ChromePlus

Chrome is not the only browser to use Google’s Chromium source code. One of the Web analytic rates six variations that each offer different built-in features.

As its name suggests, ChromePlus offers all the functionality of Google’s browser and a whole lot more. It includes features that can only be added to standard Chrome using extensions, yet offers the same speed and simplicity.

During installation, ChromePlus helpfully imports your bookmarks and passwords from your default browser, which saves you having to set it up manually. The bookmarks appear in a sidebar for easy access, above a handy Shopping Assistant tool that lets you search for products on Amazon and eBay.

However, it’s only when you dig into the browser’s Options that you realize how wonderfully customizable ChromePlus is. Among other things, it lets you close tabs with a double click; delete your browsing history on exit; and assign a ‘boss key’ that hides what you’re viewing from nosy parkers.

ChromePlus can be controlled using mouse gestures and comes with the add-on IE Tab installed for when you need to view pages that Chrome won’t load in Internet Explorer. It also features a download manager and ad-blocking tools that lets you subscribe to lists of advertisers and tracking companies in order to automatically block their content and cookies.

Best of all, ChromePlus is compatible with Chrome Web Store’s apps, extensions and themes, and will happily run alongside the Google browser without clashing. However, you won’t be able to sync data between them.

It doesn’t update automatically when a new version becomes available, and we’d also like more ChromePlus-specific help pages, other than the basic start guide.

If you like Chrome, you’ll love ChromePlus, which saves you the hassle of installing many add-ons manually and gives you greater control over how you browse the web.

PDF Converter

Have you continually got documents from clients, company members of the family, or contacts and not have a friendly program on your personal computer? Do you find exhausted of these pop-up murmurs that suggest you download a compatibility pack? Have you still used up hours, days or even weeks to build a document with text features exclusive, self-selected images and an video tutorial and does not know how to send, for the reason that you knew that the send in its current form would ruin the layout, features and other content when it was opened in a different application? There is a key to these possible problems: convert PDF software. Convert PDF software lets you to open or save your documents in a format that is commonly understandable and printable.

There are many alternatives for PDF software that you would not think an absolute result for PDF conversion software. We selected the top choices with all the features, tools and excellence, we found users want. In this review you will find side-by-side similarities of the top software products convert PDF with support for converting PDF articles on software to help you choose the best solution for your needs and you provide a quick guide on how the software works.

To find the top 10 of the best software for converting PDF applications, we examined the most common features and design aspects of the majority of users to focus on a product to convert the PDF software. The fundamental issue for most users seems to be: how do I create, edit, secure, enhance, and share my documents? The criteria we used to evaluate each software application:

Editing

Convert PDF software should allow users to make minor corrections to a PDF file without having to convert the format of the original document. This is particularly important when trying to modify and create a PDF from a scanned physical. Software to convert PDF should provide a way to mark the document (add comments, highlight, delete text, etc.) if you need to collaborate with others. If there are changes to make, you should have some way to sign your name on the document and secure by limiting changes or darkening of sensitive information. The best software we reviewed also has tools for emailing your PDF or download it to a website.

Multimedia

A picture is worth a thousand words. A full range of PDF software should provide the basic functionality for multimedia add life to the otherwise plain text. Our Top convert PDF Software products have the ability to add video and audio content and images. At the very least, the software convert PDF files should allow you to add images and hyperlinks.

Printing

Additionally to fundamental printing, you may desire to identify what tools are offered to make super quality documents to be sent to business printing. A number of software applications have extraordinary features like tools for mapping or color optimization to ensure that your documents are printed accurately as it appears on your computer screen. A great feature is the ability to create PDF files from any application by printing to PDF printer associated with the software.

Ease of use

Convert PDF software should easily create PDF files from many different file types and locations, whether from the PDF software itself or by other word processing applications. Another important aspect is the usability of the interface. Does it have a familiar and intuitive? Is it cluttered design tools and menus? Software tools with captions that are easy to understand? We examined each of these characteristics while examining each application.

Help & Support

When determining the appropriate classification for each product and help the support team, we evaluated their resources and the effectiveness of customer service. Is there a help menu included in the software, or do you have to return to the site? The site videos or tutorials explaining the product, a knowledge base of articles and a forum of fellow users? The best choice to convert the PDF software are supported by companies that have user-friendly features such as live chat and 24 / 7 customer support.

Firefox 5 and its Features

Mozilla’s decision to release new versions of Firefox more frequently means fewer changes between releases. Firefox 5 is being launched only three months after Firefox 4, with 6 and 7 also due this year. Here are 10 of our favorite new tools in the browser and review.You can download free from its official site.

Stop websites following you

Firefox 4 introduced a welcome privacy control called Do-Not-Track, which explicitly tells websites and advertisers not to monitor your online activities. Unfortunately, the option to turn on this invaluable feature was originally tucked away in the advanced setting-a problem that has been remedied in Firefox 5. Now you can just go to Tools, Options, privacy and select ‘Tell web sits I do not want to be tracked’.

Switch between different versions

Previously, downloading a beta version of Firefox would automatically replace your current installation of the browser, which could be annoying if you then experienced problems. Firefox 5 lets you easily switch between the present release, the latest beta and the pre-release Aurora version.

Always keep your favorite sites open

One of our favorite new Firefox features is App Tabs, which lets you create permanent taps for your favorite websites. These tabs are compact, can’t be closed accidentally and always keep sites open rather than loading them only when clicked. To create an App Tab, right-click the tab for a site you visit regularly and choose ‘Pin as App Tab’. To turn back into a normal tab, right click it and select Unpin Tab.

Easily manage large numbers of tabs

The new Panorama feature in Firefox makes organizing lots of tabs much easier than in rival browsers. It usefully lets you sort you browser tabs into handy groups so you can have, for example, one group for news websites and another for entertainment. To use Panorama, either click the arrow to the far right of the tab bar and choose Tab Groups or press Ctrl+Shift+E. You can create as many groups as you like and click one to open all the sites it contains in new tabs. Firefox 5 prevents all Panorama tabs from resizing when close one.

Sync your tabs across devices

Although Chrome lets you sync your bookmarks, add-ons and passwords across multiple computers, the latest version of Firefox goes one better by letting you sync your tabs, too. This means that the sites you have open in the browser on your home PC will instantly be available on our laptop or Android phone. Go into Tools, Options, Sync and ensure Tabs is selected in the Synchronize My list. You can then click the arrow on the right of the tab bar and choose Tabs from other computers. Adding this functionality to Chrome requires a tab-syncing extension such as Tab Cloud.

Don’t open the same site twice

Switch-to-Tab is one of Firefox’s simplest but handiest new features. When you start typing a URL in the address bar, Firefox will check to see if you already have that site open in another tab. If you do, you’ll be directed to existing tab with a ‘Switch to tab’ option, to prevent you from opening a duplicate.

Scroll pages more smoothly

When you scroll through long web pages using your mouse, the content tends to move upwards in small jumps rather than in a fluid motion. You can fix this in Firefox by going to Tools, Options, Advanced and clicking the General tab. In the Browsing section select the option ‘Use smooth scrolling’ and you should be able to navigate pages more smoothly.

Get add-on recommendations

The new add-ons Manager makes it easy to switch between add-ons you’ve installed and those that are available. To see your installed add-ons, click Extensions. To browse ones you might like, click Get Add-ons.

Firefox even gives you personalized recommendations based on the add-ons you use-the more extensions you have enabled, the more & accurate these suggestions will be.

Enjoy Firefox on the move

Although the new mobile version of Firefox is only available for Android phones (and the Nokia N900), it’s still a great way to browse the web on the move. It syncs seamlessly with the Desktop browser and even offers the Do-Not-Track feature. In contrast, Google has yet to launch Chrome for mobile, although you can use the Chrome to Phone extension to send web content from your PC.

Sign into multiple accounts

This was unconfirmed at the time of going to press, but Firefox 5 is rumored to be adding a feature that lets you log into multiple accounts on the same site simultaneously. This could prove useful for webmail services with which you have more than one address, and online stores and social networks if you share your computer with somebody else.

Chrome 12 and its Features

Now in its 12th stable version, with a 13th in beta and a 14th in development, Chrome has gone through releases faster than any other browser, constantly adjusting its interface and adding innovative tools. Here are 10 of Chrome’s best new features that you won’t find in Firefox or Internet Explorer.You can free download from its official site.

Convert your speech into text

Save yourself the hassle of typing by using Chrome’s new speech-to-text feature. Click the microphone icon on a compatible website to launch the feature and talk into your PC’s microphone or headset. The browser will then covert your words into written ones using HTML5.

You can test the tool by going to Google Translate, setting the input language as English and clicking the microphone icon in the bottom-right corner of the text box. Speak a word or phrase to translate it into the language of your choice and click Listen to have the text read back to you. Other Google services will be adding the feature soon.

Get protection from Malicious Downloads

Chrome recently introduced a Safe Browsing feature that warns you about potentially harmful files before you download them. Using the same algorithms that help Google determine dodgy websites in search results, the tool automatically detects dangerous files and asks whether you want to discard the download or go ahead and save it anyway. It’s true that Firefox and Internet Explorer both warn you about downloading certain types of file but Chrome’s Safer Browsing tool actually checks whether the source site is known to contain malware to give you a more sophisticated level of protection, especially from social-engineering threats in which fraudsters try to trick you into revealing personal information.

Quickly find Browser settings

Unlike Firefox and Internet Explorer, Chrome now displays its Options on a browser tab rather than in a dialogue box. Usefully, this tab includes a search facility that lets you quickly locate specific settings-for example, options for managing passwords and deleting cookies. You can also bookmark the individual Options sections-Basics, Personal Stuff and Under the Bonnet for easy access.

Run Flash content in a sandbox

To stop Flash content on web pages infecting your PC with malware, Chrome now ‘sandboxes’ Adobe Flash player.By running the plug-in in a secure, ring-fenced environment, the browser keeps the rest of your system safe from Flash-based security attacks. The sandboxing is done automatically and saves you have to block all Flash content by using an extension such as Flash-Block.

Get more Control over Apps and Extensions

In a similar way to the Task Manager in Windows , Chrome now provides information showing which extensions, apps and tabs are running in your browser, and lets you close any unnecessary ones with a single click. To access the Chrome Task Manager, either Click the spanner icon and choose ‘View background pages’ or press Shift+Esc on your keyboard.

To close an extension, app or tab, select it name in the list and click ‘End Process’.

Install Extensions without Restarting

Despite claims to contrary, many Firefox add-ons still require you to restart the browser to complete installation. In Chrome, however, any apps or extensions you install from the rapidly expanding Chrome Web Store are now instantly added to the browser, with no need to restart. The only exception is when you update Chrome itself.

Improve Google search results

Google is doing its best to remove ‘content farms’ (low-quality sites) from its search results, but many are still slipping through. To help keep the content farms at bay, you can install the new Chrome extension Personal Blocklist, which lets you block specific websites and domains so they never again appear in any of your search results. The add-on was created by Google and sends information back to the company to help it identify worthless sites. Click the Personal Block-list icon on your toolbar to review the pages you’ve blocked and undo your decisions if necessary.

Delete Flash Cookies to keep your Browsing Private

Most of us are familiar with ‘traditional’ browser-based cookies, but many websites now store our personal information in the form of local-shared objects (LSOs), otherwise known as Flash cookies. Usually, these aren’t deleted when you clear you browser data, but Chrome now lets you get rid of them so you can cover your online tracks. Click the spanner icon, go to Tools, ‘Clear browsing data’ and select the option ‘Delete cookies and other site and plug-in data.’

Load Web addresses as you type

All browsers offer an auto-complete feature, but Chrome is the only one that loads pages as soon as you start typing in its ‘omnibox’ (address bar). This feature, called Chrome instant, saves you having to click a suggestion in the auto-complete list or press Enter on your keyboard to go to a site. If you want to turn off instant, click the spanner icon, choose Options, and, on the Basics tab, deselect the option ‘Enable Instant for faster searching and browsing’.

Get maximum Browsing space

Can you imagine a browser without an address bar? The Chrome developers already have, and you can view the results in pre-release ‘Canary’ version of Chrome 13. A feature called Compact Navigation removes the navigation bar drops down, only to vanish again once you’ve typed the address. Chrome’s Back and Forward buttons are moved up a level to appear in the top-left corner of the browser in line with the tap bar.