Head on over to Getfirefox.com, Firefox fans. Version 3.6 of your favorite browser is now ready. The video explains the major changes in this version, but here are the highlights.
One-click themes. Using the Personals Gallery, you can assign a new look and theme to Firefox with a click. The way it works couldn’t be simpler. Roll over any theme to preview it and click to commit. I found most of them annoying, but I’m old and crotchety.
Out-of-date plugin warnings. This super-handy feature lets you know when you’ve got an out-of-date and potentially virus-friendly plugin installed and provides an update link.
Speed! This version promises improved speed with javascript, rendering and startup.
There’s more, of course, so watch the video above. Or better yet, grab a copy and start playing. In my extremely limited testing, content heavy pages did seem to load quicker (I typically visit StarWars.com), and all of my plugins continued to work. If you experience any issues or have a plugin that refuses to work, please let us (and your fellow Firefox users) know.
I know that we’re between Christmas and New Years, but it seemed more like Halloween when I checked out The App Store Expense Monitor from WetFish Software. It scared the Yuletide right out of me, taking me from Ho Ho Ho to OMG No!!! This free Mac application looks into your iTunes library, finds the apps you bought under all iTunes accounts on your computer, searches for the current prices of the app, and then gives you the bad news in some detail.
It’s scary how all those innocent little $.99 US charges add up, but it might not be as bad as it seems. Regardless of what you paid for an app, the Monitor finds the current price and uses it to total up your cost. If you have a bunch of apps that you got when they were free and they were later were changed to a paying basis, your total won’t be accurate. That should be okay for most people. But if you want to make your accounting perfect, and you remember what you really paid for an app, you can edit the prices; quite a nice feature.
It’s also possible to also export the information to a .CSV file for viewing in a spreadsheet, which would be a very nice feature if it actually worked. The program tells you that you can sort the information ranked by developer, name, category or price, but in actuality, your resulting spreadsheet file is two columns wide with most of the information jammed into column A. Not very useful…
In setting up the App Store Expense Monitor, I found another stitch dropped in the attention to detail department. The program expects to find your apps in the /~/user/Music/iTunes/Mobile Applications folder, which is not where they live in the current version of iTunes. You’ll need to change the path to point to the /~/user/Music/iTunes Music/Mobile Applications folder. That’s not the biggest deal, but an oversight like this should have been caught and corrected, even in a free program.
Regardless of the minor glitches, the App Store Expense Monitor is still quite useful in giving you an idea of what you spent on all your apps, while affording you a reality check on the implications of tapping that Buy Now button.
Posted by Nikos | Posted in General | Posted on 04-11-2009-05-2008
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We are kicking off the first of many recurring monthly contests for you, our readers!
Each month you will be able to enter to win various illustrious prizes. Premier Subscribers have the additional benefit of being automatically entered each month, and don’t have to worry about entering each time.
This month the giveaway is an Xbox 360 game pack featuring five great games (we will work with the winner to make sure he/she doesn’t get a game already owned). A second place winner will receive the new generation iPod nano (5G). Last but certainly not least, 12 lucky winners will win a guitar shirt provided by Think Geek! I rocked this thing on Halloween, and it was hilarious. Check out this video of someone far more skilled than me making it wail:
Frankly, I can’t imagine a better way to get kicked out of a retirement home.
Here is how to enter online. Just hit the discussion and tell us your favorite guitar tune. Winners will be drawn at random, so don’t worry if your favorite tune is an REO Speedwagon hit. We won’t count it against you. And just to be clear: Premier Subscribers are entered automatically (but you can still tell us your favorite tune if you want to).
You’ll need to register an account if you don’t have one.
The contest will close at the end of the month (when another one will soon after begin). The official rules can be found here.
Unrelated to the contest, I am also pleased to announce that Premier Subscribers will shortly be receiving a Think Geek coupon code good for $5 off purchases of $25, or $10 off $40. This could help with your holiday shopping. Be sure to verify that your email address attached to your registration is current and accurate.
Posted by Nikos | Posted in General | Posted on 02-11-2009-05-2008
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If you’ve got more Halloween loot than you know what to do with and you’re pretty certain you don’t want the little candy grubbers in your household eating all of it, you can turn it into cash and a donation.
Started by a dentist, the Halloween Candy Buy Back program lets kid take their excess Halloween candy into participating dentist offices. Kids are paid $1 per pound of candy they bring in and the candy is given to Operation Gratitude to be put into care packages sent overseas to deployed US troops around the globe.
Check out the link below to search for participating dentists in your area. Two things to keep in mind: First be sure to call the office and see when they are accepting candy, as the event doesn’t have a completely standardized time across the country and second, most of the site is geared towards the dentists participating in the event, so don’t get confused if while reading you suddenly feel like you’re the one accepting the candy.
Know of other ways to put extra Halloween candy to good use besides keeping a perpetual sugar-buzz until August? Sound off in the comments.
Posted by Nikos | Posted in General, SEO, Twitter | Posted on 01-11-2009-05-2008
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If you’ve hopped over to Google.com this Halloween, you might have spotted the world’s favorite search engine has a special Halloween logo.
Actually, it’s not just one logo: clicking on the Google image delivers a series of images related to Halloween candy.
Another thing to notice from these shots: Google is trying a new layout with a subset of users that removes the “Search” button entirely, reminding visitors they can just hit Enter to search for something. That’s spookily simple, we think.
Several TUAW readers have tipped us to the fact that many Apple Stores were in the Halloween spirit last night, handing out treats for ghouls, goblins, and Mac nerds who wandered by.
However, it sounds like Apple was playing the anonymous homeowner to Charlie Brown, who always got a rock instead of candy in his bag. The Apple Stores were not giving out sugary treats to the tots with their parents in tow, but they did get bookmarks. Yay.
The bookmarks are pretty cool, though. Printed in a beautiful turquoise color, the iPod nano-sized bookmarks have magnets on the inside tips so you can fold them around a page and they’ll stick. Apple design savvy strikes again!
Apple fans apparently “ate up” the bookmarks; the post on iPhone Savior mentioned that one store was out of them by 7:30 PM. I’m thinking that we should use Apple’s use of a bookmark as a giveaway as a hint about the legendary iTablet / ebook reader…
What do you think Apple should have given out to the costumed crowds last night instead of bookmarks? Leave your comments below.
Posted by Nikos | Posted in General | Posted on 31-10-2009-05-2008
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BOO! It’s Halloween and it’s also a Saturday, so let’s not hear any pathetic excuses for not carving pumpkins. While we’re no experts, we’ve got a few tips for making your jack-o’-lanterns better looking and more unique:
Always mark where you’re carving first instead of freestyling, especially for the lid. Once the knife’s in there’s nothing you can do about it.
Want an accurate carving? Draw or print your pattern on paper first and then stick it on the pumpkin, so that you can use a pin to punch an outline.
Use a scalpel. Seriously, it’s so much better than kitchen knives.
Be creative: consider using a variety of carving depths instead of just cutting out holes. It’s best to start off with the darkest areas so that you know where the threshold is. If it’s too shallow you can always scrape the trench.
Don’t use candles — they don’t last and aren’t safe for the kids and animals; many LED candles have a convincing flickering glow, so try those. Alternatively, why not convert a cheap solar garden light into a lid for your jack-o’-lantern? Or go Ben-Heck and try the Cylon mod?
Keep the seeds for roasting — they make a good snack.
Feel free to refer to our gallery for the whole process. Enjoy and have a happy Halloween!
Want to see something scary this Halloween? Like, perhaps, a browser that doesn’t coddle you with all that silly stability and reliable performance? Feel like spending a little time on the bleeding edge? You too can taste the future (which, I am told, has a distinctive metallic tang) by downloading the first public beta of Firefox 3.6, now featured over at the Mozilla developer blog.
The next release of the open-source browser includes more flexible video options, better Javascript performance, updated font support and single-click appearance customization through the Personas skinning system. You can read more about the 3.6 changes from a web development perspective here.
The Mac version requires Mac OS X 10.4 or higher, and you can get it from the beta download page. Happy surfing!
Posted by Nikos | Posted in General, SEO, Twitter | Posted on 30-10-2009-05-2008
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It’s getting down to crunch time, and if you’re yet to choose a Halloween costume or décor, there might not be many options left in stores.
Fortunately, YouTube has thrown together a great playlist with some do it yourself costume and decoration ideas that can be executed at the last minute.
Meanwhile, if you’re still able to grab yourself a pumpkin and have a steady hand, you may want to try one of our 12 Awesome Social Media Halloween Pumpkin Carvings. Don’t forget about Internet meme-inspired Halloween costumes too, and be sure to share your own ideas in the comments. Happy Halloween!
If you’ve got more Halloween loot than you know what to do with and you’re pretty certain you don’t want the little candy grubbers in your household eating all of it, you can turn it into cash and a donation.
If you’ve hopped over to Google.com this Halloween, you might have spotted the world’s favorite search engine has a special Halloween logo. 
Several TUAW readers have tipped us to the fact that many 
Want to see something scary this Halloween? Like, perhaps, a browser that doesn’t coddle you with all that silly stability and reliable performance? Feel like spending a little time on the bleeding edge? You too can taste the future (which, I am told, has a distinctive metallic tang) by downloading the first public beta of 
It’s getting down to crunch time, and if you’re yet to choose a Halloween costume or décor, there might not be many options left in stores. 
