Passpack, the online username and password manager, just announced the 6th version of their initial beta release.

Passpack stands above its competition by offering *multiple* levels of security including a master password and packing key (which can both be multiple words or entire sentences for additional security) in addition to a verification phrase and automatic session time-outs.

For each entry you create (see figure 1 below), you have multiple options for details including: username, password, URL, notes, tags and associated email address.

Figure 1: New account entry

When you’ve added your existing accounts via the online application’s import feature or via manual creation, finding the entry from the main entries listing (see figure 2 below) couldn’t be easier.  The "find-as-you-type" search box offers extremely fast discovery of your account information.

Once you’ve found the account you’re looking for, click on it and then click on the "scrambled" password field.  Voila!  Your password is automatically copied to the clipboard.

Figure 2: PassPack master entries listing

You also have the option of creating an auto-login bookmarklet.  Clicking on said bookmarklet while at a site for which you have credentials stored in PassPack will automatically log you in to that site.

At the moment, I’m currently unable to save any modifications in the Beta 6 release so you may want to stick with the Beta 5 release for now.  (The 6th release was just presented to users today, May 31,  so it’s most likely just a temporary problem.)  That said, I’ve been using Passpack for about a half-year now and I honestly would be lost without it.  I’m comforted by the application’s multiple levels of security…and the level of convenience of having all of my account information in one place is priceless.  Previously, I used the portable version of the KeePass password manager stored on a flash drive.  (I’m loving the fact that I no longer have to constantly keep track of that tiny drive anymore.)

Once the beta period is complete, free accounts will be limited to 400 (this could change) account entries.  From what I can tell, the company plans to monetize the service by offering advanced accounts capable of handling MORE than 400 accounts.  (Hey, apparently I’ll need one.)

If you’re interested in learning more about the service (and the company behind it), I strongly encourage you to check out their official blog: http://passpack.wordpress.com.  There are numerous articles on the blog providing details on features offered by the service and there’s also some great discussions on security.

One last thing, Passpack offers you an option to carry your data elsewhere by providing an export option alongside the import option you’ll most likely be using when creating your initial account at Passpack.com.

pixelnovel this past week released a version of the FlickrShop plugin for Photoshop.  The plugin allows you to bypass several manual steps and upload your photos/creations directly to your Flickr account from within Photoshop.

In addition, you’re also able to specify which format in which you want your file saved (PNG or JPG), add titles/descriptions/tags, choose which set in which you want it saved and even mark the image as public or private.

The plugin, priced at $19.95, has been available for Mac users for quite some time now and you can find both versions on the pixelnovel site: http://pixelnovel.com/flickrshop.

Early this morning, the Adobe Labs team released preview versions of three Creative Suite 4 applications: Dreamweaver, Fireworks and Soundbooth.

(Personally, I thought that Adobe might actually phase Fireworks out now that the program is being produced by the same company that releases that other graphics program, Photoshop.  Guess I was wrong.)

The official announcement on the Adobe Labs site provides plenty of information on what the new versions bring, including a brand new interface, but does not, however, provide decent screenshots.  So, here are some captures from Adobe Dreamweaver CS4: (click on the image for the larger version)

(Dreamweaver CS4 main window)
(CSS options dialog after selecting font…should make for quick and easy CSS maintenance.)

(Adobe Extension Manager CS4)

  (Validation Checker)

Some of the notable new features for Dreamweaver include:

Live View - View your web pages under real-world browser conditions with the new Live View in Dreamweaver — while still retaining direct access to the code. The new rendering mode, which uses the open source rendering engine WebKit, displays your designs like a standards-based browser.

Photoshop Smart Objects - Photoshop and Dreamweaver integration has evolved to the next level of compatibility and functionality. Drag and drop an Adobe Photoshop® PSD file into a Dreamweaver page to create an image Smart Object.

Adobe® AIR™ authoring support - Create multiplatform desktop applications from your Dreamweaver HTML and JavaScript sites with new Adobe AIR™ authoring support.

Read more about the new releases over at Adobe Labs.  Or, download the betas and give them a spin yourself.  (Note: the trial period for beta testers is two measly days.  However, if you already own a copy of the respective program [or the CS3 suite], you can test it for a tad longer.)

It’s been quite some time since Google updated the official "Google Browser Sync" Firefox extension.  If you’re unfamiliar with it, the extension enabled you to synchronize your browser bookmarks, history and passwords with any other computer on which you might be running Firefox.

Not only has it not been updated since 2006, the extension isn’t even compatible with the 3rd release of the Mozilla Firefox browser.  (As is typically the case with Google, mum’s the word on any plans and nearly 100 status requests have gone unanswered in the official forum for Google Firefox extensions.)

Mozilla answered the cries of many, however, when it released "Weave" late last year.  The official extension (from the company who brought you the Firefox browser itself) allowed for synchronization of your bookmarks, history and saved form data.  With the next release, they added support for cookies.

Now, with today’s release, they add support for passwords as well…thus leaving Google Browser Sync entirely useless.

The extension even allows for developers to extend Weave for their own applications but you can read more about that, and Weave’s many other features, on the Mozilla Labs blog. Or, you can just download it now: https://services.mozilla.com/.

Note: once you begin the initial synchronization, be prepared for the browser to choke just a little bit while the sync occurs.  Once you’re finished with that initial synchronization, however, it’ll be as smooth as silk to keep your browser information up-to-date on all your computers.

Now, if they only would allow for synchronization of Firefox extensions…

If you’ve ever found yourself wondering what exactly Eddie Vedder is mumbling about, you’ve, more than likely, visited a malware- and pop-up-plagued lyrics site via a Google search to seek out the words to the song you’re currently listening to.

A personal favorite of mine is songmeanings.net.  It’s a community-driven lyrics site where people can not only provide lyrics for songs but can also debate meaning behind the song.

However, for you Windows Media Player or Winamp users, there’s another, more convenient option out there for you: LyricsPlugin.  Once installed, the plugin detects what song to which you’re currently listening and automatically displays the lyrics for it.  (If you notice any discrepancies, you can report them and, in most instances, you’ll notice the correction after a day or two.)  It’s an incredibly convenient tool but I haven’t noticed any new developments or releases for quite some time now.  It may even be an abandoned, pet project from some programmer living in his parents’ basement.  So, get it while you can…and hope he/she ports it to other music players.

If you make a habit of ignoring the lyrics to some of your favorite songs (turn the music off when you’re singing along and you’ll know if you’re one of those people), I think you’ll find this to be an invaluable tool.

Download it now: http://www.lyricsplugin.net.

And now, I leave you with the following:

Taglocity, currently in beta, just launched v2.0 of its Outlook 2003/2007 E-mail tagging software.  With this new version, Canada-based Terazen Technology, Inc., added plenty of enhanced features in addition to some social networking features.  (Hey,  why not?  Everybody else is doing it.)

If you’re unfamiliar with Taglocity, the software essentially allows you to add "tags" to your E-mails, tasks and calendar items from within Microsoft’s antiquated Outlook product.  To do this, the software takes advantage of Outlook’s "categories" feature and, for each new "tag" you create with Taglocity, a "category" of the same name will be created behind-the-scenes and added to your Outlook personal files folder (.PST) 

I’m guessing the object of enhancing already existing Outlook functionality is to provide you with the option of retaining the methods of organization you’ve established with Taglocity if you no longer wish to use the product anymore.  It makes sense to me…data portability always makes sense to me.

(What never did make sense to me was why Microsoft never made "categories" a more prevalent feature in Outlook to begin with.  It really is a great way to add organization to Outlook.  Regardless, Taglocity helps to enhance and bring focus to this semi-powerful existing feature.)

Whether you’re browsing your inbox or composing a new E-mail/task/appointment, you’re presented with intuitive options via the Taglocity toolbar for adding tags to help you easily find E-mails at a later date:

The average Fans of Tech reader already realizes the benefit of tags over folders but there might be a few of you out there still asking  yourself: "why tags?"  Here’s the answer: after you’re finished reading an E-mail, one would normally file that message in a single folder in a vein attempt to keep your inbox "organized."  The problem is that, after a while, you’ll most likely have multiple folders that pretty much serve a similar purpose.  That leaves you with multiple places to search in order to find the item for which you’re looking.  With tags (or "labels" if you’re a Gmail user), you can assign multiple keywords to the item in question thus improving the likelihood that you’ll find this item whenever you go looking for it.  And, since Taglocity is essentially a plug-in for Outlook, you can do BOTH!  File and tag!

The free product even takes tagging a step further by incorporating two very useful features: Bundles and AutoSuggest.  The latter, as you might guess, makes the tagging process even faster by "suggesting" similar tag matches as you type…start typing a few characters and if the tag suggestion is the tag you want to apply, just hit "enter."  The other feature, Bundles, allows you to assign many tags at once by assigning a bundle tag name.  You might equate this feature to "Distribution Groups" in Outlook where you can send an E-mail to ONE distribution group in Outlook and that message is automatically sent to the many different members you’ve assigned to that DG. 

Taglocity & the Entperise

From what I can tell, Terazen will monetize Taglocity by selling enterprise versions of the product which makes perfect sense to me as it would fit very well into the enterprise atmosphere.  One reason I say that has to do with yet another brilliant feature of the product: "groups."  Here’s what the site has to say about groups:

"Groups are a way of sharing tags and email messages. You can publish common information to our Taglocity groups (with Tags on the message, of course!) which then means other people in the group will be able to search and see. Think of how many CC: email chains you can get rid of!"

I have first-hand experience with the aforementioned E-mail chain problem and I can genuinely see a need for this product in an enterprise setting…especially for non-profits. (*Shudder* So much E-mail.  *Shudder*)

Searching

Now, let’s say you’ve had Taglocity installed for a few months and you want to go find one of the E-mails you’ve tagged.  Use the toolbar (see above) and enter your search query on the far-right.  You’ll be taken to the Taglocity search window (and quickly, I might add.)

You’re presented with your results and a quick way to modify those results using the tag cloud at the bottom and side of the window. I don’t necessarily anticipate using this feature more than the built-in search of Outlook 2007 (as I can typically remember the exact contents of the item I’m looking for) but, for generic searches, this could still prove to be pretty handy.

Of course, all these settings (tags, searching, etc.) can be tweaked using the utility’s configuration window:

Overall, I think the product fills a void (and then some) that Microsoft should have filled a long time ago.  A long time ago.  Install this (in addition to that other useful Outlook tool, xobni) and you’ll actually find yourself becoming…gasp…productive.

Despite my rambling, there are a few areas of Taglocity I didn’t even cover so head on over to their site and check out the product…and then sign up for an account.  This new release is a dramatic improvement over v1.1 and should actually have enough weight behind it to take it into the mainstream.