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View Firefox downloads in a tab

FirefoxNow that the addon manager opens into a tab instead of a separate window, it makes sense to move other areas of Firefox to this style too. Those of you who have used Chrome will know this is a better way to manage your downloads than a floating window.

It’s as easy as installing the Download in Tab extension and voila, no more downloads window to get hidden. It’s a very simple addon with very little in the way of options.

An alternative to Download in Tab is the very tidy Download Statusbar which puts the current downloads as individual items at the bottom of the screen:

If you are a regular downloader, you might also find DownThemAll a valuable addition to your addon collection.

Let us know what you think in the comments here or on Facebook.

Bypass compulsory registration with BugMeNot

bugmenotDon’t you just hate it when you have to sign up to some website you’re probably never going to visit again, just to access the free download you’re after? BugMeNot can save you the trouble of form filling and reduce your spam level in the process.

If you want to give it a try, just head over to BugMeNot and type in the address of a site that requires a login. There’s a pretty good chance someone will have already created an account if it’s a popular site. Now just copy and paste the account details into the site you’re trying to access and you’re in!

Some sites don’t like BMN (as it prevents them from harvesting information about you) and so they disable the accounts. There is a rating system which shows the success rate of the particular login you’re trying to use and it’s nice to add a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ if it worked out for you. Some of the more niche sites aren’t featured yet but BMN has a feature to submit a login if you have to create one yourself.

Once you see how useful this is, you can install the BMN Firefox extension which makes the process even quicker. When you have it installed, it’s just a case of right clicking on any login form and choosing “Login with BugMeNot”.

Let us know what you think in the comments here or on Facebook and remember to share with your networks.

Prolong the life of your gadget batteries

batteryWe all have lots of gadgets these days, most using Lithium-Ion (Li-On) batteries. Read this short guide and learn how to prolong their life.

Battery University presents detailed test and technical information about Lithium-ion batteries. Here is some of their advice and recommendations:

  • Avoid frequent full discharges and charge more often between uses.
  • There is no memory and the battery does not need periodic full discharge cycles other than to calibrate the fuel gauge on a smart battery.
  • Exposing the battery to high temperature and being at full state-of-charge for an extended time can be more damaging than cycling.
  • The worst condition is keeping a fully charged battery at elevated temperatures, which is the case when running a laptop on the power grid.
  • Placing a cellular phone on the heat generating (wireless) charging mat stresses the battery more than if charged on a designated charger.
  • When not in use, store the battery in a cool place. For long-term storage, manufacturers recommend a 40 percent charge. This allows for some self-discharge while still retaining sufficient charge to keep the protection circuit active.
  • Heat buildup is always a concern and running a laptop in bed or on a pillow may contribute to this by restricting airflow. Not only will heat stress electronic components, elevated temperature causes the electrodes in the battery to react with the electrolyte and this will permanently lower the capacity. Placing a ruler or other object under the laptop to increase floor clearance improves air circulation around the enclosure and keeps the unit cooler.
  • A Li-ion battery can also fail because of undercharge. This occurs if a Li-ion pack is stored in a discharged condition. Self-discharge gradually lowers the voltage of the already discharged battery and the protection circuit cuts off between 2.20 and 2.90V/cell.

Let us know what you think in the comments.

Blogger Dynamic Views drop down menu

I really didn’t like the Link List solution so I knocked up a jump menu which takes up far less space. To add this to your own blog, simply add a new HTML/Javascript widget and paste in the following code (remember to change the URLs to your own blog).

If you have a better way of doing the same thing (i.e; some better JavaScript), please post in the comments.

Dynamic Views – New ways to view our blog

bloggerThe Google team have added some cool new views to blogger hosted blogs known as Dynamic Views. The blog author has to have enabled RSS feeds as this is how the new views grab the content.

Unfortunately, for now at least, readers have to append /view to the blog URL to use these views, there is no direct link on the page. We’ve got around this for now by using the Link List widget and manually adding links to the various views (look just under our Facebook feed in the right column). I think this would be much tidier with a small jump menu in the top blogger nav bar.

Google have put up some information about Dynamic Views for readers and authors.

[Update] We’re now using a WordPress blog instead so this is defunct.

Let us know what you think in the comments here or on Facebook.