Monday, April 1, 2013

How To Save Highlighted Text in Firefox Into a File

How To Save Highlighted Text in Firefox Into a File

save-text-to-file-thumbResearching on the Internet can sometimes be cumbersome, and the amount of information we find can be a challenge to organize. There are many note-taking and clipping apps out there, but a Firefox extension called Save Text To File performs a simple, yet extremely useful, function: to save highlighted text in any web page into a .txt file, then save it in any location on your hard drive.

To save highlighted text in Firefox, download the Save Text to File extension and start using the feature right away. Highlight the text you want to save and right click on it.

Click on the option Sa ve Text To File. This should bring up the extension’s menu with all of its options.

First you can rename the file (the default is set to Highlighted Text). This is a must if you’re planning to save multiple files this way. In the example below, I renamed the file to “Ice Fishing” which is the main topic of my research.

The next option is to specify the directory where you want to save the file. This can be anywhere on your hard drive.

The next few options are for inserting additional information about the file such as date, the source URL and whether or not to add this in the beginning of the text. You can decide which one works best for you, but if you’d rather just save the text, then you’ll need to uncheck the boxes to disable all or any of these.

The last option is the saving method: this asks whether you want to create a new file or append it to an existing file. Unfortunately, the append feature did not seem to work. This appears to be the same for other users, as I’ve come to know from reading the comments in the Add-on’s Firefox page. As a workaround, you can choose to add the date and time to the saved file name so you’ll know which file was most recently saved and therefore has the added information.

When you have all settings in place, click on Save. A pop-up on top of the browser window should appear indicating where the file was saved and the actual file name. You can close this by c licking on the x mark to the right.

save-text-to-file-pop-up

Remember that the saved file is in the .txt format, so any word processor or note-taking software should be able to open it. You can use Notepad or Microsoft Word in Windows. In MS Word, you’ll need to specify to open All Files in the Open File dialog box so that the file is visible in the list. A saved text file (with all options checked) will look like this in Word:

Save Text To File is great if you want a quick and easy way to save highlighted text into a file. It ob viously has a few bugs (unable to append to existing file), but it’s a good start if you want something that will help you gather information for important pieces of writing that you might be doing.

The New Google Chat Service: Do We Need Another One?

The New Google Chat Service: Do We Need Another One?

GoogleChat-Logo
Later this year, a new Google chat service will be introduced. More and more details are beginning to emerge about the service, ahead of the expected unveiling at the annual Google I/O Developers Conference. Do we really need yet another chat service?

This new Google Chat service will have the name of Babel, although it was previously being identified as Babble. Babble might have been an easier one to pass through, however, as there is already a site with the name of Babel that allows chatting internationally. That’s going to get very confusing, although there is no current trademark on the name.

The new Babel chat will unify all chat services under Google. Instead of having different features and abilities from Google product to Google product, such as Google+, Gmail, Google Drive, etc., it will all be one unified service. Additionally, it will work seamlessly across platforms, whether it’s Chrome, Android, or iOS.

GoogleChat-Gmail

The features of Babel will allow you to access the same conversation from anywhere and will have a new conversation-based UI. There will be advanced group conversations with notifications across all devi ces. It will also allow you to send pictures within the chat.

This all sounds great, but do we really need yet another chatting service? We have Skype, Oovoo, Facebook, and a whole host of other apps and services, each with a slightly different feature set, allowing you peruse documents, draw on a whiteboard, talk via live video, etc. So with all of that, why do we need yet another service?

GoogleChat-Talk

The answer seems to be in what Google has planned. Google, no different than any of the other big tech companies, seems to be trying to keep their users from straying to different companies, apps, or services. If a user is checking out their mail in Gmail, then decides to enter into a chat, they want to keep the user th ere on Google. They don’t want them going to Skype, Facebook, etc.

Of course we don’t need yet another chat service. But Google needs us to stay with their products and not go elsewhere. Because they’re Google, they know we’ll at least try out their chat service. And for anyone who is already using their existing chat services, they’ll of course stick with this one as well. It’s not a service that’s needed. It’s just one that is going to get used whether we need it or not.

Will you have a use for the new Google Chat service or will you just stick with your existing chat services regardless? Chime in below in the comments area and let us know what you think.

The New Google Chat Service: Do We Need Another One?

The New Google Chat Service: Do We Need Another One?

GoogleChat-Logo
Later this year, a new Google chat service will be introduced. More and more details are beginning to emerge about the service, ahead of the expected unveiling at the annual Google I/O Developers Conference. Do we really need yet another chat service?

This new Google Chat service will have the name of Babel, although it was previously being identified as Babble. Babble might have been an easier one to pass through, however, as there is already a site with the name of Babel that allows chatting internationally. That’s going to get very confusing, although there is no current trademark on the name.

The new Babel chat will unify all chat services under Google. Instead of having different features and abilities from Google product to Google product, such as Google+, Gmail, Google Drive, etc., it will all be one unified service. Additionally, it will work seamlessly across platforms, whether it’s Chrome, Android, or iOS.

GoogleChat-Gmail

The features of Babel will allow you to access the same conversation from anywhere and will have a new conversation-based UI. There will be advanced group conversations with notifications across all devi ces. It will also allow you to send pictures within the chat.

This all sounds great, but do we really need yet another chatting service? We have Skype, Oovoo, Facebook, and a whole host of other apps and services, each with a slightly different feature set, allowing you peruse documents, draw on a whiteboard, talk via live video, etc. So with all of that, why do we need yet another service?

GoogleChat-Talk

The answer seems to be in what Google has planned. Google, no different than any of the other big tech companies, seems to be trying to keep their users from straying to different companies, apps, or services. If a user is checking out their mail in Gmail, then decides to enter into a chat, they want to keep the user there on Google. They don’t want them going to Skype, Facebook, etc.

Of cou rse we don’t need yet another chat service. But Google needs us to stay with their products and not go elsewhere. Because they’re Google, they know we’ll at least try out their chat service. And for anyone who is already using their existing chat services, they’ll of course stick with this one as well. It’s not a service that’s needed. It’s just one that is going to get used whether we need it or not.

Will you have a use for the new Google Chat service or will you just stick with your existing chat services regardless? Chime in below in the comments area and let us know what you think.

How To Keep Data Safe on Smartphones – Best Security Measures

How To Keep Data Safe on Smartphones â€" Best Security Measures

Introduction of new smartphones have transformed the business world so much that people are increasingly reliant on their How To Keep Data Safe on Smartphones - Best Security Measuressmartphones to keep track on all kinds of activities weather internet browsing, maintaining internet IDs and financial accounts, banking, bill tracking  and even diary writing. With smartphone revolution, all of the sensitive data kept in your phones has become more vulnerable to theft and the question is being asked on all platforms - How To Keep Data Safe on Smartphones?

With rising smartphone usage there is a need for intense concern for more security procedures to secure your important information like your bank account numbers, credit card numbers, the stored passwords and other confidential data. Unfortunately not much has been done to meet up these fears however here are a no of tactics you may use to protect your data kept in your smartphone. Search out reliable security providers.

First of all search for what reliable security features are available. You would find many software options like finger print scanner, face scanner or alarms but they don’t actively work as per the requirement. However there is some reliable security software available and they have their cost. Here are few of them that work for all major smartphones like iPhone, BlackBerry, Android, Symbian and others.

  • Look mobile security: it is a free and paid service that guards your phone against malware, viruses, spyware, and backups and tracks your phone.
  • BullGuard.com: it costs $ 29.95 a year for anti-spyware, anti-virus, firewall, spam filters, basic backups and other 24 hours support.
  • SMobile system: it charges $ 29.99 per year for anti- virus, malware device locks, GPS locations and other such services.

Protection in case of theft:

Related to Read:
Android vs iOS â€" Why & How iOS is More Secure Than Android?

Some precautionary measures to be taken:

  • A few precautions that you may take are:  beware of what you are downloading and from where are you downloading? Are these channels secured? Are the websites you are visiting trustworthy? Are you saving any logins and passwords at the device you don’t trust?
  • Never give your credit card number or other important passwords to the site starting with “http://” always look at the site address whether it starts with https or http an http site is unsecured from where your data can easily be hacked.
  • When you use public internet connections to browse internet make sure they are secure and reliable as it is a huge risk in terms of the data which you may lose.
  • Additionally keep an update check on your device these updates always add benefits so keep your automatic updates on to catch maximum updates as soon as possible.
  • Finally download a “find your phone app” no matter how careful you are about phone keep such to keep the track of your device in case it gets stolen.

Compressing and Extracting Files on Android

Compressing and Extracting Files on Android

ZArchiver-introAndroid devices don’t always allow you to open every file type you might be emailed or download. The same goes for compressing a file or group of files. Depending on what the file is, this might be a big inconvenience. Some file managers let you compress or decompress zip files, but what happens if there is a rar or 7z file you need to open? ZArchiver is a great option for compressing and extracting files on an Android.

Compressing a file on an Android

The process of making a compressed folder is pretty easy actually. After ZArchiver is installed and opened, there are some icons in the top right corner of the window. The one farthest to the right will give you a drop-down menu. In these options is where you will be able to make a compressed folder.

ZArchiver-create

When you click create, you can create a folder or an archive. The archive formats can be 7z, Zip or TAR.

ZArchiver-archive

Like many desktop apps, you can choose the settings of the archive. You can add a password, c hoose the level of compression and even split the archive into multiple volumes.

ZArchiver-create-archive

Once you have all of the settings ready and the archive named, you are ready to add the files. It is a good idea to make sure you are in the correct folder or subfolder so you can easily add the files at this step. You can create a new folder and move all the files there if needed. Tap the files to highlight them and press down arrow icon to create the compressed archive.

Decompressing a file on an Android

Decompressing a file is just as straightforward. When there is a file emailed to you or otherwise downloaded to your Android device, you have a few options. The first option is to view the content s of the compressed archive.

Open ZArchiver and use the file manager to find the archive. click the archive when you find it. You should be presented with a few options, one of which will be View. You will be able to see the folders and files in the compressed archive. If needed, you can extract a single file.

ZArchiver-extract

If you want to extract all of them, there are other options. You can Extract here, this will empty the contents into the main folder. You can Extract to ./<Archive name>/, this will create a new folder and extract all of the files into it. This is usually a great option.

File types

This is a list showing all of the compatible file types you can compress, view and decompress. If you notice, there are a lot of not so commonly accessible files on an Android.

Create archive: 7z (7zip), zip, bzip2 (bz2), gzip (gz), XZ, tar

Decompress archive types: 7z (7zip), zip, rar, bzip2, gzip, XZ, iso, tar, arj, cab, lzh, lha, lzma, xar, tgz, tbz, Z, deb, rpm, zipx, mtz

View contents: 7z (7zip), zip, rar, bzip2, gzip, XZ, iso, tar, arj, cab, lzh, lha, lzma, xar, tgz, tbz, Z, deb, rpm, zipx, mtz

Final words

When you use your Android phone for more than calling and texting, you will need apps like ZArchiver. Compressing and extracting files on an Android is very useful. The more apps you have to make your Android more like your desktop will help you be more efficient while you are mobile.

What do you use to open a 7z file on your Android device?

Image credit: Zipper Three Quarter Perspective by BigStockPhoto

Cool Websites and Tools [March 31st 2013]

Cool Websites and Tools [March 31st 2013]

Check out some of the latest MakeUseOf discoveries. Most of the listed websites are FREE or come with a decent free account option. If you want to have similar cool website round-ups delivered to your daily email, subscribe here.

Add Your Website Here!

My image Cloakmy â€" Email is great, but what if you need to send a secure message that only the intended recipient will be able to read? Email is a fairly insecure way of sending a message â€" it sits in both inboxes and send mail folders until the sender or receiver decide to delete it. Cloakmy is different in that it allows you to send messages to email addresses, with an added layer of security. Read more: Cloakmy: Send Self Destructing Messages
My image MoreSitesLike â€" We all have our favorite websites, and it’s certainly useful to expand our horizons and find new websites to kill time and gain knowledge. Of course, you probably don’t want to break too far out of your comfort zone, and you will probably want websites that are similar to the kinds of places you frequent on a daily basis. This is where More Sites Like comes into play, as it allows you to find all kinds of sites based on any other website. Read more: MoreSitesLike: Find Websites Similar To Any Other Website
My image Taskbar Hide â€" If for some reason you’re often caught wondering if you can hide any given program from appearing in your Windows taskbar then Taskbar Hide is the app for you. Stop apps from cluttering up what precious little taskbar space you’ve got from the right-click menu and then bring them back using a hotkey shortcut. Read more: Taskbar Hide: Hide Running Programs & SysTray Items [Windows]
My image Pandora to Spotify Playlist Converter â€" Have you bookmarked a bunch of your favorite songs on Pandora that you would like converted into a playlist? Of course you could simply create a playlist of the same songs on Spotify. But manually searching for all those bookmarked Pandora songs on Spotify would consume a lot of time. Here to help is a browser extension called Pandora to Spotify Playlist Converter. Read more: Pandora To Spotify Playlist Converter: Transfer Bookmarked Pandora Songs To Spotify [Chrome]
My image Autodesk FormIt â€" Architects and construction planners can make use of various desktop applications to create 3D designs of buildings and projects. Here to bring that ability to everybody with an iPad is an application called Autodesk FormIt. This app lets you create impressive 3D designs for buildings with ease. The built-in gallery of shapes lets you quickly get started. Read more: Autodesk FormIt: Create 3D Building Designs Using Your iPad

These are just half of the websites that we discovered in the last couple of days. If you want us to send you daily round-ups of all cool websites we come across, leave your email here. Or follow us via RSS feed.

Compressing and Extracting Files on Android

Compressing and Extracting Files on Android

ZArchiver-introAndroid devices don’t always allow you to open every file type you might be emailed or download. The same goes for compressing a file or group of files. Depending on what the file is, this might be a big inconvenience. Some file managers let you compress or decompress zip files, but what happens if there is a rar or 7z file you need to open? ZArchiver is a great option for compressing and extracting files on an Android.

Compressing a file on an Android

The process of making a compressed folder is pretty easy actually. After ZArchiver is installed and opened, there are some icons in the top right corner of the window. The one farthest to the right will give you a drop-down menu. In these options is where you will be able to make a compressed folder.

ZArchiver-create

When you click create, you can create a folder or an archive. The archive formats can be 7z, Zip or TAR.

ZArchiver-archive

Like many desktop apps, you can choose the settings of the archive. You can add a password, c hoose the level of compression and even split the archive into multiple volumes.

ZArchiver-create-archive

Once you have all of the settings ready and the archive named, you are ready to add the files. It is a good idea to make sure you are in the correct folder or subfolder so you can easily add the files at this step. You can create a new folder and move all the files there if needed. Tap the files to highlight them and press down arrow icon to create the compressed archive.

Decompressing a file on an Android

Decompressing a file is just as straightforward. When there is a file emailed to you or otherwise downloaded to your Android device, you have a few options. The first option is to view the content s of the compressed archive.

Open ZArchiver and use the file manager to find the archive. click the archive when you find it. You should be presented with a few options, one of which will be View. You will be able to see the folders and files in the compressed archive. If needed, you can extract a single file.

ZArchiver-extract

If you want to extract all of them, there are other options. You can Extract here, this will empty the contents into the main folder. You can Extract to ./<Archive name>/, this will create a new folder and extract all of the files into it. This is usually a great option.

File types

This is a list showing all of the compatible file types you can compress, view and decompress. If you notice, there are a lot of not so commonly accessible files on an Android.

Create archive: 7z (7zip), zip, bzip2 (bz2), gzip (gz), XZ, tar

Decompress archive types: 7z (7zip), zip, rar, bzip2, gzip, XZ, iso, tar, arj, cab, lzh, lha, lzma, xar, tgz, tbz, Z, deb, rpm, zipx, mtz

View contents: 7z (7zip), zip, rar, bzip2, gzip, XZ, iso, tar, arj, cab, lzh, lha, lzma, xar, tgz, tbz, Z, deb, rpm, zipx, mtz

Final words

When you use your Android phone for more than calling and texting, you will need apps like ZArchiver. Compressing and extracting files on an Android is very useful. The more apps you have to make your Android more like your desktop will help you be more efficient while you are mobile.

What do you use to open a 7z file on your Android device?

Image credit: Zipper Three Quarter Perspective by BigStockPhoto

//PART 2