Author Archives: squealingrat

Google Chrome is my browser of choice because of its speed and its integration with Google services. Chrome does a terrific job of syncing your browser information between computers and it feels quick when you’re using it. While using the browser without any extensions is a great experience, it’s worth taking a gander at some of the terrific extensions out there. Here are my favorites.

Adblock is a classic extension, ridding you of those annoying flash advertisements that like to crash your browser and ruin your reading experience. Of course, you should show a little love for the sites that are respectful with their ads by disabling it for those domains. Like our blog.

Boomerang for Gmail is an extension I recently discovered which extends the capability of Gmail. Boomerang sends reminders if you don’t hear back for a specified length of time. You can also use the extension to queue up messages to send later, perhaps at a more reasonable hour if you’re up late.

Cache is a great way to see a site that has been taken down by a burst of traffic from Reddit or HackerNews. The extension simply shows you what Google’s cache has for the webpage you’re on.

Facebook Disconnect is for those who are perturbed by the all-knowing Facebook. This extension prevents the social network from tracking your movements around the web.

Google Voice is an extension for everyone who is using Google Voice (if you’re not, you should be!). The small tool allows you to make calls and send messages easily and simply.

Pocket is a way to read things later. I used Instapaper previously but switched over to Pocket after experiencing some problems and haven’t looked back. The Pocket extension saves things to read (or watch) later on your mobile or desktop devices.

Lazarus is a tool that saves what you write in forms. Any time you write a really great review or fill out a long form only to experience a reload or crash, Lazarus has you covered.

ListMyTabs is a simple extension that I use more and more to easily create a bulleted list of the tabs I have open, hyperlinked and properly formated.

New Tabs Always Last is an easy way to preserve a preference I have with the order of new tabs appearing at the end of the list of tabs open.

RSS Subscription Extension (by Google) places an easy way to subscribe to RSS in the URL bar.

Tweet Button for Chrome (by Shareaholic) replaced my bitly extension as an easy way to tweet neat links.

Youtube MP3 + Video Downloader I use occasionally to quickly grab a specific video or tune.

What browsers extension do you use? Let us know in the comments!

Photo credit: markknol

We’ve have covered Google Voice before on Digitizd (here and here) and since then it’s gotten even better. The service gives you a number (or allows you to port your current number over to the system) and then gives you the ability to make free calls and send texts from your computer or phone. While Google Voice is the service of choice for this author, there are quite a few other respectable options available.

Phonebooth Free
While Google Voice was designed primarily for personal use, Phonebooth Free is a worthy alternative for businesses and for people looking for more capability. The distinguishing features this service offers are the auto-attendant and extensions. Of course, if you’re looking to use this for personal use, you can still enjoy using voicemail transcriptions (50 per month), a free local phone number with minutes (200 free, then 3 cents per minute), and call routing. Call routing enables you to have specific phones only ring at certain times (for instance, your mobile phone will only ring on the weekends). Phonebooth also has a paid option ($20 per month per user) with two free phone numbers, unlimited minutes and transcriptions.

OpenVBX & Twilio
For more tech savy users, there’s OpenVBX, which is also primarily designed for business but can be used for personal use. I discovered this while investigating Dreamhost’s one-click install feature. OpenVBX integrates with Twilio, which I like because of its pricing and customizability. In a short time, I was able to set up a phone number that would present callers with an elaborate phone tree ensuring that I’d never actually have to speak with someone on the phone again. Thank goodness. For those who actually want to speak on the phone, OpenVBX paired with Twilio offers an astonishing amount of capability, from text to speech and speech to text options to conference options, all in an easy drag and drop interface.

Line2
Now, for someone who just wants a second line, we have the aptly named Line2. Line2 is an app for Android and iOS. The standard plan costs $9.95 a month, giving you unlimited calling and texting inside North America. There’s also a free plan that allows unlimited calling and texting to other Line2 customers, and a $14.95 business plan.

Sendhub
Sendhub is a service like Line2 that gives you another number with an emphasis on group messaging. However, the service also gives you 1,000 text messages and 60 voice minutes for free each month.

textPlus
If you’re just sending text messages, textPlus makes more sense, giving you unlimited text messages from an app on your phone.

Photo credit: couleurs gm