Chrome is Good, but how about some Iron?

by jaganath on June 28, 2009

Iron is a browser based on Chromium code base. Iron uses the latest of webkit and ensures that some of the privacy issues associated with Google Chrome are not present. It uses the same user interface as Google Chrome so you will feel at home if you are already an user of Chrome.

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Iron is a great alternative to Firefox Portable

I stumbled upon Iron when I was searching for an alternative for Firefox Portable. While Firefox portable is great to carry on a pen drive, it is excruciatingly slow because of its continuous flash drive access. Iron developers Srware also provide a portable edition of Iron, which in my experience is miles ahead of Firefox Portable in terms of speed.

The following comparison is taken from Srware website to show how Iron is different from Google Chrome in terms of privacy:

Problem Chrome Iron
Client-ID Chrome creates a unique ID through which a user can be theoretically identified. Not Present
Timestamp

Chrome remembers up to the second exactly when the software was installed.

 Not Present
Suggest

Depending on the configuration, each time you put something in the address line,this information is sent to Google to provide suggestions.

Not Present
Alternate Error pages

Depending on the configuration, if you have typed a false address in the adress bar, this is sent to Google and you get an error message from Google’s servers.

 Not Present
Error Reporting

Depending on the configuration, details about crashes or failures are sent Google’s servers.

 Not Present
RL-Z Tracking This Chrome-function transmits information in encoded form to Google, for example, when and where Chrome has been downloaded. Not Present
Google Updater Chrome installs a updater, which loads at every Windows in background. Not Present
URL-Tracker Calls depending on the configuration five seconds after launch the Google homepage opens in background Not Present

 

Some of the above are not some alarming issues, but still a little bit of additionally privacy is always better. Iron is highly recommended as a browser for a portable USB drive. You can also use Iron in case administrator rights issues do not allow you to install alternative web browsers at school or at work.

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Amazon Kindle Tip 1: Which PDF Converter is the Best?

by jaganath on June 26, 2009

Unlike the Kindle DX, the Kindle 2 cannot read native documents like PDF or Word. But this is also a blessing in disguise because you can convert your personal documents to Kindle format and then take plenty of notes on them or create bookmarks to your heart’s content. Native PDF support on the Kindle DX does not support note taking and text zooming, which are missing features that  I consider as a major drawback.

If you are on PC, you can use the MobiPocket Creator for converting your PDFs to Kindle format. Mac users can use an application called Stanza.

While the above two tools do a good job, they have one major drawback. They covert the documents with Header and Footer text intact, which means you will find lot of junk thrown all over your document. These headers and footers will appear in random places since the page size on a Kindle will differ from the page size of the PDF document (Typically A4 or Letter). This reduces the readability of the document dramatically.

The solution? Use Amazon’s conversion itself. It costs a little bit of money (at 10 cents per document), but it is really worth it since it does an intelligent conversion by stripping off headers/footers and also the images do appear in correct places unlike the desktop converters. You can also get the same service free by emailing the document to your kindle address with a ‘free’ prefix, in which case, the document is returned to your email address from where you have to copy to your Kindle 2 device manually. This email address is <yourkindleemail>@free.kindle.com.

If anyone knows a desktop converter (Mac or PC)  which can strip off headers and footers from office or PDF documents, please leave a comment below. Thanks!

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Netbook buying tips – Do read this before clicking that “Add to Cart” button

June 25, 2009

I have been using a 9” Acer aspire one for a while now. I use it for almost everything – from browsing the web to Skype video calling and occasionally for word processing too. The netbooks are wonderful for certain tasks and a pain in the back for many other. If you are planning to [...]

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Slow Internet Connection? Try Opera 10

June 24, 2009

Among the bundle of new features in Opera 10, one particular addition stands out. The ability to compress the data traffic and make your browsing experience much better on a slow internet connection. I had a chance to experience this first hand in a hotel where I was staying. The advertised “High Speed Wireless connection” [...]

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My New Kindle

June 23, 2009

Kindle is one gadget I always wanted to buy. The Kindle 2 is slick and I liked it ever since it was released. I recently ordered it on Amazon and it arrived over the weekend. Here are some pictures. Expect a detailed review and plenty of tips in the coming days! Excuse the picture quality [...]

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Palm’s iTunes Gamble

May 30, 2009

Now that the iTunes store is DRM free, any device vendor can dream about doing a “full sync” with iTunes on the Mac or the PC. Palm is the first to take the bold step of doing that. As we can see from the screenshots that were published by Palm, the Pre is getting detected [...]

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Project Pink: Microsoft’s second big gamble ?

May 13, 2009

When Microsoft introduced the Zune, it earned the wrath of many of its ‘PlaysForSure’ OEM partners. PlaysForSure is a Microsoft certification which, among other things, dictates a standard for DRM and the synchronization of media files for MP3s, PMPs and other portable devices. Microsoft Zune does not use this technology and opted for another propreitary [...]

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Will ARM based netbooks succeed?

April 28, 2009

There is little doubt that netbooks based on Intel Atom Processor have taken the PC World by storm. Their tiny size and decent functionality have made it quite popular among students and travelling professionals. Most of the basic computing needs like word processing, internet browsing, instant messaging, voip and media playback could be comfortably done [...]

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HTC G1, the Android Phone, soon in India!

November 25, 2008

Its heartening to see that India is becoming a hot destination for smartphones. Most new smartphones like Nokia N96, Sony Ericsson XPeria X1 were launched in India before any other country. To add to this list, HTC G1 will be soon launched at a sweet price of Rs 25000, which is about USD 500. As [...]

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Product Updates: Nokia N810 WiMAX Edition now shipping

November 23, 2008

Now that WiMAX is slowly getting deployed in the United States, devices have also started making their appearance. One of the most awaited devices this holiday season is the Nokia N810 WiMAX edition. Amazon now has this in store and ready to ship. Note that the specifications of the WiMAX edition is almost the same [...]

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