Fatima Wahab

Mac Editor
Twitter: @Fatiwahab Follow me on Google+

Auto-Detect & Add RSS Feeds From Websites To Protopage In Chrome

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Google Reader wasn’t just a feed aggregator; it was a service that apps and feed burners integrated into their own products. You could add a feed to Reader in just two clicks and there was rarely a need to manually subscribe to links. There are now quite a few emerging services that can be viable Google Reader alternatives but it will take time for app developers to decide which one they want to favor. Till then, we might no longer be adding feeds with just two clicks. Protopage RSS Reader is a Chrome extension for the Protopage service that automatically detects and adds feeds to your Protopage account. The service provides you with feed widgets that can you can manage and read on your profile page on the service. Read More

Nextly Is A Fast & Elegant Reddit, Twitter, Facebook & News Aggregator

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We’re always looking for a better way to browse the internet; websites redesign their interface to make content easier to read, apps are developed to assist reading and bookmarking, and then there are all the extensions that allow us to improve our browsing experience with just a tap of a few keys. Nextly is a web app designed to help you read content streams. It is presently limited to your Twitter and Facebook streams and a few choice websites including Reddit, Cracked, Time Magazine, etc. You can save your favorite streams, bookmark stories from them, and add tags and comments to your bookmarks. You will have to create an account with Nextly in order to use the service. Read More

Easily Add Favorite Google Services Shortcuts To Firefox Toolbars

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Google’s black bar that appears at the top of all its services is a convenient way to quickly access the major Google Services you use, but it isn't necessarily loved by everyone. It's safe to say that some users find it both ugly and distracting since your Google Plus updates are always there to divert your attention from the task on hand. There are also those who find the black bar indispensable, and you might even find some complaining about the bar not being omnipresent across the internet. Google Shortcuts is a Firefox add-on that fixes this; it provides you with Google Services’ buttons that you can place in your URL bar. Users choose which buttons will appear there, so that they aren't bothered with services they don’t use. Provided you're signed in to your Google account, your Google Drive, Calendar, and mail become just a click away. Read More

Mac OS X Tips & Tricks That You Might Not Know About

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OS X has some really great features that Windows’ users might envy; There are the well documented and much talked about features like Mission Control, Desktop Spaces, and the Launchpad, but OS X is also stocked full of several smaller and less hyped about features and tricks that even some veteran Mac users are unaware of. Regardless of how long you've been using the platform, it's always nice to learn a new trick or two that your Mac can do, and we've complied whole list of them to help you use your Mac more efficiently. Read More

Get Chrome Desktop Alerts For Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn & YouTube

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A while ago, we reviewed Chime - a Chrome extension that connects with your personal accounts on multiple social networks and gives you notifications for any activity. Chime stands out for two reasons: its gorgeous interface, and the multitude of services that it supports. The Notifications for everything is a Chrome extension that does something similar but supports fewer services and slightly greater customization. Chime kept a historical record of activity in your different account while The Notifications for everything is like the notification system that Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube lack. You can select which of the four mentioned services you want to receive notifications for, start receiving desktop notifications for them or simply view them on the extension’s icon. Read More

Add Aviary Photo Editing Tools & Filters To Facebook In Chrome

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Aviary's powerful image editor is widely used in photo editing apps for smartphones. Though it's far less common to see it integrated in on the web, since most web services do not provide a lot of editing options, or offer their own tools instead. Fly Photo Editor for Facebook is a Chrome extension that integrates Aviary's photo editing tools in Facebook. The extension lets you enter an edit mode from the theater view of any photo, and you can then proceed to add filters and frames to the image, crop it, add stickers to it, draw on it with a free hand drawing tool, and more. Once you've made the desired changes, the extension uploads your edited image to the same album as the original one. Read More

Screenbird Is A Java-Based Screen Recorder With On-The-Fly ‘Do Over’ & Online Sharing

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One good web app can often end the whole ‘which platform has better apps’ debate, and Screenbird is arguably one of those apps. It's a screencasting tool that runs entirely in your browser and allows you to record anything and everything on your screen. Unlike most browser-based screen recording tools, Screenbird is not restricted to recording inside the browser window. The recorded videos can be saved locally and uploaded for sharing as well. The service’s free version allows you to upload up to 150 minutes of videos to the cloud. That isn't Screenbird's best feature though; it has a 'do over' feature whereby you can select any point in a recording and re-record from that point onward. The portion of the video before that point remains intact, while the rest is overwritten. Read More

HyperSwitch Is A Windows-Like Preview-Focused App Switcher For Mac

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App & window switching in OS X is separated into two different shortcuts. For users who have migrated from a Windows PC, this is often hard to get used to. Mac users are less likely to have any problems with it but that’s not to say the feature can’t be improved. HyperSwitch is a free Mac app currently in beta that lets you get more out of app switching. At the core, it works like Mac’s default app and window switcher; both functions are still separated by keyboard shortcuts but unlike the default feature, it allows you to preview app windows as you move through them. Additionally, HyperSwitch lets you continue to use the default app switcher, and adds options for accessing functions like launching a new window or tab, and control iTunes. Read More

How To Import RSS Feeds Into Microsoft Outlook For Windows

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As most of you must have heard by now, Google Reader is retiring this summer and we've guided you through the process of backing up your Google Reader RSS feeds as well as given you a healthy list of alternatives for Google Reader to switch to, once it's gone. Though our list focused on apps that were always meant to be RSS feed readers, and we purposely left out the ones that offered RSS subscriptions as a side feature. Outlook - one of the most popular desktop email clients out there that's known mostly for helping you organize your contacts, remembering appointments, and sending emails - actually supports RSS feeds natively. The feature has been ignored by most so far, but the death of Google Reader has finally brought it much attention. If you use Outlook for your email, contacts and calendar already, there's no reason why it can't take care of your RSS subscriptions. So let's take a look at how you can import your feeds from Reader to Outlook, and switch to it as your RSS app. Read More

Remotely Manage Your Android Gallery From Chrome With SnapPea Photos

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We've covered quite a few tools that let you move files between your phone and your desktop. What most of these apps do is let you transfer photos over the same Wi-Fi connection. The point is to be able to transfer files without needing to connect your phone to your computer via a USB cable or Bluetooth. SnapPea Photos is a Chrome extension with an Android app that collectively work to let you manage the photos on your Android device right from your browser. The operative word here is ‘manage’, since you won't just be copying files from your phone to your computer, but will also be able to rotate and delete them. Read More

How To Easily Disable The Startup Sound In OS X

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OS X users can name a hundred features off the bat that they love about the operating system, but the startup chime isn't likely to be on that list. It’s hard to say just how many versions of OS X have gone by with consistent hate for its startup sound, but it remains a problem that many users try to solve. This isn't to say that the startup sound in Windows is very pleasant to hear but it can at least be quieted by muting your speakers or just plugging in a pair of head phones. OS X on the other hand is determined to audibly announce its successful startup, and methods for disabling it often fail or stop working when the OS receives an update. StartupSound.prefPane is a preference pane for Mac that silences your startup chime, and its two noteworthy features are that it gets the job done, and is absolutely free. Read More

Pling Is A Decent Push-To-Talk Based Voice Mail & Messaging App For Mac

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iMessages for Mac and iOS has no parallel when it comes to messaging over an internet connection and keeping messages on your phone synced with those on your desktop. Pling is a free app available in the Mac App Store that does what few messenger apps do; it allows you to send audio messages to your contacts in Pling, and receive those sent by others. The messages can be left any time, and listened to at your convenience. Pling isn't your regular messenger app; it's more like an answering machine that rests in your Menu Bar. Read More

Chrome Extensions To Make Viewing Twitter Images & Videos Easier

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Very few people use Twitter’s web interface. Some need support for multiple accounts, other want to schedule tweets; some like to automate and filter tweets in their feed, while others just look for simpler features like the ability to edit a tweet before retweeting it. Twitter itself isn't very nice to third party clients and with its mounting list of restrictions, you might find yourself forced to use the web interface. One of the shortcomings you will come across on Twitter’s web interface is the image viewer. You can no longer see previews for Instagram images in tweets, and that's only the beginning of it. Here's a list of extensions that will help you view images and videos more easily. Read More

How To Hide App Icons From OS X Launchpad With A Script

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The Launchpad in OS X is great not just for launching apps, but also for keeping them organized. The folders you create in Launchpad aren't real folders created in the Application folder, and that allows you to keep apps you frequently use grouped differently from the list of installed apps. The only problem with app icons in Launchpad is that you can only move them to a folder, and not hide them completely. This is pretty much like sweeping dirt under the rug; the app icons are still there, though hidden in a folder and just out of sight. The good thing is that you can remove app icons from Launchpad with a simple little script, and not worry about the app being deleted from your system. Read More

FireMe Checks How Likely Your Recent Tweets Are To Get You Fired

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Due to their nature of letting us broadcast anything that's on our mind, Social networks have become one of the many reasons why people end up getting fired. Rights like freedom of speech are often questioned and we debate where the fine line between personal views, public defamation, and personal attacks should be drawn. While the debate rages on, the fact remains that people are still losing jobs because of things they say on social media. FireMe is a little web app that tells you if you've said a bit too much on Twitter, and how likely it is to get you fired. It analyses your recent tweets and tells you if any of them might get your fired, should your Twitter account be discovered by your boss or senior management. Read More

Get A Faster, Less Intrusive App Switcher In OS X With Vecte

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App and window switching in OS X is - like everything else - different from the conventional method most people are used to (or how it’s done in Windows). Even if you've always used a Mac, it is entirely possible that you might not like the way it switches between apps. We’re not criticizing the shortcuts used to switch apps; Command+` and Command+Tab work just fine, but perhaps the execution isn't to your liking. Vecte is a free Mac app that lets you keep the default shortcuts you’re used to in OS X, but changes the behavior slightly. When switching between apps, the list of running apps appears below the Apple menu instead of taking up the center of your screen. The app also takes over switching between windows, quitting apps, and zooming in and out. Vecte does this pretty much the same way as OS X does natively, but it’s faster and more responsive. Read More

News Hub Adds A Simple RSS Feed Reader To The Chrome Toolbar

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Google Reader’s demise is just a few months away and we’ve compiled a list of Google Reader alternatives for the Web, Windows, and Mac. Our web alternatives were all web services (like Google Reader was) but if you’re looking for a browser extension to replace the void Google Reader will leave in your life, News Hub is a Chrome extension with an elegant interface that's worth a try. The extension allows you to add feeds via RSS links or by search for them. The search feature isn't the best we've seen, but it can still help you find new news resources. News Hub works exclusively in a popup and lets you browser the list of new stories as well as read any one of them from the popup. News items can be marked as read/unread and opened in a new tab. Feeds cannot be imported from an XML file though, and they cannot be organized into folders either. Read More

Group Chrome Tabs Into Windows Based On Title, Hostname & URL Using TabJuggler

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As powerful as they are, browsers sometimes disappoint users when it comes to tab management and navigation, the biggest and most apparent shortcoming of course being tab management. For starters, you can only switch to the first ten tabs with keyboard shortcuts. Though Chrome and Firefox have not yet introduced an easier tab navigation system, developers have helped make it easier with add-ons and extensions. TabJuggler is one such extension for Chrome that makes it easier to detach tabs and separate them into windows. It lets you sort them by their URL, search them, and bring any one of the matching results into focus. Read More

OmniTube Shows Search Suggestions From YouTube In Chrome Omnibar

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One of the things that keeps me hooked to Chrome over Firefox is the search suggestions I get when I start typing in the Omnibar. Firefox’s Awesome bar doesn't provide these live search results, and I'm too used to them to be comfortable without this feature. Google provides suggestions not only in the  Omnibar and Google's own search bar, but also when you type and search on YouTube. OmniTube is a Chrome extension that lets you search YouTube from the Omnibar, which is no big deal, but what sets it apart is that it also provides search suggestions as you type. This obviously lets you search faster, and at the same time, find popular searches submitted by other users. OmniTube does one more neat thing as well; not everyone who links to a YouTube video adds anchor text to describe it, and some simply add the link instead, which gives no indication as to what the video is about. OmniTube replaces simple YouTube links with their proper titles as they appear on YouTube. Read More

Bubble Browser Is A Visually Appealing Three-Pane Viewer For Evernote

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Evernote’s Mac app was recently revamped; the extensive interface overhaul gave us something much more beautiful to look at and use. This update was followed shortly by Evernote’s Menu Bar popup being redesigned. The app has come a long way interface wise but if you still don’t like it much and are looking for something different, Bubble Browser might be a worth trying out. Bubble Browser is a free app available in the Mac App Store that lets you visually browse your Evernote notes in an immersive, colorful interface. It’s not a full Evernote client, which means adding or deleting notes is not on the features list but as far as browsing notes goes, Bubble Browser has quite a unique approach. Read More