Tired of watching your printer ink and paper getting wasted because of unnecessary or unwanted areas on a webpage? Now you can start saving that printer ink and paper with the Printliminator Bookmarklet.

Setup

To add Printliminator to your browser of choice go to the Printliminator homepage. Once there drag the bookmarklet to the position that best suits your personal needs in the “Bookmarks Toolbar”.

Now you are ready to sort those webpages out for printing…

Printliminator in Action

For our example we decided to try Printliminator on one of the articles from our website.

You will see the following “Printliminator Toolbar” once you click on the bookmarklet. There are only three choices to sort through…”Remove Graphics, Print Stylize, & Send To Printer”.

We started with the “Print Stylize” option first. As you can see, the different elements of the webpage are outlined in red. To remove a particular section/area simply “Left Click” within the red border and it is instantly removed. Continue to select and remove any unwanted sections/areas until you are ready to print. You can also select individual images to remove them if desired.

Note: If you accidentally remove a section/area that you wanted to print, just refresh the page to start over.

There is our webpage all cleaned up and ready to print. No wasted printer ink or paper now!

Removing Only the Pictures

If you only want or need to remove the pictures, click on the “Remove Graphics” option. All of the images are immediately removed and you can either choose to remove additional text sections/areas or directly print the webpage.

Conclusion

With printer ink and paper becoming more expensive, you can save money and get the webpage content that you need with the Printliminator Bookmarklet. Also, check out the article from Mysticgeek on how to Print Only Selected Text from a Webpage.

Links

Install the Printliminator Bookmarklet

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Have you ever seen a picture with great colors and wanted a color scheme based on that image? Now you can get those color schemes easily with the ColorSuckr extension for Firefox.

Note: For those using browsers other than Firefox, you can directly access the ColorSuckr website (link at bottom of article).

ColorSuckr in Action

Once you have the extension installed you are ready to go. There are no options or settings to worry with…just click and go goodness. We decided to use ColorSuckr on a recent blog image and see what the results were.

To use ColorSuckr on an image, “Right Click” on the image and select “Extract Image Colors”…

You will then be presented with a ColorSuckr webpage displaying the image in question and a color layout of the twelve most common colors in the image.

These are the twelve colors shown for our example image. There are three color codes presented for each color and then a link to see a color scheme for that particular color.

We decided to select this color from the original image…there are six color schemes available for this shade of blue.

Clicking on one of the color schemes will take you to “colourlovers.com” to show you the color palette and additional information for your selection.

Scrolling down the page will show more detailed information for each of the colors shown in the palette.

The ColorSuckr Website

What if you are not using Firefox though? Not a problem…simply go to the ColorSuckr website itself and proceed from there. You can enter the URL for the image that you are wanting to acquire a color scheme from or use one of the recommended images provided as examples. Notice that there is also a link available for searching Flickr…

For our example we decided to try one of the recommended photos.

These are the results for the example photo. As with the extension you can select the color that you like best and view the color schemes available for it.

Conclusion

If you are looking for a quick and easy way to get a color scheme from a beautiful image, then the ColorSuckr extension and homepage will easily provide excellent results.

Links

Download the ColorSuckr extension (Mozilla Add-ons)

Access and Use the ColorSuckr Website (for non-Firefox Browsers)

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Recently a build of Google’s Chrome OS was released for testing. Though it’s not ready for prime time, you might want to test it out in a virtual machine. Today we take a look at how to setup and run it in VirtualBox.

Note: In this example we are using VirtualBox 3.0.12 running on a 32-bit version of Windows 7 Ultimate.

Setup VirtualBox

The first thing to do is click on New to create a new machine in VirtualBox.

The New Virtual Machine wizard opens where you just want to click Next.

Type in a name for the machine and for OS Type you want to select Linux and the default version will be Ubuntu…you can leave that and click Next.

Now you want to select the amount of memory to allocate for the machine. In our test we used 512MB which seems adequate, but you can experiment with different amounts.

In the next step, select Use existing hard disk…

Then add the VMDK file you downloaded to Virtual Media Manager and select it.

You’re brought back to the wizard where the screen should look similar to this.

Then you’re presented with the summary of the new VM and if everything looks correct click Finish.

Now you will see the Chrome OS in the list of your virtual machines and you can start it up.

The Chrome OS will start up and the first screen you’re presented with is the log on. You need to enter in your Google account name and password to begin a session.

That is all there is to it. Now you can start playing around with the new OS from Google.

Conclusion

For those of you who like to try out the newest technology, this is a good option for testing out the Chrome OS. At this time don’t expect a whole lot of awesomeness with this build of Chrome OS. At least you can geek out on it and see what the hype is all about. Of course you can run it in VMware Player as well, but if you’re partial to VirtualBox, this will get you going.

Download Chrome OS from gdgt?

Download VirtualBox

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When you’re busy multi-tasking on your PC, sometimes getting to the Recycle Bin can a pain. Today we take a look at a couple of different methods for adding the Recycle Bin to your Taskbar for easier access.

Add Recycle Bin to Taskbar

The first thing you want to do is create a new shortcut on the desktop.

Now for the location type in or copy and paste the following:

explorer.exe shell:RecycleBinFolder

It should look like this…then click the Next button.

Now name it Recycle Bin or whatever you wish to call it and click Finish.

Now we need to change the icon to the look of the Recycle Bin so right-click the icon and go to Properties.

Click on the Change Icon button.

Type or copy and paste the following into the field for where to look for icons and hit Enter.

%SystemRoot%system32imageres.dll

In the new window of icons just scroll over a bit and find the Recycle Bin select it and click Ok.

Click on Apply and Ok to close out of the Recycle Bin Properties screen and you’ll now have your new Recycle Bin shortcut. You can either drag it to your Taskbar or right-click and select Pin to Taskbar.

There you go! Now you have the Recycle Bin on the Taskbar, and if you want to remove it just unpin it.

This gives you another way to quickly access the Recycle Bin while you are busy multi-tasking. Also, you will probably want to remove the shortcut you made on the desktop. With this method you can’t drag items directly to the icon on the Taskbar, but it let’s you open up the bin.

Add Fully Functional Recycle Bin to the Quick Launch Bar

Another neat trick is to add the Recycle Bin to the Quick Launch Bar in Windows 7. Wait…what Quick Launch Bar? Well, the deal is you have to add it first. Rather than re-explain the process, just head to The Geek’s guide on how to Add the Quick Launch Bar to the Taskbar in Windows 7. Once you have completed that, it’s just a matter of dragging the Recycle Bin to the Quick Launch Bar.

Then you can start dragging things into the bin on your Quick Launch, where here I am using the small icons which is a bit tedious.

If you want to make it larger, unlock the Taskbar and right-click in the Quick Launch Bar and go up to View and select Large Icons.

Here I have a nice looking Recycle Bin next to the start menu.

You can play around with it too and move it around anywhere on your taskbar. For example here I deleted everything out of the Quick Launch Bar and only have the Recycle Bin in the Notification Area.

If you are looking for a way to make the Recycle Bin easily accessible from the Taskbar, this gives you many options to tweak it how you like.

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Over the years, we’ve written loads of articles about how to create shortcuts to system functions that aren’t easily accessible otherwise—and we’ve got a list of the best ones here.

Pretty much all of these shortcuts work in Windows 7 or Vista, but some of them also work in XP.

	Create a Shortcut or Hotkey to Turn the Desktop Icons On or Off
	Create Shutdown / Restart / Lock Icons in Windows 7 or Vista
	Create a Shortcut Icon or Hotkey to Turn Windows 7 / Vista Firewall On or Off
	Create a Shortcut or Hotkey for the Safely Remove Hardware Dialog
	Create a Shortcut or Hotkey to Clear the Clipboard in Windows
	Create a Shortcut or Hotkey to Eject the CD/DVD Drive
	Create a Shortcut or Hotkey to Immediately Eject a Specific USB Drive
?	Create a Shortcut or Hotkey to Mute the System Volume in Windows
	Create a Shortcut or Hotkey to Open Task Manager’s “All Users” View in Windows 7 or Vista
	Create a Shortcut or Hotkey to Run CCleaner Silently
	Create a Shortcut or Hotkey to Switch Power Plans
	Create a Shortcut or Hotkey to Turn Off the Monitor
	Create a Shortcut to Enable/Disable Aero Transparency in 7 / Vista
	Create a Shortcut to the Stored User Names and Passwords Dialog in Windows
	Create Icons to Start the Screensaver on Windows 7 or Vista
	Stupid Geek Tricks: Create a Shortcut to Quickly Edit Your Hosts File
	Create Shortcuts to Quickly Reboot to the Alternate OS in a Vista/XP Dual-Boot
	Create Administrator Mode Shortcuts Without UAC Prompts in Windows 7 or Vista
	Create Shortcut Icon to Disable / Enable the Screensaver

TinyHacker Random Geekery

This was a shorter week for our publishing schedule, so here’s a shorter list of fun stuff we found.?

	Find What You Are Looking for Fast using Windows Grep
	Create Your Own Animated Movies Online using MeMoov
	Download New McAfee Avert Stinger
	3 Free Amazon MP3 Downloads
	Scan your Hard Disk for Errors using Windows Surface Scanner

Super User QnA

Ever wondered if there’s an alternative Skype client out there? Well, there’s not really, but there are other interfaces you can use instead. Read on.

• Erase just the free space on my hard drive
• Which Linux edtion is more stable and reliable?
• Is there an alternative Skype client out there?
• Does HDMI cable “quality” actually affect transmission?
• What to do with spare USB thumb drive?
• Cheap < 150 dollar Computer for my dad that lives cross country
• In computer networks, when is a MAC address used and when is an IP Address used?
• How much more RAM does Windows 7 use than Windows XP?
• Lightweight GUI Linux distribution for really old computer
• I need to password protect the entire computer…

The How-To Geek’s Lifehacker Features

Over on Lifehacker, I’ve written quite a few lengthy articles in the last month covering keeping your system safe and secure, and making sure that you’ve properly backed up your data. Definitely worth a read.

	Protect Yourself from Drive-By Browser Malware Attacks
	You’re Backing Up Your Data the Wrong Way
	Stop Paying for Windows Security; Microsoft’s Security Tools Are Good Enough
	How to Really Browse Without Leaving a Trace

The Geek Note

Hopefully all of you had a happy Thanksgiving and found a great Black Friday deal on a Nintendo Wii Fit to burn off the calories or gather dust.

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If you are new to URL Shortening or are just looking for some good services to use, then join us as we take a quick look at ULR Shortening and four of the more popular services available.

What is URL Shortening?

URL Shortening is a process that translates long (and sometimes awkward) website addresses into short easy-to-manage URLs. These shortened URLs serve as a bridge to redirect you or people you share the URL with to the original website address.

Here is an example of just how much difference there can be between a regular URL (with eighty five characters)…

http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/what-is-ctfmonexe-and-why-is-it-running/

Versus a shortened URL for the same address (now only having eighteen to twenty characters)…

http://is.gd/4E3EN

http://tinyurl.com/2th782

http://bit.ly/ApWlc

http://snipurl.com/sth8b

That is quite a bit of difference from the original. While the shortened length may vary they all do that one wonderful thing that you need…provide an easy-to-use address for your social accounts, blog posts, and e-mails. No more awkward or broken links that have to be copied, pasted, and then pieced back together before you can use them.

And now on to the services and some nice Firefox extensions…

is.gd

Once you have installed the is.gd Creator extension you will be able to access it by clicking on the “Toolbar Button” or through the “Context Menu”. Any newly created URLs are copied to the “Clipboard” and can be pasted from there.

If you decide to directly use the is.gd website, this is what it looks like…lean and focused. For those who would like to add a bookmarklet to their browser(s), there is one available on the “Instructions Page” approximately halfway down the page.

TinyURL

After installing the TinyURL Generator extension, you can access it through the “Status Bar Icon” or the “Context Menu”. Depending on the particular type of “Shortened URL” that you chose to create, you will have either a “Direct or Preview Link” that is copied to the clipboard and ready to use.

Note: The difference shown in the “Context Menu” is a result of changes available in the options for this extension…but both types are always available in the “Status Bar Icon”.

The TinyURL website… There is a bookmarklet available for those who would like to create TinyURLs in other browsers (or skip installing a Firefox extension).

bit.ly & Snipurl

The bitlyFF URL extension works a little differently than the two above. You can access it through the “Toolbar Button, Status Bar Icon, or Context Menu”. Using the “Toolbar Button or Status Bar Icon” will only produce “bit.ly Shortened URLs”. If you would like to create a shortened URL for TinyURL, is.gd, or Snipurl, then you will need to use the “Context Menu”.

Whichever of the options that you use, the shortened URL that you create will be copied to the clipboard and can be pasted into the appropriate app or webpage from there.

A look at the bit.ly website… You can add a bit.ly sidebar bookmarklet or a regular bookmarklet to your browsers and sign up for an account.

And finally the Snipurl website where you can set up an account and/or add a bookmarklet to any of your favorite browsers.

Conclusion

These services can provide a quick and easy way to create shortened URLs and provide different levels for managing them based on your personal needs.

Links

Download the is.gd Creator extension (Mozilla Add-ons)

Visit the is.gd website

Download the TinyURL Generator extension (Mozilla Add-ons)

Visit the TinyURL website

Download the bitlyFF URL Shortener extension (Mozilla Add-ons)

Visit the bit.ly website

Visit the Snipurl website

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Hopefully many of you have today off so you can go shopping for your favorite geeky toys. If the boss made you come in today, or you need a break from the in-laws, take some time to play the puzzle game Open Doors.

Open Doors

This is a cool puzzle game where you need to strategically open and close doors so you can get your square to the X in the blue print.

The levels start out fairly simple and get more complicated as you continue.

At any time if you need to reset the level hit the ‘R’ key. There are a total of 25 levels to complete to beat the game.

This is a light and fun puzzle game to play while you are working for the man, or regretting you had that extra helping of stuffing!

Play Open Doors at the How-To Geek Arcade

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Are you looking for something to make your tabs stand out better in Firefox? Now you can have website inspired colors for your tabs with the FabTabs extension.

Before

Here is our example browser with very plain looking tabs…the only parts that really stand out are the favicons. How about getting those tabs to better represent the individual websites using color from the websites themselves?

After

What a difference a little color makes…notice how each of the tab colors bases itself on a “most common color” in each of the webpages.

Note: The settings in the options have reduced the possibility of white being used as a tab color…you may change this further (reducing or increasing) to suit your personal preferences.

Options

Tweak the color settings to modify how your tabs are colored in the “Color Section”.

The “Screenshot Section” is an important part of the options to pay attention to. Make certain to set the “Screenshot Width & Height” to match your monitors screen resolution. This will help you get the best color results on your tabs.

Activate any desired optional tab settings in the “Miscellaneous Section”. Notice that two of the options will require a browser restart.

The “Help Section” explains about the color settings in the first section and also allows you to reset everything back to the original defaults.

Conclusion

If you are a person who wants to have a more pleasing visual experience while browsing, then this is one extension worth taking a look at.

Links

Download the FabTabs extension (Mozilla Add-ons)

Download the FabTabs extension (Extension Homepage)

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Sometimes you might be sharing too much or not enough with your Homegroup in Windows 7. Today we take a look at how to change what files you’re sharing.

The Homegroup feature in Windows 7 makes sharing music, video, and other files with other Windows 7 users in your household very easy. Sometimes you might want to limit the libraries or specific files users have access to.

Change Homegroup Sharing

First type homegroup into the search box in the Start menu.

This opens up the Change homegroup settings window where you just need to uncheck what libraries or printers that you don’t want shared.

What if you want to share a library but not certain files? Go into the library and choose the file(s) you don’t want shared, and in on the toolbar select Share with and Nobody.

You can also access the same options from the context menu.

Notice that there will be a lock icon associated with files you’re not sharing with everyone.

You can also use this to control what type of permissions a user has with different files. For instance you might want a user in the group to be able to read a document but not make any changes, so then you would make it Read only.

The Homegroup feature in Windows 7 makes sharing easy, and with these steps, you can better control who has access to what.

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Just when you were getting used to using the new Ribbon feature in Office 2007, it’s now time to take a look at Office 2010. Right now it’s in Beta stage and we’ll show you how it looks and what you can expect.

Microsoft Office 2010

The latest offering from Microsoft Office has more features and enhancements over its predecessor and the beta version is available for testing now. It is designed to deliver unified access across your computer, phone, and anywhere you have web access. The other interesting thing is that it comes in 32 and 64-bit version. Here we will take an overview look at what the new apps will look like and some of the new features you can expect. For this we are showing the 64-bit version.

Installation

If you’re familiar with Office 2007, the installation experience is virtually identical where you can choose the full or custom install.

As a helpful tip…if you choose custom install with any MS Office version, you can control a lot of what you don’t want to be included. As in this example where I’m not installing some foreign language features.

When you’re done with the installation you can go online for some tips or just dive right in.

Word 2010

Word offers a lot of new enhancements with new tools and document creation features. Some of the new things you can do is collaborate on documents simultaneously, capture and insert screenshots directly from Word, recover drafts of recent edited documents so work isn’t lost, and a lot more.

Excel 2010

New enhancements in Excel include the ability to create mini charts in a single cell, pivot table enhancement, and as with all of the apps, access to your data from virtually anywhere.

?

PowerPoint 2010?

The new PowerPoint version offers enhanced photo effects and editing, enhanced video editing features, and access the projects from anywhere there is a web connection.

??

Access 2010

For those who are database geeks, Access 2010 has several enhancements as well. It allows you to build database templates, share them, and build upon each other’s designs.

Outlook 2010

They have added several new features to Outlook like being able to create and save custom commands, add dynamic graphics to messages with tools that are included in Word and PowerPoint, and the new Quick Steps feature.

Publisher 2010

If you are a Publisher user, you’ll like the expanded library of new templates and photo editing tools.

Also…

Many of the apps have a File tab which is called Backstage View. It replaces the Office Button and should allow for easier management.

?

In this beta, Microsoft wants your feedback and places icons on the taskbar for positive and negative.

When you send a comment, a screenshot is taken of what you think is cool or not cool about an Office 2010 feature.

Conclusion

This is just a general overview of what you can expect and the amount of new features is a bit overwhelming. The Ribbon has been redesigned with a new layout, so finding what you need is a bit of a learning curve again. I am currently neutral on the new Backstage View tab as it takes some getting used to. If you’re an early adopter and want to get an early start on the new Office Suite from Microsoft, you can try out the beta now. We are interested in hearing what your thoughts are, so if you’re currently using it, or will be soon, leave us a comment and tell us what you think.

Microsoft Office 2010 Beta

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