testing posts

Filed under: Photo, Windows, Macintosh, Adobe, Commercial

Get Adobe Lightroom 3 for free! (kinda)

by Sebastian Anthony Oct 27th 2009

Adobe Lightroom 3 Beta -- photo credit: Adobe Systems

Until April 30th 2010 -- six whole months! -- Adobe Lightroom 3 is available for public beta testing.

In the last week there's been a lot of news regarding Lightroom 3's advanced feature, and now here's your chance to actually give it a whirl!

Lightroom is great for every kind of photographer -- casual, avid snapper or professional. It's not a full-featured editing suite like Photoshop, but it does have most functionality that photographers (note: not 'digital artists') might require -- but if you're the kind of artist or photographer that likes to airbrush his works into submission, Lightroom isn't for you. It is a 'digital darkroom and presentation' tool -- so from downloading photos, to sorting through them and producing pretty presentations/contact sheets, Lightroom's the program to use.

For those of you that have used it before, and are wondering why it might be a good time to upgrade (or at least try the beta), here are the new or enhanced features that Adobe are touting:

Brand new performance architecture, building for the future of growing image libraries
State-of-the-art noise reduction to help you perfect your high ISO shots
Watermarking tool that helps you customize and protect your images with ease
Portable sharable slideshows with audio-designed to give you more flexibility and impact on how you choose to share your images, you can now save and export your slideshows as videos and include audio
Flexible customizable print package creation so your print package layouts are all your own
Film grain simulation tool for enhancing your images to look as gritty as you want
New import handling designed to make importing streamlined and easy
More flexible online publishing options so you can post your images online to certain online photo sharing sites directly from inside Lightroom 3 beta (may require third-party plug-ins)*

And if those bullets got your juices flowing, here's the download link again: Adobe Lightroom 3 Public Beta

Tags: adobe, beta, digital camera, DigitalCamera, free, lightroom, photography, testing

Filed under: Google, Beta, Browsers

Bookmark sync now available in Google Chrome dev channel

by Lee Mathews Aug 17th 2009

Less than a week ago, I spotted the early stages of bookmark sync in the Chromium nightly builds and source. Tonight, Google pushed the functionality in a new update to the dev channel for Google Chrome.

If you're running it already, just head to the wrench menu and click about. Once Chrome checks for and finds the update, install it and you're ready to sync. You'll still need to append --enable-sync to your shortcut for the option to appear when you restart. Once you sign in with your Google account, Chrome will keep syncing unless you go to your Personal Stuff options and tell it to take five.

Don't check your Google Bookmarks for your links. They'll actually be synced to a folder in your Google Docs unsurprisingly labeled Google Chrome.

Run a sync from a second (or third or seventeenth) computer and Chrome will prompt you to merge and sync or cancel. It's a nice step, since it gives you time to clean up your bookmarks before committing them to your Google docs store.

Since the Chrome dev page is still pushing v 3.0.198.1 for Linux, you won't be able to use sync just yet. The updated build is likely not far behind (if you've got it working in your distro, please tell us in the comments - I had no luck with Chrome or with Chromium via Launchpad).

For those of you who want to make the switch to the dev channel now to give sync a try, you can download it from this Google page or use the Chrome Channel Changer to switch the build the built-in updater checks.

Tags: beta, bookmark-sync, dev-channel, google-chrome, linux, mac, sync, testing, windows

Filed under: News, Mozilla, Beta, Browsers

First Firefox 3.7 pre-alpha appears in nightly builds

by Lee Mathews Aug 14th 2009

With the first Firefox 3.6 alpha in the bag, what's the next logical step for Mozilla to take? Why, to roll out the first pre-alpha of version 3.7, of course.

Sure, the 3.6 alpha 2 is still labeled Minefield, but why not go for maximum danger factor with your bleeding-edge install?

The 3.7 interface hasn't yet started to look like the mockups we saw a little while ago. Glass support isn't built in and the UI elements are still the same as those in 3.5, and the standalone search box is still there (appearance in my screenshot is different due to my previously modified 3.6 install). I've only been using it for a few minutes, obviously, but it feels as stable as the 3.6 alpha so far. It's also pretty damn speedy and easy on ram.

Head-to-head against Chrome 3.0.197.11 in Futuremark's Peacekeeper, 3.7 came up short - posting a score 19% lower. In actual use, though, I don't notice a substantial difference. Responsiveness is actually better than Chrome, which has suffered intermittent sluggishness over the past few days.

As with any new Minefield build, you're probably not going to be able to use some of your go-to add-ons and favorite themes. To take it for a spin, head over to the Mozilla FTP and download it.

Share your impressions in the comments!

Tags: developer, firefox-3.7, pre-alpha, testing

Filed under: Google, Open Source, Beta, Browsers

Latest Google Chrome dev build adds Windows 7 jumplist support

by Lee Mathews Aug 9th 2009

Though the recent release of Firefox 3.6 alpha 1 didn't prioritize support for Windows 7's jumplists, Google has flicked the switch in the latest developer channel build of Chrome.

As you can see in the screenshot above, Chrome's jumplist works just like any other in Windows 7. Recently browsed sites are listed below those you pin to the list. Space is also reserved for quick access to recently closed tabs and opening new windows - both normal and incognito.

Quick access to (I might as well say it) porn mode is a welcome change. Sure, you could set up it yourself by adding a command line argument to your Chrome shortcut, but this is a much more elegant solution. That's assuming, of course, you're on Windows 7 and can take advantage of the feature.

Grab the build from the Developer Channel page.

Tags: chromium, developer-channel, google-chrome, jumplists, testing, web-browser, windows-7

Filed under: Design, Web services, web 2.0

Checkmycolours.com spots color gaffes in your web designs

by Lee Mathews Jun 11th 2009

If there's one thing I've learned from watching the front page of Delicious, it's that designers love to bookmark things. More to the point, they love handy web tools that help them with their creative work.

One more tool to consider adding to your arsenal is Checkmycolours. Drop a URL into the box and press the check button, and you'll receive an exhaustive analysis of page elements and their contrast ratio and brightness/color difference. You can view the complete report or switch to an error-only view to focus on potential problems.

No, an automated checker isn't a substitute for years of design experience and an eye for what works, but this can definitely be a helpful reference point.

Here's a shocker for you - Checkmycolours.com passes their own tests with flying...oh, never mind.

Want more great color tools? If you missed it, Dolores put together a fantastic roundup of 10 great online color apps.

Tags: color, color-scheme, design, test, testing

Filed under: Developer, Features, Linux, Open Source, Beta

Flipping the Linux switch: Enlightening experiences with window managers

by Kristin Shoemaker Mar 28th 2008

Do you remember our youth? The good times we had, the games we played, and that great discussion we had about what makes a window manager different from a desktop environment? Then our relationship sort of got stuck on desktop environments.

It's understandable, of course. Most new Linux users feel more comfortable with something a little heavier than a window manager like Fluxbox or WindowMaker. The interesting thing, of course, is that many new users are either consciously or unconsciously playing the field of not only distributions, but desktops.

Rest assured, KDE will not text you a hundred times a day to beg, plead or curse if you switch desktops. GNOME will not mail you a dead fish from the opposite side of the country, book rate. In this relationship, it is always okay to have a wandering eye, not only for what is out there, but for what's on the horizon.

We like Enlightenment as it stands now. It's one of our favorite window managers. It doesn't feel too foreign to the new user, but it is still extremely lightweight. If there was a spectrum with the heaviest desktop environments on the right, and the lightest window managers on the left, just right of the middle would be the venerable Xfce, and just to the left of the middle would be Enlightenment.

But as for what's on the horizon for Enlightenment? We have seen e17. Right now it's an alpha release, and we're waiting not too patiently for the coming out party. We are smitten.

Tags: alpha, desktop, desktop environment, DesktopEnvironment, enlightenment, linux, linux-switch, open source, OpenSource, testing, window manager, WindowManager

Filed under: Business, Internet, Web services, Google, Beta, Search

Google testing new animated homepages

by Chris Gilmer Jul 25th 2007

Google has been experimenting with totally different homepages in both Taiwan and in Hong Kong than what other countries have experienced.

During a conference call the end of last week, Sergey Brin announced that Google has been testing another version of its homepage that adds a row of icons across the top of the search bar, and animated icons below it. The search giant has been taking advantage of the higher broadband speeds in these markets and pushing the types of content they can serve visitors.

Google has also been experimenting with the iGoogle homepages in both Hong Kong and Taiwan. Adding both tabbed content and animated icons for Google services. Will these experiments make their way to the U.S. and other countries in some form? Most likely not. Local culture and higher connection speeds allow for these types of additions in these regions.

What do you think; would you like to see these additions rolled out on Google in other countries?

[via pcworld]

Tags: experiments, google, hong kong, HongKong, igoogle, search, taiwan, testing

Filed under: Design, Blogging, Productivity, Web services, Google

Google AdSense Preview Sandbox 1.0

by David Chartier May 22nd 2007

Getting your website or blog ready for AdSense isn't always a picnic, and trying to peg the right keywords to generate the best ads for your audience can often prove to be a cryptic game of whack-a-mole. Sure, Google offers their own basic sandbox for building your ad units, but they don't really help you with either of the aforementioned tasks.

Thankfully, Amit Agarwal has stepped up to the plate and offered the Adsense Sandbox, a simple tool that allows you to quickly see 20 text ads, as well as Adlinks and Rich Text Ad results (images and videos) for a particular URL or keyword(s). As a particularly nice touch, Amit even included the ability to change your country to ensure the most accurate URL and keyword results for your neck of the woods.

Tags: adlinks, adsense, google, sandbox, testing, tools

Filed under: Internet, Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Web services, Freeware, Open Source

VirtualSafari: a web-based front end to Apple's browser

by David Chartier Jul 28th 2006

If you're building a website without a Mac on hand, but need to test how it performs in Apple's Safari web browser, a mere screenshot of how it renders might not be enough. Since a Mac isn't lying around for hands-on testing, what's a web designer to do? Why, install VirtualSafari on your own server, of course. VirtualSafari is a web-based front end to WebKit, the open source rendering engine behind Apple's browser. Setting this up to might not be for the faint of heart (instructions are included in the download), but if you follow through, you'll have the proper testing grounds for making sure your sites are ready for prime time on a Mac - sans the Mac. This could be a handy tool for designers who want or need to consider the Mac constituency, especially since Safari's market share is on the rise, and WebKit powers more popular Mac OS X browsers than just Safari; OmniWeb (random trivia: it beat Netscape by a year with image support) and Shiira also ride the WebKit wave.

VirtualSafari is provided free from Sveinbjorn Thordarson's site, where he (as you might expect) hosts a test copy.

Tags: apple, browser, open source, OpenSource, safari, server, test, testing, virtual, web, webkit

Filed under: Web services, Google

Google comments on UI tests

by Jordan Running Apr 24th 2006

It seems like every month there's talk of Google testing some new feature on a few randomly-selected users. Until now they've kept to themselves about these things, but today there's a post on the offical Google Blog that confirms and explains what's going on. There's no revelations, here, just what we already knew: "From time to time, we run live experiments on Google—tests visible to a relatively few people—to discover better ways to search. We do this because there’s no good substitute for understanding how real people, in real-world situations, actually operate." They do toss a little denial into the mix, though, passing off their recent job search move as just "testing new ways to refine searches." "There's no set schedule when we'll roll out these sorts of new ideas (if at all)," the post says, "but these tests help us to improve your search experience." In other words, expect these little tests to keep popping up from time to time.

Tags: beta, google, googleblog, test, testing

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With Halloween fast approaching, it's a great time to get in some practice defending your territory against zombies. In Graveyard Shift, you take aim at zombies and other creepy-crawlies, blasting them into splatters of cartoony green guts. It's a casual first-person shooter, and it's very easy to get the hang of - use the mouse to aim, click to fire. Graveyard Shift has at least 15 levels, and it might even have some secret stages I haven't unlocked yet. They key to getting good at Graveyard Shift is learning to use ...

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