Manage add ons in Internet Explorer

It may come as a surprise, but Internet Explorer also had add ons, just like Firefox. There are, of course, thousands more add ons for Firefox than for IE, but they still exist! You can enable, disable, add or delete add ons in IE by using the Manage add ons dialog box.

I’ll explain how to get to the manage add ons screen in IE and also point out how you can start IE without any add ons in case there is one that is causing IE to constantly crash or not load at all.

First open IE, click on the Tools menu item and then choose Internet Options. In IE 7, you may have to press the ALT key to see the menu items.

Now click on the Programs tab and you should see a Manage add-ons button at the very bottom.

You’ll now see a list of all the add-ons that have been used by Internet Explorer and their current status, enabled or disabled.

If you want to disable an add-on, just select it from the list and choose disable at the bottom.

You’ll also see at the bottom a link to download more add ons for Internet Explorer. You can just check out the IEAddOns site to download new ones like PicLens, which is a cool plugin I had written about earlier.
Finally, if you can’t even open Internet Explorer because of some conflict with an add-on, you can start IE without any add-ons. Here’s how to do it. Simple right-click on the IE icon on your desktop and choose Start without add-ons.

Pretty simple! So hopefully, if you are having any issues with your IE add-ons, you can either disable or delete them using the above steps. Enjoy!

AIM Express 7 Beta 7

With AIM Express you can send IMs to your friends without installing any software. AIM Express service is convenient whenever you’re away from your home computer: at school, the office, or a friend’s house. Talk to your friends from any computer with a Web browser and access to the Internet.
Changes in Beta 7:
From a quick glance at your Buddy List you can check out your buddies’ status message inline with their Screen Name.
Check out the design updates we made to make your Buddy List looking fresh and slick.

View: AIM Express 7.0 Beta]

Note2Email

Note2email is a web service which allows you to send notes to your own or others email adresses.It’s usefull if your browsing the Internet from an untrusted network or an office computer, and you don’t want to login to your own email account or note service.
Note2email offers enhanced security by allowing it’s users to encrypt notes using there own decrption key, it’s simple and easy, and no signup is required to use note2email.

View: Note2email

Fully Loaded Laptop

As many Tech Tip readers already know, the laptop computer is the preferred computer platform used by people today. However, many people fret that giving up their desktop computer may mean giving up some of the great features that they had with it. What most people don’t know is that they can get many of the same features (and then some) with a laptop. While laptops do have limited expandability, if you choose your laptop wisely in the first place, you can come away with a computer that not only suits your needs, but will be a valuable addition to your computing family. Below is a brief run down of some cool extras that are becoming

DVD Burner – Actually, most laptops already include this as a standard optical drive. But if you do get a laptop with it, look forsuch extra features built into the DVD burner such as the ability to burn a LightScribe or a Double Layer disc.

Integrated Webcam – YouTube anyone? With an integrated web camera built into the laptop (usually at the top of the screen,) you can make your own videos - and it’s useful for video conferencing with programs such as Skype too!

Card Reader – Also a component usually included these days – if you own a particular camera, look for one that supports your camera's flash memory format

Solid State Drive (SSD) – A very cool, but very expensive, option being offered on more and more laptops. Leave the spinning drive behind for a bank of flash memory chips.

TV card – The name says it all. Get TV right on your laptop. The newest TV cards are usually hybrid cards that can pick up HDTV, Analog TV and also work as a video capture device.

Extra Hard Drives – Some laptops offer a second hard drive as a dumping ground for data or as a scratch disc. This is a very useful place to dump pictures and music. If a second internal drive is not offered, an external hard drive may be for you.

Fingerprint scanner – Goodbye passwords and hello biometrics! Used to be pretty much only seen on business class laptops, but has been infiltrating the consumer laptop market slowly but surely.

Blu-ray – A very cool, but also expensive feature to get. A reader is often abbreviated as a BD-ROM, a writer as a BD-R and a writer/rewriter as BD-RE. If you do opt for a laptop with blu-ray drive – spin that propeller in the beanie cap you’re wearing and welcome to a very exclusive (for the time being) club..
Long-life batteries /second batteries – There’s nothing quite as frustrating as having your batteries run out. It is worthwhile to see if a long life battery is available for the model laptop you’re interested in. If not, consider buying a second battery.
Ultra-High screen resolutions – Particularly useful when your laptop includes a Blu-ray drive.
Cell Phone Modem – Cell phone modems, or similar devices will (for a price, plus a service plan) allow you to be truly free surfing the web where you want, when you want.
Docks and port replicators – Basically, these can give you more ports that you may want.
Wireless (Wi-Fi) Printer – With many people hooking up wireless in their home, getting a printer with Wi-Fi already built in just makes sense.
Office Suites – Contrary to popular belief, most laptops DO NOT include office suites. If you’re looking for a laptop with Microsoft Word already installed, you may be looking long and hard. Some will have trial versions of the software, but you’ll need to purchase it after the trial period. Home/Student editions of the software are usually very well priced and for many people worth buying as an extra.Pre-installed “Bundlewaer” – This is actually a feature that people usually DON’T want on their laptop. Crapware is any software that is preloaded into a laptop that is not normally part of the operating system. While many laptop manufacturers usually do include a utility to uninstall crapware one at a time, for many it would be better if this “extra feature” is not loaded at all. Some manufacturers have gotten wise and now offer (for a nominal fee) to leave the crapware OFF the system in the first place. Sony hates you, offers $50 "Fresh Start" option to build your laptop crapware-free
Warranties and extended technical support – Some laptops (like the Lenovo ThinkPad series) already come with a monster warranty up-front. For everyone else, there are extended warranties. Be sure to read the fine print, and find out of it covers accidental damage (like dropping the laptop). An extended service plan will give you longer technical support if needed. But, be forewarned, these warranties/extended service plans do add up quickly.
Of Course There’s MoreWe are sure there may be some features that we missed, and others that we may not have gone into deep enough. However, this list, while not exhaustive, gives you a good starting point on the many cool features and extras to look for in your laptop purchase. Feel free to add others in the Comments!!

Google Lively A new virtual world

Google has launched a new 3D virtual world called Google Lively, similar to Linden Labs’ Second Life and Sony’s planned ‘Home’ service for PlayStation 3, in which users create avatars for themselves and interact virtually.
Users can create their own 3D “rooms,” and deck them out with furniture and other accoutrements, in addition to being able to add themed music to complete your personalized virtual space in Google Lively.
Users will be able to visit others’ rooms, leave items for other Google Lively netizens as well as being able to stream photos and video

Download: Google Lively Installer
View: Google Lively