We've all gone one tab over the line and found ourselves lost or frustrated, unable to find that map or article that was so crucial. Tabbed browsing is great, but too many tabs can lead to desperate clicking. Chrome provides quite a few extensions that help manage large groups of tabs. Here are five of the best: 

• The aptly named TooManyTabs gives you quick access to your tabs through an icon in the top right which lets you know how many tabs you've got open. Click it to bring up a sortable list of tabs with previews of those you've visited since starting the extension. It's easy to find tabs, reopen closed tabs and even export tab sets for use on other machines. 

  TooManyTabs

  (Credit: Rob Lightner)
• Tab Menu is extremely simple, which makes it perfect for those who just want to find tabs with minimal fuss. Click on its icon in the upper right at any time to get a vertical list of open tabs in the current window. Select any one of them to switch to it. This is great for those times when you've got so many tabs open that you can't read their titles.  ... [Read more]

The dominance of Apple and Google mobile browsers is leading to a situation that's even worse for Web programming than the former dominance of Internet Explorer, a standards group leader warned today.

Daniel Glazman, co-chairman of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) group overseeing the formatting and effects standard called Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), said that programmers are overlooking other browsers when they use newer CSS features--even when those other browsers support the features.

The result is that those other browsers--Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Opera, chiefly--might have to essentially masquerade themselves as other browsers. When that happens, the "Open Web"--a programming foundation based on cooperatively created standards rather than proprietary features--is being thrown under the bus. And browser makers are showing they've forgotten the painful lessons they should have learned when Microsoft's Internet Explorer 6 ruled the Web.

The issue came to a head during a Monday meeting of the CSS Working Group. In it, representatives from Mozilla, Opera, and Microsoft indicated they're reconciled to the unpleasant option of embracing WebKit-labeled features, essentially masquerading as another browser.

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We all know texting while driving is a deadly combination, yet who can resist the siren song of that new-message ding? I'll admit it's tough not to steal a glance at the phone--and once you're glancing, you're reading.

Most owners of Android-powered smartphones know about Google Voice Actions, which, among other things, allows you to dictate text messages using just your voice.

However, there's still a bit of screen interaction required, as you have to find and tap the microphone to engage Voice Actions. And what about messages you receive? There's no hands-free help there.

Sonalight's Text by Voice offers hands-free text messaging--both sending and receiving.

Enter Text by Voice, an admirably effective app that makes texting a totally hands-free experience. With it you can send and listen to messages without so much as touching your phone. It's entirely voice-powered.

As the above demonstration video, er, demonstrates, Text by Voice requires zero interaction with your phone (save fo... [Read more]

Microsoft's Michael Angiulo (left) and Steven Sinofsky show off Windows 8 at the company's Build conference on September 13, 2011.

Microsoft plans to release a flavor of Windows 8, the next version of the flagship operating system, on ARM chips at the same time it releases one for the so-called x86 chips that power traditional PCs.

That was an open question ever since Microsoft previewed Windows 8 last September. And it's important because the ARM version of the new operating system will be the one that powers many of the tablets that Microsoft hopes will compete with Apple's industry-leading iPads.

In a blog post today, Windows President Steven Sinofsky said "our collective goal is for PC makers to ship (Windows on ARM devices) the same time" as more conventional Windows PCs debut.

Sinofsky did not disclose the target launch date, though most analysts expect the new operating ... [Read more]

The next beta of Windows 8 will apparently give us a healthy dose of Metro apps, whether we want them or not.

Microsoft plans to release the Windows 8 Consumer Preview--basically, a pre-release version of the new OS available to anyone who wants to download it--on February 29. Microsoft is reportedly finalizing the Metro apps that will be bundled with the new OS. Citing "sources familiar with Microsoft's plans," the Verge revealed the current list as:

• Calendar
• Camera
• Mail
• Messaging
• Music
• People
• Photos
• SkyDrive
• Video

These are just the apps known so far, so there could be more in store before the Preview reaches consumers.

Among them, Mail, Calendar, People, and Messaging will be the main communications apps, with one source telling the Verge that Microsoft is trying to add SMS support to the Messaging app. And as with all Metro apps, each one can be updated through the new Windows Store. Further, the Metro apps that pop up in the Consumer Preview may not necessa... [Read more]

Do Not Track Plus extends your privacy

If ad-blocking is the hacksaw of Internet-protecting add-ons, the overhauled add-on Do Not Track Plus bows today as a finely honed scalpel, excising tracking behaviors embedded in sites without destroying the modern Web.

Released exclusively through CNET Download.com, Do Not Track Plus 2.0.4 follows last year's beta release with a greatly expanded feature set, better performance, and is available on four of the five major browsers. You can download Do Not Track Plus for Firefox (Windows | Mac), Chrome (Windows | Mac), Internet Explorer (Windows only), and Safari (Windows | Mac).

The intent of the free add-on is as much to educate as it is to protect, explained Bi... [Read more]