Web

Convert Web articles to MP3 and sync with Drive, Dropbox

Sitting in front of a computer all day for work makes your leisure reading time seem like more of a chore. Or even worse, you may not have time for reading about your interests because you need to keep your eyes on the road to make your way home or to another appointment. For times like these, wouldn't it be useful to be able to listen to the articles instead?

SoundGecko offers a transcription service that converts articles you find online to MP3 format. It's definitely not going to sound smooth like a podcast or newscast, but you … Read more

Use YouTube Feather beta for low-bandwidth connections

When you load a video on YouTube, you're getting a lot more than just something to watch. There's an information panel that goes along with the video mentioning credits, keywords, and other interesting tidbits. Below the video and top comments, you'll find video responses to the one you're watching. On the right-hand side of the page, you'll see a long list of suggested videos that might be related to the one you're watching. All of these things, along with less obvious ones like buttons that interact with each comment for thumbs up/down, are … Read more

Remove your name from Facebook social ads

You may have your friends in groups on Facebook so that when you share a piece of information you can pick which group(s) will see it. For instance, you may post about a personal accomplishment that is more relevant to your family than your co-workers or old classmates, so there's no need to share with everyone. Basically, tailored share settings on Facebook are great if you only want to divulge some of your personal details to specific people.

Unfortunately, the Facebook social ads can easily draw attention to details about your personal preferences to everyone who has you … Read more

How to configure Firefox plug-ins to load only when clicked

Firefox is a powerful Web browser, in part, because of its support for plug-ins. Unfortunately, some of those plug-ins can cause problems with security and stability, especially if you have a lot of them. In Firefox 14, you can now configure plug-ins to load only when clicked. Seth Rosenblatt first reported on the feature with Firefox 14 Aurora. Now that the stable version of 14 (technically 14.01) is finally out, here's how to enable and use opt-in plug-ins in Firefox:

Enable opt-in plug-ins in Firefox

Step 1: In the address bar, type "about:config." When you … Read more

Gain greater control of your firewall in Windows 7 and Vista

Many Windows users like Microsoft Security Essentials because it keeps them safe without having to do much. Some prefer more control, and they often turn to third-party security software. TinyWall is a small program that works with MSE and gives users the ability to fine-tune their security setup. Here's how to get started: 

Install TinyWall here. Run TinyWall. It will quickly take up residence in your system tray, where you can access it by clicking on its icon, which looks like an orange wall in front of a globe.  It's important to note that TinyWall … Read more

Getting started with Barnes & Noble's Nook for Web

You no longer need a Nook to read Barnes & Noble e-books. With Nook for Web, you can read e-books right in your browser on both PCs and Macs. To tempt you to try Nook for Web, Barnes & Noble is offering six titles for free until July 26. Here's how to take Barnes & Noble up on its offer and get started:

Head to the Nook for Web page on the Barnes & Noble site and you can immediately sample these six titles:

Click on a cover, and a sample containing the first few pages will open in … Read more

Agree on which movie to watch with Foundd

I am holding out hope that Foundd means I will watch fewer episodes of "NCIS" or "Leverage" on Friday nights. After a week of work and finally getting the kids to sleep, the wife and I seldom venture into the world of cinema on the eve of the weekend because it takes too long to find something we both want to watch. So, I grab the iPad to watch baseball while my wife fires up an "NCIS: LA" or similar on demand. (She has a surprising affinity for procedural crime dramas, finding them unparalleled … Read more

Open links in Chrome via keyboard with DeadMouse

The DeadMouse extension for Chrome might be the final piece of the puzzle if you are trying to go all keyboard shortcuts all the time. You can perform all manner of task in Chrome with keyboard shortcuts (here are helpful lists for PCs and for Macs), but opening a link still requires a click of the ol' mouse.

If losing your mouse is something you aspire to, give DeadMouse a whirl. With it, you simply start typing the first few letters of a link you see on the page you are viewing and the link will begin to wobble. Hit … Read more

A better way to preview docs quickly in Google Drive

I use Google Drive every day. I'm using it right now, in fact, to write this post. Thanks to The Next Web, I found a handy way to preview all the files in a particular folder.

In the past, if I wanted to take a look at a number of documents, I could click on a folder to view a list of its documents. And from that list, I could click on the documents to open each in a new tab.

A more efficient method is to mouse over a folder, click on the arrow button that appears, and … Read more