The app is called Itsdagram (It’s-da-gram, geddit?) and it is available for $1.49 from the Windows Phone Store (available only for Windows Phone 8 at the time of writing, so WP7 users cannot join the party). At 4 MB, it is a light enough download and installs smoothly enough. It claims to be the “only full-featured Instagram client in the market” and well, it certainly delivers a good dollop for the dollar and a half it bills you (there is a free avatar too – but we would suggest giving it a miss). You can log in to the app using your Instagram credentials, which seems a bit odd because you are actually asked to log into “Itsdagram” – for a minute, we actually considered registering for it before common sense kicked in and we used our Instagram credentials. Mind you, a note to this effect would not have been out of the way at the login page.

Once logged in, you can check the images posted by those you are following, the ones you have uploaded yourself, and the most popular pictures on the network at that moment. You can also follow people, like and comment on images, and well, best of all, actually upload images to Instagram from your Windows Phone 8 device. No, it does not come with exactly the same filters as Instagram, but it has a healthy collection including some celebrity ‘sketch-oriented’ effects like Da Vinci and Van Gogh.

So you can see images, post images with filters and effects (if not the same ones on Instagram), and indicate likes and make comments, as well as elect to follow people. And it’s all woven very neatly into Windows Phone’s tiled interface – you scroll to the side for different sections. That’s pretty much the Instagram experience, isn’t it? Well, not quite. Those missing filters apart, there are a few rough edges here. While you can view your profile and change your password in Itsdagram, you cannot edit your profile. There is also no Photo Map facility here and while you can add tags, there seems to be no auto-complete facility so you have to actually remember the usernames of the people you are tagging (a tad tough if you are following dozens of them!). Finally, there is a penchant for crashing at odd moments and for occasionally double posting. And finally finally (yes!), there will be those who will complain about having to fork out cash for an app whose official version is free on both Android and iOS.

The answer to that last query is the same reason that made Itsdagram our app for the day – the fact that it is the only app that comes close to replicating the Instagram experience on Windows Phone 8. If you have a WP8 device and love tinkering around with effects and photographs, this is perhaps one paid app that you ignore at your peril.

Available from: Windows Phone Store
Price: $1.49

© Raju PP for Technology Personalized, 2013. This Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the site you are looking at is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact us, so we can take legal action immediately. If you are on Twitter you can follow me @rajupp! | Permalink |

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As technology evolves, there have been advances that allow people who have lost their sight to live a normal life and take care of themselves. Using a computer is something that almost everyone does, and with the help of some specialized software or dedicated hardware, blind people can now do this just like everyone else.

Dedicated devices and software for blind people

In terms of hardware, blind people can use a few devices that make their lives easier. For instance, to input information to a computer, they can use both braille keyboards or microphones. Speech to text (dictation) has come a long way, and even with the eventual mistakes, it is still a viable option for visually impaired people who want to use a computer.

Some manufacturers have developed braille displays, which use a mechanical system to push pins through a rubber surface and recreate text that would be normally shown on a computer screen. While the technology is inspiring, it still needs some development in order to perfect it and offer a better integration with computers. In terms of software packages, there are some developers that have created screen readers, which read the text that is shown on the screen and output it in audio format that the users can hear. This is the single most important tool that users with visibility problems can use.

Of course, these tools are not perfect and they will not allow a person to use a computer to 100% of its capacity, but nevertheless, providing the possibility for a blind person to use a computer to some extent is a great achievement.

What software for blind people can you use

photo credits: vox efx

As we mentioned before, there are a few software programs that offer screen reading capabilities, and blind people can use them in order to operate a computer. These programs can be installed on a normal computer, without the need for any other specialized device.

All of them offer basically the same function. They integrate with the operating system and read to the user what is happening on the screen, as well as the content from web pages, folders or emails. These programs go hand in hand with audio control programs (speech recognition) that allow the user to control a computer by speaking to a microphone. Also, we featured some screen magnifiers that some might want to use. These are developed for those who have limited eyesight, and need larger text so they can read it. Before installing these programs, keep in mind that both Windows and Max OS x have an integrated tool dedicated for this task.

Most of these programs are free to download, so anyone who is visually impaired can use them, and be able to use a computer like everyone else. The following list will show you a few such programs and you can choose which is best for you, depending on what operating system you use.

Narration Programs

• JAWS - Free Demo / $895
• MAGic Screen Magnification - Starts from $395
• ZoomText - Starts from $399 (multiple programs offered)
• NVDA - Windows (Free)
• Apple VoiceOver – Mac OS X (Free)
• Orca - Linux (Free)
• BRLTTY - Linux (Free)
• Emacspeak - Linux (Free)

Browser Extensions

• ChromeVox – Free tool for Chrome users. It can be downloaded from the Chrome Extension Store.
• ChromeVis – Chrome Extension that acts like a magnifying glass for those who have low eyesight.
• WebAnywhere – This is a free tool that works pretty much on any web browser and operating systems.

Besides these programs, users can seek other specialized solutions, which, although not free, they do offer some great products for those who have limited eyesight. Websites like Screenreader or Tichnut are continuously improving their products by adding better support and more features.

Although these technologies are not perfect, they are invaluable for those who live their lives without the use of their eyes. We hope that future technologies will allow these people to control computers with their minds, but until this technology is available for everyone, we will just have to make use of what we have. We hope that these programs will help those who are visually impaired, and if you know other programs that offer such features, feel free to leave us a comment.

© Raju PP for Technology Personalized, 2013. This Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the site you are looking at is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact us, so we can take legal action immediately. If you are on Twitter you can follow me @rajupp! | Permalink |

The post Software to Help Blind & Visually Impaired People to Use the Computer Better appeared first on Technology Personalized.

Their megapixel count is on the rise (a company in India has come out with a cameraphone with a 5.0-megapixel front-facing camera) and so are the features that come with it – the HTC 8X’s front camera came with facial recognition as did the iPhone 5′s. And now Nokia has added a further spin on the vanity snapping game with the aptly named Glam Me, an app designed to not just take your pictures, but also, to borrow a phrase from the make-up room, touch them up.

Of course, there will be those who will debate the very need of such an app. After all, one can always take a snap of oneself and then Instagram (or whatever-app-you-like-to-tweak-images) it. Where Nokia’s Glam Me scores however, is in its ease of use, and its effectiveness. A free 13 MB download, it is currently a Nokia Lumia exclusive and runs only on Windows Phone 8 devices, but is expected to come to other brands soon. Or at least inspire a few clones across platforms.

For, we must confess that we rather like Glam Me. The app does only one thing, but it manages to do it rather well. Using it is easy. Launching the app opens the front facing camera, and you can either touch the screen to take a picture of yourself or if you need time to pose, set a timer. Once the picture is taken, the app automatically tries to “improve” your appearance by smoothing out and lightening your skin. If the result does not please you, you can also try you hand at tweaking your eyes, teeth, image tone and also soften the look of the picture – a neat touch at this stage is the comparison option that splits your face in half, with one half showing how your mug would have appeared minus the app’s touching-up magic, and the other showing you the joys of letting an app mess with your skin tone. Yes, it makes you feel like something out of a facial cream ad, but it is kind of cool!

The result of your labours can be shared on your social networks and mail. And that pretty much is it. You can only edit pictures that you have just taken – there is no option to edit images that already exist on your device. And all your editing options end once you have added a special effect – you cannot then go back and mess around with eyes and teeth (ghoulish though that sounds) in the app, although you can open the picture in another image editing app and mess around with it.

So yes, Glam Me is a rather restricted app. But what saves it from flak is the simplicity with which it works and the fact that it does manage to serve a decent dollop for its download, although we did find the images to be a bit too “soft” (almost blurry) for comfort at times. The app also does not work as well in low light conditions so we would recommend standing in broad daylight and clicking yourself (stuff the stares, say we!) for best results.

It is not work. It promotes vanity. It works only on a limited number of devices. But hey, when it works, it does so brilliantly. We are hoping for an update on more devices and a few clones. It is time that front-facing camera got the recognition it deserves – hey, anything that takes images of the person who shelled out the bucks for a device merits lots of attention in our book. Well worth a download if you have a Lumia with a front facing camera. (we tested it out on a Lumia 920, incidentally)

Available from: Windows Phone Store
Price: Free

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Designed to work with several platforms, including iOS, Android, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and even Facebook, Droid Manager is a simple and nice looking suite of organizers, coordinators and other management tools. Available for free in the marketplace, this app has the potential of becoming a must-have for every family with an Android addiction.

Droid Manager Features

• Family coordinator – designed for small groups of people, one of the most important Droid Manager features is the ability to keep members informed about another. Using a simple map, up to four devices can be tracked in real-time and communicating between participants can be done through the app itself. Moreover, the chat interface allows people to send YouTube videos and map positions, besides regular text messages.
• Note taker – saving notes becomes a bit smarter with this manager, allowing people to pin notes on certain map locations and once the user arrives, push notifications will make sure to remind him what he has to do.
• Time saver – binding location-features with automation features, Droid Manager can automatically enable or disable certain phone options, depending on where the user is at the moment. For instance, the sound can be silenced while you’re at school and the Wi-Fi can be activated when you reach home.
• File protector – in case the phone gets stolen or you simply loose the device, a mobile device management function allows users to track the phone’s last position on the map or even lock it completely. All these actions are performed remotely and when needed, one can even resort to erasing data or setting an access password.
• Parental orientated – one of the smartest features we’ve seen in an app until the moment allows users to add PIN code protection to certain application on different devices. This way, you make sure that even though you lend the mobile phone to your kid for a couple of minutes, he won’t be able to access critical data without the proper key.

Thanks to a wide range of browser extensions, Droid Manager can be used from an authorized computer without having to open the smartphone at all. Using an intelligent browser such as Chrome, Firefox and a later version of Internet Explorer, users can see map locations, browse files and play music right from the big screen. The same goes for Facebook.

Droid Manager is free to install for one device and can be served under a limited-time trial basis up to four devices. For more members, an unmentioned fee will have to be paid.

© Raju PP for Technology Personalized, 2013. This Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the site you are looking at is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact us, so we can take legal action immediately. If you are on Twitter you can follow me @rajupp! | Permalink |

The post Droid Manager: Family Coordinator and Note Taking App appeared first on Technology Personalized.

The main problem with Google Chrome (and Firefox too) is that the more tabs you open, the more RAM is absorbed by the browser. So, users may find themselves in the unpleasant situation of having to close some tabs for a better experience. Here is where OneTab comes in handy.

OneTab promises a faster browsing experience

OneTab is a great extension for the Google Chrome browser that claims to help you save up to 95% memory and reduce tab clutter. By installing this tiny application that only has 85 KB, you will add a small and aesthetic button to the Chrome toolbar, which can be activated in need.

When you feel that your tabs are bulking up in the toolbar, press the button and OneTab will convert all of your tabs into a list. If you want to access your tabs again you will only have to restore them separately or, all at once. You can drag and drop to reorder the list and if you hold down CTRL (or CMD for Macs) while clicking, the tab will be restored while remaining saved in the list.

This is how Chrome consumes RAM, with every tab

The application is simple and quick, requiring only a couple of clicks for the entire process. Moreover, it is entirely free to use and does not require registration.

Nowadays, when most computers have enough RAM memory installed (usually 4 GB or 8 GB in some cases) you could say that you don’t need this application. Unfortunately, practice has proved that a large amount of this quantity could be used better by other applications, so OneTab can still be seen as helpful.

Moreover, this smart extension is also capable of exporting and importing your tabs as a list of links which can then be shared with friends, other computers or even pushed to mobile devices. Another interesting use of OneTab is temporary bookmarking, because when closing the browser or restarting the computer the app will remember all saved links.

In the future, developers say that they are adding some extra features as a result of user feedback. These include, but are not limited to the possibility of syncing between multiple devices, naming tab groups and others. Now, they are currently working on a Firefox version of the plug-in.

Download OneTab for Chrome

© Raju PP for Technology Personalized, 2013. This Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the site you are looking at is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact us, so we can take legal action immediately. If you are on Twitter you can follow me @rajupp! | Permalink |

The post OneTab Reduces Google Chrome’s RAM Usage With up to 95% appeared first on Technology Personalized.

Digital signatures are the result of the PKI (public-key infrastructure) cryptographic operation. Basically, it is a mathematical scheme used to demonstrate the authenticity of your message or document. In general, it  has three components: a key generation algorithm, a signing algorithm and a signature verifying algorithm.

The digital signature is a growing feature used more and more by big companies in order to be able to work faster, to streamline their time and to save the money spent on the couriers. Security is also very important, so the majority of companies are using a 256-bit SSL encryption. Moreover, the software uses your computer camera to take a photo and place it alongside the signature.

Best digital signature services

In this article we will present some applications that are offering you this secure feature. You will save a lot of time by eliminating the need of printing, faxing or scanning operations. Also, the paper-related costs for the office activities are reduced to a minimum level.

CoSign

CoSign is a fast and stable digital signature software created by a company named Arx. It is available worldwide and it is the leading standard digital signature solution used by very important companies, such as: Coca-Cola, Herbalife and even by the FBI. The digital signature from CoSign is compatible with a variety of formats, including the Microsoft Word, Excel, PDF and so forth.

CoSign by Arx has a diversified offer supporting services for the small, mid-sized and large businesses from 1 to 1000+ document senders. It is available online and only for the Windows platform. The prices may vary from a payment plan to another and you can verify them here. For example, for a standard package for one signer you will have to pay $15 monthly.

DocuSign

DocuSign is one of the best digital signature software available now on the market. They offer support to every kind of business, which makes this software one of your best choices whether if you are using it to sign your different papers for your own or if you are a transnational company.

In DocuSign you can choose a signature from the default gallery or you can create one of your own. In this manner, all of the costs associated with the paper-based contract will be eliminated and, in addition, you will save a lot of time. DocuSign offers for all their customers a cloud account where all the contracts signed are kept.

DocuSign is available online, on iOS devices and on Windows 8 tablets. For information about the pricing, check the official site of DocuSign here.

RightSignature

RightSignature is a digital signature software that supports a lot of native formats (such as: PDF, DOC, DOCX, HTML, TXT) and has FreshBooks, BatchBook and HighRise integrations. The interface of this software is nice and very easy to use, having a lot of automated process that will guide you through the signing process.

RightSignture offers support on all of major platforms, such as Windows, Mac and Linux, online and even on your phones making the signing process very easy. This company offers one of the cheapest prices from the market and for only $14 per month you will be able to send unlimited documents. For more information about the payment plans you can visit the official RightSignature website here.

Xyzmo Significant

Xyzmo Significant Signature Solutions by its whole name is a digital signature software that is made especially for the large businesses (1000+ document senders). It is available only in the United States and in Europe and has prices which start from $15 per month, for a document sender.

This software is used in banks (Intesa SanPaolo, BMG, Generali), telecom operators (T-Mobile), insurance agencies and much more. The security is very strong so that the handwritten signature will always be verified with a signature which was enrolled at the first use of the software to be sure it is not a fake. The signature can be made on a tablet, a phone or a signature pad which you can buy from here, from their site.

SIGNiX Digital Signature

SIGNiX Digital Signature offers a digital signature service that allows you to sign documents, contracts and forms in a quick and very secure way. The process is very rapid and easy, which means that it is a good solution for credit companies and their borrowers to close loans. SIGNiX Digital Signature has two main categories of accounts: MyDox and EnterpriseDox.

While MyDox is for smaller businesses and the technology used is cloud-based, the EnterpriseDox is especially designed for high-volume transactions and needs integration of the product. An interesting feature is the ability of tracking documents as they move through the signing process. Practically, this allows you to check the status of your documents in real-time and sends automatically reminders to the signers if the document gets delayed.

Adobe EchoSign

Adobe EchoSign is the leading digital signature provider used by big companies, such as: QualComm, Twitter, Facebook, P&G and so forth. This Adobe product offers services from common users to global companies. They even have a free account that permits you only five signatures per month and compatibility with Microsoft Word, Excel and PDF files.

Adobe EchoSign keeps all the papers organized in computer files allowing sending and receiving signed documents efficiently (with a tracking function also implemented). It is compatible with multiple platforms, such as all used by computers (Windows, Mac, Linux), browsers and even the mobile. Pricing starts from $14.95 per month for one user. For other payment plans visit the official Adobe EchoSign site here.

SigningHub

SigningHub replaces the paper-based processes needed for signing different documents. All files are kept in a private cloud. This is for any business or industry sector available only in Asia and Europe. The application is very easy to use because you do not need anything to install, you will only have to use your browser.

SigningHub will minimize the time for signing a contract by eliminating major processes, such as printing, faxing, couriers, postage, scanning and even storage. They have a very good security system because even a change of one character will render the digital signature as invalid. So, you can say that is even more secure than a paper-signed document. If you are interested about this application you can try it for free here.

Secured Signing

Secured Signing is a digital signature application that enables you to keep all of your files in only one place. Using it you will save a lot of paper, a lot of time and money, while speeding up productivity and business efficiency. Secured Sign solution has multiple account types, such as: I Sign, We Sign, Form Filler and Form Direct.

The I sign account is for small business and is it used basically, for signing and sealing orders, reports, agreements or other types of documents. By contrast, the We Sign account is for large companies that are signing or obtaining signatures from different customers. You can try this service for free or you can choose a payment plan from here.

SignEasy

Thanks to our readers, we have found out about SignEasy and we were quite pleased with it. For those that are using Google services on a daily basis, you should know that it is also integrated with Google Drive. There are iOS, Android and even BlackBerry apps of these services, all of them being free. Sign Easy provides the hassle-free solution and allows your clients to sign using a smartphone or a tablet, saying goodbye to traditional methods.

© Raju PP for Technology Personalized, 2013. This Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the site you are looking at is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact us, so we can take legal action immediately. If you are on Twitter you can follow me @rajupp! | Permalink |

The post 8 Digital Signature Software that Keep a Business Safe appeared first on Technology Personalized.

Another hitch is the limited space of your Apple’s device hard drive, which can only be of 8, 16, 32 or 64 GB (or, if you have the money, you can buy a 128 GB iPad). What if I can tell you that you can stream videos or music files from your computer without stuffing up your iPad’s or iPhone’s hard disk? This is possible with some applications that you will have to install on your Apple device and on your PC. Pretty much like a personal media cloud.

Top 6 Apps that transform iOS Devices into Media Centres

In this article I will present the most interesting six applications that can use a 3rd party computer to stream media on iOS devices. These apps will bring to your Apple gadget the coolest function of a media device: streaming video and audio files via Wi-Fi or network, without consuming internal storage.

Air Playit

This is a free application from the creators of WinX Division that focuses on DVD/Video conversion products and DVD/Blu-ray backup solutions. It has over 320 different video and audio codecs built-in that are capable of showing the majority of the existing videos on the market and streaming them to the iOS device via Wi-Fi, 3G or 4G networks.

The biggest advantage of Air Playit is that you can play videos in any format, instantly, because the conversion of the video file is made between the PC and the iOS device. Other features included in this application are: internet access, HTTP server, stream video to Android mobile devices too, offline conversion, Apple TV-Out ready and speed up the live conversion with CUDA.

The most interesting are the “HTTP Server” and “Speed up the live conversion with CUDA”. If the first feature creates a web page that enables you to access the files from your PC via any web browser, the second one speeds up the time for conversion for those of you that own a NVIDIA GPU featured with CUDA.

In addition, Air Playit has a very useful option for remotely powering off your PC after finishing watching the movie and it also has no annoying ads.

• Download Air Playit 

Air Video

This application comes in two versions: the free and the paid version. The free version limits the number of displayed items from your PC while the paid version offers you full access to the application’s features. Air Video is able to stream the video folders from two sources: your computer’s hard drive and your iTunes playlist. It will convert “on the fly” any format that is not supported by the Apple device so that you can view your favorite videos in real time.

However, the application does not support streaming audio files, which means that is has been designed for videos only. Moreover, the application does not have a TV-out feature, so you cannot connect your device to the TV. The connection is made via Wi-Fi or 3G network and the Mac or Windows computer will serve as a server to which the iOS device will connect.

• Download Air Video

quik.io

Quick.io was created by Michael Chen, entrepreneur and former Cisco alum, along with two other colleagues from Cisco. They wanted to be able to get all of their files in only one place and easily share it. So, they created Quick.io which is a streaming solution that uses a desktop server installed on the computer and your iPhone or iPad as a client. Maybe it sounds a little bit complex, but the setup is really easy and quick.

This is an application that can sync all your files, such as music, photos and videos, between different devices and that can also stream files from your computer to your iOS devices, iPad and iPhone. A very useful feature is called QuikBeam, which was added with the 2.0.1 update of the application: through the Quick.io application you can detect iOS devices near you and immediately send files to them.

Quik.io has a great option which allows you to access your storage even when you are away from your home and out of the connection area. The only constraint is that your PC must be on and connected to the internet.

• Download Quick.io

StreamToMe

StreamToMe is a media player for iPhone or iPad that plays your favourite music, video files and photos through the network. You need the Stream ToMe application from iTunes for your iOS device and the server companion, Serve ToMe from the official site for your Mac or Windows computer. When converting the video file and streaming it to the iOS device, the Serve ToMe application uses low CPU resources, in comparison to other competitors.

This application has some interesting features; one of them enables you to connect to your computer from an external location via 3G networks or a non-local Wi-Fi. TV out feature is supported too. Basically, you can connect via cable your iPhone or iPad to your TV and transform it in a media center  However, StreamToMe has a certain problem related to the music utility. You cannot listen to playlists or multiple songs because the application stops after each song.

• Download StreamToMe – $2.99

Tonido

Tonido is a new application that was launched at the beginning of this year. Basically, it allows you to access your files from your PC no matter where you are. The connection is secure and you do not have to upload all your files on a cloud service or clogging your iOS device hard drive.

In addition, it has the capability of syncing a single folder (of maximum 2 GB) from your main computer, between different devices or computers. If you choose the other versions you will have some benefits. For example, for the PRO version you will have a folder of maximum 100 GB to sync and for the BIZ version, 200 GB.

The Tonido application has two interfaces: simple and advanced. The simple interface shows only the most important features like the workspace or the file sharing while the advanced one has much more features and settings, but it keeps its simplicity.

The main advantage of this application is that it has an interesting option for sharing files via email and the biggest disadvantage is that the streaming is not so fast and you will have to wait some time until the video starts.

• Download Tonido (it comes in free, Pro and BIZ fashions)

Air Media Center

Air Media Center is an application that provides media streaming and live conversion for the iOS devices, iPhone and iPad. The application is also compatible with Samsung Wave and the company promises that in the near future the application will be ready for Android and Smart TV’s too.

This application has the best price on the market, but there are a couple of disadvantages which come along with this low cost. You do not have subtitle support, so you cannot load subtitles for movies. Also, the interface is a little bit chunky and sluggish, but it is easy to use.

However, Air Media Center can stream a very large number of photos, video and audio formats. Also, it offers indexing and searching options so that you can find everything much easier. Recently, the ability to playback the video from the last position has been added.

• Download Air Media Center for $1.99

© Raju PP for Technology Personalized, 2013. This Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the site you are looking at is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact us, so we can take legal action immediately. If you are on Twitter you can follow me @rajupp! | Permalink |

The post 6 Apps to Stream Files Between iPhone/iPad and Windows appeared first on Technology Personalized.

Users will see some new features on the Firefox 20 window, but part of the update also addresses the Developers section. We’ll take a look at what the update brings for everyone and see how Firefox 20 fares against other web browsers.

New features in Firefox 20

Users of Firefox will be thrilled to notice some changes in their favorite browser that add to the overall appeal. The most obvious of these changes are in the main window of the browser, adding features that Chrome or Opera users had for some time now.

New Downloads Manager – This very important update changes the default download window that users had in previous Firefox versions. Now, in the top right corner, users can see a small downloads button that opens to a menu when pressed. In this panel, the user can see all the recent downloads, as well as some options regarding them. By right clicking on an ongoing download, they can pause or resume it. Also, by clicking the “Show all Downloads” button, the Download Window will open.

Private Window – A feature that both Opera and Chrome have, the ability to open a Private Window is now available in Firefox 20. Opening the private window can be done by clicking on the Firefox button on the top left side and selecting “New Private Window” option. The new window will open and the Firefox button will turn purple when you are in private mode.

Close Hanging Plugins – This feature allows the users to close plugins that have stopped working without the entire browser crashing. By default, Firefox 20 will wait 11 seconds before allowing the user to close the plugin and continue browsing.

HTML5 improvements – The Mozilla team has been hard at work making HTML5 browsing perform better. Adding the h.264 codec is a great improvement, allowing users to view videos in HTML5 format. However, this feature is turned off by default, and it requires users to turn it on by accessing the configuration menu. Here is how to do this:

• Open a new tab and in the address bar write down about:config
• Promise that you will be careful in the warning window that opens
• In the search bar, type media.windows-media-foundation.enabled
• Double click the entry to turn it on or off (the current state can be seen in the “Value” field)

Data Choices – This option is about sharing information about your hardware and software configuration with Mozilla in order to improve the browser in future versions, as well as the option to send crash reports to Mozilla. This feature can be found in the Options Panel, under Advanced -> Data Choices. The two features are Telemetry and Crash Reporter.

Developers Improvements – In the Developers section, users will see some updates in the overall design. This menu has been redesigned in order for users to easily browse the different tools via their dedicated menu as well as the Toggle Tools feature that allows for quicker access to the Web Console. Also, there is a option to view the tool in a separate window, which makes it easier to keep track of everything, or for using multi-monitor arrays.

Apart from the updates above, there have also been lots of performance updates and all the usual tweaks for faster browsing and operating. Firefox 20 is a pretty big update on the past version of the browser. This takes it closer than ever to Google’s Chrome of Opera in terms of productivity.

Download Firefox 20

If you like what the developers have done in the updated version of Firefox, you can download it from the official Mozilla website.

© Raju PP for Technology Personalized, 2013. This Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the site you are looking at is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact us, so we can take legal action immediately. If you are on Twitter you can follow me @rajupp! | Permalink |

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Avast! 8 Antivirus is now available and ready for download! The latest version of this hugely popular freemium antivirus software can be upgraded via automatic update or can be downloaded via the developer website. Avast! 8 is available in 4 different versions – Avast! Free Antivirus, Avast! Pro Antivirus (from $39), Avast! Internet Security (from $49) and Avast! Premier (from $69).

Avast! has been our favorite free antivirus software for a long time now, for a simple reason that it’s one of the most lightweight antivirus suites in the market right now.

With this latest version, Avast has gone touch friendly and carries the Windows 8 style interface. Also, Avast 8 comes with ‘Software Updater‘ tool which automatically checks for updates to the most commonly exploited apps like Java, Flash, Adobe Reader etc. In addition to this, it comes with a ‘Browser cleanup‘ tool to help you review your browser add-ons & toolbars.

There are lots of improvements which have gone below the hood and the company claims that Avast 8 will be able to detect and block not just one the one particular sample you’ve encountered, but also many similar files, and even entire malware families.

Talking about the interface, Avast 8 is more professional and touch-friendly as mentioned above. It looks really good and more professional than ever before. The new detection engine can monitor suspect files in an isolated environment before you’re able to execute them.

Download Avast! 8

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The whole movie is being released under creative commons license on many BitTorrent sites, including The Pirate Bay. Simon Klose had raised over $50,000 for the movie website via a Kickstarter campaign, back in August 2010. He took more than 4 years to film the documentary, which should throw more light on the creation and maintenance of one of the most popular torrent sites in the world. The movie is 1 hour 25 minutes long and features the three co-founders playing themselves on the screen.

TPB AFK documents the struggles of the three co-founders during their trials in Sweden up until the final verdict. Though the movie isn’t expected to reveal unknown facts about the site of the founders, it does provide some insights into what really transpired during those monstrous trials.

At the time of writing, the website was throwing 501 error, thanks to immense load on the server. But one can download the movie (legally!) via TPB (and can share legally as well), with an option to choose between 1080p, 720p and 480p versions.

Download TPB AFK movie

Those who prefer to stream rather, here is the YouTube link for ‘The Pirate Bay Away from Keyboard‘

For those who like to donate and support the creators, they can buy the DVD version of the Documentary (for $23) or buy the digital version ($10) or simply make online donations via their official website.

© Raju PP for Technology Personalized, 2013. This Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the site you are looking at is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact us, so we can take legal action immediately. If you are on Twitter you can follow me @rajupp! | Permalink |

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