3.1

Google Mail Checker is a free extension that displays the number of unread messages in your Gmail inbox as a Chrome toolbar icon. Clicking the icon instantly opens Gmail in a new tab in Chrome. It also offers an animated notification of new messages in your inbox.

To use Google Mail Checker, you must have an active Google Mail account, but that's free, too, and easy to sign up for. As with other Google Chrome extensions, installing Google Mail Checker is simply a matter of opening the appropriate page in Chrome and clicking to initiate and allow the download. … Read more

Google Chrome is gaining popularity and acceptance as an alternative to Firefox and Internet Explorer, and not just among Web surfers; Web developers like Chrome's speed and flexibility as well as its open-source components. Firebug Lite for Google Chrome is a free extension that adds the functionality of the popular Firebug Web development tool to the Chrome interface. Firebug Lite lets you inspect and modify HTML in real time, analyze network performance and activity, and debug JavaScript with what is claimed to be the most advanced debugger available in a browser.

Installing Firebug Lite for Google Chrome was as … Read more

Facebook Rounder from CustomChromer is a free Google Chrome extension that rounds off some of Facebook's sharp edges. Unfortunately, it can't do anything about pointed comments and other social stresses; the edges it blunts are in Facebook's interface. It gently rounds off the corners and edges of thumbnails, tabs, and more, altering the look of Facebook in subtle but pleasant ways.

We opened Chrome and browsed to Facebook. We then opened a new tab and accessed the Facebook Rounder download. Facebook Rounder installs like most Chrome extensions, although it has no options to set on the Chrome … Read more

Apple's professional image-editing software, Aperture, has recently been updated to version 3.1 though some users running Mac OS X 10.5.8 may not be able to install the update.

Users may find that using Software Update to install Aperture 3.1 fails to upgrade the software. Similarly, attempting to use the manual update (found on CNET's Downloads site) also fails to install the update.

Should you experience this issue on your Mac, you may need to install the latest ProKit for Leopard update, version 5.1. ProKit addresses various interface and compatibility issues for Apple's … Read more

ZIP files are a great way to compress larger files into a format that's easy to store and share. Although Windows comes with a utility for creating ZIP files, it's pretty basic and doesn't offer a lot of options. ZipGenius Suite is a full-featured program that lets users easily create, edit, and share ZIP files.

The program's interface is plain and intuitive, with large, graphical buttons across the top. The opening screen lets users go straight to the program's major features, which include creating a new archive, opening an existing archive, extracting files from an … Read more

Display Changer from 12noon is a free display management utility that can change the height, width, color, and other aspects of your desktop via command-line switches. It can manage multiple monitor configurations, too. What may be its neatest trick is its ability to run an application in a different display resolution and return to normal resolution when the program ends. If you like to record and watch video on your PC, you can use it to temporarily configure your screen to display TV-quality video and return to a higher resolution when your player closes. You can also create shortcuts for … Read more

Apple has released an update to its professional image-editing software Aperture, now version 3.1, as well as a handful of helpful troubleshooting knowledge base articles and information documents.

As with any update, it is recommended to create a stable backup of all your important data should anything unexpected go wrong with the installation of the new software.… Read more

Riding on the coattails of yesterday's MacBook Air and iLife '11 announcements, Apple also updated its high-end Aperture photo editing and management software with bug fixes, performance improvements, and updates to match features in iPhoto '11.

iPhoto is geared for consumers, while Aperture is aimed at photo enthusiasts and professionals who want more sophisticated controls for editing and cataloging. There's a lot of overlap, though, and one is the ability to create themed slideshows. All six of the new iPhoto '11 slideshow themes also arrive in Aperture 3.1

That includes the new Places theme that's specifically … Read more

The Windows clipboard can be an important tool for temporarily saving and moving blocks of texts or other objects, but its standard features are somewhat lacking. ArsClip adds numerous options to the clipboard, making it much easier to keep track of and use numerous clipboard items.

The program appears as an icon in the system tray, and double clicking on it brings up a configuration menu. There's plenty to configure; users can select hot keys for various functions, customize the way that the program handles clipboard objects and pasting, and specify the characteristics of the pop-up window that displays … Read more