Some Christmas goodies

With holidays looming, this will probably be the last last posting for 2009, as a major work project around the house beckons over the next couple of weeks. To tide you over, here are a few gleanings...
Have you ever wished for a magic wand that could make annoying Windows problems disappear? Like, say, a missing Recycle Bin icon, or those pesky Runtime Error messages in Internet Explorer? FixWin is that magic wand. This ingenious free utility requires just over 500KB of space, runs without installation, and quickly fixes 50 different Windows glitches--many of which would normally require a trip to the Registry. These are divided among five categories, including Windows Explorer, Internet & Connectivity, and System Tools.
Have you been looking for a quick and easy way to take partial or full screenshots of a webpage in Firefox? Now you can have either type with just a couple of clicks using the Abduction! extension for Firefox. (Instructions courtesy of the HowTo Geek).
And here's a way to add a built-in QuickNote function to Firefox.
Locked or restricted PDF files cannot be accessed without a password. If you want to remove passwords of protected PDF files, Try PDF password remover. It can be used to remove passwords and restrictions of locked PDF files. This is a Christmas special giveaway from PCsPlace.
And finally, Sean Silverthorne at Harvard Business writes on how information overload is an addiction:

We’ve discussed in this space the many methods available for controlling information overload. Scheduling meetings with yourself. Setting up action folders. Checking e-mail just a few times a day. You know the tips.
So you’ve conquered info overload, right? You always have a plan, a schedule, a process for getting things done.
No, of course not. Tom Davenport writes on Harvard Business Publishing that if we wanted to tame this problem we would have done so. It’s not that we enjoy 24/7 availability, but rather we hunger for what it brings us. Davenport doesn’t use the analogy, but I will:
We want to kick the drug, but we like the rush too much.

Have a great Christmas and be back early next year.

Pimp your browser

"Thanks to online video, Web apps, social networking, and so on, the humble Web browser is being pushed to do more and to do it faster," writes Chris Brandrick in PC World. With a few simple tweaks and tools, you can improve your browsing experience and save yourself some time in the process.

Duplicate tabs in Firefox, IE

Sometimes you want to duplicate a tab in your favourite browser. Here's a very simple means to do it.
1. Insert your cursor in the address field at the top of the screen.
2. Press Alt-Enter.
This works in both Firefox and Internet Explorer.
Incidentally, you can use the keyboard command Ctrl-T to create a new blank tab.

Firefox macros

Sometimes when working the web, you have to go through a lot of repetitive actions, like entering long addresses, or going through numerous checks to get to a particular page. DejaClick is a Firefox add-on that aims to automate these tasks. I have been searching for a long time without success to find a good freeware macro recorder. This might be the closest thing around, even though it only works in your browser.

Treat USB drives with care

USB drives (pen drives, flash drives, memory sticks - they have almost as many names as styles) have revolutionised portable media. How many of you still use a floppy disk? And they can carry massive amounts of data, or even bootable operating systems. But as Dave Thompson points out in The Press, they can fail if not handled carefully, potentially leading to as much grief as a failed hard drive.

Privacy is dead

So what's scary? The day when you can quickly point your smartphone at a person in the street and know within seconds that person's name and particulars may not be all that far off.

That's the logical consequence of a new technology called Google Goggles, being run out now by - who else? - Google. At the moment the technology is very much in its infancy, but the promise is that one day you will be able to upload an image - any image - and Google will be able to tell you loads of information about it. So someone will snap my face with their cellphone while I am walking down the street, upload it to Google, and within seconds know who I am and all about me. Think of the power that would give anyone trying to sell you something on the street, for instance; or a Mongrel Mob member who is acting as a none-too-subtle enforcer for a debt-collecting agency; or Inland Revenue agents tracking down payment defaulters; or .......