Download Squad http://www.downloadsquad.com Download Squad http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/%SiteURL%/media/feedlogo.gif Download Squad http://www.downloadsquad.com en-us Copyright 2009 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Boxee media center to hit beta next month]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/06/boxee-media-center-to-hit-beta-next-month/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/06/boxee-media-center-to-hit-beta-next-month/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/06/boxee-media-center-to-hit-beta-next-month/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

Boee Alpha
Media center application Boxee has grabbed a lot of headlines over the past year or two, and for good reason: Boxee provides Mac, Linux, and Windows users with an excellent solution for watching internet video on a TV. While web browsers were generally designed for viewing text and images with video thrown in as an afterthought, Boxee was designed to look and feel more like a consumer electronics application that you can navigate from the couch with a remote control.

Boxee can access online video from services including Hulu, Joost, and BBC's iPlayer. You can use it to enjoy audio and video podcasts. And you can access local media stored on your hard drive.

But despite all of its features, Boxee is still alpha software. That's going to change next month. Boxee is set to launch the first beta version of its software at an event in New York on December 7th. I suppose the day will continue to live in Infamy, although I doubt that decades from now we'll still be talking about it as the date that Boxee went beta.

The new version will have a new user interface, improved navigation, a user-controlled queue, and a new TV and movie search function among other changes.

Boxee media center to hit beta next month originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>boxeeboxee-betamedia-centerFri, 06 Nov 2009 13:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Google Chrome 4 hits beta, includes bookmark sync]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/03/google-chrome-4-hits-beta-includes-bookmark-sync/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/03/google-chrome-4-hits-beta-includes-bookmark-sync/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/03/google-chrome-4-hits-beta-includes-bookmark-sync/#commentsFiled under: , ,


The latest Windows version of Google Chrome, version 4.0, is now in beta. It's reportedly a scorching 30% faster than the current release, and it includes a bookmark syncing feature that's been floating around in the developer preview version of the browser for some time.

Activate bookmark syncing on each of your computers, and Chrome will automatically synchronize any changes to your bookmarks across all your machines. It's made possible by the magic of XMPP, which also powers Google Talk. Sound good? Go ahead and download Chrome 4.0 Beta.

This beta version of Chrome is also notable for what it leaves out: extensions support. According to Stephen Shankland at CNET, Google is reworking the extensions interface for Chrome, so that feature is disabled for now. Shankland also tracked down some news on the upcoming Chrome Mac Beta. The team working on it has been instructed to fix all their high-priority bugs by the end of the week, and it looks like getting the Mac version out is near the top of Google's to-do list.

[via CNET]

Google Chrome 4 hits beta, includes bookmark sync originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 03 Nov 2009 06:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>betabookmarkschromechrome 4.0Chrome4.0google chromeGoogleChromeTue, 03 Nov 2009 06:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Remember the Milk task manager exits beta in meaningless gesture]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/30/remember-the-milk-task-manager-exits-beta-in-meaningless-gesture/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/30/remember-the-milk-task-manager-exits-beta-in-meaningless-gesture/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/30/remember-the-milk-task-manager-exits-beta-in-meaningless-gesture/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Remember The MilkFour years after the service opened to the public, popular web-based task manager Remember The Milk is finally out of beta. What does that mean? Nothing really.

The company isn't going to start charging for access to its core services. And the developers aren't done adding and refining features. It's just that after four years, the Remember The Milk team decided the product was probably robust enough to remove the beta label... you know, kind of like Google did with Gmail not too long ago.

Of course, companies like Google and Remember the Milk have stretched the meaning of the beta label beyond any semblance of recognition. Once upon a time, if you were using a beta product you knew it was a pre-release version that hadn't been extensively tested and which may be unstable. These days, alpha is kind of the new beta, although some companies still release public and private beta versions of software that are still untested and unstable. Since there's no regulator tasked with enforcing alpha, beta, and other labeling rules, the words have kind of lost their meaning.

Still, congratulations to the Remember the Milk team on reaching four years!

Remember the Milk task manager exits beta in meaningless gesture originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 30 Oct 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>betaremember-the-milktask-managertasksFri, 30 Oct 2009 14:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Blinkx launches a mediocre music search engine]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/27/blinkx-launches-a-mediocre-music-search-engine/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/27/blinkx-launches-a-mediocre-music-search-engine/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/27/blinkx-launches-a-mediocre-music-search-engine/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Blinkx Music
Online video site Blinkx is branching out into music with the launch of Blinkx Music Beta, a search engine for online music videos. The front page is simple enough. You're greeted with a search box, a list of top artists, and the ability to click a letter to see results starting with A through Z. You can search for artists, albums, or songs.

Unfortunately, the search index is pretty sparse. There are a number of songs, artists, and albums that return no results. And the search engine's not that intelligent. While a search for Coldplay returns a fair number of results, searching for Cold Play or Caldplay results in a "no results matching your query" message. So you'd better not include a typo or not know the proper phrasing of your favorite band name. Heck, on a whim, I tried searching for Hootie and the Blowfish and got zero results, which normally wouldn't upset me in the least. But Hootie & The Blowfish actually did return results.

Blinkx doesn't host the videos on its own site. Instead, when you click on a song you'll be taken to the page where the video rests, whether it be on YouTube, Last.fm, or another site. A Blinkx toolbar hangs out at the top of the screen to take you back to where you started or let you begin another search.

A fairly large number of videos I did find were cellphone recordings shot at concerts rather than professional music videos.

That's the bad news. Here's the good news: the Blinkbox online video service keeps getting better. I got an email today letting me know that Blinkbox had added a number of BBC TV shows which are now available to watch for free including episodes from the first two seasons of the original (William Hartnell) Doctor Who as well as episodes of The Young Ones, Hustle, and The League of Gentlemen. Update: It's just been pointed out to me that Blinkbox (which I mistakenly referred to as Blinkxbox at first) is not actually related to Blinkx. I'm still excited about the BBC content though.

[via VentureBeat]

Blinkx launches a mediocre music search engine originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 27 Oct 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>blinkxblinkx-music-betablinkxboxmusic-videosonline-videoTue, 27 Oct 2009 13:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Panda Cloud AV beta 3 boasts faster scans, inches closer to RTM]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/27/panda-cloud-av-beta-3-boasts-faster-scans-inches-closer-to-rtm/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/27/panda-cloud-av-beta-3-boasts-faster-scans-inches-closer-to-rtm/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/27/panda-cloud-av-beta-3-boasts-faster-scans-inches-closer-to-rtm/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,


When our list of six free antivirus apps for Windows 7 went live over the weekend, Panda's Cloud AV made the list. While it boasted the best detection rates of any of the available options, it's still in beta testing - so I can't really recommend it for use by the average user just yet.

Panda's plugging away though, and a full release could well be just around the corner. Beta 3 has just been made available for download and it fixes a number of bugs and performance issues. The latest release also boasts improved scanning performance (the biggest knock against previous versions) and lower resource utilization.

In addition to updating the app itself, Panda is also hard at work on a new web site. Sign up for a CloudAV account, and you'll have access to forums as well as "other free services which [Panda is] still building." I'll be talking with Panda Security CEO Juan Santana and Senior Research Advisor Pedro Bustamante next week to learn more about their plans.

An account is now required to use the app, but as Pedro informed one leery commenter "It's just a unique identifier that is tied to the Tech Support Forums to be able to provide better support. You can use a throw-away mailbox to activate it[...]"

Panda Cloud Antivirus beta 3 is available for download now at Cloudantivirus.com. If you're using it - or tried it out and switched - share your thoughts in the comments!

Panda Cloud AV beta 3 boasts faster scans, inches closer to RTM originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 27 Oct 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>cloud antiviruscloud avCloudAntivirusCloudAvmalwarepandatrojanvirusTue, 27 Oct 2009 10:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Mozilla Raindrop: don't call it another Google Wave]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/23/mozilla-raindrop-dont-call-it-another-google-wave/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/23/mozilla-raindrop-dont-call-it-another-google-wave/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/23/mozilla-raindrop-dont-call-it-another-google-wave/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

The lead designer for Mozilla Messaging describes Mozilla's new communication tool, Raindrop, this way: "Raindrop is not another email client. We started from scratch with fresh ideas about what a communication application should be ... " Sound familiar? That's the same promise we heard from Google Wave a few months ago. Raindrop is similar to Wave in some ways, but it takes a completely different approach to dealing with integrating different kinds of communication into one service.

Raindrop's main goal is to separate personal conversations from bulk email that's less relevant to you. To that it, it pulls out all of the notifications you get from various web services, as well as messages from newsgroups, and sorts them into separate places. It also brings in Twitter, and separates out replies and direct messages. Other social networks will eventually be integrated, and the UI is still in the draft stages, but Raindrop looks pretty promising for a version 0.1 product. It's not as hard to get your head around (or "revolutionary," depending on who you ask) as Wave, but its focus on the problem of bulk vs. personal communication might make it more useful to the average Internet joe.

[via Slashdot]

Mozilla Raindrop: don't call it another Google Wave originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 23 Oct 2009 07:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>mozillamozilla labsmozilla messagingMozillaLabsMozillaMessagingraindropFri, 23 Oct 2009 07:30:00 EST<![CDATA[CloudApp: Terrible name, useful little app.]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/22/cloudapp-terrible-name-useful-little-app/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/22/cloudapp-terrible-name-useful-little-app/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/22/cloudapp-terrible-name-useful-little-app/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Cloud AppThere's been a lot of buzz about cloud computing over the last year or two as more and more applications (email, Office, note-keeping and so on) move to the web. Then, a little over a month ago, I started seeing a lot of buzz surrounding something called CloudApp.

A more generic sounding name, I could not imagine. All I could tell from the "OMG CLOUDAPP!!" tweets was that there was a new app named CloudApp, that beta invites were being issued soon, and that a lot of people were very excited about receiving an invite. I'm not sure anyone knew any more about it than I did other than "OMG IT'S IN THE CLOUD[TM] " and "OMG IT'S AN APP" and "OMG CLOSED BETA INVITE ONLY".

Three possibilities crossed my mind:
  1. Sociological study of the feeding frenzy surrounding beta invites and tech buzz words.
  2. Twitter phishing scam
  3. (remote possibility) an actual app.
Possibility #2 was confirmed in my mind when I saw the following tweet:

Continue reading CloudApp: Terrible name, useful little app.

CloudApp: Terrible name, useful little app. originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 22 Oct 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>cloudapppreviewurl-shortenerThu, 22 Oct 2009 13:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Waveboard is the first Google Wave client for OS X]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/21/waveboard-is-the-first-google-wave-client-for-os-x/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/21/waveboard-is-the-first-google-wave-client-for-os-x/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/21/waveboard-is-the-first-google-wave-client-for-os-x/#commentsFiled under: , ,

The good news is that there's now a Google Wave desktop client for the Mac. The bad news is that it's not yet that much better than the web interface or a Fluid app. The app is called Waveboard, and it looks quite promising, although it's still in its early stages. In case a prototype for Wave on the desktop isn't cool enough for you, there's also an iPhone app in the works.

Waveboard offers a handful of features that you won't get by running Wave in Fluid. It alerts you to changes in your waves using a badge on the dock icon, and also supports Growl notifications. It also allows you to copy a link to a public wave so you can share it with others. Any wave links you run across in your browser can be set to open in Waveboard by default. True, the look of Waveboard is still identical to the Wave web interface, but the additional features at least start us down the path toward an awesome desktop version of Wave.

Waveboard is the first Google Wave client for OS X originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 21 Oct 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Google WaveGoogleWaveWaveboardWed, 21 Oct 2009 09:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Mozilla makes its mobile move, brings Firefox 3.6 to Android]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/20/mozilla-makes-its-mobile-move-brings-firefox-3-6-to-android/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/20/mozilla-makes-its-mobile-move-brings-firefox-3-6-to-android/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/20/mozilla-makes-its-mobile-move-brings-firefox-3-6-to-android/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

In the mobile browser wars, Webkit-based browsers seem to be pulling away from the pack. Don't count Firefox out yet, though, because the CEO of Mozilla says that Firefox has put together "the most advanced mobile browser," and it's due to hit Android phones soon. Fennec, the mobile version of Firefox, is based on Firefox 3.6, which is a generation ahead of the current desktop version of Firefox. As CEO John Lilly told Om Malik of GigaOM, this browser does "everything - Javascript, CSS, Flash, SVG, video and audio."

Like the desktop version of Firefox, the mobile version uses the AwesomeBar, which provides quick access to bookmarks and browser history, right from the address bar. Mozilla also plans to support add-ons for Firefox's mobile version, which would make it the first mobile browser to do so. Add-ons might be the sole factor keeping Firefox competitive on the desktop. In the mobile space, they'd give it an edge. Along with Android, Mozilla is also developing for Nokia's Maemo OS, which isn't too widespread in the US, but is growing in global popularity.

Mozilla makes its mobile move, brings Firefox 3.6 to Android originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 20 Oct 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>androidfennecfirefoxmobilemozillaTue, 20 Oct 2009 14:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Bedpost helps you track how often you "get busy"]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/16/bedpost-helps-you-track-how-often-you-get-busy/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/16/bedpost-helps-you-track-how-often-you-get-busy/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/16/bedpost-helps-you-track-how-often-you-get-busy/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

BedpostWith a cheeky tagline like "It's business time," you get the feeling that the folks behind the online service Bedpost like to keep things lighthearted. Beta service Bedpost is a site that allows you to create an account and then track how often you have sex. Unlike I Just Made Love, there are no social media features in Bedpost; it's intended for your eyes only, though they are working on allowing partners to access the same data.

There's a sort of brazen appeal to Bedpost. Realistically, if you felt the need to track your sex life, you could always do it in your personal calendar. But Bedpost offers a spicy interface that feels, somehow, a little more sexy than Google Calendar or Outlook.

It would probably be statistically irrelevant but interesting to see anonymous statistics garnered from the users of Bedpost. Questions like "How often do couples really do it?" or "What's the most popular day of the week to have sex?" would be fun, though I suspect we'll never see them. Bedpost seems intensely aware of the privacy concerns involved with tracking intensely personal data online, given that they put their privacy policy right on their homepage.

Bedpost helps you track how often you "get busy" originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 16 Oct 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>bedpostbusiness timebusiness-timeBusinessTimecouplesloveprivacy-policyFri, 16 Oct 2009 17:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Gist is a social media and personal relationship aggregator]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/16/gist-is-a-social-media-and-personal-relationship-aggregator/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/16/gist-is-a-social-media-and-personal-relationship-aggregator/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/16/gist-is-a-social-media-and-personal-relationship-aggregator/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

GistThe gist of Gist is that it's a web service that connects your various social media networks with your personal contact information to give you an enhanced view of your connections, and hopefully let the most relevant information rise to the top. It's a sort of filter, with the goal of helping you manage the information overload that is inherent in belonging to multiple social networks.

Okay; the temptation to abuse the word "gist" in this post is overwhelming, but I will now do my best to fight it off.

The power of Gist is its ability to import all of your contacts from your networks and personal contacts. It can then analyze them for overlaps, and surface news about the companies that are associated with your contacts. Currently it can import from LinkedIn, Salesforce, Facebook, Twitter, Outlook, Gmail, Email/IMAP, and even simple CSV files of contacts.

Continue reading Gist is a social media and personal relationship aggregator

Gist is a social media and personal relationship aggregator originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 16 Oct 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>blogscontactcontact listcontact namcontact-listcontact-nameContactListContactNamFri, 16 Oct 2009 10:00:00 EST<![CDATA[UI Nerdgasm Alert: 10/GUI is sweeping us off our fingers]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/15/ui-nerdgasm-alert-10-gui-is-sweeping-us-off-our-fingers/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/15/ui-nerdgasm-alert-10-gui-is-sweeping-us-off-our-fingers/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/15/ui-nerdgasm-alert-10-gui-is-sweeping-us-off-our-fingers/#commentsFiled under: ,

10/GUI from C. Miller on Vimeo.


Kitschy soundtrack, good voiceover and an intensely thorough demo add up to one cool re-imagining of our conventional human/computer interaction. In other words: this looks as close to the UI in Minority Report as I've ever seen. The key seems to be rewarding the user for having 10 fingers, and using all 10 to do a high number of operations in clever ways. This is really, really clever, too, just check out the name: 10/GUI. Check it out, you won't be disappointed. Well, if you hate using your fingers you might.

UI Nerdgasm Alert: 10/GUI is sweeping us off our fingers originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 15 Oct 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>demoguiuiuixvideoThu, 15 Oct 2009 16:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Firefox 3.6 reaches beta stage]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/14/download-firefox-3-6-beta/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/14/download-firefox-3-6-beta/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/14/download-firefox-3-6-beta/#commentsFiled under: , ,

While it's slightly behind schedule -- having been originally slated for a mid-September release -- Firefox 3.6 has reached beta.

Version 3.6 beta RC1 is now available for download from Mozilla's servers. As Softpedia mentioned a few days ago, Mozilla is pondering an early exit for Firefox 3.5. Mozilla's Mike Beltzner stated, "It's not 100% decided yet, but if we issue a Firefox 3.6 as a minor update, then yes, we'd stop supporting the 1.9.1 branch at that time." He's referring to Gecko 1.9.1, on which Firefox 3.5 is based. 3.6 is based upon version 1.9.2 of the Gecko engine.

It may not benchmark in the same league as Google Chrome, but Firefox 3.6 certainly feels speedier. Our content management system runs more smoothly than it did for me under 3.5.3, and my go-to web apps like GMail and Seesmic are also more responsive.

A couple of features that appear in the 3.6 beta candidate: control-tab previews (as previously mentioned) and taskbar thumbnail previews on Windows 7 (not just for FF3.7 apparently).

Testers - if you've given 3.6 beta 1 a go, tell us what you think in the comments!

Firefox 3.6 reaches beta stage originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 14 Oct 2009 21:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>betafirefox-3.6mozillanamorokaWed, 14 Oct 2009 21:48:00 EST<![CDATA[Firefox 3.7 adds per-tab taskbar thumbnails (like IE8) on Windows 7]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/14/firefox-3-7-adds-per-tab-thumbnails-like-ie8-on-windows-7/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/14/firefox-3-7-adds-per-tab-thumbnails-like-ie8-on-windows-7/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/14/firefox-3-7-adds-per-tab-thumbnails-like-ie8-on-windows-7/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Those of you running Windows 7 and prepared to tiptoe through the Minefield, Firefox 3.7's most recently nightly build has added another taskbar integration feature.

Now the latest trunk build includes support for per-tab thumbnail previews just like Internet Explorer 8. And just like IE8, the magic works across multiple instances. If you have two Minefield windows open at the same time, you'll get previews for both.

Continue reading Firefox 3.7 adds per-tab taskbar thumbnails (like IE8) on Windows 7

Firefox 3.7 adds per-tab taskbar thumbnails (like IE8) on Windows 7 originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 14 Oct 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>firefox-3.7minfieldshell-integrationtab-previewtaskbar-thumbnailswindows-7Wed, 14 Oct 2009 11:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Opera 10.10 beta puts Unite front and center]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/14/opera-10-10-beta-opera-unite-finally-arrives/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/14/opera-10-10-beta-opera-unite-finally-arrives/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/14/opera-10-10-beta-opera-unite-finally-arrives/#commentsFiled under: , ,

When Opera 10 launched without one of its most-hyped features, Opera Unite, browser geeks had to install a separate build to test it out. Opera developers have now merged the two, integrating Unite into the main browser in Opera 10.10 Beta.

As we've reported before, Unite is a "web server within a web browser" that allows you to download and run various web applications. What does this mean for the average user? You can access your files from anywhere, and easily share them with friends.

The first Unite apps are all about sharing. There's a media player to share music, a general file storage app, a web server app to host sites, and even a "fridge" app where you can leave notes for your friends. Media Player will probably get a lot of the early hype, as it lets you stream music from your machine to another computer with iTunes, WInamp, or your other player of choice (as long as it supports streaming playlists). Unite is still in the early stages, but no other browser has even attempted to do what Opera is doing in this space.

Opera 10.10 beta puts Unite front and center originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 14 Oct 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>browseroperaopera 10Opera10uniteweb appsWebAppsWed, 14 Oct 2009 10:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Gmail's "Got the wrong Bob?" helps avoid misfired emails]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/13/gmails-got-the-wrong-bob-helps-avoid-misfired-emails/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/13/gmails-got-the-wrong-bob-helps-avoid-misfired-emails/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/13/gmails-got-the-wrong-bob-helps-avoid-misfired-emails/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Gmail Bob
Gmail's auto-complete address feature is kind of awesome. I can't remember the last time I actually looked up a contact's email address before sending a message in Gmail. Instead I just start typing their name and Gmail usually locates the address within a few characters.

But there's a downside. Sometimes you'll have more than one contact with the same first name. If you've ever sent a message to the wrong Dave, Jen, or Bob, there's a new Gmail labs feature that can help... sometimes.

The feature is called "Got the wrong Bob?" and it works much like the "Don't forget Bob" feature that was already available in Gmail labs. When the Don't forget feature is enabled, Gmail will pay attention as you start to type a list of email addresses. If that list looks similar to lists of recipients for previous email addresses, it will automatically suggest additional people you may want to include.

Instead of suggesting recipients, Got the wrong Bob will notice if you normally send emails to Paul Simon, Neil Young, and Art Garfunkel and if you accidentally address a new message to Art Vandelay instead of Garfunkel Gmail will ask if you meant to send the message to the other Art.

Of course, there's no way for Gmail to know if you've got the wrong Bob when you're sending a message to a single recipient. But that's why you should really pay more attention to what you're doing in the first place.

Gmail's "Got the wrong Bob?" helps avoid misfired emails originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 13 Oct 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>emailgmailgmail-labsgot-the-wrong-bobTue, 13 Oct 2009 16:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Coming soon: Invite friends to use Google Voice]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/13/coming-soon-invite-friends-to-use-google-voice/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/13/coming-soon-invite-friends-to-use-google-voice/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/13/coming-soon-invite-friends-to-use-google-voice/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Google Voice invite
Remember in the early days of Gmail when invites were hot property? Every new user who signed up for Google's email service got a few invitations to share with friends and the internet was flooded with invites being swapped in user forums, blog comments, and even eBay auctions.

Well, now we can relive those golden days, as Google is about to begin giving out invites to Google Voice users. Google Voice is a free service that lets you link all of your phone numbers to one number that you can give out. When someone calls that number, all of your phones will ring (or you can configure it to ring only certain phones at certain times), and if you miss a call you'll be able to check your voicemail from the web or get an automated transcript in your email.

Google Voice has been in private beta for a while now, and the only way to get in on the action was to request an invitation from the signup page and wait. Of course, users could send out invitiations to one another in the early days, back when the service was called GrandCentral and run as a separate company. But since Google purchased GrandCentral, invites have been hard to come by.

Google is rolling out the invite feature gradually. It's not in my account yet. But the company says that over the next few weeks existing users should notice a new "Invite a friend" link on the left-hand side of their inboxes.

Coming soon: Invite friends to use Google Voice originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 13 Oct 2009 14:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>google-voicegoogle-voice-invitationprivate-betavoipTue, 13 Oct 2009 14:45:00 EST<![CDATA[Web of Trust (WOT) extension now available for Google Chrome]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/08/web-of-trust-extension-wot-now-available-for-google-chrome/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/08/web-of-trust-extension-wot-now-available-for-google-chrome/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/08/web-of-trust-extension-wot-now-available-for-google-chrome/#commentsFiled under: , ,

It's starting, people. Big name browser addon developers are starting to show Google Chrome some love. So far, we've seen AdSweep, RoboForm, LastPass (a personal favorite), and a few others.

Web of Trust is now onboard as well, announcing the release of their extension today. I've written about WOT before -- it's a great addition for anyone wanting a bit of added security and safety when they browse. It's listed in my 6 Windows tools to prevent PC problems on your own and 14 useful Firefox addons.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with WOT, it's a kind of community-powered rating service. Users submit trust, privacy, reliability, and child safety scores for sites they visit. When you browse a site that's in the WOT database, you'll see the result of those ratings in easy-to-understand color coding. Green is good, red is bad, yellow means exercise caution.

If you happen on a particularly bad site, WOT will block it completely and display an alert page instead and give you the choice to bail out or disregard the warning and continue.

The WOT .crx extension for Chrome can be downloaded from the Wiki, though it's a bit hidden in all the text. Here's a direct download link to make things easier for you. Like other recent extensions, you'll need to be running Chrome's developer channel build to use WOT.

Web of Trust (WOT) extension now available for Google Chrome originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 08 Oct 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>crxextensionsgoogle-chromeprivacyratingssecuritytrustweb-of-trustweb-safetywotThu, 08 Oct 2009 18:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Firefox 3.6 beta coming next week]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/07/firefox-3-6-beta-coming-next-week/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/07/firefox-3-6-beta-coming-next-week/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/07/firefox-3-6-beta-coming-next-week/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Firefox 3.6
Mozilla is set to launch the first beta version of Firefox 3.6 on Tuesday, October 13th. The next version of the popular Firefox web browser will include faster Javascript handling, built-in bookmark synchronization, and support for new light weight themes.

For the most part, Firefox 3.6 will look a lot like version 3.5 of the browser. Mozilla is holding off on a major visual refresh until Firefox 4.0 is released sometime next year. But the update should bring a better session restore, improved page rendering, and overall faster performance and better stability.

As you can see from the screenshot of Firefox 3.6 Alpha above, Mozilla has also built a new tab-switching feature into the browser which allows you to see previews of each page. In order to enable this feature, you'll need to futz around with the about:config menu.

Firefox 3.6 beta coming next week originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 07 Oct 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>firefoxfirefox-3.6firefox-3.6-betaWed, 07 Oct 2009 12:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Free VMWare Player 3 can now create virtual machines]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/06/free-vmware-player-3-can-now-create-virtual-machines/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/06/free-vmware-player-3-can-now-create-virtual-machines/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/06/free-vmware-player-3-can-now-create-virtual-machines/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

VirtualBox has always enjoyed one key advantage over VMWare: it's free. Sure, the VMWare Player is also free -- but all it can do is boot virtual machines which have been previously by another app.

Rather, that's all it could do until now. VMWare Player version 3 has hit the release candidate stage and is available for public download, and guess what? It's now got the ability to create virtual machines. That's pretty amazing news for virtualization hobbyists like myself.

Apart from the added VM creation chops, Player v3 also offers OpenGL support in guest machines, ALSA support on Linux guests, ThinPrint powered printing, Windows 7 support, and multiple monitor support.

And yes, it even supports Aero Glass in Vista and WIndows 7 just like its big brother.

Another great addition is the easy install wizard, which makes setting up popular operating systems on a new guest machine ridiculously easy. That is, when it works. The wizard should create a floppy configuration file which Ubuntu reads during the install process. When I tested with the Karmic Koala beta, though, Ubuntu's installer wouldn't recognize the floppy image and crapped out.

A regular install, on the other hand, worked just fine and completed in roughly the same amount of time as it took under VIrtualBox -- if not slightly less.

The download is free, weighs in at about 90Mb, and you'll need to have a registered account with VMWare to get access to the downloads.

Free VMWare Player 3 can now create virtual machines originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 06 Oct 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>virtual-machinevirtualboxvirtualizationvmvmware-playerTue, 06 Oct 2009 11:00:00 EST