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January 2017

Greasemonkey Dev posts WebExtensions Design Doc: paints grim picture

Greasemonkey is a popular add-on for the Firefox web browser that enables you to load and create userscripts to interact with web content.

The add-on, like any other legacy extension for Firefox, will not work anymore in its current form when Mozilla makes the switch to WebExtensions exclusivity in the end of 2017.

Fast Methods to shut down Windows

Most Windows users shut down the computer through the Windows Start Menu, probably. Probably, because statistical information is not available that would prove it.

While shutting down Windows through the Start Menu works, it is not the fastest option that you have at your disposal to shut down the operating system.

The following guide lists several methods that are usually faster. Included are methods that are built-in to Windows, and also methods that rely on third-party applications.

Chrome’s rendering gets faster: here is what Google does not tell you

Google announced yesterday that it has implemented several improvements in the company's Chrome web browser that improve how the browser renders content.

While improvements in raw speed are always good, there is only so much you can do about that. This is why Google started to look at other methods to improve performance of Chrome.

Limit Firefox audio playback to one tab

Smart Tab Mute is a browser add-on for the Firefox web browser that limits audio playback in the browser to a single tab at a time.

If you open five tabs with videos, games and other content that plays audio in your browser of choice, you may notice that audio starts to play out of all five tabs regardless of active tab.

While that may not be such an issue, the fact that audio playback is enabled for all five tabs as well is one.

HARDiNFO: hardware and system tool for Windows

HARDiNFO is a free and commercial program for Microsoft Windows devices that offers details hardware information, benchmarks, monitoring, and diagnostic tools.

The free version of the application is limited to home use; if you want to use the program for business, you need to purchase a Pro license.

The Pro version offers additional features, such as the option to export reports, monitor notebook battery, a live network monitor, and 64-bit SSD benchmarks. Most features provided by the program are available in both the free and the Pro edition however.

Large number of Android VPN apps insecure

Virtual Private Networks (VPN) have evolved from a technology used mostly by businesses to one that is used by more and more home users as well.

Reasons are manifold, but improved privacy and security are certainly two key features that make a growing number of home users use VPN services and apps.

Without going into too much detail; a VPN protects a device's IP address as traffic flows through it instead of directly to the user's system.

Windows 10 Cloud brings Windows RT back from the dead, sort of

Windows 10 Cloud is a new edition of Windows 10 that showed up for the first time in one of the recent Insider Builds released for the operating system.

Microsoft did not provide any information back when Windows 10 Cloud appeared, and has not until today. The rumor mill was in full swing though immediately. Suggestions ranged from a cloud-based operating system, a new subscription-based version of Windows similar to Office365, to something completely different.

Temps: beautiful but demanding cross-platform weather program

Temps is a cross-platform weather program for Windows, Linux and Mac that is beautiful, but eats more RAM in Megabyte than there are rainy days in England.

So, if RAM is not an issue on your device, you may read on if you are interested in a new weather application.

You may notice that Temps is a demanding application right when you start the 50 Megabyte download from the developer site. The 64-bit version for Windows has a size of more than 130 Megabytes unpacked which is gargantuan for a weather app.

Linux Mint 18.1 KDE and Xfce released

The Linux Mint team has just released the long term support release Linux Mint 18.1 as a KDE and Xfce edition to the public.

The new version of Linux Mint brings software updates and refinements mostly. First, some information on Linux Mint 18.1 being a long term support release.

The Mint team will support Linux Mint 18.1 with security updates until 2021. Future versions of Linux Mint will use the same base package as Linux Mint 18.1 until 2018. This ensures that it is easy to update to new versions.

How to display Certificate details in Chrome

Google is on a roll. After removing user control over some plugins installed in the browser, the company moved information about security certificates of sites to a place where most users may never find it.

More and more sites on the Internet move to https. Doing so has advantages, but there is also a considerable amount of pressure by browser makers and search engines to get sites to migrate.