Note: this site is in private beta, although you can get an invite with the link at the bottom of the post.
In a time when most people spend eight hours a day (or more) with their fingers on a keyboard, a service called JamLegend wants you to spend a few more. It turns your average, everyday keyboard into a virtual electric guitar. Think of it as Guitar Hero, without the need for special hardware or software.
To play songs, you just hit the right note at the right time, which just like Guitar Hero or Rock Band requires holding the corresponding notes and strumming with the Enter key. The site suggests two ways to play--either a "chill" mode that looks like you're typing into an Excel spreadsheet (good for playing at work) or the "jam" style where you hold your keyboard like a guitar and use the function keys like you would frets.
The jam style takes some getting used to, but is a far more satisfying way to play, and Guitar Hero or Rock Band enthusiasts will feel right at home, although depending on your keyboard it's a little more cramped.
To play, you just hit the corresponding note at the right time. On the right it keeps track of your current score, high score, and the person who rocked it the most on that difficulty level.
(Credit: CNET Networks)The real power of the site is in the collection of songs and the integrated social experience that lets you play with and against your friends. Unlike the console titles that limit you to a selection of licensed music from big-name bands, the songs on JamLegend are indie. That doesn't mean they're bad though; in fact most of the songs I played would be far more fun to play than some of the B-side tracks that fill out the set list on the console games.
... Read moreThe Firefox 3 honeymoon is over.
It is indeed awesome, but it could use a little tweaking to keep your surfing a high-speed affair, right? You're in luck, because there are some easy tweaks.
The other day, we pointed you toward how to get rid of the updated address bar's new features completely, but why not just tweak what you see, instead? Here are some tips to bail you out.
1. Control how many listings you're getting. The default number of sites that show up on the Smart Location Bar, or "awesome bar," of the nwe Mozilla browser is 12. Changing that number works the same way as getting rid of the sites altogether.
Just type about:config into your address bar, hit the "okay" button when the security warning pops up, then paste browser.urlbar.maxRichResults in the open box, and hit the Enter key.
Double-click the result, and it'll let you change that digit to whatever you want. One thing to note, though, is if you add more results, it won't make the list any longer than six at a time, so you'll still have to scroll.
2. Keep bookmarks off the address bar. You save a bunch of sites, but you don't want them showing up when you're typing, right? This extension will keep the church-and-state line of browsing history and bookmarks from being crossed ever again.
This probably isn't useful, if you only have a few bookmarks, but it can be very helpful if you've got a huge collection that requires you to scroll down the list to find the site you're looking for, effectively killing any time saving the bar was meant to do.
3. Keep certain sites from showing up altogether. Got a site you'd rather not have others see when they're using your machine? Unless you've got browser history turned off, and the site isn't bookmarked, you're generally out of luck.
There's currently not a way to keep specific sites from showing up or right-clicking to remove them from the list, which is why we have to recommend using Apple's Safari for it's "private browsing" feature. When toggled, it won't save any of your information, clicks, or cached data for anyone else to find.
If you don't feel like switching browsers (even though Safari is pretty darn good), there's an extension called Distrust (download here) that emulates the same thing, deleting only the bits of data from that session. Just don't be surprised if your significant other or kids ask why there's an eyeball in the corner of your screen.
Got any of your own tips? Share them in the comments.
Delighting some Firefox browsing loyalists and distressing others is the so-called "awesome bar" in Firefox 3 (download for Windows and Mac).
Officially known as the Smart Location Bar, it has earned a mixed reputation by suggesting 12 bookmarks and URLs of previously visited sites as the user types keywords into the URL field. If you're one of those users clamoring for an option to silence the 'helpful' new feature in Firefox 3, released on Tuesday, look no further than this Quick Tip video. CNET Editor Tom Merritt, working off a user tip, demonstrates how it's done.
(Credit:
CNET Networks)
There's no better way to incur user wrath than to change one of the fundamental features of a product. Apple's been doing it for years with each revision, usually prompting a positive cheer from most while alienating a certain margin of its fervent user base that vows to never buy or use the product again. Browser maker Mozilla is not without its own minority that appears to be up in arms about the updated address bar.
The Smart Location Bar, dubbed the "awesome bar" by the company, drops in a mix of your bookmarks and browser history as you type. For example, if you've got CNN.com bookmarked, or have visited it in the past, simply typing in a "C" would drop down a stream of links with some of the most relevant or highly visited sites rising to the top. It's been designed as a time-saver, but a group of users have come down on the new feature because it can't be turned off easily and has a quirky habit of putting some links in front of others.
Reader Jim points us toward this post on Mozilla Links about the feature back in the second beta that has accumulated nearly 300 user comments. Notice the date though (November 2007), and the latest comment was just a few minutes ago. Most of the comments praise the new feature, while some power users are complaining about the structuring of the links and want the option to disable bookmarks as part of the equation.
Similar threads exist in Mozilla's own community forums, although most quibbles are linked up to Mozilla's knowledge base articles which show how to tweak and edit certain features step-by-step.
There are, in fact, several ways to disable this feature entirely. One way is to follow the instructions on this page, which involves a small tweak to your about:config file. Doing so will disable the drop-down of links completely, but not your auto fill. There's also an add-on extension that mimics the behavior of the address bar found in Firefox 2 with slightly smaller favicons, link text, and sorting.
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