Download Squadhttp://www.downloadsquad.comDownload Squadhttp://www.downloadsquad.com/media/feedlogo.gifDownload Squadhttp://www.downloadsquad.comen-usCopyright 2008 Blogsmith, LLC. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only.Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/TweetDeck: Desktop client for Twitter helps you organize the chaoshttp://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/07/07/tweetdeck-desktop-client-for-twitter-helps-you-organize-the-cha/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/07/07/tweetdeck-desktop-client-for-twitter-helps-you-organize-the-cha/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/07/07/tweetdeck-desktop-client-for-twitter-helps-you-organize-the-cha/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

TweetDeck
TweetDeck is a desktop client for Twitter build on Adobe AIR. Nothing new there. That sentence could have described Twhirl, Snitter, or Alert Thingy. But TweetDeck has a few features up its sleeve that other Twitter clients lack.

The most noticeable difference is that TweetDeck has a multi-column view. You can glance at all of the latest tweets from your contacts in one column, see replies in another, and direct messages in a third. Or you can create groups of contacts (for example, a group of all your favorite Download Squad bloggers on Twitter), and see just updates from those contacts in a column.

You can customize the display by adding up to 10 columns, or removing columns you don't need. The display is also resizable. There are no themes and no way to adjust the font yet. But the application is still in beta.

[via ReadWriteWeb]
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
]]>tweetdecktwitterBrad Linder2008-07-07T18:00:00+00:00Truecrypt Updates to v6, Hides Your Subversive Plots Even Better!http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/07/06/truecrypt-encrypt-update-version-6/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/07/06/truecrypt-encrypt-update-version-6/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/07/06/truecrypt-encrypt-update-version-6/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

Truecrypt has been a trusted name in on-the-fly encryption for ages (v5 arrived in February). What's new in version 6? Plenty.

One of the biggest advances is support for multiple processors, which provides a boost in the encryption/decryption speed equal to the number of processors/cores in use. Other tweaks have increased the overall speed by as much as 20% in some operations - on top of the parallel processing gains.

And - holy crap - how about being able to run a fully encrypted, hidden OS? Yeah, version 6 can do that, too. There's even a handy guide on Truecrypt's website. It'll also hide volumes, and on Vista and Windows 2008 you can even hide a system volume (not on XP, though).

They've really done it right this time. If you don't have Truecrypt, get it. We've all got some data on our PC that deserves a little extra privacy and protection. Mac and Linux versions are also available, so everyone's invited to the Truecrypt party.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
]]>encryptencryptionprivacysecurityLee Mathews2008-07-06T17:00:00+00:00KOffice comes to Windows: A brief loook at KOffice 2.0 Alpha 8http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/07/04/koffice-comes-to-windows-a-brief-loook-at-koffice-2-0-alpha-8/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/07/04/koffice-comes-to-windows-a-brief-loook-at-koffice-2-0-alpha-8/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/07/04/koffice-comes-to-windows-a-brief-loook-at-koffice-2-0-alpha-8/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

KOffice windows
The K Desktop Environment, or KDE, is best known as a user interface and software suite for Linux. But for the past few months a team of developers has been hard at work porting KDE applications to Windows. When we looked at the KDE on Windows project earlier this year, it was still in the early stages and there honestly weren't many applications worth running. Now that's all changed. The problem today isn't that there isn't any software you want to run, the problem is that the applications are still pretty buggy.

A few weeks ago, the developers of KOffice, an open source suit of office applications released KOffice 2.0 Alpha for Windows, Mac, and Linux. In order to install the Windows version, you need to download and run the KDE on Windows installer utility and then select the KDE applications you want to install. To install KOffice, select the package labeled KOffice-msvc. Once it's installed you should be able to access KOffice applications like KWord and KSpread from your Windows Start Menu.

While we were able to get KWord up and running, it did crash periodically. KSpread and several other applications were non-starters. We kept getting error messages telling us that files or components were not found, which is a shame because the whole point of using the KDE on Windows installer utility is to automatically download and install any dependencies necessary to run the software you select.

The Kate and KWrite text editors seem to work pretty smoothly. But applications take a long time to start and are prone to closing unexpectedly. We wouldn't recommend replacing Microsoft Office or OpenOffice.org with KOffice on Windows just yet. But KOffice 2.0 is still in Alpha, and the KDE on Windows project is still in the early stages. Perhaps one day this little office suite could konquer the world.

[via Slashdot]
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
]]>kdekofficeofficeBrad Linder2008-07-04T15:00:00+00:00Opera turns 9.51http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/07/03/opera-turns-9-51/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/07/03/opera-turns-9-51/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/07/03/opera-turns-9-51/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Opera 9.5.1
Hot on the heels of Opera 9.5, the Opera team has released version 9.5.1 of their desktop web browser. The new version includes some recommended security and stability updates. But there are also some other handy changes. Here are a few highlights:
  • Fine-tuned the new default skin
  • Saved images no longer recorded in the file transfer window
  • Fixed an issue that could be used to display arbitrary code
  • Fixed a stability issue with Yahoo! Mail
  • 64 bit Linux package now available
Overall you won't notice a ton of changes to the interface. But if you're currently using Opera 9.5, we'd recommend updating for the security enhancements alone.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
]]>operaopera-9.5.1security-updateBrad Linder2008-07-03T19:00:00+00:00Flipping the Linux switch: Linux web tools, Pt.4 - HTML editors for every moodhttp://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/07/03/flipping-the-linux-switch-linux-web-tools-pt-4-html-editors/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/07/03/flipping-the-linux-switch-linux-web-tools-pt-4-html-editors/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/07/03/flipping-the-linux-switch-linux-web-tools-pt-4-html-editors/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Amaya split view smallMaybe you've taken some time and fooled around a bit with Quanta Plus and Bluefish and decided that they weren't for you. Maybe you just looked at the features, and the GUIs and thought, "I'd rather pluck my nose hairs out than use those."

That's okay. We're not about to pass judgment on your taste in HTML editors, or your strange penchant for self-inflicted pain. And while we may never use the tweezers in your house, we will gladly point you in the direction of alternative HTML editors.

This week we'll take a look at Screem and Amaya in brief. These two editors are frequently found in distribution repositories (and are also, of course, available as source code). Both of these editors have a very different take on what their users hope to accomplish with them. We hope at least a few have earned your badges of dorkdom, and are presently happily pondering the irony of applications that do the same thing to reach different ends.

Whether you like the idea of handcoding growing the hair on your chest (as opposed to your nostrils), the moral highground of browsing and coding with standards compliance, we've got you covered.

Next week, we'll take a closer look at our final two editors, suggested by our noble readers at the beginning of the series.

Continue reading Flipping the Linux switch: Linux web tools, Pt.4 - HTML editors for every mood

Permalink | Email this | Comments
]]>amayahtmlhtml editorsHtmlEditorslinuxscreemwebKristin Shoemaker2008-07-03T18:00:00+00:00Xandros buys Linspirehttp://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/07/03/xandros-buys-linspire/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/07/03/xandros-buys-linspire/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/07/03/xandros-buys-linspire/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Linspire 6
Xandros isn't exactly a household name, but the little Linux distribution struck it big (well, biggish anyway) last year when Asus decided to slap a customized version of the operating system on its uber-popular Eee PC laptop lineup. And now Xandros appears to be flexing its muscles a bit. The company this week announced that it has purchased Linspire, the company behind the Linspire and Freespire Linux distributions.

Linspire started its life out as Lindows, and was designed to be as much like Windows as possible. The idea behind the Linux distribution was to make the transition from Windows to Linux nearly seamless. That never quite happened, but Microsoft still didn't take too kindly to Lindows and forced the company to change its name to Linspire a few years ago.

While Linspire (like any Linux distro) can run many Windows programs thanks to WINE, the company's primary advantage over other distros is its super-simple "Click'N'Run" (or CNR) repository system which allows users to download and install free and commercial applications.

Xandros has no plans to eliminte the Linspire (which costs $50) and Freespire (the free version of Linspire). But the acquisition will give Xandros access to Linspire's intellectual property like CNR, which means new versions of Xandros could be even easier to use than the version Asus is using for the Eee PC.

[via E-Commerce News]
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
]]>linspirelinuxoperating-systemsxandrosBrad Linder2008-07-03T13:30:00+00:00Beeswax: command-line productivity apphttp://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/07/02/beeswax-command-line-productivity-app/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/07/02/beeswax-command-line-productivity-app/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/07/02/beeswax-command-line-productivity-app/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,


One of the longest ongoing debates in the productivity/Getting Things Done crowd is about which app works best for keeping tasks in order. Different factions support everything from power tools like OmniFocus to good old pen and paper. Apparently, though, some people miss classic command-line productivity apps like Lotus Agenda. If you're running a Unix-like OS, and you need a solid GTD system, you might find Beeswax, a free, Agenda-inspired app, worth a look.

It's a little tricky to explain how this works, so you might need to check it out for yourself, but we'll do our best. Basically, you have to-do items, and you have categories. If you assign sub-items to an item -- you know, something that takes multiple steps to do -- it's treated like a category. Items can be assigned to multiple categories, so everything is flexible. If you're someone who hates anything that requires a mouse, this is right up your alley.

[via 43Folders]
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
]]>command lineCommandLinegtdproductivitytext-basedJay Hathaway2008-07-02T16:00:00+00:00Hot enough for ya? Ubuntu Satanic Editionhttp://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/07/01/hot-enough-for-ya-ubuntu-satanic-edition/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/07/01/hot-enough-for-ya-ubuntu-satanic-edition/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/07/01/hot-enough-for-ya-ubuntu-satanic-edition/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Ubuntu Satanic ScreenshotPerhaps our fate is sealed at Download Squad. Perhaps if you avert your eyes now you can save yourselves. Abandon all hope ye who read past this point, and know, yea verily, that while the weather stinks here, the company is diverse and you're bound to find someone you have something in common with.

The Ubuntu Satanic Edition is Linux for the damned. You don't have to be damned to use it (well, we're using it, and we've been telling ourselves this). The best thing is that it is so well designed and configuration is so well documented, you won't even need to use naughty words in the installation process. (We do advise, to get the most out of your hellish computing experience, that you follow the configuration guide. Some of it is very obvious, some of it isn't.)

Unlike the (now on temporary hiatus) Ubuntu Christian Edition and (active) Ubuntu Muslim Edition, which both have religion-specific applications, the Satanic Edition is simply a collection of themes, wallpapers (some NSFW), sound effects and splash screens. We suppose that's fine, as we really don't want any Satanic applications on our computers, although we're pretty sure someone will comment on the true nature of OEM installs of certain software that comes pre-installed on many computers. We didn't say it, though, okay?

Ubuntu Satanic Edition is visually quite stunning. We mean this in a good way. The artwork is very professional looking, the themes render well (and there are hints for making them work better with applications that have issues with dark themes), and the screen savers and bootsplash screens work without issue. There are even Beryl Skydomes especially for this edition.

Ubuntu Satanic Edition can be optimized for wide screens, and can be uninstalled, should you have complaints from co-workers, loved ones, or just feel really creeped out. It'll install happily on Hardy, Feisty, Gutsy or Edgy in either the 32- or 64-bit varieties (PPC does have a few components missing). There are guides for installing and configuring both Ubuntu and Kubuntu. There are also several additional themes for Emerald, icon themes, and other assorted goodies that are not "officially" part of the Satantic Edition.

The version number of the Satanic Edition? Duh, 666.4, of course.

[via Aditya Kavoor's blog]
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
]]>linuxreligionsatanic editionSatanicEditionthemesubuntuwallpaperKristin Shoemaker2008-07-01T13:00:00+00:00Ubuntu 8.10 alpha 1 packs a new theme (finally)http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/30/ubuntu-8-10-alpha-1-packs-a-new-theme-finally/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/30/ubuntu-8-10-alpha-1-packs-a-new-theme-finally/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/30/ubuntu-8-10-alpha-1-packs-a-new-theme-finally/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

New theme! Om nom nom nomNever one to rest on their laurels, the Ubuntu team is hard at work on the next cutting edge version of their popular distro, Ubuntu 8.10 Intrepid Ibex (who the heck names these releases?).

As with most other Ubuntu alphas, there isn't much to write home about yet. However, much to our surprise, it has a new interface theme, for the first time since Dapper Drake. "That ugly brown theme", as many people on the internet referred to it, has been the standard on Ubuntu for over a year now, and you either love it or hate it.

"NewHuman" takes the art of Ubuntu in a new direction, and only time will tell if it makes it into the final release, scheduled for October of this year. Those who are interested in participating in the testing process may download an ISO image from the official site. As always, the Alpha versions are not recommended for production machines, so distro shufflers need not apply.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
]]>AlphasHuman ThemeHumanThemeLinuxUbuntuIan Dumych2008-06-30T09:00:00+00:00Linux Mint Elyssa: Ubuntu Hardy with a fresh aftertastehttp://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/27/linux-mint-elyssa-ubuntu-hardy-with-a-fresh-aftertaste/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/27/linux-mint-elyssa-ubuntu-hardy-with-a-fresh-aftertaste/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/27/linux-mint-elyssa-ubuntu-hardy-with-a-fresh-aftertaste/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

MMM, mintyIf you haven't heard of Linux Mint by now, you probably aren't listening very well. Mint is a distro that is heavily based on Ubuntu, but has gradually evolved on its own, with unique management tools and a stunning set of artwork (no dirt brown here!). This latest iteration brings clarity and convenience to the newest Ubuntu base, 8.04.

The most obvious improvement on its parent distro is the fact that it actually contains codecs and Flash support out of the box. The desktop layout is more similar to Windows, making this a good migration path for Microsoft refugees.

For those already familiar with Mint, this new version may not seem very different at first glance, but one big difference between this release and pretty much every other Linux distro is the inclusion of Flash 10 beta. Flash on Linux has been a rather sluggish experience for a while now, but on our humble Pentium 4 testing machine, sites like Youtube and Hulu seemed to work just as well as they do on Windows. The rest of the changes are generally little tweaks and usability improvements.

Mint can be downloaded from any one of many mirrors provided on the site, but we found the Torrent they provide to be very active and well seeded, so that is probably the best choice for now.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
]]>Desktop LinuxDesktopLinuxDistro HoppingDistroHoppingLinux MintLinuxMintIan Dumych2008-06-27T13:00:00+00:00Flipping the Linux switch: Linux web tools, Pt. 3 - Intro to HTML editorshttp://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/26/flipping-the-linux-switch-linux-web-tools-pt-3-intro-to-htm/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/26/flipping-the-linux-switch-linux-web-tools-pt-3-intro-to-htm/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/26/flipping-the-linux-switch-linux-web-tools-pt-3-intro-to-htm/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

DLS in Quanta PlusAn XHTML editor is a lot like a teacup dog breed or a designer pig. Okay, so they don't tremble incessantly or have the tendency to pee in the corner of your living room. They are really just highly specialized, souped-up versions of something else. Chihuahuas are pack animals, just like wolves. Potbellied pigs know instinctively how to root around for tasty things, as do wild boars. And XHTML editors edit text.

They have many tools to make editing XHTML (and other bits of code geared specifically for web use) faster and easier, but there's nothing says you need to use an XHTML editor for web coding. Text editors can do the job as well. If Kate, gedit, or Cream do the job for you, either on their own or with a few plugins, that's got you ahead of the game.

But there are some XHTML editors that manage to bundle the basic functions and a whole slew of handy extras into a nicely finished package. There are quite a few of them, and we'll be touching on more of them next week.

This week we'll take a peek at Bluefish and Quanta Plus. Why? Because they are the two most often included in Linux as the sort of "came with the distro" web development applications. Even if they aren't installed by default, many people try them first.
next page
Permalink | Email this | Comments
]]>bluefishcodeeditinggnomehtmlkdelinuxlinux-switchquanta plusQuantaPlusxhtmlKristin Shoemaker2008-06-26T11:00:00+00:00Tiny XP Rev 09: Windows XP with cuise controlhttp://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/24/tiny-xp-rev-09-windows-xp-with-cuise-control/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/24/tiny-xp-rev-09-windows-xp-with-cuise-control/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/24/tiny-xp-rev-09-windows-xp-with-cuise-control/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Installing or reinstalling Windows can be a real hassle. Although Windows XP comes with a basic set of drivers, there's a good chance you'll have to dig out the driver disc for some of your hardware, or scour the Internet for the appropriate files. And many power users apply hundreds of tweaks to Windows for increased performance and stability. Indeed, a simple reinstall can become a full fledged weekend project.

With Tiny XP, cumbersome installs are a thing of the past. This powerful custom install disk contains hundreds of the drivers, both new and obscure, meaning no more hunting. The supercharged version of the Windows installer properly configured devices on our test machine, a Latitude 640, that even Dell didn't mention, such as an infrared port. In addition, Tiny XP installs thousands of registry hacks, that improve the system so much you'll never want to go back to the standard version. As if that's not enough, it even includes a bunch of cool options at boot time for trouble shooting, and even a fully functional copy of the Damn Small Linux live CD!

Downloading TinyXP is very illegal since it's basically pirated version of Windows. The argument between fair use and IP law isn't going to end any time soon, so use at your own risk. Don't worry though, although it might not be as easy, there are legal ways to get similar results.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
]]>Custom XPCustomXpDamn Small LinuxDamnSmallLinuxDSLRegistry HacksRegistryHacksSlipstreamIan Dumych2008-06-24T15:30:00+00:00aTunes: Cross platform, open source media playerhttp://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/23/atunes-cross-platform-open-source-media-player/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/23/atunes-cross-platform-open-source-media-player/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/23/atunes-cross-platform-open-source-media-player/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

aTunes
Looking for an iTunes/Winamp/Amarok killer? No matter whether you're a Windows, Linux, or OS X user, you might want to check out aTunes. This media player uses the open source MPlayer engine and is built on Java, which means you can run it on pretty much any devices that supports Java. There's also a Windows installer which makes running aTunes on Windows a snap.

The program has all the features you'd expect from a modern media player, including the ability to play MP3, ogg, WMA, WAV, FLAC, MP4, RA, and RM files. You can also listen to internet radio streams. There's no support for DRM though, so if you've got restricted music files on your desktop, this might not be the player for you.

One of the niftiest features in aTunes is Last.fm integration. While you can't use the software to play music from Last.fm, you can sign into your account and submit your played song list to Last.fm. aTunes also takes advantage of Last.fm's audioscrobbling service, which means you can see a list of artists that are similar to the one you're listening to in real-time. When available, aTunes will also automatically display album art and song lyrics.

Update: It appears the web site is down, but you can still download aTunes from SourceForge.

Continue reading aTunes: Cross platform, open source media player

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
]]>atunesmedia-playerBrad Linder2008-06-23T09:00:00+00:00Klok: Time tracking made simplehttp://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/20/klok-time-tracking-made-simple/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/20/klok-time-tracking-made-simple/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/20/klok-time-tracking-made-simple/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Klok
Whether you're a freelancer working on multiple projects with different billable rates or someone who just wants to keep track of the time you spend on different tasks, Klok can help. Klok is a cross-platform time-tracking application built on Adobe AIR. That means you can use Klok on Windows, Mac, and Linux machines.

You can set up sub-projects for each project. For example, you could have a project called "watching TV," and sub-projects for Pushing Daisies, How I Met Your Mother, and Rock of Love 2. Because we know that's what you'll really want to use a time tracker for.

Klok also has a nifty little reports tab that shows you how much time you've wasted spent on various tasks. And you can export your reports as an Excel spreadsheet.

[via Lifehacker]
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
]]>adobe-airkloktime-trackerBrad Linder2008-06-20T09:00:00+00:00Giveaway: OpenSUSE 11.0 box set with all the trimmings!http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/19/giveaway-opensuse-11-0-box-set-with-all-the-trimmings/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/19/giveaway-opensuse-11-0-box-set-with-all-the-trimmings/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/19/giveaway-opensuse-11-0-box-set-with-all-the-trimmings/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

openSUSE box of goodness

The people at the OpenSUSE project are so excited about their recent 11.0 release, they're ready to share the love with a lucky Download Squad reader! And it's not that garden variety elementary school crush sort of love, either. It's the bona fide, dyed in the wool, hand-holding sort of love, complete with instruction manuals, quick start guides and 90 days of end-user installation support bliss!

The OpenSUSE 11.0 boxed version is especially nice for new users, not only because of the support and great manuals, but because it has every iteration of OpenSUSE 11.0 you could ever imagine. Need the x86 version? There it is! Got a 64 bit processor and a ridiculous amount of RAM to support? Hey, the 64 bit version's there too!

There's the usual Linux suspects, too, of course: KDE, GNOME, Xfce, OpenOffice, Firefox, GIMP, Amarok, firewall software, and AppArmor. But lest your heart become overwhelmed, there are a few hoops you have to jump through to get up close and personal with the OpenSUSE 11.0 box set of love.

In order to win the OpenSUSE 11.0 team's heart (or at least the fruits of their labor):
  • Open to legal residents of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are 18 and older
  • Leave a comment on this post and tell us what you like best about free speech and/or free beer (and keep in mind that our moms visit this site, so go easy on the free speech concerning the free beer, okay?)
  • Contest is open until 11:59 pm Eastern Time, June 26, 2008
  • You may enter once.
  • One winner will be selected in a random drawing.
  • Prize is one boxed copy of OpenSUSE 11.0, including manuals and 90 days of end-user installation support. (valued at $60)
  • Click here for complete official rules.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
]]>giveawaylinuxopensuseopensuse 11Opensuse11Kristin Shoemaker2008-06-19T19:00:00+00:00Feedly - a Firefox start page on steroidshttp://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/19/feedly-a-firefox-start-page-on-steroids/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/19/feedly-a-firefox-start-page-on-steroids/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/19/feedly-a-firefox-start-page-on-steroids/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , , ,

FeedlyIt's been a while since we've seen a compelling new browser start page. There was a real flurry of start pages a year or two ago when the likes of Google Personalized Start Page (now iGoogle), NetVibes, Pageflakes, and a myriad of other copycat sites launched. Strangely, even with such an amazing variety of start pages to choose from, we've never found any of them to be particularly compelling.

Then we were introduced to Feedly. Feedly is a start page that only works in Firefox, because it requires a Firefox browser extension to run. It's actually a locally hosted page that goes out and grabs information feed reader sites and social networks that you use, and presents it to you in a friendly magazine style layout.

Feedly can go through your Firefox bookmarks, as well as your My Yahoo! page, NetVibes, Bloglines, Twitter, FriendFeed, Yahoo! Mail, and Gmail accounts to find relevant information to present to you. If we can offer one tip, it would be to choose carefully. When setting up our page, we checked every possible option, and ended up with far too many feeds, and too many feeds that we had lost interest in that were still in some account somewhere that Feedly found.

Feedly also has a very tight integration with Google Reader, and anything that you read in Feedly will be marked as read in Google Reader, and vice versa. This is cool, but it's also dangerous, since and feeds that you add to Feedly (or that it finds) are automatically added to your Google Reader account. So again, choose carefully what feeds you want to be seeing in Feedly, as they will affect your Google Reader account.

But once it's all set up, Feedly is a very useful and elegantly done start page - so much so, that we haven't been compelled to remove it. And since no other start page has captured our interest, that's certainly something.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
]]>bloglinesFeedlyfriendfeedgmailgoogle-readernetvibesstart-pagetwitteryahoo-mailJason Clarke2008-06-19T14:00:00+00:00Pidgin joins Adium, Digsby in supporting Facebook Chathttp://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/19/pidgin-joins-adium-digsby-in-supporting-facebook-chat/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/19/pidgin-joins-adium-digsby-in-supporting-facebook-chat/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/19/pidgin-joins-adium-digsby-in-supporting-facebook-chat/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , , ,

facebook chatPidgin doesn't officially support Facebook Chat (yet?), but it can be customized with useful add-ons like the new Facebook Chat plug-in. Once installed, the plug-in allows Pidgin to log-in to a Facebook account, pull the buddy-list, and send/receive messages.

Adium, arguably Pidgin's counterpart on Mac, also received support for Facebook Chat in the recent 1.3 beta release, though, the feature is absent from the most recent official update. If you're a risk-taker who enjoys putting his/her computer in jeopardy for the sake of testing new software, give it a shot.

We've also covered a couple of other methods of taking Facebook Chat outside the site:
  1. There's a Firefox plug-in that adds the social-network's IM service to a sidebar.
  2. The social software/service one-stop-shop known as Digsby also added support for Facebook Chat earlier this year.
[via Lifehacker]
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
]]>adiumchatfacebookIMinstant messageInstantMessagepidginDanny Mendez2008-06-19T12:00:00+00:00OpenSUSE 11.0 proves chameleons can take on Herons any dayhttp://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/19/opensuse-11-0-proves-chameleons-can-take-on-herons-any-day/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/19/opensuse-11-0-proves-chameleons-can-take-on-herons-any-day/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/19/opensuse-11-0-proves-chameleons-can-take-on-herons-any-day/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

OpenSUSE 11.0 GNOME desktop versionOpenSUSE has always been an odd sort of Linux distribution. It's always been reasonably user friendly, very stable, and quite nicely pulled off the not-so-easy task of being good for new users while offering advanced and power users the flexibility and freedom they require.

Yet OpenSUSE often gets a bad wrap. There's that whole Novell/Microsoft/the world is ending conspiracy thing going on, for one thing. Certainly when Novell bought SuSE, it was disturbing. What were Novell's intentions? Where were things going to go from this point? Was openSUSE going to suffer for it?

Suffer? We probably wouldn't go as far as to say that. Were the changes and improvements to the distribution immediately after Novell took the helm earth-shaking? No, not particularly. They were modest, and worked well enough, but nothing that seemed leaps and bounds beyond the previous versions.

Nothing seemed leaps and bounds beyond -- until now. Today, OpenSUSE officially rolled out the 11.0 release. OpenSUSE seems to have scrutinized itself, from the kernel to the community. The developers pushed away from what seemed like an "adapt to survive" mode, and rolled out a release with changes so dramatic and beautiful that the distribution's chameleon ("geeko") mascot seems less cute and instead genuinely fitting.

If we had one word, and only one word to use to describe OpenSUSE 11.0, it would be this:

Fast.

Yes, dear readers. We just used the word "fast" (boldface, even) in relation to an OpenSUSE release. It starts and runs applications quickly, and we can say completely honestly, it installs quickly. We aren't just talking system updates and "here and there" YaST additions. No... You can boot the liveCD and have a complete OpenSUSE 11.0 system on your hard drive in what seems even slightly less time than an Ubuntu install.
next page
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
]]>installerlinuxlivecdnovellopensuseopensuse 11Opensuse11tweet-thisKristin Shoemaker2008-06-19T10:00:00+00:00What to expect from Mozilla's mobile Firefox web browserhttp://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/18/what-to-expect-from-mozillas-mobile-firefox-web-browser/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/18/what-to-expect-from-mozillas-mobile-firefox-web-browser/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/18/what-to-expect-from-mozillas-mobile-firefox-web-browser/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

Fennec tabs
Now that Firefox 3 has finally shipped, the developers at Mozilla are starting to make time for other projects. Don't get us wrong, those busy little bees are already working on Firefox 3.1, but they're also working on something entirely new: a mobile web browser.

The mobile version of Firefox, (currently codenamed Fennec -- a final name hasn't been picked yet), will use the same rendering engine as Firefox 3. In other words, any web page you can view with the desktop browser will be usable on a mobile device. That includes AJAX-heavy web applications. But nobody's pretending that you can just run Firefox 3 on a cellphone without making any changes. After all, mobile devices have small screens, slow processors, low amounts of memory, and often rely on relatively slow internet connections.

Last week we showed you a first look at a concept interface that might make its way into the final product. But it might not. So we decided to speak with Jay Sullivan, VP of Mobile for Mozilla. He gave us a run down of what's in store for Fennec, including what types of devices will be supported and when you'll be able to try the browser out for yourself.

Continue reading What to expect from Mozilla's mobile Firefox web browser

Permalink | Email this | Comments
]]>browsercellphonefennecfirefoxmobile-phonetweet-thisBrad Linder2008-06-18T18:00:00+00:00Wine 1.0 pops the cork: Run Windows apps on Linuxhttp://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/17/wine-1-0-pops-the-cork-run-windows-apps-on-linux/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/17/wine-1-0-pops-the-cork-run-windows-apps-on-linux/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/17/wine-1-0-pops-the-cork-run-windows-apps-on-linux/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Wine 1.0
It may have taken 15 years, but the developers behind Wine have finally decided the Windows emulation layer for Linux and Unix-based systems is stable enough to wear a 1.0 label. Now, don't get too excited. That doesn't mean every last Windows app will run on Linux under Wine. But it does mean that Wine's more stable than ever, and thousands of Windows applications have been reported to work.

Wine 1.0 installation instructions are available for a whole slew of distributions, including Fedora, Red Hat, SUSE, Mandriva, Slackware, Ubuntu, Debian, FreeBSD and Solaris. Or if you wait a few days there's a good chance the latest version of Wine will be added to your distro's official repositories.

To be perfectly honest, you might not notice a ton of changes from previous versions of Wine. But the latest build does include a ton of fixes for specific applications including WinRAR, Skype, Dragon Naturally Speaking, and video games like Call of Duty 1.0

[via Digg]
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
]]>linuxwindows-emulatorwinewine-1.0winehqBrad Linder2008-06-17T17:00:00+00:00