Mac Software

Think that every conceivable useful feature not included in Firefox has been created? Not likely. At least now, though, we can take attachment drag-and-drop off the list with dragdropupload.

The add-on works with most major Web mail services and message board systems. Once installed, simply go to your Gmail, for example, and "compose" a new message. Hit the "add attachment" button, and instead of browsing through your complex file tree from there, you can grab the file from Windows Explorer and drag it over the file location box in the page. The plug-in supports multiple files, … Read more

This is one of the best Firefox extensions around and makes tabbed browsing even better than it already is. Tab Mix Plus can change the close button on each tab feature, control the rows of tabs when you exceed the width of the browser window, and almost everything else associated with tabs. Use your scrollwheel to browse tabs, or control tab switching via mouse gestures. You can specify where Web pages will open--in the background or the foreground, in a new tab or the current one--based on how they were created: by clicking a link, typing an address, or using … Read more

Of the two big browsing features of 2008, one seems to run counter to where developers are driving their browsers. The melding of the location bar to the search bar was expected in Firefox and Opera, thanks to beta versions. Chrome has it, too, calling it the Omnibar. What seems to have caught developers off-guard has been the clamor for a universal switch to stop the cache and browsing history from recording anything at all.

Microsoft's InPrivate debuted in Internet Explorer 8 beta 2, and Google Chrome's version is the well-received Incognito feature. So far, in Firefox, the … Read more

The ongoing problems with Flash freezing in Firefox 3 after two seconds of playback resemble nothing less than a game of hot potato. Or perhaps watching two parents have a screaming match, with us regular ol' users playing the part of the sobbing kid that cries, "Why can't you two just get along?"

Adobe has just updated the Flash 10 beta for Windows and Mac, and with it comes the resurgence of the bug that installing the earlier beta fixed. There doesn't seem to be a given reason as to why the old beta is no … Read more

Open-source and currently in use by planetarium projectors, cross-platform Stellarium brings astronomer-level features to stargazers of all levels of interest. It's not quite as robust as its competitors, but it's also a much faster program. It doesn't suck away your RAM into a black hole when loading or running. Be aware that it only runs in full-screen mode, making any other programs you're running inaccessible except for the ALT-Tab switcher.

The default catalog includes 600,000 stars, with upgrade modules that can push that up to 210 million stars. The constellations of 10 different cultures are … Read more

There are many online sites for creating blogs with ready-made templates, hosting services, and even opportunities to display ads to make a little money. Blogger, Wordpress, and LiveJournal all offer easy ways to get set up and writing your thoughts right away. If you're a first-time blogger, these sites are a great option.

There comes a time in a lot of bloggers' lives, however, when the limitations of blogging sites make them believe it's time to move on. Maybe the site's specific templates aren't up to snuff, or the process of updating your blog is too … Read more

Here at the CTIA Wireless conference in San Francisco, Quickoffice, historically a mobile documents viewer for Nokia phones, is showing off demos for four new iPhone and iPod Touch apps aimed at Apple's contingent of MobileMe users.

The first, called MobileFiles, will let you view e-mail attachments, including Google and Box.net documents from your iPhone, something that iPhones don't currently allow. Quickoffice is expected to launch MobileFiles as a free, view-only app in November.

Following that, Quickoffice plans to release three more applications for reading and editing spreadsheets, Microsoft Word documents, and PowerPoint presentations, respectively. Called Quicksheet, … Read more

For right now, the future of Opera--the browsing alternative to the browsing alternative--doesn't look a whole lot different from the present. Keeping in mind that this isn't a stable release, Opera 9.60 beta 1 for Windows and Mac looks to add a few feature tweaks and claims to be faster.

The most intriguing improvement looks to be a "low bandwidth mode" for Opera Mail. In a not-so-subtle attempt to attract users who are concerned about bandwidth restrictions, especially those who use Comcast in the United States for their ISP, this mode offers different things to … Read more

SurplusMeter does precisely what we need it to: it watches your bandwidth traffic, keeping an eye on it like an eagle watching her brood. SurplusMeter gives users the capability to set a bandwidth limit, a start day of the month, and the connection type--PPP Modem or Network Card, for example.

SurplusMeter also calculates a daily allowance, and reconfigures that depending on how much you've actually used for the month. It lacks the not-quite-fancy graphs that many of its PC counterparts sport, but SurplusMeter also lacks something they have: an alarm or notification that would tell you when you were … Read more