Internet Explorer

Click Start, type: manage add-ons.

Hit Enter on your keyboard.

Click Manage add-ons.

Select the add-on you would like to disable and click Disable.

Mozilla Firefox

If you are running Mozilla Firefox 4 or later:

Click the Firefox menu and click Add-ons.

Click Extensions, select the browser add on and click Disable.

If you are running an earlier version of Firefox:

Click Tools > Add-ons.

Go to the Extensions tab, select the add-on and click Disable.

Google Chrome

In Google Chrome, click the Customize and Control menu button.

Select Tools, then click Extensions.

Select the Extension and click Disable.

Apple Safari

Extensions can be disabled by clicking Edit > Preferences.

Go to the Extensions tab, select the Extension and click Disable.

Opera

If you are running Opera, click the Opera Menu > Extensions > Manage Extensions.

How to disable web browser add ons (Browser Helper Objects) is a post by Andre from Notebooks.com.

Years ago, opening a single home page was the normal thing to do when you launch your browser, now things have changed a bit. In this article, we take a look at how to open multiple home pages in Internet Explorer.

Click Start, type: Internet Options

Hit Enter on your keyboard

Under General tab click in the Home page field and enter the URL for each website you would like to have opened when you launch your web browser. See example below:

Click Apply and OK to confirm changes

When you launch the web browser, you will see multiple tabs automatically load your three favorite websites.

How to Make Internet Explorer Open Multiple Tabs At Launch is a post by Andre from Notebooks.com.

The Internet Explorer 10 platform preview is a very early build of what we may see on IE10, and offers Windows user the opportunity to try out a new browser layout and test drive the browser on a special ietestdrive.com website. The IE10 testdrive will show you what the new browser is capable of.

According to the Windows Team Blog, the focus of the IE10 Platform Preview will be on two areas, “(1) More HTML5 with full hardware acceleration. (2) Continuing to deliver regular updates that provide progress on a regular cadence.”

On stage at the MIX conference where Internet Explorer 10 was shown off, attendees were able to see the demo shown above, and learned that the system running IE 10 on stage was an ARM powered processor, specifically an NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor. This is exciting, because it shows the performance on ARM which is a different type of processor that will be supported in Windows 8.

In addition to running in standard notebooks, the ability to run on Tegra 2 devices means that we should see some new form factors and devices with Windows, perhaps as soon as early 2012.

More on what to expect in Internet Explorer 10.

Internet Explorer 10 Available For Download, Let the Testing Begin is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

Windows 8 was first shown off at CES 2011, when Microsoft announced that the next version of Windows would run on different types of systems, opening up the world of Windows to more device types and form factors. The possibility of running Windows 8 on tablets and other devices.

What’s New in Windows 8

Thanks to Rafael Rivera and Paul Thurrott we know quite a bit about the upcoming Windows 8 Features. Rivera and Thurrott are co-authors of Windows 8 Secrets, and as such are quite connected to Microsoft and those with insider knowledge of Windows 8. Other sources for the information are linked as well throughout the post.

Dual User Interface: Windows 8 is rumored to use a dual user interface system to allow users to interact with Windows in a manner that best suits their current needs. The standard Windows interface is expected to see slight tweaks, but we also think that Microsoft will bring a Tile type interface that is designed to enhance the experience on tablets.

Windows 8 - Internet Explorer Immersive Tiles

Internet Explorer Immersive: In Windows 8, Internet Explorer will have a new “Immersive” look that is designed to further incorporate tabs into the user experience. You can see in the Windows 8 screenshot above that the tabs can be used to display browsing history, but that is apparently just the beginning.

Explorer Ribbon in Windows 8

Windows Explorer Ribbon: Microsoft Office has been training users to use, and love, the Ribbon style interface for several years now, and it looks like Microsoft will soon be bringing the Ribbon Interface to the entire operating system with the Explorer Ribbon.

Collection of Windows 8 Explorer Ribbon Examples

This new user interface will provide easy access to a collection of tools that change with the task you are performing. If you hate the ribbon, it appears that you will be able to collapse the Windows 8 Ribbon for a slimmer explorer bar.

Windows 8 Welcome screen

Welcome Screen Revamp: The welcome screen, or Windows Logon screen, is also getting a refresh with Windows 8 and like much of the operating system appears to borrow from the Windows Phone 7 home screen in looks and information presented.

Windows 8 Modern Reader - A Built in PDF Reader

Modern Reader – built in PDF Reader: Windows 8, it appears, will ship with a built in PDF reader that is designed to make it easier for users to open and preview documents without the need for another tool from Adobe. Overall, this is a nice inclusion, but not surprising given that Apple has had a similar tool called Preview for some time.

Will there be a Windows 8 Beta?

Microsoft has not announced a Windows 8 beta, but given the success of the Windows 7 beta we do expect to see a public beta of Windows 8 at some time. Given the current stage of development, we could see a Windows 8 beta as early as September 2011.

When Will Windows 8 Be Released?

Again, Microsoft has not announced a release date for Windows 8, but we expect a Windows 8 Beta in late 2011 and a launch sometime in 2012. We will keep you up to date as we gain a better idea of when Windows 8 will launch.

Will I be able to Upgrade to Windows 8?

As with previous Windows releases, you should be able to upgrade to Windows 8 from previous versions of Windows. You will certainly be able to upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 8, and very likely from Windows Vista to Windows 8. A Windows XP to Windows 8 upgrade is less certain, but with many businesses still using XP, it is a possibility.

How Much will Windows 8 Cost?

There has been no information released about the price of Windows 8. If you purchase a new computer, then you will not see an increase in price related specifically to Windows 8 and you may even get a free upgrade with new notebooks purchased close to the Windows 8 launch.

Students will likely be able to purchase a specially discounted version of Windows 8 for around $30 for a full version of the operating system.

Regular users can expect to pay between $119 and $250 for various version of Windows 8. Microsoft will also likely offer upgrade versions of Windows 8 which are discounted and could start around $79.

Windows 8: Details, Features and Screenshots is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

Windows Live Mesh has been part of Microsoft’s set of solutions to solve issues relating to accessing personal data and settings across multiple PC’s and devices. Windows Live Mesh even allows you to connect to your PC’s remotely. In this article, we take a look at how to use it to keep our PC’s synced.

To use Windows Live Mesh, you need to download it first. It is also included as part of the free Windows Live Essentials 2011 suite.

After downloading and installing, launch Windows Live Mesh and sign in with your Windows Live Hotmail or Windows Live ID and password. If you don’t have one, you can create one for free.

Connecting to Windows Live Mesh

After signing in, you will be presented with the Status page which displays your machine name (ie. WIN7VL-VM) along with your Folders that you have setup to be synchronized and Program settings for apps such as Internet Explorer and Microsoft Office. Right now, I don’t have anything setup, so we will do that as our next step.

I want to sync a folder on my hard disk, in this case, the Documents folder, to do that, I click the Sync a folder link under Folders.

Select the folder and click Sync

Windows Live Mesh will present a number of options for where you would like to have the data from the folder you selected to be synced. In the above screenshot, I am presented with two options, my other computer which also has Windows Live Mesh installed and Microsoft’s free online storage service service, Windows Live Skydrive. My personal recommendation is to select both, this guarantees you will always have the most up to date information across multiple devices.

You now see that I have successfully synced my data with not just only another PC but my free Skydrive account account.

Syncing data from my other computer

When syncing folders that are the same name on different computers, you will need to choose an alternate location on the system or create a folder to sync those files to.

For instance, I want to sync the folder Lesson folder for Office Testing on the machine WIN7X64-ACER with WIN7VL-VM

To do that, select the folder and click Sync

Select the devices you want to have the folder synced across then click OK.

On the other machine, you will see the folder appear in the Status window, click the link below it Sync this folder

I created a folder called My Sync Files, after doing this, click Sync

Windows Live Mesh now syncing the folder with the other machine.

Our files from the other machine are now synced. Any files saved or placed in that folder on the machine it was originally created will now be automatically synced.

When you log into your personal Skydrive account, you will see your synced folders there too.

Windows Live Mesh might not be an ideal solution for everyone, but it does reduce the complexity of syncing data across multiple machines. Of course, there are minor draw backs such as the Windows Live ID requirement and the need to have online connectivity to accomplish the syncing, but it’s still a great solution to keep your program settings and Office files up to date and most important, it’s free.

How to Sync files between 2 computers with Windows Live Mesh. is a post by Andre from Notebooks.com.

Unlike certain applications, where you have to get the operating system specific version. Uses for JAVA include playing online games, running small applications such as a web page counter and uploading photos to Facebook. In this article, we take a look at how to troubleshoot problems installing or using JAVA in Windows 7.

Unable able to use JAVA programs in Internet Explorer

Please note that if you are using both 32-bit and 64-bit IE, you need to download both 32-bit and 64-bit Java respectively. So make sure you’re testing for java using the appropriate version of IE or better install both 32-bit and 64-bit version of Java. To make it easy, its best you download the offline Java package manually and try installing the same.

JAVA Refuses to install

1. Download the appropriate java setup file and save it on Save it to your hard disk.

   

2. Physically disconnect your computer from the internet, that’s right -  pull out Ethernet cable or disconnect wireless connection.
3. Install java from setup file (note: no error message). Reboot just to be sure).  Reconnect your internet connection and try running or viewing content that requires JAVA to see if it is working.

Additional JAVA Resources:

• Download errors: 1305, 2755, 1606, etc.
• Installing Java

How to Troubleshoot JAVA Installations on Windows 7 (Quick Tip) is a post by Andre from Notebooks.com.

So how does IE9′s download numbers compare? Engadget says that despite being a popular download, the number here still trails Mozilla’s downloads for Firefox 3, which made it in the Guinness book of world records for over 8 million downloads in 2008. Since then, we have more competition with Google’s Chrome browser, Apple’s Safari browser, and a more modern Opera browser for the desktop. Additionally, IE9 is a PC-only download.

Microsoft Boasts 2.3 Million IE9 Downloads in 24 Hours is a post by Chuong Nguyen from Notebooks.com.

Once pinned to your taskbar, the pages act more like a program than a webpage, delivering a unique look and the ability to right click and access actions from the jump list. These deals can only be accessed through Internet Explorer 9, which is available as a free download.

Internet Explorer 9 Jump List Deals

The deals from Hulu Plus, eBay and other websites are designed to show off the new Taskbar integration and as such can only be accessed by pinning the website to the taskbar.

The current Windows 7 Jump List deals include:

• Groupon - Purchase a deal through the Jump list and receive $5 in Groupon Bucks
• GILT Groupe – purchase $250 from Gilt to receive a free Xbox 360 4GB Standard Console, Samsung Focus with Windows Phone 7, or Xbox 360 Kinect 4GB Console Bundle
• Slacker - a free month of Slacker Radio Plus
• Hulu – a free month of Hulu Plus (Starts March 28th)
• eBay – 8% extra eBay bucks in April and $5 discount in May for users coming from the Jump List.

These deals are a nice way to learn about the new features in Internet Explorer 9, but more than that, they are just really good deals. The Gilt deal has us contemplating a wardrobe upgrade and we are already looking forward to our Slacker and Hulu free trial months..

How to Pin a website to Your Windows 7 Taskbar with Internet Explorer 9.

We showed you how to use the Taskbar Jump List feature in our Internet Explorer 9 Review, but we’ll also give you the details here so that you can start saving. The Hulu Plus offer won’t start until March 28th, but you can start taking advantage of the other deals right away.

Step 1. Visit Hulu.com in Internet Explorer 9.

Step 2. Click and hold on the Hulu tab.

Step 3. Drag it down to the Windows 7 Taskbar.

Step 4. When it prompts you to “Pin to Taskbar” let go of the tab and it will be pinned to your Taskbar.

Step 5. Right click on the icon to see your jump list as shown below. Hulu’s offer isn’t live yet, but you can get access to other offers from Groupon, Gilt and Slacker right away.

If you want a more visual example, check out this how to video from labnol:

Internet Explorer 9 Jump List Deals: Free Hulu Plus, Groupon & More is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

“The best experience of the Web is on Windows with Internet Explorer 9,” said Dean Hachamovitch, corporate vice president, Windows Internet Explorer, at Microsoft. “Today, the Web can unlock the power and performance of the best PC hardware through Windows and Internet Explorer 9. Websites also can act more like applications within Windows 7, with features such as Pinned Sites. In less than a year, Internet Explorer 9 went from early preview to final release with the help of hardware partners and the Web community.”

The browser gets a refresh from the prior version and gets a cleaner user interface. The browser also gains speed improvements along with a One Box bar, which doubles as an address bar as well as a search bar where you can view real-time results in-line, according to Engadget.

Press Release:

Microsoft Announces Global Availability of Internet Explorer 9

More than 250 top sites from around the globe join the launch of Internet Explorer 9 to celebrate a more beautiful, immersive Web.

AUSTIN, Tex. ― March 14, 2011 ― Microsoft Corp. today announced the launch of the latest version of the world’s most-used browser with the release of Windows Internet Explorer 9 in 39 languages at an event at the SXSW Interactive conference. Internet Explorer 9 is Microsoft’s most-downloaded browser beta of all time, with more than 40 million downloads, and it has already has gained more than 2 percent usage on Windows 7. Already more than 250 top sites from around the globe are taking advantage of the capabilities in Internet Explorer 9 to deliver differentiated experiences to their customers, with many featured on http://www.BeautyoftheWeb.com. Together, these partners reach more than 1 billion active Internet users on the Web.

“The best experience of the Web is on Windows with Internet Explorer 9,” said Dean Hachamovitch, corporate vice president, Windows Internet Explorer, at Microsoft. “Today, the Web can unlock the power and performance of the best PC hardware through Windows and Internet Explorer 9. Websites also can act more like applications within Windows 7, with features such as Pinned Sites. In less than a year, Internet Explorer 9 went from early preview to final release with the help of hardware partners and the Web community.”

Top Sites and Designers Take Advantage of Internet Explorer

Internet Explorer 9 is designed to bring sites front and center through Windows 7, enabling a more immersive, more beautiful Web experience. Features such as Pinned Sites and Jump List enable people to put their websites directly on the Windows 7 Taskbar, as though they were native applications, and then to quickly and easily perform tasks related to those websites, such as check their inboxes, change the music station, accept friend invitations or see breaking news.

In addition to 250 top sites, more than 1,000 other sites and designers are taking advantage of these new features with Internet Explorer 9 and Windows 7. These sites include not only the largest sites on the Web, such as Facebook and Amazon, but also leading experiences from across the Web and the world.

- In social and information networking, Internet Explorer 9 partners include category leaders such as Facebook, Twitterand WordPress― the No. 1 global blogging platform ― in addition to leading professional networks in the U.S., Europe, Russia, Korea and Latin America.

- In e-commerce, partners include not only the leading worldwide shopping site, Amazon, and the No. 1 worldwide auction site, eBay, but also the leading site in the emergent “daily deals” space, Groupon.

- Video and streaming partners include three of the top five video-on-demand sites in the U.S. ― Hulu, Break.com and Dailymotion ― and leading Internet radio sites Slacker, Pandora internet radio and Jango. In addition, partners include top global broadcasters CBC and CTV in Canada, Wat.tv in France, and CNN in the U.S.

- News website partners in the U.S. include the Wall Street Journal, USA Today and The Huffington Post, as well as dozens of leading news sites globally across all major geographies.

“What people care about on the Web is their sites, not their browser. That’s why Internet Explorer 9 is about making those sites shine. The browser is the theater, and the sites people visit are the play, and that is what Internet Explorer 9 makes better ― your favorite sites,” said Ryan Gavin, senior director, Windows Internet Explorer, at Microsoft.

eBay is the world’s largest online marketplace and a leader in mobile commerce. With pinning and Jump List features in Internet Explorer 9, everyone’s favorite eBay experiences are just a click away. “eBay’s integration with Internet Explorer 9 is like having a storefront on your desktop,” said Robert Chatwani, senior director, eBay Internet marketing. “We’re pleased that new functionality within Internet Explorer 9 allows us to innovate and bring new experiences to our customers, making shopping and selling on eBay more engaging than ever.”

Pandora Internet radio is announcing a new dynamic Jump List for Internet Explorer 9. Tom Conrad, chief technical officer and executive vice president of product for Pandora, said, “This new feature allows our listeners to have immediate access to their personalized Pandora stations right from the taskbar with Internet Explorer 9, which will make for an easy-access listener experience.”

Partners such as Gilt Groupe are already seeing early results indicating that Internet Explorer 9 customers who pin the Gilt homepage to their taskbar show a higher purchase rate than those on other browsers. “While results are early, customers using Internet Explorer 9 appear to purchase more per order when compared to earlier versions of Internet Explorer and other browsers. Given that our business model is providing dynamic new shopping experiences online every day, the value of Internet Explorer 9 and Windows 7 is potentially very exciting to us and our customers,” said Chris Maliwat, vice president of product management, Gilt Groupe.

Many partners are announcing special offers for Internet Explorer 9 customers that will be available in the coming weeks, including the following:

- Slacker. A free monthlong subscription for customers who pin the Slacker site to their taskbars

- Groupon. $5 in Groupon Bucks when making a first purchase from the Internet Explorer 9 Jump List

- Hulu. A free month of the Hulu Plus subscription for users who pin Hulu

- eBay. Offering coupons or eBay Bucks for bids or purchases made using the Internet Explorer 9 pinning and Jump List features

- Gilt. A series of product bundles for customers who make purchases of specified amounts via the Jump List

Fast Is Now Beautiful: Internet Explorer 9 With Hardware Acceleration

The new version of Internet Explorer takes advantage of the power of modern Windows PC hardware to improve all-around Web browsing performance. It is the only browser with hardware-accelerated HTML5 spanning all graphics, text, audio and video. Internet Explorer 9 harnesses the power of the Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), unlocking 90 percent of the PC’s power that went previously untapped by Web browsers.

Developers can now build faster, more immersive websites that feel like native applications using HTML5, as well as runtimes such as Adobe Flash Player and Microsoft Silverlight, both of which will take advantage of the hardware acceleration in Internet Explorer 9 in their next versions.

“Internet Explorer 9 has moved the bar in hardware acceleration, enabling Flash Player to tap into the GPU and creating a win-win situation for our mutual customers who want fast, rich content experiences,” said Paul Betlem, senior director, Flash Player Engineering at Adobe.

“With Internet Explorer 9 and Flash Player taking advantage of the GPU, we continue the collaboration with Microsoft to further optimize performance. Both companies are also working closely to advance and streamline controls for managing Flash Player privacy and security settings in Internet Explorer 9.”

“The next-generation Web is here today with Internet Explorer 9, accelerated by AMD’s incredible computing platforms ― our award-winning AMD Fusion Accelerated Processing Units with DirectX11-capable graphics and AMD Radeon graphics cards,” said John Taylor, director of Client Product and Software Marketing, AMD. “The next generation is defined by immersive gaming, rich video and fast, compelling, application-like experiences, validating the fact that GPU compute power and the ability to remove barriers between the CPU and GPU are highly relevant to the day-to-day computing performance that consumers expect and demand.”

“Thanks to how Internet Explorer 9 taps into the power of the GPU, the Web is now more visual, more immersive and more powerful with NVIDIA GeForce. We are incredibly excited that consumers can now experience their favorite sites re-imagined and accelerated. It’s a whole new Web,” said Drew Henry, general manager, GeForce Business Unit, NVIDIA.

Improving Privacy and Security Online

Because the Web is increasingly less secure and private, Internet Explorer 9 is designed to be a trusted browser because it contains a robust set of built-in security, privacy and reliability technologies that keep customers safer online.

In December, Microsoft introduced Tracking Protection in Internet Explorer 9, which puts people in control of what data they are sharing as they move around the Web, by enabling consumers to indicate what websites they’d prefer not to exchange information with. Consumers do this by adding Tracking Protection Lists to Internet Explorer 9, and partners such as PrivacyChoice, TRUSTe, Abine and Adblock Plus have already published these lists.

Malware is now the No. 1 risk to people’s security online, and Internet Explorer 9 provides the first Download Manager with integrated SmartScreen malware protection. The browser also introduces SmartScreen download reputation, a groundbreaking browser feature that uses reputation data to remove unnecessary warnings for well-known files and show more severe warnings when the download has a higher risk of being malicious. Studies show that Internet Explorer 9 blocks 99 percent of socially engineered malware attacks, five times more than Firefox and 33 times more than Google Chrome.

Raise Expectations for a Better Web

Partners from around the world are re-imagining their websites using the capabilities of Windows and Internet Explorer 9, creating new experiences that make the Web feel as native as PC applications. The result is a more beautiful Web experience.

“I love the Web for the kinds of joyous experiences it can create!” said Ze Frank, who is launching new features within the social gaming site, Star.Me, in coordination with the Austin event. “HTML5 is a huge step forward for the browser because it brings the Web back to a unified platform for creation. By integrating HTML5 into Internet Explorer 9 and hardware accelerating the browser, Microsoft has signaled its commitment to pushing the Web forward, and that is certainly worth celebrating.”

“HP and Microsoft have a long history of bringing meaningful innovations to our customers. Today, we celebrate with Microsoft the launch of Internet Explorer 9, a new milestone in enabling faster and more visually compelling Web experiences,” said Tony Prophet, senior vice president of operations, Personal Systems Group, HP. “Internet Explorer 9 is really an outstanding browser, and we’re pleased to make it available on most of our consumer PCs.”

“At Dell, we are focused on driving cutting-edge innovation in our consumer devices, and Internet Explorer 9 is the first browser to offer a richer, more immersive Web experience on our hardware,” said Michael Tatelman, vice president and general manager of North American Consumer sales for Dell. “We know customers will see ― and experience ― the difference, and we’re delighted to be working with Microsoft designers and developers around the world who are building this new, more beautiful Web.”

Microsoft Launches Internet Explorer 9 for Public Download is a post by Chuong Nguyen from Notebooks.com.

The company’s goal is to get the percentage of users using IE6 down to 1%. The goal of the countdown website is to not only highlight some of the security benefits of newer IE browser versions, but also tell users of other enhancements, such as tabbed browsing and improved browsing speeds.

There are many benefits of upgrading to a newer version of Internet Explorer – improved speed, tabbed browsing, and better privacy settings to name a few.

While having users upgrade to a more modern version of IE will definitely be beneficial for users, it would also be beneficial to Microsoft as the company would no longer have to invest as much resources into supporting the decade-old browser.

The site shows that currently, 2.9% of Americans still use IE6. The highest concentration of IE6 users would be in China, at 34.5%, followed by South Korea, at 24.8%, and Japan and Vietnam, each with approximately 10%.

If you haven’t upgraded your browser to something more modern, we recommend a newer version of IE, Mozilla’s Firefox, Opera, Google Chrome, or Safari. There are a number of modern browsers available that will allow you to take advantage of security features, faster webpage loading and rendering speeds, and plug-in support including those for Silverlight, Flash, and HTML5.

Microsoft Launches Countdown Timer for IE6 is a post by Chuong Nguyen from Notebooks.com.