With the Chrome Extensions gallery now fully up and running, the number of awesome extensions is multiplying at a rapid rate. What I've tried to do here is offer up the best, the most useful and the must-have extensions for Google Chrome.
To use the extensions you will need to install the Beta if you're under Windows, or the Developer build for Mac. Linux users will also need the Beta version. Google has a quick walkthrough that I suggest you read, if you're new to extensions -- but mostly, it's just a matter of installing the Beta (30 seconds), clicking the links in this article and hitting 'yes'. Easy enough, right?
The main thing you'll notice from this list of extensions is that all the big Firefox add-on developers are now on-board with Chrome. It's still very early days but the offerings are already surprisingly extensive. There's something for everyone in this list, I assure you.
We recently got a chance to check out NVIDIA's 3D Blu-ray ecosystem, and while we're sure we'll be all 3D Blu-ray'd out by the time CES is over, it was our first chance to see the new tech in action, and it seems pretty raring to go. Specifically we got to check out a movie film (we can't say which for legal reasons) on a fancy new upcoming Acer LCD (the 24-inch G245, pictured above) that does 120Hz and can be synced with NVIDIA's 3D shutter-based glasses. The 3D looked just fine, on par with other movies we've seen from NVIDIA in the past, and close to what we've seen in theaters, with the exception being that this is being delivered on a backwards-compatible, consumer-friendly Blu-ray disc. 3D Blu-ray is encoded in a new MVC-AVC format, which passes through a regular 1080p video for incompatible hardware, but provides a 3D image for the software and decode hardware capable of sussing it out. Right now NVIDIA's 3D Blu-ray capable on existing GeForce GT 220 and GT 240 GPUs, along with its upcoming Fermi cards due next year. Software is even more plentiful, with Arcsoft, Core, Cyberlink and Sonic all promising to by ready for 3D Blu-ray titles when they start shipping next year. Once the 3D Blu-ray spec is formally announced we're sure the floodgate will open even wider, but for now it seems NVIDIA has a nice jump on the tech, and we're sure they wouldn't mind pocketing a few of your gaming dollars in the meantime.
I always thought it would be cool if you could customize the background image of the Mac's login screen. That's the image you see behind the login panel when you turn your Mac on (if you have disabled Automatic Login in System Preferences). Why? Because if I could have the login image match my desktop image it would create a more fluid transition if, when I entered my password, the login box would fade away and my desktop and all its items would seamlessly appear. Necessary? No. Cool? Heck, yeah!
Until Apple gets around to building this functionality into the OS, I'm going to show you how to do it on your own.
Step 1: Set your desktop background image. Open up 'Desktop and Screen Saver' in System Preferences and select your desired desktop image.
It's a rough cut and it's short, but this YouTube video shows something many people have been eagerly anticipating -- the updated graphics engine for Anarchy Online.
Anarchy Online, Funcom's first foray into the MMO genre, is still running after 8 years of history and evolving storyline. While the game has been running on a free to play model for quite some time now, that's not stopping the team at Funcom from giving it the new graphical polish it deserves. And, trust us when we say this, they need a spit shine on this old engine. Just look at the game's graphics when we recently revisited it for ReSubbed.
The graphics engine update is still without a release date, but hopefully with this video evidence being released the update won't be too far in the future. You want to see it? Well we've embedded it right after the break for you.
It's now just over one year since Linden Lab announced that they would be implementing a some manner of script limitations over and above those which are presently a part of Second Life as it stands today. It is just over eleven months since those limitations were rescheduled to go ahead in Q3 2009 - which time has definitely long passed.
Nevertheless, the script limitations system is alive and well and coming up, apparently in 2010. This constitutes good news, very good news and not so good news (in roughly that order).
The holiday slowdown is in full swing, with almost all regular shows off-air or in reruns, but don't think that gets you out of your television duties: There are Vampire Diaries and Doctor Whos to catch up on!
Monday
Get your day started off in the right way with Syfy's Highlander: The Raven marathon, from 8:30 in the morning until 3:30 in the afternoon. Wait, did I say "right"? I meant, "It's Highlander, surely you can find something better to watch on another channel."
The CW, meanwhile, takes advantage of everything else in primetime being on holiday break by starting a weeklong catch-up for The Vampire Diaries at 8pm, with two episodes running each night until Friday.
Tuesday
You know you're in trouble when a new episode of Syfy's Outer Space Astronauts is the highlight of the day (It's on at 9pm). Otherwise, it's an Early Edition marathon on the same channel from 8am through 3pm and another two hours of The Vampire Diaries on the CW at 8pm for you. Suddenly, NBC's Glee/American Idol mash-up The Sing-Off seems very tempting, doesn't it...?
Wednesday
Again, it's a Syfy marathon from 8am to 3pm (Today, Moonlight) and two hours of Vampire Diaries (from 8pm on the CW) to keep you busy today, although your sanity may be regained with the help of a brand new Mythbusters on Discovery at 9pm (It's called "Hidden Nasties," which can only bode well) and you can always wash your brain out at the end of the day with Eastwick's new episode, "Tea and Psycopathy":
After Jamie reveals to Roxie that Darryl is his father, she sets about having a dinner party where father and son can bond. However, Jamie has a secret, darker plan for the evening. Meanwhile, Kat embraces her newfound power by healing every patient she is exposed to, but her compassion leads to drastic physical consequences. Max asks a reluctant Joanna to help him crack a famous unsolved Eastwick murder, but their snooping leads them to a perilous situation with Eleanor.
Admittedly, after a plot description like that, I'm not sure anyone needs to actually watch the show.
Thursday
I don't remember Level 9, but Syfy definitely does; that's their 8am through 3pm marathon for the day. Aside from the CW's two hour Vampire Diaries block - 8pm until 10pm, remember - your night is both free and clear for you to tune into the special Christmas compilation of Saturday Night Live sketches on NBC at 8pm, just to see if "Dick In A Box" is still funny years later.
Friday
Finally, Syfy's daytime marathon comes through with the goods! It's Stargate SG-1 all day from 8am to 3pm.
As well as (an old) Christmas episode of Batman: The Brave and the Bold, you can be advance-grateful for Dollhouse's latest double bill ("Stop-Loss"/"The Attic", Fox 8pm) for giving you something new to watch instead of another couple of episodes of The Vampire Diaries on the CW at the same time. If you need any more reason to tune into the Whedon world, this double bill includes the episode where Victor's contract expires...
Saturday
Syfy put in a strong showing with a monster movie marathon (9:30am: Mutants, 11:30am: Lockjaw: Rise of The Kulev Serpent, 1pm: Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning, 3pm Ginger Snaps II: Unleashed, 5pm: Ice Spiders, 7pm: Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer, 9pm: My Name Is Bruce, 11pm: Alien Apocalypse and finally at 1am, the infamous Mansquito).
But U.S. viewers who haven't already found a way to watch it will be much happier with BBC America's Doctor Who afternoon, which runs old episodes from 2:30 before the 8pm Inside The Tardis behind-the-scenes episode, and the 9pm premiere of the uncut The Waters Of Mars. Thank you for being so good to us, American Beeb.
Sunday
I think you might want to leave the house for the day. Do some last-minute holiday shopping or something, because there's not really a lot to keep you inside and in front of the television... Maybe you should TiVo all those Vampire Diaries and watch them...
In what has become a common trend in new airplane launches, the Boeing Dreamliner 787 has suffered delay after delay. Her initial maiden flight was scheduled for the end of August 2007, with deliveries to start taking place in May 2008.
When Boeing engineers discovered problems getting pieces to fit together, the launch was delayed. Then delayed again, and finally in June of this year, it was delayed yet again.
Thankfully, all the problems have been taken care of, and the newest jet from Boeing is set to take to the skies on December 15th at 10 a.m. PST. A web site dedicated to the maiden flight has been created, which should go live tomorrow morning (24 hours before the flight).
Fingers crossed all goes well - engineers are examining the test data from a series of ground tests, including one which pushed the plane to 150mph, lifting the nose wheel from the ground. Of course, all the technology in the world can't help prevent bad weather - which is one of the few remaining factors that could delay the test flight.
Demonoid, one of the most popular torrent sites on the web, went down due to hardware failures and data loss back in September. Although this left a hole in the hearts of many torrent aficionados, there was a glimmer of hope in November, when Demonoid's tracker came back online. Now, more good news: as of yesterday, Demonoid's website is back up, and registered users can sign in. Servers are busy, so the site might be inaccessible at times while things stabilize again.
The site is reportedly back to the way it was in early September, when it went down, except that a couple hundred new torrents have already been uploaded. Old torrents are still there, and users' upload:download ratios seem to be intact. RSS feeds are still down, and the site isn't taking new registrations right now, but it does seem to be alive and well. Happy holidays, torrent fans!
With the Chrome Extensions gallery now fully up and running, the number of awesome extensions is multiplying at a rapid rate. What I've tried to do here is offer up the best, the most useful and the must-have extensions for Google Chrome.
I always thought it would be cool if you could customize the background image of the Mac's login screen. That's the image you see behind the login panel when you turn your Mac on (if you have disabled Automatic Login in System Preferences). Why? Because if I could have the login image match my desktop image it would create a more fluid transition if, when I entered my password, the login box would fade away and my desktop and all its items would seamlessly appear. Necessary? No. Cool? Heck, yeah!
The holiday slowdown is in full swing, with almost all regular shows off-air or in reruns, but don't think that gets you out of your television duties: There are 
