plug-ins

Isn't it annoying when you load a Web page and audio starts playing without warning? Usually it's a background music track or an advertisement video, but it always seems to happen at the worst time: when your volume is the loudest. Maybe you just finished watching a movie on Netflix with a lot of whispering and suddenly your ears are being assaulted by loud noises.

Instead of policing your volume levels before each Web browsing session, why not just disable those plug-ins from loading content unless you say it's OK? Here's how to disable plug-ins from … Read more

Most people know about the lack of support for Flash on the iPad and iPhone, but Flash is alive and well on Mac OS X with the Adobe Flash Player for Mac. As the app name suggests, this is a player for Flash 11 videos for Mac OS X 10.6 and higher. Adobe Flash Player for Mac is a browser plug-in and allows viewing of Web sites with Flash videos embedded in them to appear on the Mac OS. You won't find Adobe Flash Player for Mac on the App Store (thanks to the dispute between the two … Read more

Like it or not, Web pages can count your Facebook shares as a "Like."

A Facebook Like multiplier bug going around highlighted a feature of the social network that may seem unfair to some: If you send a Web site's link to a friend via a Facebook message or if you post it to your Facebook wall, that Web page's Like counter ticks upward.

First noticed by The Wall Street Journal, the feature may rankle some users who don't want to be a part of an overinflated count for some Web site tracking its visitors, … Read more

If you've ever had to transfer your iTunes library to a new computer, you know it can be quite a painful process. These days, Apple has made it easier than ever before to transfer your music library from one computer to another, but some years ago, it was not easy. I tried to move my entire iTunes library to my new computer via the external hard drive and failed miserably. After some consolidating of files, clicking through the hidden folders, importing/exporting the xml file, a good portion of my music library turned into gibberish. See below and you … Read more

Facebook today launched the Recommendations Bar. The new social plug-in is supposed to help you find new articles by tapping in to what your Facebook friends Like and Share on the same Web site you're currently on.

Though it may not be clear from the screenshot on the right, the Recommendations Bar resides at the bottom right of your browser window. Much like Facebook Chat, it appears as a pop-up, but you can minimize it. It features a Like button for the Web page as well as article recommendations.

Here's how it works. As you're trying to … Read more

High price and limited driving range are just two of the obstacles keeping car buyers from making the switch to plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles en masse. But there could be another problem to contend with: the inability for prospective buyers to charge the cars at home.

Using findings from a 2009 Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS), the U.S. Energy Information Administration reports that only 49 percent of households with at least one car have access to parking within 20 feet of an electrical outlet. Residents of freestanding homes make up the majority of survey responders who say they … Read more

News leaked out early today that Mitsubishi will debut its upcoming plug-in hybrid Outlander SUV at the 2012 Paris Motor Show.

Although there is no official news release or announcement from Mitsubishi, Edmunds InsideLine confirmed with a company spokesperson that the SUV is headed to the auto show next fall. It also confirmed that U.S. buyers will get the vehicle either in late 2013 or 2014.

The plug-in hybrid will be based on the 2013 Mitsubishi Outlander, and will have three driving modes, including all-electric, serial hybrid, and parallel hybrid. Based on the PX-Miev II Concept that debuted at … Read more

Adobe has released version 11.3 of its Flash plug-in, which in addition to addressing a few security holes and offering improved input management and sound performance, includes a background-updating feature. This feature debuted for Windows systems in Flash 11.2, but this latest update has implemented it on the Mac.

Adobe Flash Player's popularity makes it a target for malware developers, who not only attempt to exploit its code, but also mask their distributions as fake Flash Player installations. As a result, many people have come to distrust update announcements and recommendations for Flash, even when they have … Read more

Fisker Automotive received worrying news last week when a Karma sedan burned in a house fire in Texas. The cause is still being investigated, according to the company.

The fire started shortly after a new Karma owner parked the car in a garage, according to a report in Autoweek. A fire investigator told Autoweek that the Karma, which was not plugged in, was the origin of the fire, but the cause was not known.

Fisker released a statement saying that the electric car's battery pack was intact and "does not appear to be a contributing factor in this … Read more