Add Sticky Notes to web pages in Firefox

Web browsers like Firefox do not provide you with any means to add information to websites that you visit regularly.

While some users may not miss the features, others may find it useful as it allows them to access information directly on the website, instead of having to look up the information in another application or another page on the website.

Examples? The phone number of a business on its frontpage, advanced search parameters on Startpage or !bangs on DuckDuckGo, fees on PayPal, or a reminder to water your plants on another site that you visit regularly.

While you can add sticky notes to your monitor, or use a third-party program to keep track of things, they are not really that comfortable to use. The reason here is that you will either see them all the time -- in the case of physical notes -- or have to open a third-party program to display them.

Sticky Notes for Firefox

Sticky Notes is a browser extension for the Firefox web browser that enables you to add as many sticky notes to as many web pages as you like.

Once you have installed the add-on in the browser -- a restart is not required -- it is accessible with a click on its toolbar icon or via keyboard shortcuts.
To add a note, simply click on the toolbar icon and select Generate Sticky from the context menu, or use the shortcut Ctrl-Shift-C to do so.

The note that appears can be moved via drag and drop operations, and resized as you see fit.
Notes consist of tags and text that you can add to them. Once you have added a note, it is always displayed on the page when you load it. Please note that notes are linked to exact matching pages on domains.

You can use the toolbar menu or the shortcut Ctrl-Shift-S to display all sticky notes in the sidebar. Here you display each sticky note directly, delete notes, jump to the websites they have been created on, or use the search to find a note of interest.
Notes are sorted by domain by default, which you can change to tags, or domain and tags instead. Domains are displayed without their domain extension which can make identification difficult if you access them using different entry points such as google.com and google.de, as all are displayed as google by the extension.

Closing Words

Sticky Notes for Firefox is a useful extension. While it may not be useful to all users of the browser, it can be very useful to users who want to add information to select web pages they visit regularly.

Steam desktop theme for Windows 7 released

If you are a big fan of the gaming platform Steam, or just like its dark style, and run Windows 7, you may be interested in a new theme that was released today.

Steam VS for Windows 7 is a full theme for the operating system -- as opposed to basic themes that only change colors, wallpapers and a couple of other things -- that turns the desktop into a Steam like interface.

The theme cannot be installed directly on the system though, as you need to prepare it first before that is possible. First thing you need to do is patch several system files that block the installation of custom themes.

Programs such as Ultra UX Theme Patcher or UxStyle replace the relevant files on the system for you and create a system restore point so that you can restore the original files if the need arises.

Note that a reboot of the system is required to complete the modification.
Once that is out of the way, you need to move the files found in the themes folder to the \Windows\resources\themes folder. To load one of the three theme versions, simply click on it.
You are not done yet, as you need to replace additional system files that prevent the theme from looking like on the screenshot above.
You find instructions and the files that you need to replace in the system files folder of the package. Here is what you need to do:

1. You need to take ownership of the following files: C:\Windows\system32\explorerframe.dll, C:\Windows\system32\timedate.cpl, C:\Windows\system32\shell32.dll
2. If you are using a 64-bit version of Windows, add this file to the list of files you need to alter: C:\Windows\sysWOW64\explorerframe.dll
3. Once you have the rights, you need to replace the files listed above with the versions supplied.
4. It is highly suggested to create backups of the files before you replace them, so that you can restore them if the need arises.
5. Make sure you pick the right files. If you run a 32-bit version, use the 32-bit files, otherwise, use the 64-bit versions.
6. Restart the PC afterwards, or at least explorer.exe.

In case you are wondering what the individual files do:

• explorerframe.dll modifies navigation icons.
• timedate.cpl the clock.
• shell32.dll the Shell style.

Verdict

If you like dark themes or styles, then you will most likely find the Steam visual style for Windows 7 appealing.  While it is necessary to modify several system files for that, it is not really problematic to restore the system if you do not want to use the theme anymore or run into issues.
Besides using system restore for that or backups that you have created prior to replacing the files, it is also possible to use the system file checker that ships with Windows.

Coursera brings free university courses to Android

The Internet offers a lot when it comes to learning new skills. Not only when it comes to resources like tutorials, videos, images and all that good stuff, but also people and organizations that like to help.

Coursera started as a web service offering university courses and lectures for free to interested users from all over the world. All you had to do was sign up, and join the courses that you are interested in.
Courses are provided by top universities and institutions from all over the world such as Yale, Stanford, Tokyo or Princeton.

You do not need an account to check out the current course offering on the website which should provide you with an overview of what is being offered right now, and which courses start in the next weeks.

The Coursera Android application brings all what Coursera has to offer to the mobile operating system. You do need to create an account if you do not already have one, but once that is out of the way, can start joining courses or continue courses that you have started on the web.
Progress is synchronized automatically so that you can use the mobile apps or the web service and never have to wonder where you have to continue a lecture or course.
You can either use the browse option the app provides to find courses of interest, or use the search function instead to find courses matching your search phrase.

Joining a course is easy. Just tap on the course that you are interested in to get to the overview page. Here you get a short description of what the course is about, information about the duration of the course, the weekly workload, language and the week the course is in, and sometimes an introductory video as well.

Simply tap on the join button to sign up for it. The course is then added to the list of current courses if it is already running, or to the list of upcoming courses instead if it is a future course.
When you load a course that you have joined, you are taken to an overview page listing the course's weekly lectures and other resources that may have been created for it.

All videos are streamed by default but there is an option to download them all to the device instead so that they can be viewed offline. This is not only useful if you want to watch videos if you do not have access to a reliable Internet connection but also for watching videos multiple times as you will save bandwidth doing so.

Besides videos, you may also find the following learning resources:

• Syllabus provides an overview of the course and additional reading that may be mandatory or voluntary.
• Assignments are multiple-choice quizzes.
• Discussions  take part in the discussion forum created for the week's topic.

The first thing you may want to do after signing up for a course is to open the course pages. Here you will find additional information about the course, including syllabus and readings, information about grading and logistics, and other course related information.
One issue that you may run into is that it may not be as easy to get access to all reading resources. All are linked and some enable you to access the information directly on websites while others allow you to download them to your computer. Some information on the other hand are not directly accessible.

Closing Words

Coursera for Android is the ideal companion application for existing users of the service. It can be used as a standalone application without using the web service at all, which may appeal to some users as well. It is ideal if you want to watch lectures or learn while you are commuting or in locations where you do not have access to a computer or a reliable Internet connection.

How to disable the internal pdf reader in Firefox and Chrome

Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome ship with built-in pdf reader applications that will display documents in the browser when you click on them.

While some may like that as it may be convenient for them, others may prefer to use a different program for that or download the files directly to their computer system to load it in a desktop program instead or have it there for safekeeping.

It is possible to download pdf documents directly in both browsers or configure the browsers to use third-party plugins to handle pdfs.

Just right-click on the file link and select the save option here, but if you want that to be triggered on a left-click as well, you need to modify how pdf files are handled by the browser.
How to disable Chrome's pdf reader

It is pretty simply to disable Google Chrome's native pdf reader.

1. Type chrome://plugins in the browser's address bar and hit the enter key on your keyboard afterwards.
2. This displays all third-party and native plugins currently installed in the browser as well as their state.
3. Locate Chrome PDF Viewer and click on the disable link to turn it off.

When you click on a pdf document afterwards, it will automatically be downloaded instead of displayed.
Note: If you have installed another plugin or extension that acts as a reader for pdf documents, then it will be used.
Additional information

1. Disable Google Chrome's Native PDF Viewer, Flash Plugin
2. Google Chrome gets native PDF plugin

Turn off PDF reader in Firefox
Firefox users have multiple options in this regard. The first uses the browser's applications menu to set a different action for pdf file types.

1. Tap on the Alt-key on your keyboard and select Tools > Options from the menu bar that opens up.
2. Switch to Applications and filter by pdf using the search at the top.
3. There are three main actions available: always ask displays a prompt that provides you with options to select the action for every pdf document you click on in Firefox.  Save file will automatically download the pdf file to the system, while Use application will use the selected program to display the document instead.

To disable the internal pdf reader, select always ask or save file. If you want to use another pdf reader, select the program instead.
There is a second option available, and it involves editing Firefox's advanced configuration.

1. Type about:config in the Firefox address bar and hit enter.
2. Confirm you will be careful if the warning prompt appears.
3. Search for pdfjs.disabled using the form at the top.
4. The default value of the preference is set to false, which means that the pdf reader is enabled.
5. Double-click on the name to set it to true. This disables the reader.

Wifi Collector is Nirsoft’s first Android application

Nir Sofer is a highly productive software developer who has published more than a hundred different programs for Windows in the last decade.

The majority of tools that he has developed are held in high regard, and chance is that you have come across at least some of them in the past.

These tools are highly specialized most of the time, always portable, and very easy to use. Up until now, only Windows software was released on NirSoft.

This changed yesterday with the release of the first Android application.

Wifi Collector is a free application for Android 3.0 and up that scans the area for wireless networks. It works similar to comparable tools such as WirelessNetView or WifiInfoView that run on Windows.
The core advantage of Wifi Collector is that it is easier to carry around considering that you do not need to take a laptop or tablet with you, as all you need is your smartphone to do so.

Once you have installed the application and started it up, you are taken to a basic interface. Here you can tap on start to run a scan, export to save the information to a local file, or go to the settings first.
It is probably a good idea to open the settings first as you define here what is being scanned and what is ignored.

You can define which network information you want the program to collect in the settings. If you are only interested in WEP and WPA-PSK, you can disable the other options for example, or only scan for open networks instead which you can connect to right away.
Other options provided here are to collect 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz networks, ad-hoc networks or infrastructure mode networks, set a minimum signal level (dBm) or start only when GPS is enabled and available.

When you hit Start on the main screen, Wifi Collector will start to record all matching wireless networks until you hit stop.

It displays information about the type of networks collected in its interface, but won't reveal any specifics. You need to use the export button to save the information to a csv, Tab-delimited, HTML or Google Earth file, to open it afterwards in an appropriate viewer application.
Information that are collected by the app include the network name, security, WPS support, the access point manufacturer, signal level, channel frequency and number, the MAC address of the access point, and the date and time it was detected.
A more comfortable option would have been to display the network information directly in the application interface, maybe even with options to establish a connection to it right away.

Verdict

Wifi Collector is a useful application. You can use it to create a detailed wireless network profile of a place or location, or an area.
More interesting than the application in my opinion is that Nir Sofer has published his first Android application. While it is too early to tell if additional applications will follow, it is likely that this is just the beginning.

Customize Android system settings for individual apps

Sometimes, you may want control over an application's behavior on your Android device. Maybe you want a media player to always load in landscape mode, a music player to use a certain volume, or an application to only use Wifi and not mobile data.

While you can go ahead and make those modifications manually every time you launch the application, it is not comfortable and the likelihood that you are forgetting it sometimes is rather high as well.
Specialized applications come to the rescue. I have reviewed a couple in the past. Smart Rotator sets auto-rotate options for apps, NoRoot Firewall which apps can access the Internet, and Screen Controls the brightness and screen timeout of apps.
App Config Free does all that and then some. It lets you set app-specific settings for the following features:

1. Screen brightness.
2. Screen orientation.
3. Screen timeout.
4. Volume.
5. Mobile Data.
6. Wi-Fi.
7. Bluetooth.

You can use it to turn off all data types so that an app cannot access the Internet, make the screen brighter or darker for an app that you may find to bright or dark, turn on Bluetooth when you load an app that makes use of your Bluetooth keyboard or speakers, or modify the volume for the dialer app or another app using sound to increase or decrease the volume of it.

Best of all, those changes are applied automatically by App Config Free when you start apps that you have created custom profiles for, and reset to their original values once you exit the app again.
The application displays a list of all installed programs on your device on start. To customize an app, simply tap on it. This brings you to the configuration screen which you can use to modify one or multiple of the available features.
Depending on the feature, a simple on or off switch may be displayed here, or a more complex list of options.
Apps with custom options are displayed in bold in the application listing. They can also be accessed with a tap on an icon in the top bar of the application which only lists modified apps.
The free version displays ads in the interface. A paid version is available as well which does away with the advertisement, supports system wide settings, settings for launchers, option to start on boot, and hide the notification icon when no settings are applied.

Verdict

If you find yourself regularly adjusting system settings such as the volume, screen orientation or net connections when you use specific apps on your Android device, you may find App Config useful as it automates those manual processes for you.

How to log out of Facebook and Google on other devices

Did you ever check your Gmail messages on a friend's computer only to forget to sign out again? Or your Facebook news stream on a public computer in a library, or forgot to log out of Twitter after you used your account in an Internet cafe?

The problem here is that others may access your account if you do not log out after you have used it. The core issue here is that third-parties may access your emails, messages and other information about you that you may not want to share.
While it is usually not possible to take over an account, for instance by changing the account password, it is possible to do harm nonetheless, for instance by sending out spam or hoax messages to friends or contacts.
Companies like Google, Facebook or Twitter make available options on how to deal with those situations. All three provide options to terminate all remote connections that are still open, which logs you out on all devices but the one you are using to run the command.

You can use the official Facebook application or the Facebook website to manage active sessions. If you are using the website, do the following:

• Log in to your Facebook account on the official website.
• Click on the down arrow icon at the top right corner and select settings from the menu that opens up.
• Select Security from the left sidebar and there on "where you're logged in".
• Facebook displays the current session, and other sessions on the same page.
• The "other" devices are sorted by type: desktop, mobile and other.

Click on End Activity to end one of the active sessions. Each session is displayed the last access date, the device name, location, and device type.


If you are using the mobile application, you need to perform the following steps instead (demonstrated using the Android app, other mobile apps may vary).

• Load the Facebook application on your device.
• Tap on the settings icon (the three horizontal bars) and select account settings from the menu.
• Select Security on the next page, and here the active sessions option.
• Here you find the same information that are displayed on the Facebook website. Tap on the x icon next to a session to terminate it.

Google makes available two pages of interest. The first displays the most recent account activity to you. It lists dates, devices, and location of the last sign ins and password modifications.
You won't find an option to end a session here, but are reminded by Google to change the account password if you do not notice the activity.
More interesting than that is the account activity listing on Gmail. While it is limited to Google Mail, it offers a sign out of other sessions button that you can use to end all other sessions.
Please note that this will only end mail sessions and no other sessions that may still be open. The only option that you have here is to change your account password.

Other services

Some services do not provide you with information about open sessions or options to end them from other devices. The only course of action here is to change your account password.
It is highly recommended that you change the password if you forgot to sign out of your account on a computer that others have access to.
It can also be useful if your computer was stolen or if you have misplaced it, to avoid unauthorized access to your data.

Mozilla launches Social API directory

Mozilla enforced a Social API within the Firefox browser back in 2012 that allowed social networks to integrate a number of their practicality directly into the browser.

First to hitch was Facebook with its traveler application and a few of alternative suppliers followed. The api was improved in Firefox twenty seven adding support for running multiple networks in Firefox, one thing that wasn't supported before.

One of the core problems with the feature was that you just had to go to a selected website on the developers web site, e.g. Facebook, to put in the supplier within the browser.

This created it quite troublesome to get suppliers supporting the API among alternative things.

The Social API supplier is put in during a sidebar within the browser that you just will show or hide with the press of a button. reckoning on the supplier, it's going to show recent activity info, a talk window, or info associated with the service like new music.

Up thus far, it absolutely was up to the developer to produce Firefox users of its service with access to the welfare work.

That's in all probability one in all the most reasons why Mozilla has created a directory that lists all Social API suppliers that ar presently offered.

Here you discover all supporting services listed and might activate them at once while not having to go to another page to try to to therefore.

A total of eight services ar listed on the page presently with Facebook being the large social network that everybody would expect to be found here. there's no Google+, no Twitter, no Instagram, but Pocket, Delicious, Mixi,Sphere, Cliqz, Weibo and Saavn instead.

Please note that Facebook traveler isn't offered any longer. All you get is Facebook Share, a tool to share internet contents on Facebook. It displays as one icon rather than a sidebar menu.

To install them, visit the directory and click on on the service that you just have an interest in. Here you discover basic info concerning what it offers and a screenshot that previews however it's like within the browser.

A click on the activate currently button displays a notification at the highest concerning the method. Here you wish to click on the alter services button to feature it to Firefox.

Depending on your version, it's going to be displayed during a sidebar at once, or solely as associate icon within the browser's toolbar that you just got to click on to show it.

You can manage all put in services on the about:addons page. Here you wish to modify to Services to urge an inventory of all put in suppliers. suppliers are often faraway from Firefox once more, or disabled instead.
Verdict

A central location alone will not facilitate unless Mozilla promotes the page actively to its user base. i am still skeptical once it involves the feature as I don't extremely have a use for it. whereas i am not a significant social networking user, being one typically implies that you're on the location of the network anyway.

Are you mistreatment services in Firefox? If therefore that and for what purpose?