The viewing of Subscriptions and Labels in Google’s feed reader application are now by drop down menus as opposed to the colored AJAXy sections that used to appear as if from nowhere.  Overall, a very small update to an application that I used to hate but now can’t live without… and it’ll happen to you too. 

Now, if only they’d allow me to expand the topic listing on the left so I can make it quite a bit wider.  I can’t tell what the crap I’m scrolling through the majority of the time.

Update: Download Squad also points out that Reader now has an entire “settings” section from which you can manage your subscriptions (make public/private, rename, etc.) and labels as well as review import/export options (OPML only.)  You can also disable animation from within the program…which is great if you get sick and tired of the cutesy folding and unfolding of menus and the slow scrolling through the topics list.

technorati tags:google, reader, rss, ui, opml

Google Browser Sync
Google has released an official Firefox extension to be used as a tool for synchronizing the following Firefox profile aspects: Cookies, Saved Passwords, Bookmarks, History, as well as your last active session's open Tabs and Windows. This thing is going to save me and a lot of other people some serious time. Now, if only they'll synchronize extensions…

(The extension seems to be working perfectly even in Flock. However, I'm not entirely sure the browsing history is being synced. That's possibly because of the way Flock stores its' browsing history…I believe it's different than Firefox.)

Firefox 3.0 Will Not Be Supported for Windows 98, ME Users
The Mozilla Foundation has publicly stated that the 3rd generation of the Firefox browser will no longer support these two elderly operating systems. Despite the negative reaction from some people, I have to agree. Why support an OS that Microsoft itself isn't even supporting anymore? I'd rather see Mozilla spend their time on newer, much-needed features than trying to make sure the browser is compatible on one operating system that's nearly 10 years old and another that's considered by most to be one of the worst tech products of all time.

(from TechWhack.com)

Yahoo Launches Custom IE7
Customized by the Internet Explorer Administration Kit, Yahoo has launched their own version of Internet Explorer 7 Beta 2 featuring the Yahoo! Toolbar and Yahoo! Mail integration.

"This might be their way to take on Google’s collaboration with Mozilla Firefox browser and Microsoft’s integration of IE7 in the upcoming Vista operating system."

Gee…ya think?

(from TechWhack.com)

The Flock team has finally released the first official beta of the “social browser” - available for download at Flock.com.  Flock, for those of you who don’t know, is a new browser based on the Mozilla Firefox browsing engine…but with a few twists.  Flock allows you to blog, share photos, share favorites, read feeds (RSS, Atom) all from within one window and all from the initial install. Read the official announcement here.

Firefox is the best browser out there, in my opinion, because of its’ extensibility.  So many various extensions allow for so many various things and I ditched all of it months ago so I could have one feature that won’t even be available in Firefox 2.0: search-as-you-type of the Web, your favorites (del.icio.us or Shadows), and your browsing history.  Fortunately for me, many more extensions are now available alongside the new beta release and, before too long, I’ll be able to officially (as opposed to un-officially) convert Firefox extensions for use in the Flock browser.

Give it a spin.  I highly encourage it.  Perhaps, if enough people moan and groan with me, Firefox will bring “Places” back into the Firefox 2.0 release.

Oh, and I must mention that, without Flock, I may not have ever gotten around to my first post here at WordPress.  You see, when WordPress.com first launched, the only way you could get an account (with the exception of a very rare invite) was by downloading Flock.  I don’t regret that download one bit.  I found my browser and blogging software of choice that day. 

(Although…I’m in perfect health and I have a beautiful wife, wonderful family, and a loving God who cares for my well being so there’s plenty more to be excited about than just Flock…that’s for sure.  Just something to keep in mind as you hit the Blogosphere head on tomorrow.  Yep, I said “blogosphere.”  Nerd out.)

Blogged with Flock

This month’s featured program, Launchy, has saved me a ridiculous amount of time over the last couple of months. According to it’s creator, Launchy is “free windows utility designed to help you forget about your start menu, the icons on your desktop, and even your file manager.” Basically, the program provides you with a search-as-you-type box (I’m always a big fan of those) accessible with a simple keyboard shortcut (Alt+Space by default) from which you can find shortcuts to programs in your Start Menu or or even documents that you’ve chosen to index via the program’s preferences.  (i.e., “My Documents.”)

As I already specified, the box features search-as-you-type results which are lightning-fast.  I have a tendency to run one gazillion applications at a time so pulling up my XP Start Menu to view a list of available programs has a tendency to take a while hence the “ridiculous amount of time” it’s saved me.  Alt+Space > type a few letters > done. 

The Basics

You can find it at Launchy.net. The current version is 0.9.3. Support forums are located here (at Sourceforge.)  Launchy is skinnable and is an open-source project.

technorati tags:launchy, sourceforge, freeware

You can now officially download Windows Vista via WindowsVista.com.  Thanks to Neowin for the heads up and for telling us how to get a key.

UPDATE: Here’s a useful list of applications that are known to be compatible with Vista.  (For those of you just DYING to upgrade but still worried that you might get screwed in the end.)