filter

Windows Windows only
Programs like Notepad++ are great because they provide powerful text file editing, but the searching can leave something to be desired. Text Filter is an app dedicated to searching through text files and it does a great job of it. It instantly highlights results as you type, and can optionally hide lines that don’t contain any matches.

Once you get past the fact that this is not a file editor you can start enjoying it for the things it’s good at:

Search as you type
Text lines are instantly filtered as you type your search phrase, with all matched terms highlighted in a contrasting color.
Auto suggestion for search phrase
While typing into the search box, the program lists searched phrases for you to choose from. This makes text search easier and faster.
Regular expressions
You can do regex searching by checking Regex Query in Search menu.
Multiple query modes
Besides regex query, you can also do Naive Query and Smart Query. Naive Query lets you search anywhere in the document for the entered text, while Smart Query allows for matches on word boundaries only.
Multiple filter modes
You can choose to hide either matched or unmatched lines for an easier text view. If you prefer viewing the entire document, make sure the option Show All Lines is checked in Search menu.

If you’re looking for a Notepad replacement you’ll have to continue your search since this can’t be used to make changes to files, but if you’re looking for more powerful ways to search through text files this is just the app you need.

Text Filter Homepage (Windows only; Freeware)

CyberNotes: Quickly Compare Two Text Files

Open Large Text Files or Logs

Hiding Documents In Image Files

Compare Up to 3 Text Files with DiffMerge

Oct 03

Google Maps adds 3D bird’s eye route previews for high-flying navigators

Posted in: feature, Google, maps, minipost, preview, search, Today's Chili, Travel, web

Sure, you could use Google Maps to find the shortest path from point A to point B, but what if you’re interested in going from A to B via scenic route C? That’s where Google’s new ‘helicopter view’ comes in. Unveiled last week, this feature allows online navigators to visualize any driving, walking or mass transit route with a 3D, bird’s-eye animation. All you have to do is enter your starting point, destination and mode of transportation, and click the new “3D” button that will appear next to each route. From there, you’ll be launched into a Google Earth-powered flight, displaying all the buildings, mountains and other terrain that you’d encounter during your real-life journey. You can also pause the flight at any moment to check out any sights of interest, along with any geo-linked photos, videos or other online content. Buckle up and check out the source link below for more details and images.

Google Maps adds 3D bird’s eye route previews for high-flying navigators originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 03 Oct 2011 07:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink PC World | source Google | Email this | Comments

Oct 02

Everything: Search and Find Local or Networked Files

Posted in: Freeware, search, Software, Today's Chili, Windows

This article was written on May 29, 2009 by CyberNet.

Windows only
Last year we ran through a couple performance-friendly desktop search applications for those of you that don’t want a program constantly indexing your machine, and today we have another nice alternative. It’s a free Windows app called Everything that, unlike the others mentioned in the article I referenced, does index your drive automatically over time.

So what makes this app stand out? A few things actually. For starters it doesn’t search the contents of files which makes the indexing that much faster. The developer estimates that a fresh Windows XP install (containing about 20,000 files) will take around 1 second to index. I’m sure you’ve got more files than that though, but even at a million files he says it should only take about a minute to index. That’s pretty tough to beat.

How about the search functionality? After all, that is the most important part of an app like this! It supports your standard boolean operators and wildcards, but real geeks will love the fact that you can also throw regular expressions into the search box. Plus you can have it search the full file path to see if any of the directories leading up to a particular file match what you’re searching for. An example they give as to where this would be useful is if you’re wanting to find “.avi” movies that are only in a downloads directory. All you’d have to do is search for “downloads\ .avi”.

The one big downside is that Everything isn’t capable of indexing networked drives, but you can run the app on the server where the drive is connected to. Then you just have to remotely tap into that server’s search index. It takes just a few minutes to setup, and the instructions can be found here.

Everything is free and runs on Windows 2000, XP, 2003, Vista, 2008, and Windows 7. You can also grab a portable version if you just want to check it out, or if you simply don’t want to install yet another app on your computer. Either way… it’s definitely one of the fastest search utilities I’ve used, but as I mentioned before this doesn’t search the contents of files which may or may not suit your needs.

Everything Homepage

Unofficial Rapidshare Search Engine

FilesTube: Search for & Download Music, Videos, and Files

Using Search Operators In Gmail

Previous Versions Support To Be Added With Windows Vista

Sep 29

Google to build a trio of data centers in Asia, earmarks $200 million for expansion

Posted in: business, cloud, Google, money, search, Today's Chili, web

IT specialists in Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong better start polishing their resumes, because Google is rolling into town. Yesterday, Big G announced plans to build a brand new data center in each of the three Asian locales, as part of an expansion slated to cost at least $200 million. When completed, these complexes will represent the company’s first fully owned and operated data centers in the burgeoning Asia-Pacific region — where, according to Asia policy communications manager Taj Meadows, Google is “seeing large numbers of new users coming online every day”. The facilities in Hong Kong and Taiwan are expected to cost around $100 million each, though the price tag for the Singapore branch remains a mystery. Big G hopes to finish construction in one to two years, though it didn’t say when it would begin — nor, for that matter, whether seawater tunnels would be involved.

Google to build a trio of data centers in Asia, earmarks $200 million for expansion originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Sep 2011 11:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Forbes | source The Wall Street Journal | Email this | Comments

Sep 27

CyberNotes: Safari 3 Style Inline Search in Firefox

Posted in: CyberNotes, Firefox 3, Firefox Extensions, Freeware, search, Software, Today's Chili, videos

This article was written on April 02, 2008 by CyberNet.

Web Browser Wednesday

One of the things that I’ve always enjoyed in Safari 3 is the inline search interface, and just the other day I thought I would peruse around the Internet trying to find a way to do the same thing in Firefox. Why is searching special in Safari? Because it dims the background of the page that you’re on, and highlights the matching results as you type. The result that you currently have highlighted bounces up and down to catch your eye, and the whole experience is overall visually appealing.

When searching around for an extension I didn’t come up empty handed. I found one called XUL/Migemo that did exactly what I was looking for, but the problem was that the extension does a few other things that I don’t really need (nor wanted). After a little more searching I came across this post in the MozillaZine forums which talks about how you can set it up yourself. After testing it I can verify that it does work on both Firefox 2 and Firefox 3.

Note: There is a video demonstration at the end of the article that shows what the end result looks like.

–Setup–

The setup process consists of three pretty easy steps. You’ll have it done in just a minute or two:

Download this package that I’ve assembled which includes the four files you’ll need.

There are three JavaScript files (userChrome, SafariHighlight.uc, and ucjs_findbar.uc) that need to be placed in your profile’s chrome folder. Use this table to find your browser’s profile:

Operating System	Profile folder location(s)
Windows 95/98/Me	`C:\Windows\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\` `C:\Windows\Profiles\<user name>\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\`
Windows NT 4.x	`C:\Winnt\Profiles\<user name>\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\`
Windows 2000 and XP	`C:\Documents and Settings\<user name>\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\`
Windows Vista	`C:\Users\<user name>\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\`
Unix	`~/.mozilla/Firefox/Profiles/`
Mac OS X	`~/Library/Mozilla/Firefox/Profiles/` `~/Library/Application Support/Firefox/Profiles/`

After you’ve found the profile folder just copy the three JavaScript files (userChrome, SafariHighlight.uc, and ucjs_findbar.uc) into the chrome folder located within your profile. If the UserChrome file already exists you may want to back it up before overwriting it.

Now you’ll need to install the extension which I’ve included in the download from the first step (here’s its homepage in case you’re curious). I’ve cleverly named the extension DragMeIntoFirefox because that’s exactly what you need to do… drag the file into the Firefox window. Then proceed with installing it, and restart the browser when it’s done. If you don’t want to drag the extension into the Firefox window just go to File -> Open File and browse for the extension.

–Using the New Search Feature–

When you go to perform a search for the first time you may not think that it’s working, but I’m confident that you’ve followed the three steps accurately. The reason why you may not be seeing the dimmed background and nice highlighting is that you need to click the Highlight All button on the Find bar. Immediately after doing that you’ll see the effects go into play.

Alternatively you can just hit the Next button (or the keyboard shortcut Control+G) to go to the next result. After pressing that the Highlight All feature will automatically be enabled. Those of you with the automatic find-as-you-type enabled will want to use the Control+G keyboard shortcut to move on to the next result if you want to see the special effects.

–Demonstration–

Is it worth the work? I think it’s a really nice feature to have, but you be the judge:

–Overview–

So that’s how you can get a Safari-styled search interface in Firefox 2 or Firefox 3. After setting this up I have fallen in love with it, but it would be nice if this was bundled into its own extension.

CyberNotes: Make Firefox 3 More Like Safari

Safari’s Inquisitor Comes to Firefox

Yahoo Acquires Inquisitor for Safari

Safari 3.0.4 for Windows – Spelling and Grammar Check

Sep 16

Google expands Voice Actions across Europe, with multi-language support (video)

Posted in: Android, android market, AndroidMarket, app, application, germany, Google, mobilepostcross, search, smartphone, tablet, Today's Chili, uk, united kingdom, UnitedKingdom, video

Android users across Europe are waking up to some bonnes nouvelles this morning, because Google has now expanded its Voice Actions service to France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK. Beginning today, loquacious smartphone and tablet users will be able to place calls, send texts and conduct Google searches by speaking into their devices. All you have to do is press the microphone button on your home screen’s Google search field and open the Voice Search app, or simply press the physical search button on your handset to bring up the “Speak Now” field. From there, you can begin chattering away in French, German, Italian, Spanish and ~~real~~ British English. Interested parties running Android 2.2 or above can get started by downloading the Voice Search app from the source link below, or by checking out Google’s demo video, after the break.

Continue reading Google expands Voice Actions across Europe, with multi-language support (video)

Google expands Voice Actions across Europe, with multi-language support (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Sep 2011 05:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | source Google Mobile Blog, Android Market | Email this | Comments

Sep 15

Google Goggles Android update makes your vacation photos slightly more interesting

Posted in: Android, app, application, camera, Google, mobilepostmini, search, smartphone, Today's Chili

Google Googles‘ powers of perception have become a little more perspicacious, thanks to a new update for Android users. With version 1.6, tourists can use their smartphones to take a picture of a given area, while Google’s visual search app works in the background to identify any notable landmarks, paintings or other objects. If it picks up on anything of interest, it’ll automatically notify the user, instantly endowing him or her with gooey chunks of knowledge. It seems like a pretty user-friendly refresh, though things will really get interesting if faces ever get involved. Hit up the source link below to download the update for yourself.

Google Goggles Android update makes your vacation photos slightly more interesting originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Sep 2011 08:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Android Central | source Google Mobile Blog, Android Market | Email this | Comments

Sep 14

Google launches Flight Search service, Kayak shrugs it off (video)

Posted in: Google, interface, launch, Online, price, search, Today's Chili, Travel, ui, video, web

Google’s DOJ-approved acquisition of ITA has finally borne fruit, in the form of Flight Search — a new tool that aims to streamline the chaos that is online travel booking. The Mountain View contingent unveiled the interface yesterday, with an “early look” at what appears to be a fairly straightforward service. Once you enter your starting point, destination, price range and duration, a list of results will appear in ascending order of fare and duration, below a map displaying each flight’s trajectory. From there, you can filter your results by airline, number of layovers or specific departure times, before booking your itinerary on the carrier’s site (Google was careful to point out that flight selection and results will not be “influenced by any paid relationships”). At the moment, the service is restricted to a select group of US cities and only features round-trip economy class flights, but Google says future updates and expansions are on the way. We’re eager to see how the company dresses up this relatively bare bones platform and, perhaps more importantly, how competing travel sites react to it. Kayak, for one, responded with confident nonchalance to Flight Search, explicitly describing it as an inferior product. “We’re confident in our ability to compete, and we believe our flight search technology is superior,” the company said, in a statement. “We recognize Google is a formidable competitor but they haven’t been successful in every vertical they’ve entered.” Let the games begin. Demo video after the break.

Continue reading Google launches Flight Search service, Kayak shrugs it off (video)

Google launches Flight Search service, Kayak shrugs it off (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Sep 2011 15:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Search Engine Land, TechCrunch | source Google Flight Search, Google Search Blog | Email this | Comments

Hasta La Gadget!