When you bought an iPad I bet one of the first things you starting thinking about was ways of changing the desktop. Probably one of the first things you started looking into changing was the browser.
While I like Safari, it just doesn’t have the same kick to it that other programs boast; however, not all browsers have a device compatible option that you can download. With Apple especially, it is slim pickings if you want to change it up without jailbreaking the system. This is due to their rather intense opposition to all things third-party, even after being told by the courts that jailbreaking is fair game as long as it isn’t used for piracy.
Luckily, that doesn’t mean that there is nothing out there you can use. There are at least four great options for iPad browsers that are easy to download, simple to use, and best of all 100 per cent free.
Most users hate constantly having to log in their accounts information every time they use my Safari web browser. This is a standard security feature that almost all mobile devices with web capability maintain. But it is also one of the most useless safeguards you can have, as people are less likely to share hand held devices as they are actual computers.
LastPass works by saving all of your passwords and keeping you logged in through the browser itself. You can then find everything signed in at once, and surf each website through the main page. You just have to sign them on to the free service. Easy, functional and very convenient.
Have you ever been showing someone something online when a URL or search history pops up that you would rather wasn’t seen? It can be so embarrassing, whether it was an adult site or a search on the latest release by Justin Bieber. That is what makes the feature on Google Chrome that allows for incognito Internet use so popular. Terra has that same incognito option for your iPad. But they also have a full screen mode that takes advantage of the tablets large screen.
Everything is run through toggles in the corner of the screen, which also allows you to enjoy the touch function. The settings are large enough that it provides ample fingertip space, which is a bonus if you don’t have an available stylus.
Like many other people, you probably like to read in bed at night. If you prefer to read in bed, you know that even a small reading lamp is enough to keep your spouse awake. Therefore you’ll be excited to discover Night Browser, the one that has a good dimming option.
It allows you enough light to see by, but it is low enough that it would be very difficult to disturb anyone. It takes advantage of the way the iPad screen glows to create a shade that is non-disruptive but readable without straining your eyes.
The best feature of this browser is that it allows you to manually adjust the brightness, so you don’t have to rely on the dimmer. You can change it to whatever is comfortable for you and those around you.
Social networking addicts who love to share will adore this browser, as it uses media integration right in the application. Facebook, Twitter, Digg, YouTube…they can all be customized to allow easy access. It is like putting it all on one page to give you a clear path while you surf the web.
It is more settings-based than many other sites, which makes it perfect for tailoring to your own needs or tastes. If you have trouble reading some font sizes you will love it, as you can adjust that easily without distorting the picture.
Jennifer Moline writes about freelancing, small business and design for the PsPrint Blog. PsPrint is a web company providing high-quality online printing services.
Tweetdeck has just released their web application in the Chrome Web store. Now any user can access Tweetdeck from within their Firefox, Safari, Internet Explorer and Opera browser.
According to a blog post from TweetDeck, the new Web App, which requires no downloads, is already working on Chrome, Firefox 3.6, Firefox 4 and Safari with compatible versions arriving soon for IE9 and Opera.
If you’d like to try your luck at receiving a beta invitation you can visit: http://www.tweetdeck.com/webbeta. You’ll need to know your browser name and version number, then again if you don’t know how to find those you shouldn’t be in a technology based beta program to begin with.
If you’ve not heard of Bing, then you’re not following Microsoft. Bing has come into the search market with a bang offering users a unique way of surfing the internet. Recent rumors shared on the AppleInsider website state that Apple might be interested in offering another option other than Google when searching on their iPhone OS.
Currently the iPhone OS defaults to Google when you open Safari. Apparently Apple seeks to offer other alternatives to searching, perhaps looking to take away dependency on Google. According to the article, Apple is not dropping Google entirely, they seem to only want to make other options more visible. Also stated in the article, “Apple already provides an option to use Yahoo for web search in Safari, although that option is not obvious and requires visiting system settings to make the switch.”
Have Apple and Microsoft struck an alliance? It would appear so initially, but because Apple is already offering Yahoo, perhaps they will make Yahoo another prominent option. There’s a very long standing history in how the companies involved have been mixed into all this. Microsoft has been asking for Bing to be more prominent, Apple has integrated some of Microsoft’s mapping technology into their services, and Apple is not entirely happy with the dependency of some of their core apps on Google’s presence. It’s a long and drawn out history that the article does a great job detailing.
Personally I’m not a fan of Bing, I don’t see it becoming a huge factor on the OS as a search option, but we’d love to hear your thoughts. Are you happy just using Google on Safari when you go online, or do options like Yahoo and Bing make a better offering?
I’m a huge fan of music. I’ve got several versions of the iPod for a variety of occasions, I’ve got streaming music players all over my computer, I’ve got sites bookmarked that stream audio from overseas; for me, there’s just nothing better than paying music for inspiration, clarity, and nostalgia. To increase my music listening abilities I’ve used plugins such as FoxyTunes to give me access to my music straight from my browser, but what if I’m not home or on my laptop. There’s a good chance I’ve got my mobile on me and I can stream from there, but for those of us always changing computers, or using public computers, there’s now an interesting option that we can participate with.
Stereo8 is a new stream audio web app that streams straight from your browser. No downloading, no installing, no problems. Just about any browser should work (I tested on Safari, Firefox, IE6 and IE7, Opera, and Chrome). Simply select a genre of music you want to listen to, and let the music play. You can interact with the music by voting on what you like, and those votes determine what’s played. Stereo8 calls it self a true internet radio with a twist. That twist is that listeners can vote and share music with one another making it a social community of sorts.
As I write this article I’ve picked the video game category and have listened to some of the biggest games from my present and past. In some of the other categories I was listening to songs that perhaps I was not a fan of myself, and some more obscure songs that I never even knew existed, which is not always a good thing. But if you’re looking to be introduced to something new and unique, far from the beaten path you’re used to traveling, then perhaps Stereo8 is for you. A few stations I found really solid, and just now they started playing the Terran theme from Starcraft, so that’s just an idea of the kind of music you’ll be listening to (at least on the game channel).
