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We’ve known for a while that Google wasn’t actively improving Gears, their tool that offers offline support for many popular web applications. Now the Official Gears blog explains their transition to the game-changing HTML5:

If you’ve wondered why there haven’t been many Gears releases or posts on the Gears blog lately, it’s because we’ve shifted our effort towards bringing all of the Gears capabilities into web standards like HTML5. We’re not there yet, but we are getting closer. In January we shipped a new version of Google Chrome that natively supports a Database API similar to the Gears database API, workers (both local and shared, equivalent to workers and cross-origin wokers in Gears), and also new APIs like Local Storage and Web Sockets. Other facets of Gears, such as the LocalServer API and Geolocation, are also represented by similar APIs in new standards and will be included in Google Chrome shortly.

The HTML5 transition should mean great things for users in the long-run, but it’s a bummer to see good solutions fall by the wayside while we wait for the major browsers to catch up to, agree on, and support the latest standards. The cost of progress, I suppose. [Gears API Blog]

Mac OS X: If you want to be able to select your “default” browser on a link-by-link basis, directing some links to Firefox, others to Chrome, and so on, Choose Wisely allows you to do so.

After installing Choose Wisely you set the Choose Wisely application as your default web browser in your system preferences, instead of one of your already installed browsers. In Choose Wisely you can specify up to five browsers—here we’ve specified Safari, Chromium, Chrome, Firefox, and Opera—and you’ll be presented with that menu each time you open a link that would normally launch a new instance of your default browser. You won’t be presented with the menu while browsing from within a browser however, the selection process occurs only for the initial link.

Choose Wisely is freeware and requires Mac OS X 10.6. Have a handy OS X application to share? Let’s hear about it in the comments.

GMAIL USERS: We hope you’ll join the discussion over on Mashable’s Google Buzz account.

Whether you’re using it on your phone or your desktop, Google Buzz is quickly becoming an interesting and popular way to share content with your Gmail friends. However, because it’s tied to Gmail, Google Buzz is also tied to your web browser. That can be fine for lots of instances, but what if you what if your primary Gmail account and the account you use Buzz with aren’t the same? What if you want to have Buzz act like more of a regular application than a browser tab?

While we’re sure that plenty of Buzz-specific application clients are in the works, we’re going to show you how you can create your own Buzz Application for Windows, Mac or Linux. As a side benefit, you can utilize this technique with practically any web application out there!

The Rundown on SSBs (Site-Specific Browsers)

To create our stand-alone copy of Gmail (and by extension, Google Buzz), we’re going to create what is known as a site-specific browser (SSB). An SSB is a web browser instance that is created specifically for a certain website or web application. It has its own desktop shortcut and can appear as its own application.

Most SSBs will eschew more advanced browser features and add-ons (meaning you see the web page and not the toolbar and navigation components), keeping the focus just on a singular app or app suite. So why would anyone want something like this? Well, it makes it easy to keep a certain website or web app separate and distinguishable from other tabs. It also keeps the focus on just that app. Plus, if your main browser crashes or you accidentally close it, your SSB isn’t affected.

It can also be good for users that want to login to multiple accounts of the same service, depending on what type of SSB tool you use. Plus, for the advanced user, some SSBs support different scripting extensions that can add in extra or custom functionality specifically to that SSB — functions that might not be available for the standard browser.

Choosing the Right Tool

There are a number of different programs for creating your own SSB.

Bubbles for Windows was one of the first general purpose SSB tools. It uses Internet Explorer’s rendering engine, meaning that it will display sites the same same way as Internet Explorer does on your PC. With Bubbles you can see your app from the system tray and get desktop notifications and drag and drop local files to your app.

Bubbles shares cookies with Internet Explorer, meaning that logging into two Gmail accounts at once is not the easiest thing to do. However, if that’s not what you need and you just want a good separate Gmail and Google Buzz client for Windows, you can download the free Bubbles for Gmail SSB.

Fluid for Mac is easy to use and customize, plus you can add in scripts and other additions if you want to get really geeky. It uses Safari’s WebKit rendering engine — so it’s fast — and you can take advantage of any of the Safari add-ons (like Agile Web Solutions’ 1Password), which makes it really slick.

However, like Bubbles, Fluid shares cookies with Safari for Mac. Again, this means that logging into multiple accounts of the same service is pretty much out of the question. We expect this to be fixed in the future, but as for right now, it’s not really an option. For developers that want to have customize an SSB and also distribute it to other users, check out the open source Fluidium project. Fluidium is in many ways the successor to Fluid.

Google Chrome (Windows and Linux Only) Google’s Chrome browser has the ability to create an SSB from any browser tab. Google calls this Application Shortcuts. To create an Application Shortcut, navigate to the page you want to access and then click on the Control this Page button (the icon that looks like a document) and select “Create Application Shortcut.” Then designate where you want a shortcut to be created. Now, when you launch that shortcut, you’ll be taken to that page. Like other SSBs, the address bar and navigation bar won’t be visible.

Sadly, like Bubbles and Fluid for Mac, Google Chrome’s SSB tool still shares cookies with the Google Chrome browser. Again, if you want to login to the same service under multiple accounts, this isn’t the option for you. But it is a darn easy way to create an SSB.

Mozilla Prism is a standalone app or a Firefox extension that creates site-specific browsers that are rendered using Firefox’s Gecko engine. If you use the standalone app, you just need to enter in an address, an application name, and designate where you want the app to be located. If you use the Firefox Extension, you can turn any website into an SSB just by clicking Tools, “Convert to Website Application.”

Unlike Fluid, Chrome and Bubbles, Prism stores cookies for Prism apps separately from Firefox. This is fantastic for anyone with multiple accounts with the same service (like Gmail) who don’t like to shuffle between logins day in and day out.

For us, this is a killer feature — because one of the downsides of Google Buzz is that it is explicitly linked with a particular Gmail account. For teams or small businesses that want to use Buzz from a main account (like we do at Mashable), this is a way for multiple users to share an account, without having to give-up access to their personal mail or personal Buzz messages.

Creating a Google Buzz App in Prism

The process is pretty simple, but we’ll walk you through it step-by-step.

Step 1: Download Prism either as an extension or stand-alone app. Both options are virtually the same, so which one you use really just depends on your preference.

Step 2: Either double-click on the Prism application or go to Tools -> Convert Website to Application in Firefox.

In the address bar, you want to fill-in: https://mail.google.com/mail/?shva=1#buzz

Choose whether you want the app to be on your Desktop or in your Applications folder (or in the Start Menu for Windows) or both. You can choose to have a navigation window or not (we’d rather not have it), if you want status updates and notifications, and if you want to enable navigation keys.

By default, Prism will select the website’s favicon, in this case, a small Google logo, but we’ll want to replace that with something that looks better at a larger size.

Zandog and deviantART created a great PSD of the Google Buzz logo. I made just a couple of tiny modifications and resized it to 512×512 and saved it as a transparent PNG file. You can download it and use it for you own Buzz icon if you want something that will look nice in your task bar or Mac dock.

Here’s the image:

Right click on this image and select Save As. Then, in the icon dropdown box, select “Choose Image” and find the PNG file you’ve saved to your hard drive. This will be your Buzz icon.

Click OK.

Step 3: Double-click on your Buzz icon to launch you new Buzz app.

That’s it! Now you can use Buzz in a stand-alone browser window without distractions and you can remain logged into a different Gmail account in Firefox, Chrome or Safari.

Make Other Sites into SSBs

You can use Prism (or Fluid, or Bubbles or Chrome) to create single-site browsers for other websites. Just follow the steps outlined above, replacing the Gmail URL with the site of your choice. Keep in mind that if you are dealing with a site that uses cookies for login info and you have or want to simultaneously access multiple accounts of the same service, Prism is the best option to use. Otherwise, it all comes down to a matter of preference!

Do you ever create site-specific browsers? What features would you like to see in a full-blown Buzz client? let us know!

Tags: applications, Bubbles, buzz, chrome, fluid, Google, google buzz, google chrome, prizm

In the past we’ve highlighted that many popular web sites use flash to track your browser behavior because it’s not as easy for users to block or remove—for example, even when you go into private browsing mode in some browsers, Flash cookies persist. Flash now supports InPrivate browsing in IE, and as soon as other browsers take advantage of the new private browsing options in Flash, the same should be true for the rest of the browsers on the market. (From what we can tell, IE is the only browser that currently supports Flash’s private browsing features.)

In the meantime, Firefox users can address Flash cookies with the previously mentioned BetterPrivacy extension. If you’re really serious about your browsing privacy, check out our guide to really browse without leaving a trace.

We recently showed you how to add Bit.ly URL shortening to Quicksilver, and now reader Kevin has made an AutoHotkey script so Windows users can enjoy quick, keyboard-based URL shortening.

Kevin was also nice enough to include some instructions for those that want to customize the script (which some may need to, depending on the speed of your internet or browser of choice). All you need to do to launch the script is hit Ctrl+Shift+B, and the current URL in Firefox will be shortened and copied to the clipboard. (Note, you can use another browser, but you’d need to modify his script.) You could change the shortcut if you want as well. The script is as follows:

; AutoHotkey Version: 1.x
; Language:       English
; Platform:       Win9x/NT
; Author:         A.N.Other
;
;

#NoEnv  ; Recommended for performance and compatibility with future AutoHotkey releases.
SendMode Input  ; Recommended for new scripts due to its superior speed and reliability.
SetWorkingDir %A_ScriptDir%  ; Ensures a consistent starting directory.

waitTimeLoad = 700              ;; for slower internect connections, this number needs to be larger (in milliseconds)
waitTimeKey = 200               ;; for slower computers, this number needs to be larger (in milliseconds)

^+b::   ;; delete this to make this script run once and stop (for keyboard launchers)

IfWinExist, ahk_class MozillaUIWindowClass                      ;; modify ahk_class for use with other browsers
                WinActivate

                Send ^l
                Send ^c                 ;; put URL in clipboard

                Send ^t
                Send http://bit.ly/?url=
                Send ^v
                Send {Enter}

                Sleep %waitTimeLoad%
                Send  ^a

                Sleep %waitTimeKey%
                send ^c

                Sleep %waitTimeKey%                     ;; change this for your pc
                send ^w

                msgbox %clipboard%`n`nShortened URL Copied to clipboard

                return

Just throw it into your Startup folder or add it to your existing AHK startup script (You’ll need AutoHotkey installed for this to work). Got any other tips for quick URL shortening? Share them in the comments! Thanks, Kevin!

Firefox: Mozilla’s out with the 1.0 of its Weave project, and it delivers on what it first promised—quiet, complete syncing of bookmarks, passwords, preferences, history, and even open tabs. It also heralds the coming of a really cool mobile experience.

If Weave synced your currently installed add-ons, you’d be up and running after a fresh Firefox installation in 2 minutes. As it is, Weave is still a very efficient and lightweight sync of your core Firefox experience, allowing you to maintain multiple Firefox installations across computers and operating systems. Xmarks does bookmark and password syncing too, and across other browsers, but Weave doesn’t offer site “discovery” services or other value-added stuff—just a way to automatically connect your Firefox browsers, and even browsing sessions.

That syncing of open tabs is where Firefox Mobile, just out in a third release candidate, will really shine. As Jay Sullivan told us, the idea is that the minute you step away from your desktop or laptop and wake your phone up, Firefox Mobile will pick up on the tabs you had open while you were sitting down.

Weave syncs through Mozilla’s servers. If you’d rather sync up your passwords and bookmarks to your own hardware or cloud space, Mozilla offers instructions on setting up your own server.

Weave 1.0 is a free download, works wherever Firefox 3.5 or higher (or Firefox Mobile) does.

All browsers: Bookmarklets are an awesome way to pull off cool browser tricks without add-on weight, but they require remembering the right keywords. Quix is an all-in-one bookmarklet that covers tons of web shortcuts, but also lets you add your own.

Want to get a Google Map pointing at an address, search Twitter for a meme, or email a link? Quix has you covered, and probably covers 80 percent of the bookmarklets and quick-search functions you’ve already installed. Once you integrate your browser with Quix, everything you want to do on the net through shortcuts or bookmarklets becomes a simple command—”imdb avatar,” “dict quixotic,” “bitly,” and so on. It’s like Firefox’s keyword bookmarking, but taken to another level.

Check out what Quix can do in the video above, and at the site itself. If you’ve discovered your own bookmarklet commands you can pass into Quix, tell us about them in the comments.

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The move to 64-bit software has been steady (if slow), but browsers are in their own category entirely. Microsoft has been offering a 64-bit version of Internet Explorer (IE6 and up) since the release of the 64-bit versions of Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 in April 2005. A 64-bit version of Safari is available in Snow Leopard, and Linux users can download a 64-bit version of Opera. 

Chrome, however, doesn’t yet have a 64-bit version. Firefox has one, but only for Linux (unofficial 64-bit versions of Firefox exist for Windows and Mac).

So why haven’t Mozilla and Google bothered to release official 64-bit browsers? For the same reason Microsoft hasn’t bothered to produce a 64-bit version of its Silverlight plugin: nobody uses 64-bit browsers.

Let’s look back at the week that was in Microsoft news. Here were the top stories:

Microsoft warns of IE bug used in Chinese attacks on Google: While investigating the recent attacks disclosed by Google earlier this week, Microsoft has concluded that Internet Explorer was used as an attack vector. As a result, the software giant has issued a security advisory for the vulnerability.

Crufty old apps force IE, Firefox into uneasy coexistence: IE still has over 80 percent share of the enterprise desktop, but coexists with Firefox and Chrome on a significant number of those machines. As legacy IE6-centric apps continue to live on at many companies, the outlook for Firefox and other browsers in the enterprise is uncertain.

We’ve got Facebook accounts, Twitter accounts, Delicious accounts, Flickr accounts and more, all vying for our constant attention and maintenance. All that means learning new systems for different applications with different purposes, remembering to use each service, and generally spending quite a bit of time keeping everything going.

That’s where Yoolink, a great new service, comes in. It’s a mix of tools like AddThis and ShareThis, bookmarking tools like Diigo and Delicious, and social news sites like Digg and Reddit. Its first and simplest use is as a universal sharing tool – as you’re browsing the Web, you click one button to share your current page with any or all of sites like Facebook, Twitter, Gmail, LinkedIn and more. There’s a plugin for Firefox or Internet Explorer, and a bookmarklet that works across browsers, so no matter what you use, Yoolink will work for you.

There’s also a section of the site, for every Yoolink user, that’s your own personal bookmarks reservoir. Every time you share or bookmark something, it gets saved into your Yoolink account, meaning Yoolink can replace Delicious or Diigo for you, although it also supports saving pages directly to Delicious.

Yoolink also pulls in all of the links and sites being shared, and creates a page full of the most popular things people are sharing, which has exciting potential. If one tool can be used to share things to all of the sites we already use, Yoolink (or whoever pulls this off) would be able to track, with incredible accuracy and size, what the Web as a whole is really talking about. As it is now, sites like Yoolink only track what’s shared using their tools, so the data is segmented across various apps; if one could dominate, the implications would be great.

What I really love about Yoolink is how devoted it is to working with the ecosystem of apps you already use. You can sign up via Twitter or Facebook, thus saving the creation of yet another account. There’s a Wordpress plugin that lets you post your bookmarks on your blog and share them with your readers. Yoolink also supports Bit.ly links and Gravatar images, all of which means joining Yoolink requires almost no extra work for users. Yoolink’s product isn’t necessarily unique, but the ease with which it lets you work and the simplicity of getting started certainly is.

Though this social bookmarking from Yoolink is new, Yoolink has been around for a while, particularly in Europe. Its Yoolink Pro product lets employees of a company share and discuss various items and topics internally, creating a private social network.

With these new features, Yoolink is trying to extend its reach to the average user and make the Web a little more social, and a little more inter-connected.

Yoolink is a Paris-based company with six employees. It raised $800k in funding in 2008.