How To

Using many Firefox add-ons at once can cause the application to dramatically slow down. This is because for each add-on, you're using a piece of your computer's memory. The most obvious solution is to uninstall some of them, but perhaps that's not a good option for you.

As an alternative, try checking out how much memory each add-on is using. Firefox provides information on memory allocation (about:memory), but it isn't in the most user-friendly format. The next best option is to install yet another add-on. However, this particular add-on will report its own memory usage … Read more

Though it's fully expected that Facebook will make many changes to its just-launched News Feed, it's never too early to get acquainted with the look. Luckily, it's not quite as drastic as previous redesigns (like the much-hated Timeline) but it does present some new ways to interact with friends, brands, and people you follow.

If you haven't yet signed up to get the new News Feed, get on the wait list now. Facebook says it will roll out the new design slowly to allow enough time to fix bugs and make improvements before releasing it to … Read more

In case you hadn't heard, Facebook held an event today to announce that your News Feed is going to look completely different in the coming weeks. The new feed features bigger photos, quick access to all of your feeds, and a unified look across both Web and mobile.

The Facebook team said the new News Feed would slowly begin rolling out today, with tweaks being made along the way to ensure a solid user experience. If you're the adventurous type and want to try it out, you can join the waiting list to get early access.

Signing up … Read more

Foursquare recently updated its apps with new credit card specials and a revamped Explore view, but the update also included a faster check-in process for iPhone users. The latter feature wasn't included in the change log, but it was discovered by Apple Insider shortly after the update went live. Today, Foursquare officially announced the feature on its blog.

If you updated last week to version 5.5 from the App Store, you already have the speedy check-in feature. Here's how it works:

When you view the list of venues to check in at, you simply long-press on the … Read more

Identity thieves are more active than ever. In 2012, the Federal Trade Commission received more than 2 million consumer complaints overall, and for the 13th consecutive year, identity theft was the most-common complaint category: 369,132 ID-theft reports were added to the FTC's Consumer Sentinel Network in the year, an increase of more than 30 percent from 2011.

Last week the FTC released its 2012 Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book (PDF). According to the report, the fastest-growing category of identity theft relates to government documents and benefits: complaints in this category increased 46 percent from calendar-year 2010. Credit-card fraud (… Read more

Selling or trading in your older used electronics for some fast cash is quick and convenient. You don't have to deal with pesky eBay fees, or haggle over the final sales price with a stranger on Craiglist. Sites like Amazon Trade-In, eBay Instant Sale, and Gazelle all make it easy to send in a used item. You mark the condition of your item, ship it off, let the company inspect it, and wait for the cash to show up in your PayPal or Amazon account. I rounded up five trade-in sites here if you're interested in reading more … Read more

Music-streaming services can help you find new artists after giving them suggestions on bands and artists you already like. However, if you want to skip listening until something new plays for you to favorite and look up, try Time Machine on the Hype Machine Web site. The Time Machine feature shows you what was popular over the last five or more years.

Start your music journey by heading to the Time Machine landing page.

Here, you'll find the most popular tracks from last week. But don't stop there; two simple clicks on the year and month that interest … Read more

Advertisements, poor text color and background color choices, or even annoying Web site themes can distract you while reading an article online. And sometimes it's not just the distractions, but the strain on your eyes, that makes you want to stop reading.

Instead of suffering through the awful color palettes or vibrant advertisements, you can install a lightweight Chrome extension that will remove the color from the Web page you're reading. Here's how:

First you'll have to grab a copy of Grayscale Tool, by Emanuel Malmquist. Just click Add to Chrome in the top-right-hand corner.

Next, … Read more

As a publication that tracks the crowded digital music ecosystem, we know all too well the simple act of choosing what to use for music each day can be as daunting as it is enjoyable. Each new day brings a new set of music products and services. Luckily, many of them do something new, and ListnPlay's EQuala (iOS and Android; free) is one of these, thankfully.

We've seen apps that help you discover and listen to your friends' favorite music before, but EQuala goes an extra step with a personalized Internet radio station that is based directly on … Read more