shrinking

Shrink photos and clear up some hard drive space with JPEGmini

Today's cameras are capable of capturing some pretty amazing shots, whether you're using a DSLR, a point-and-shoot camera, or even your cell phone. The average resolution of a contemporary camera can range anywhere from six to 20 megapixels--three to four times the quality of cameras of less than three years ago. However this clarity comes at a cost. As images get clearer, file sizes get bigger. JPEGmini helps you retake control over the enormous photo collection you have laying around by reducing the amount of space these files take up on your hard drive.

Originally developed for the … Read more

Firefox 15 remembers to forget old memory

As with many tech code-names, MemShrink doesn't sound particularly exciting. And yet, the memory leak-managing project at Mozilla finally sees some of its biggest changes reach the vast majority of people using Firefox with today's major update.

Mozilla expects that the new Firefox 15 for PCs (download for Windows | Mac | Linux) finally will put an end to the multitude of memory-managing issues that have plagued Firefox for years. As we noted in July when Firefox 15 went beta, the MemShrink project has spent much of its time fixing how the browser handles add-ons that contribute to memory problems. … Read more

MemShrink targets add-ons in Firefox beta

A plethora of changes land in Firefox for Android 15 beta, as its desktop counterpart moves its memory management improvements up a notch.

Firefox 15 beta for Windows (download), Mac (download), and Linux (download), brings the memory management improvements developed in Mozilla's MemShrink project one step closer to the stable version of the browser, this time focusing on long browser sessions and how add-ons affect Firefox. Nicholas Nethercote, a developer at Mozilla, wrote on his blog that Firefox 15 beta is likely to be "drastically" faster than Firefox 14, in some cases.

The changes in the beta … Read more

The 404 967: Where we feel a lot smaller (podcast)

CNET Audiophiliac and general audio diva Steve "Sphere" Guttenberg is back on The 404 Podcast for his last appearance this year, and as usual he brings a list of talking points, like a kooky theory on how to curb population control, and when the iPad will eventually overtake the big screen TV.

Jeff and the official 404 graphic designer Blake Stevenson have also partnered together for Crave's first weekly comic strip "Low Latency,"and a big congratulations goes out to our video voice mail contest winners! Check out the videos below:… Read more

Apple reportedly aims to shrink micro-SIM card

The micro-SIM card found in Apple's iPhone 4, both generations of the iPad, and an increasing number of mobile devices could be going on a diet once again.

Reuters reported today that Apple has put forth plans to the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) for a smaller version of micro-SIM that could bring extra space-saving advantages to mobile gadgets.

"We were quite happy to see last week that Apple has submitted a new requirement to ETSI for a smaller SIM form factor--smaller than the one that goes in iPhone 4 and iPad," Anne Bouverot, Orange's head … Read more

Study: U.S. wireless subscribers overpay on service

The average U.S. wireless subscriber is overpaying on his or her cell phone bill by $336 a year, according to a study by BillShrink, a search engine designed to help people find the best service deals to meet their needs.

About 80 percent of U.S. wireless subscribers miscalculate how many anytime voice minutes, text messages, and megabytes of data they need, BillShrink found. As a result, consumers are purchasing wireless plans that don't fit their needs and are actually costing them more money. Collectively, this results in the wireless industry pulling in an extra $79 million for … Read more

Return 'print on one page' to Word 2010

A reader named Teresa C. contacted me yesterday to ask what happened to the "shrink to fit on one page" option in Microsoft Word 2010's Print Preview window. This useful feature is one of several that Microsoft chose to hide in an attempt to "simplify" the Word 2010 interface.

You can get fast access to Word 2010's option to fit a document on a single printed page (or at least attempt to) by adding this function to the Quick Access Toolbar. Click File > Options > Quick Access Toolbar to open the Customize the … Read more

BillShrink delivers personal savings recs

Online money-saving tool BillShrink launched on Tuesday a new Savings and CDs feature designed to help people find the highest interest rates.

BillShrink, which also offers help on finding cheaper cell phone plans, more advantageous credit cards, and low gas prices, told me in a conference call Monday that it's on track to help users save more than $1 billion by year's end across all three of its money-saving features.

With its Savings and CDs tool, BillShrink now enables people to take the cash they've saved and invest it in a savings account or a certificate of … Read more

BillShrink gas savings app considers your commute

Personal savings site BillShrink has a new feature: a gasoline pricing database that directs you to gas stations based on the route you take on your daily commute, not just how close you are to the stations.

The Web app isn't just for finding prices. It actually helps you plan your refueling stops along the way. You start by telling it about your car and its mileage, and your home and work addresses. You get back a results page that shows you a Google Map of all the gas stations along your route. You can zoom in and out … Read more

BillShrink raises $8 million in Series B funding

BillShrink on Tuesday announced that it raised $8 million in Series B funding in a round that was led by Trinity Ventures and Bessemer Venture Partners.

According to BillShrink, its service helps visitors find savings of more than $300 per year on wireless plans and $1,000 per year on credit cards. To further help users save money on bills, the company also announced Tuesday that it has launched a "My Account" feature, which will let them track the progress of their savings and view a personalized activity log that analyzes changes in the market.

BillShrink initially launched … Read more