Enable the Built-in PDF Reader in Firefox 15

By Alan Buckingham on September 8, 2012 - Tags:PDF

Mozilla recently rolled out Firefox 15, the latest version of the browser in their new rapid-release schedule.  With this new release there are quite a few new features, which have been outlined in the above linked post.  One interesting feature that bears a little more attention and some explanation is the new built-in PDF reader.

Building a PDF reader right into the browser is important for a couple of reasons – one is that it speeds up the execution of these files online, but the other is security.  Previously users have mostly plugged the Adobe PDF Reader into their browser because it’s well known and it’s also the first option that comes to mind for many.  However, the Adobe app is notorious for it’s security problems.  With the new Mozilla feature we will, hopefully, get a more stable and secure way to view these files online.

Before we get started you will need to make sure you are running Firefox 15 (or higher if you subscribe to the beta).  To do this you can simply click the “Help” option on the menu bar and choose “About Firefox”.  This will not only display the currently installed version, but also prompt you to update if you aren’t running the newest build.

Now, in the address bar, type “about:config” and hit “Enter”.  If this is the first time you have accessed these settings then you may be surprised by a pop-up message that will warn you about making any changes.  Don’t panic, just click “I’ll be careful, I promise!”

In the search bar type “pdfjs.disabled” and then right click this option.  In the context menu choose “Toggle” to change the setting from “True” to “False”. You can alternatively double-click the entry.

You have now enabled the the PDF reader in Firefox.  Browse to a site that has a “.PDF” extension and try it out.  We have high hopes that this will solve the previously mentioned security woes that came with Adobe and perhaps make the browsing experience a bit faster as well.

Modify the Google Bar with +You Gbar for Chrome

By Martin Brinkmann on September 9, 2012 - Tags:Google Chrome extensions

Google’s black bar that is displayed on nearly every Google property is highly inflexible as there is no option to remove or exchange products listed in the bar. What good is a link to Google Docs if you do not use the service?

That’s probably the main reason why extensions like Big G Black Bar Sorter for Google Chrome are fairly popular in the official Chrome web store as they allow you to change the product links that are displayed in the black bar. If you prefer white instead of black, you can do that as well with the userscript Google Light Navbar.

The Chrome extension +You Gbar for the Google Chrome browser adds a settings icon to Google’s black bar that you can click on to modify what is displayed to you on the screen. As you may know, Google products are either displayed directly in the black bar, under the more link, or the even more link.

This is reflected by the three columns that the extension displays to you. To move products around, you simply drag and drop them to a new location. If you do not use Google Plus you can move it to the even more group instead to hide it from the black bar that is always visible on Google pages.

Changes are reflected immediately on the screen so that you can adjust them if the need arises. Please note that you only see the settings icon on pages that display the Google bar. Just visit a Google property like Google Search to make the modifications.

You can theoretically use the extension to remove all product links but the more link from the Google bar. If you prefer to remove the Google bar completely, you can instead use a userscript like this to do so.

The Chrome extension can be useful for Google users who want to customize the product links of the black bar. (via Caschy)

How to ignore #hashtags on Google+

By Martin Brinkmann on September 9, 2012 - Tags:Google Chrome extensions, Google Plus

Users of the Google+ social networking site can add hashtags to their posts to categorize and describe posts. The search on the site supports hashtags so that searches can include one or multiple hashtags, or only hash tags to find only specific contents. To search for hashtags on Google+ simply enter #example in the search bar. This displays a list of all posts on Google+ sorted by “best of” that have been tagged with the selected tag.

There is currently no option to block certain hashtags from appearing in your news feed. This can be a frustrating experience if some people or brands that you follow post contents on Google+ that you are not interested in. Then again, the majority of people that I follow on Google+ do not seem to use #hashtags yet.

G+ Hashtags is a Google Chrome extension that you can use to ignore certain hashtags on Google so that they do not appear in your news feed. You will notice a new Hash Tags listing located on the right sidebar when you open Google Plus after installation of the extension. You need to reload the page if Google+ has already been open in a browser tab.

The extension lists the top 15 hashtags here and an option to display them all with a click on the more link. You can now hover over an hashtag to mute it, which automatically removes it from your feed regardless of the other tags that may have been used to describe it by its author.

To ignore a hashtag hover over it and select mute from the options that appear. The other option that is displayed on hover is view, which opens an overlay on the same page that highlights all posts in your news feed that have been tagged with the hashtag. A click on the actual tag opens a search page displaying all public posts on Google+ that have been tagged with it.

You can reset all tags or individual tags at any time. The extension is obviously only useful if several of the Google+ users that you follow make use of them. Options are not available at this point in time: options to add words to a list that are not currently used in the stream would be a nice addition, as would be a word filter to filter out posts containing certain words or phrases even if no hash tags are used. (via Caschy)

Share the Windows 8 startpage with the classic desktop

By Martin Brinkmann on September 10, 2012 - Tags:Portable software, startup, Windows 8,Windows software

The two interfaces that Microsoft has implemented into Windows 8 are a major change from previous versions of the operating system. Instead of just having to work with the classic desktop, users now have to cope with the newly added startpage that Microsoft is pushing and the classic desktop. While it is certainly easy to bypass the startpage using various methods and tools, like our current favorite Start8, there are other options to get used to the situation.

If you are working on a PC connected to multiple monitors, you can for instance display the startpage on one monitor and the classic desktop on the other.Another option is to snap an app or the desktop to the left or right side of the screen to make it available there.

Start Screen Modifier introduces another possibility, which may be useful for Windows 8 users who only have one computer monitor at their disposal. The program makes available the startpage interface on the desktop.

When you run the program you have options to make the startpage available at the top or bottom of the screen. Either option displays the startpage here when you switch to it. So, pressing the Windows key will not open the startpage interface in fullscreen anymore, but at the top or bottom of the classic desktop.

The core benefit of this is that you do not switch between different interfaces all the time, but can work with both interfaces on the desktop. You can use all the features that the start page makes available to you right from here. Search is for instance working directly when you start to type. Apps that you load are however loaded in fullscreen on the system just like before, so that search and access to live tile information are without doubt the two reasons why you’d like to use the program in the first place.

Start Screen Modifier supports hotkeys which you can use to switch between the fullscreen startpage and the startpage / desktop mix.

The program lacks an option to customize the height of the startpage bar that is displayed on the classic desktop. Options to customize it and to place the startpage vertically would be really useful.

Windows 8 users can download the latest program version from this location. It is working fine under the final version of the operating system.

The program demonstrates that it is possible to merge the startpage with the traditional desktop in Windows 8, something that I wish Microsoft would have done to avoid the two interface issue. (via Into Windows)