So, you're a web designer, and you want to start taking advantage of new features in CSS 3 and HTML5. That's great, but you know that most of your users aren't running browsers that support these new standards. You could just wait for browsers to get with the times, or you could check out Modernizr.

Modernizr is a JavaScript library by Faruk Ates that detects which functionality a browser can support, and allows you to use if-statements to fine-tune your fallbacks for browsers that don't support the new hotness. Modernizr can't fix old browsers, but it can make it more practical to support newer ones. On top of all the CSS 3 styles it can detect support for, it also allows you to use and style HTML5 elements without breaking your site for IE users. Not too shabby for a little bit of JavaScript.

Just a few weeks after launching VirtualBox 3.0 beta, Sun has removed the beta label from the next version of the open source, cross-platform virtualization application. VirtualBox 3.0 includes a number of updates, including:

• Support for OpenGL 2.0 for Windows, Linux, and Solaris guests
• Ability to use Direct3D 8/9 applications on Windows guests
• Support for Linux kernel 2.6.31
• Up to 32 virtual CPUs

VirtualBox 3.0 also includes a number of bug fixes and improvements, and overall improved 3D graphics support. You can find more details in the changelog. Virtualbox is available as a download for Windows, OS X, Linux, or Solaris hosts.

3RVX is a utility that lets you control your computer's volume using global hotkeys including keyboard or mouse shortcuts. If you don't have a keyboard with volume controls on it, this can come in handy and save you the valuable fraction of a second it takes to click on the over the Windows volume icon and adjust the volume the old fashioned way.

As an added bonus, 3RVX also has a rather attractive volume indicator that shows up when you adjust the volume. The default view looks a lot like the OS X volume indicator. But you can choose from a number of skins or create your own. You can also change the global hotkeys, choose whether to show a system tray icon, and tweak a number of other settings. You can check out some of the settings in the image after the break.

3RVX is available as a free download. The developer's page is a bit sparce, but just look around until you find the installer for the most recent version. You can also check ou the documentation for more information.

[via Freeware Genius]

Nexus is a free application launcher for Windows that works a lot like the OS X dock. It's hardly the only dock-style program launcher for Windows, but Nexus is one of the most attractive and flexible options I've seen. The free utility comes with a handful of themes and offers live previews of your CPU and RAM usage and your local weather forecast.

There are a ton of advanced settings, many of which have to do with the program's animations and other visual elements. Adding programs to the dock is as simple as dragging and dropping them. You can remove shortcuts by dragging them to the trash bin.

The makers of Nexus also offer a commercial application called WinStep Xtreme which bundles Nexus with a desktop replacement called WorkShelf and a start menu organizer called Winstep Start Menu. If you shell out the $24.95 for WinStep Xtreme you also get a few extra features for the Nexus dock, including multi-level docks.

[via Life Rocks 2.0]

When you insert a USB flash drive or removable storage like a CD or SD card into a Linux computer, you'll often see a shortcut pop up on your desktop. When you do the same thing in Windows, you probably see an often-annoying pop up menu asking what you'd like to do with your removable media.

Desktop Media is a small Windows app that brings up a Linux-like desktop shortcut whenever you insert removable media. The application can automatically detect CDs, DVDs, RAM disks, or removable flash drives or other storage. When you remove the drive, the shortcut disappears.

Desktop Media is available as a free download for Windos XP or Vista.

[via Freeware Genius]

One feature of the Windows 7 taskbar I don't quite agree with is the inability to pin folders somewhere other than Windows Explorer. I have two or three key folders that I'd like to access from my taskbar - and I'd rather not have create new toolbars to do it.

Alastria software's 7stacks has the solution. It's a small (about 800Kb) program that creates OsX-like stacks as standalone shortcuts. Unlike your native Windows 7 folders, each 7stacks shortcut behaves like a separate executable - so you can pin as many as you like to your taskbar.

Apart from the stack view, you can also display folder contents as a menu (plain old lists) and grid (pictured).

To see 7stacks in action, you can watch a brief demo I captured after the break.

[via Into Windows]

Sites like Rapidshare and Megaupload tend to be used heavily by music blogs and other sites that don't have the bandwidth or the storage space to handle a high volume of downloads. Even the biggest mirror services can get bogged down, though. Sometimes one mirror will be slow, your file will be taken down, or you'll reach the limited number of downloads some sites allow. Mirroring your file on several services at once is a possible solution, and DropRecord makes it easy to upload to all of them at once.

Ok, so maybe DropRecord doesn't upload to every single mirror out there, but it hits around a dozen sites, most of which you've probably heard of: the aforementioned Rapidshare and Megaupload, Zshare, Mediafire and Sendspace are all included. You can also search DropRecord for files people have uploaded with it. The only catch is the 500mb upload limit, but a lot of individual mirror sites impose similar caps.

Sure, you know that your CPU heats up when you ask too much of it. But do you know just how hot it gets? Real Temp can tell you. This light weight Windows application can monitor the temperature of a wide variety of Intel processors including single, dual, and quad core CPUs.

You can configure Real Temp to show your CPU temperature in your system tray or just run the executable program when you just want a quick look at your system health.

The program also lets you run executable files when the temperature hits a certain point. So you could create a script that would allow the program to do things like shut down your system, kill tasks, or shoot you an email letting you know that your computer is about to explode.

Some of Real Temp's features are tied into bulkier system status monitors. But Real Temp is a light weight app that comes in a 170KB ZIP file and which uses less than 4MB of RAM when running.

[via gHacks]

Jake is a cross-platform collaborative file-sharing client that lets you create a folder and keep it synced for everyone you invite. It's built on open-source tools like Jabber, and seems to have a lot of features going for it. You can't really beat it for ease of use: setup is just adding a folder and inviting people, with no server-side fiddling to do. Even better, you can set Jake up on your intranet if you want to use it for work-related purposes.

The main difference between Jake and similar solutions like Dropbox is that Jake doesn't store files on a central server in the cloud. It just uses Jabber, XMPP and other open-source tools to sync the folder for users when they're online. Although Jake saves a log of the changes users make to the folder, it doesn't back up old versions of the data - again, no central server. This makes it slightly less powerful than some other, similar file-sharing services, but it makes setup a lot easier.

Creating playlists can be tedious, and every bit of information can help. While some people maintain the ID3 tags in their MP3 files in excruciating detail, others (like me) can't seem to find the time. But when it comes to finding the tempo, no amount of manual ID3 tag maintenance will help.

If you're trying to put together a playlist that contains songs that are a similar speed, knowing the beats-per-minute of each song is immensely helpful. Luckily, there is a free download called BPM Analyzer from MixMeister that will analyze all of your MP3 tracks, and update the ID3 tags in them with exact BPM information. With that done, it's a simple matter of sorting your music library by the beats-per-minute field.

Now you can put together an upbeat energy-boosting playlist full of fast songs, a mellow playlist with slower songs, or pretty much anything you desire. And for the nerds like me, it's just another piece of information to sort and group your music by.

BPM Analyzer is available on both the Windows and Mac operating system.

[via Lifehacker]

Yesterday I wrote up a little list of things I wished people would quit installing on their PCs. Today, I've put together a selection of handy programs those same people can use to take care of some of the annoyances I mentioned - and more.

Here are six (seventeen, really, but some are grouped) simple applications that will help - and they're all free for personal use!

1. PC Decrapifier - A lot of people that drop their systems off for repair say "take out any programs that don't need to be there." Well, that's exactly the kind of crud Decrapifier is designed to get rid of. It compares the programs on your system to a list of known bloatware (Wikipedia definition) and simplifies the removal process.

2. Malware Bytes - Those annoying popups you're getting? The weird pages you see when you try to search for something in your browser? Malware Bytes does a great job at removing the pests that cause those problems. It's usually the first program I run on horribly bogged-down computers. After a scan, clean, and reboot, they're usually much more cooperative.

3. Glary Utilities - The one-click maintenance mode in Glary is a wonderfully simple way for even non-technical users to keep their systems tuned. It tackles all kinds of tasks, from removing temporary file garbage and broken shortcuts to tuning up your registry.

One note: download the slim version to avoid the Ask Toolbar. You can opt out of it during the regular install, but slim removes it altogether.

Portable applications suites are a great way to get your hands on a ton of useful software with minimal fuss. Got a new flash drive, or maybe an old one you don't know what to do with?

Throw one of these suites on it and you've got an instant software Swiss Army Knife.

PortableApps.com - John T. Haller's project is the most well-known suite on the 'net. It includes Firefox, OpenOffice (or AbiWord in the light version), Pidgin, Thunderbird, Sunbird, Sumatra PDF, KeePass, and more. Haller is very good for keeping the core up-to-date - you'll usually see new versions of the Mozilla apps the same day they're released.

LiberKey - The Ultimate version will take up half a gig on your drive, and it's packed with useful programs, including technician favorites like CPU-Z, RegShot, Revo Uninstaller, Unlocker. There are also loads of multimedia, networking, and internet apps. The 180Mb basic version is a lot like PortableApps with the addition of Piriform's tools (CCleaner, Defraggler, Recuva). They've got a handy comparison chart posted as well. One omission worth noting: OpenOffice.

VirtualBox is a free virtualization application for Windows, OS X, or Linux. Like VirtualPC, or VMWare, VirtualBox lets you run an operating system within an operating system. Say, for example, you want to test out Ubuntu Linux without installing it or even logging out of Windows. Just download the Ubuntu installation disc image, fire up VirtualBox, and load the disc image.

Today VirtualBox 3.0 beta 1 was released. The update brings:

• Support for up to 32 virtual CPUs
• Direct3D 8/9 applications on Windows guests
• Support for OpenGL 2.0 for Windows, Linux, and Solaris guests

There are also a number of bug fixes including better virtual mouse drivers, improved suspend/resume functionality on Solaris hosts, and GUI enhancements. You can read a more detailed list in the release notes.

VirtualBox 3.0 beta is pre-release software, and it could contain some bugs. I wouldn't recommend using it if you're afraid of mucking up your system, but the beta does provide a sneak peek at where this program is heading. The beta is available for download for a number of platforms including Windows, OS X, Solaris, and a whole slew of Linux distributions.