Scrap Flash, get HTML5 video in Safari on your Mac |
- Scrap Flash, get HTML5 video in Safari on your Mac
- Mac lands a Flock, gets Chromium bump
- LastPass takes the pain out of passwords
- Magellan GPS app adds free traffic updates
Scrap Flash, get HTML5 video in Safari on your Mac Posted: 30 Nov 2010 08:00 PM PST With the rise of HTML5 vying for video supremacy on the Web, workarounds for disabling Flash Player continue to pop up, allowing users to get a smoother, faster video-viewing experience online. John Gruber (Daring Fireball) provides a great tip for disabling Flash Player in Safari (edited by crarko on macosxhints.com), which forces Web sites to serve HTML5 videos (when available). Keep in mind that not all sites that serve videos have an HTML5 version. If you apply this hack, you may lose some functionality. Another possible side effect of this process is sites that think your browser is Mobile Safari. That could cause the site to redirect to their mobile version, as if you were using an iPad. To disable Flash in Safari and browse using the iPad version of Mobile Safari, follow these directions:
You should now be served HTML5 videos on sites that have that option. If you still need to use Flash for any reason, Gruber recommends using Google's Chrome for those sites. Some users may think that a Safari extension such as ClickToPlugin (like ClickToFlash) would be an easier solution. While this prevents Flash videos from loading and slowing your system, it still tells the page that you have Flash installed, and you get the Flash version of that video. This hint allows you to browse as an iPad so that sites with browser detection will serve you the video pages in HTML5. To disable this hint and return to normal browsing, open Terminal and enter the following: defaults delete com.apple.safari CustomUserAgent |
Mac lands a Flock, gets Chromium bump Posted: 30 Nov 2010 06:07 PM PST Flock shifted gears from its Mozilla-powered core to Chromium 6 earlier this year, but only for Windows users. Today, the company released a Chromium 7-based version for Mac users, as well as updating its Windows version to Chromium 7. Flock 3.5 is built on Chromium 7, but it's still behind the most recent version of the Chromium 8-based Google Chrome. (Credit: Screenshot by Seth Rosenblatt/CNET)Available for Windows and Mac, Flock 3.5 adds LinkedIn support and include a refined login system. If you log in to a social-networking site that Flock supports the browser itself is automatically logged in to it, too. Updating to Chromium 7 also pushes Flock ahead of its social-networking competitor RockMelt, and the update includes all the security fixes and performance enhancements that Google Chrome received when it revved to version 7. Flock is still behind Chrome, which is now based on Chromium 8. The security fixes are substantial, so if you do use Flock 3 it's absolutely worth updating. Pre-existing users are expected to receive the update automatically, as Chrome users do. Flock is concurrently developing the original Mozilla Gecko-based Flock, now up to version 2.6.1 for Windows and Mac users. It supports more social networking services, but is noticeably slower as well. While the social networking browser isn't for everybody, both versions of Flock are in Facebook's top 10 list. |
LastPass takes the pain out of passwords Posted: 30 Nov 2010 01:19 PM PST Password management has long been one of the most crucial and most complicated tricks to safely and securely pull off. The browser add-on LastPass simplifies it all in a cross-platform tool that's a must-use--as long as you don't mind that it's all in the cloud. There are several installation options for LastPass. Windows users can run the LastPass universal installer to get the add-on for Firefox, Chrome, and Internet Explorer simultaneously. An extension is available for Opera 11 beta users, but those on Opera 10 will have to settle for the LastPass bookmarklet until the browser's extension network develops catches up. The Windows version of Safari also supports the add-on, but in a separate installer. Mac users will have to install the add-on individually for each browser. Here's Mac links for Firefox, Chrome, Opera, and Safari. There's also LastPass for Linux. |
Magellan GPS app adds free traffic updates Posted: 30 Nov 2010 09:26 AM PST Most GPS apps charge extra for real-time traffic updates, but Magellan RoadMate now offers them free for life. (Credit: Magellan)I hate, hate, hate getting stuck in traffic, especially on the freeway (where you're usually trapped until the next exit). That's why I always drive with a GPS that can receive live traffic updates and steer me clear of congested areas. Or a GPS app. CoPilot Live, MobileNavigator, and TomTom are among those that offer a live-traffic option, but all three charge you extra for it--usually on a monthly or annual basis. Magellan RoadMate used to be the same way, but now, with the release of version 1.3, RoadMate offers free live traffic updates for life. I'm not saying that elevates it above all other iPhone GPS apps, but it's definitely a hard perk to ignore. Another improvement in RoadMate 1.3: location-based promotional offers. So if you're driving near, say, a Big Boy and there's a coupon available, it'll pop up onscreen--and give you the option of routing to the location or saving the deal for later. The app has also been updated to support iOS 4, which gives you multitasking, continued navigation during phone calls, and uninterrupted voice guidance even while you're using other apps. Until tomorrow (Dec. 1), all three versions of RoadMate--North America, USA, and Canada--are on sale for $44.99, $34.99, and $29.99, respectively. (If you've already purchased RoadMate, the update--including the lifetime traffic information--is free of charge.) Originally posted at iPhone Atlas |
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