So you’ve installed a bunch of new searches for Firefox, like this one for the Westminster Bookstore, but don’t want to always be switching back and forth between Google and your other favorite searches. Well there is an easy way to automatically switch between searches: Firefox Keywords.
Setting things up is easy. First drop down your search bar dialog (just like you do to install new searches). Click on “Manage Search Engines.” A new dialog pops up. Select the search that you would like to be able to access more quickly, then click “Edit Keyword.” 
Type in something short and memorable. I typed “wts” for the Westminster Bookstore search and “g” for Google. You can add keywords to as many search engines as you want, they just have to be unique.
Now you’re all set. To activate your desired search, based on these keywords, go to your address bar (that big long bar you type web addresses into). Alt+D is the default shortcut for easily accessing your address bar. Now type in your keyword, space, and your query. Hit return, and watch Firefox do the rest! Neat!
Ever wanted to turn you Zotero database, or a portion thereof, into a web page? I have. It would come in very handy for publishing bibliographies for class or even a simple blog post. Well now you can, with a pretty simple plugin called Zotz. Check it out, and don’t miss the screencast.
In addition to a whole host of great features, you can use Zotero to annotate Web pages that you have saved as snapshots.
Now you can annotate you favorite web pages
Zotero allows you to take a snapshot of any web page for later viewing. If I then view that snapshot (all the files for which are stored on your hard drive, and therefore are in principle modifiable), a little toolbar pops up. The options are primitive, but helpful. I can highlight text or add little sticky-style notes to the page. The toolbar pops up for stored PDFs as well, but the functionality does not seem to work here yet–just web pages for now. Perhaps later releases will add PDF support.
You can download Zotero Sync preview here. Though this is the version I recommend, be careful, it is still pre-Beta. If you want the stable release, go here.
If you have not yet set up Zotero, follow this guide.
Update: Apparently this functionality has been available for awhile now, and I just failed to notice. Ooops. This post has been modified to take that into account.
Bibleworks 8 is now available at the Westminster Bookstore.
For a helpful analysis of what’s new in Bibleworks 8, check out this series of posts.
I don’t have an iPhone, but if I did this would be a likely first download. I love access to my documents…
One of the real difficulties with Windows (at least versions prior to Vista) is the reinstall problem. After about 2 years or so your computer starts getting too slugish to be productive, and no amount of tweaking, defragmenting, or otherwise coaxing your computer to behave normally seems to help. Or perhaps something else has gone wrong. The bottom line: you need/want to start afresh, but are worried that you might loose something important in the process.
A Great Guide
Well, you’re right to be worried. Installing Windows is not a problem-free procedure. But there are steps you can take to make things easier and safer. Follow this guide for maximum security and minimum headache.
How to Backup your files (which you should be doing anyway)
One thing the guide does not mention (because it assumes you know to do this) is backing up your documents. You should already have a backup of your important files (Pictures, Music, Movies, regular documents, and program files such as your emails or Zotero database, etc.), so hopefully this step is pretty easy—just make sure that this backup is in a location that is not about to be erased when you reinstall Windows (the reinstallation will wipe your c:/ drive).
If you don’t already have a backup of these files, shame on you. You should. Really you should have 2 backup sets: one on an external hard drive, and one remote (that is, in an encrypted server somewhere far far away). As far as the remote backup set is concerned, Mozy Home and Carbonite are both great unlimited-space automated-backup solutions ($5 /month). Windows SkyDrive gives you 25 gb of free space (though you have to manage your files manually). And Dropbox provides 2 gb of free space and has a lot of great features like syncing across multiple computers.
Google Calendar now syncs with Apple’s iCal, Mozilla’s Sunbird, or Thunderbird (with the Lightning extension) without any additional plugins or even all that much work. Follow these instructions.
Google Calendar with one of these applications provides the perfect online/offline solution to scheduling. Individuals and organizations alike can benifit from this.
Fostertribe has finished compiling his list of Bible Software reviews. This is a very handy guide to (largely introductory) Bible software. Bibleworks doesn’t make the list, nor do a couple of online tools, but the guide is very helpfully organized. Anyone interested in an introductory desktop program for reading and searching the Bible should check it out.
For an in depth look at the upcoming version of Bibleworks, check out this series of posts.
For online software, go here and here.
And anyone interested in a quick and handy tool for searching and listening to the Bible online should read my Ubiquity guide.
Amarok is a Music Player that not only plays any music file you decide to throw at it, it also supports iTunes, can sync with your iPod, is (theoretically) cross-platform, and is generally pretty slick. The latest release has been a long-time coming, and is now finally available. If you are a Linux user, definitely go for the download. Mac and Windows users can still give it a try, though the application is still buggy on these systems.
Find a full explanation of this excellent software here.
I will be testing this new release over the next couple of days, and will give it a try on Windows, so stay tuned.
Update: It appears the design team has scaled down there original plans. For the time being iPod and iTunes support has been removed, but is likely to return in future releases. I’ll be keeping on eye on this software, but right now Songbird is probably a better open-source multi-platform alternative.
For those who found this post interesting, there are a whole host of additional Ubiquity commands available to you. If you have already set up Ubiquity (follow this link if you haven’t), then you may be interested in Mozilla’s (incomplete) repository of commands that other people have been creating for this exciting new interface. Be warned: many of these are still a little buggy, so don’t go crazy, but some are still worth a try.
Update: There is also a Ubiquity command for Cli.gs, which is not listed in repository. Get that here.
If you’re still unsure whether to install Ubiquity, check out this video (but be careful—it may blow your mind):
Ubiquity for Firefox from Aza Raskin on Vimeo.
Type in something short and memorable. I typed “wts” for the Westminster Bookstore search and “g” for Google. You can add keywords to as many search engines as you want, they just have to be unique.
