If you downloaded Google Chrome a while ago, you should know there’s now a new version available. Apparently this version was released somewhere around Dec 8, 2009 – going by the date of the Google Chrome Blog post Google Chrome for the holidays: Mac, Linux and extensions in beta. As the post title indicates, Chrome now comes in flavors for the Mac, Linux, and Windows. Also exciting for me is the introduction of Extensions for the Linux and Windows versions. Sorry, but Mac extensions are still in development.

I’ve installed Chrome on my Ubuntu machines and I am loving it!

Not all of my favorite Firefox extensions are available in Crome yet, but I’ve been able to duplicate a few. So far I have installed Evernote, Shareaholic, and XMarks.

I have been using Chrome for a while, and was surprised to learn that my installed version did not update automatically. Be sure to upgrade your version too! Also check out the custom themes for Google Chrome after you upgrade.

Several blogger colleagues have raved to me about how they love blogging with Windows Live Writer. Every time I’ve tried (until now) I gave up because my personal blog’s themes use dark backgrounds. When trying to use Live Writer it was impossible to write or edit. Here’s a screen shot of this blog’s default dark background.

I found the answer in a Windows Live Writer Forum thread titled Theme Not Showing Up Properly. Flora MSFT answered with the following advice:

“One of your screenshots is our plain editing surface, which we fall back on if template detection fails. You can choose to edit in this mode by going to View menu and unchecking "Edit using Theme".”

The change to not edit using my theme changed my post background to the default off white (blue-ish) color and has made blogging from Live Writer much mo’ better!

If you are looking for some free first person shooter games check out the 3 summarized in this post. With all three games available for Windows and Linux, these deathmatch open source alternatives offer a lot of characters and weapons with a healthy on-line community playing on numerous Internet servers. If you do not want to battle other players on the Internet, 2 of the 3 games have the option to also play locally against bots. These games also offer mods such as Capture the Flag and Team Deathmatch. (more…)

Ubuntu 8.04 has several cool features that were not previously available in past versions. The coolest is when you load the Ubuntu CD on a PC running Windows you have the option to perform a Wubi installation. The Wubi install installs like a Windows application (and it is removed as a Windows app too – i.e. from the Control Panel > Add / Remove programs) but configures your PC to dual boot Ubuntu and your Windows version. It does not modify partitions, the MBR, or any part of your hard disk. It simply creates a new folder named Ubuntu on the drive you choose to install to.

When I first tried the Wubi install I attempted to load it to the same partition Windows boots from. The installation failed, so I then installed it to my data partition and was successful. After a reboot I was prompted to choose which OS to boot. I selected Ubuntu and was amazed as my Lenovo T60p booted successfully. The only problem Ubuntu had with my hardware was that the wireless indicator L.E.D. did not light up, but wireless was working fine.

I was then able to download and install packages / updates, modify my theme and appearance, and configure Ubuntu as you would expect. I could even access my Windows files because the data partition was mounted as /host and the boot partition could be mounted as a removable drive. The end result is the screenshot of my dsktop in this post. (more…)

Lifehacker.com’s post Top 10 Free Video Rippers, Encoders, and Converters reports:

“Commercial video converter software’s aplenty, but there are several solid free utilities that can convert your video files on every operating system, or if you’ve just got a web browser and a quick clip. Put DVDs on your iPod, YouTube videos on DVD, or convert any video file with today’s top 10 free video rippers, encoders and converters.”

Here’s the list of all ten of the utilities. Read the entire article at the link above for more details on each one. (more…)

I could not agree more with the consensus to uninstall Norton in the thread at Norton stinks | Ask Metafilter. It seems all new home desktops and notebooks come with Norton pre-installed with a 1 year license subscription for updates (I’m not sure of the exact time period because I uninstall it asap). Do yourself a favor and uninstall Norton immediately. Especially before you renew the license.

I recommend either ClamWin or AVG. Both are free, protect your email, have real time and scheduled scans, and have (more…)

Whenever family and friends come to me and say my PC is running slow the first thing I do is install and run the free utility CCleaner for them. The features page on ccleaner.com explain why:

Program Summary:

CCleaner is a freeware PC optimization tool.
It combines a system cleaner that removes unused and temporary files from your system and also a fully featured registry cleaner!
CCleaner allows Windows to run faster, more efficiently and gives you more hard disk space.
The best part is that it’s Small, Fast and Free!

Cleans the following Windows components: (more…)

Winamp Remote, powered by Orb, is a new beta service that allows you to stream your music and videos to any device that has an Internet connection. Specifically, if you connect your Wii to your home wireless network, spend $5 and buy the Internet channel and the Opera Browser, and install Winamp Remote on any Windows computer running Winamp you can stream any files in the Winamp library to your Wii.

From Winamp.com:

“Access and Share Your Music and Videos On the Go

Winamp Remote turns your home computer into a streaming server and play your music and videos on the go from any PC web browser, compatible cell phones, and TVs with a connected Wii, Xbox 360, or PlayStation 3. Also, share and discover (more…)

Innotek VirtualBox is a free, open-source alternative to VMware workstation. Aquired by Sun Microsystems earlier this year, VirtualBox has quickly become one of the leading developer platforms for the desktop with current features that rival even VMware’s latest version 6.5 currently in beta testing. I have used VirtualBox in the past, but because I had not used it in over almost over a year I was not aware of the latest features in the most recent releases. The feature that specifically caught my attention was the seamless window integration of Microsoft Windows virtual machines. Like VMware Workstation and Fusion’s Unity feature, VirtualBox allows Windows applications in the VM to pop out of the VM session making it available from the host operating system’s desktop.

I originally published this post on VM /ETC. Read the entire article at vmetc.com (more…)

If you are like me you have an iPod and have downloaded iTunes, but you prefer to manage your music collection through either Windows Media Player or Winamp. The thougt of recreating the wheel in iTunes is not too appealing, Thank goodness the latest versions of Winamp (not sure when it happened extacly) allow you to sync your iPod. That means you can browse to an existing playlist, add it to Winamp and then send it to your iPod. Winamp even creates the playlist on your iPod too!

More from Winamp.com: (more…)