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If you use Firefox, the popular internet browser thats surpassed its Microsoft counterpart in the area of ease and functionality, I’m sure you’ve always wanted the ability to minimize your session in the system tray – freeing up your task bar for other applications. Well, you finally can, with the cool MinimizeToTray extension that does just that.

As I’ve discussed in the past, Firefox extensions are neat apps that augment your browsing experience, empowering you with the ability to tailor the browser – its functionality and appearance, mainly – to your browsing needs. Outside of the customizable options included with the browser, Firefox extensions add to the experience, with hundreds of unique types that do everything from monitoring email to storing passwords.

This extension allows you to minimize the browser in the System Tray.

This version works with Firefox 3.0 – 3.5

After you’ve installed the extension, you’re given three ways to minimize the browser to the System Tray.

Using the first option, you can access the “Minimize to tray” function from the File Menu. The second option will see you using just the F9 key to minimize the browser. If you’d rather just have a button that sends that browser to the tray with a simple click, all you need to do is access the Customize Toolbar Window and select the “To tray” button for wherever you see fit to place it.

After you’ve minimized the browser, you’ll see that it’s included in the System Tray.

You’re also able to specify when you’d like the browser minimized, even having the ability to minimize it to System Tray when closing the window. If you want only certain windows minimized in the tray, you’re given the option to specify which ones (Bookmarks? Downloads? Browser?).

Firefox is fast becoming the most popular browser for the internet, with its many extensions one of the reasons why. For those of you who’d like to free up your Taskbar for other programs, this is a great way to do so.

You can download the MinimizeToTray extension here.

If you’re a frequent flyer who’d love to be able to take your laptop aboard a plane and use the internet, WIFI is now being offered by American Airlines, servicing all of its MD-80 aircraft – with implementation of the WIFI service planned for additional fleets in time.  They’ve even included an easily accessible – by PC or phone – online widget that’ll inform you if your upcoming flight is WIFI enabled. This tool answers queries that are 24 hours before departure, leaving you unable to determine if a flight booked a month or so out will be internet accessible.

This is certainly a step in the right direction, as we become a wireless world, and we only hope that it points towards all airlines adopting the same forward-thinking business model.

Visit the online widget here.

For users of Facebook, the popular social networking site, it’s been reported that the company has made a recent addition to its features that may pique the interests of those who spend a good amount of time uploading pictures. At its core, Facebook is a social networking tool, allowing people the world over to connect and establish new relationships while rediscovering old ones. Part of the experience – for those who aren’t shy – is uploading the photos that reveal the life they lead outside of the Facebook community.

A new photo uploader utility is now included within their Prototypes directory, the beta depository where new features are tested before being unveiled to the general public. Introducing a considerable improvement in the process of uploading photos, which has always drawn complaints for its decidedly buggy and difficult nature, this upgrade will surely come as good news to the millions of Facebook users who upload almost 2 billion photos a month to their accounts.

Unchanged since its debut in 2005, the current Facebook uploader still employs what many would describe as an antiquated model, relying on a third-party ActiveX control and a Java applet. Facebook, when assessing the state of its uploader and how it could be improved, decided to break from that reliance.

The new version shows an immediate improvement, with faster uploading and the ability to view other Facebook pages while the photos are being uploaded. Yes, uploading photos takes place in the background, thanks to the entire process being rewritten by Facebook’s engineers – using HTML and CSS, with the background uploading supported by Javascript.

Installing this new update is easy. To do so, you should visit the Prototypes page, where you can locate the new tool and launch it for your profile. Once that’s done, you’ll be asked to install the plug-in the next time you wish to create a new photo album. The process is quick, leaving you with a new user interface that’s beautifully intuitive, with easier navigation and a cleaner appearance.

As with any new application, particularly one still in the beta stage, security concerns rank high. If not properly debugged, the tiniest hole in the security of the program can compromise an entire system, when exploited by a crafty hacker. Facebook has also included a neat mechanism that thwarts any attempt to use the new uploader to circumvent security. If a security breach is uncovered, Facebook has a “kill switch” that will remotely deactivate the plug-in.

Facebook is curious about the community’s response to this new feature, asking that users report any issues that arise during its use. At this juncture, with it still being tested, it’s to the community’s benefit that any problems are brought to the Facebook’s attention.

For those who want to try the new uploader, you can grab it here.

For fans of Twilight, the vampire themed series – originally a book anthology, though most recently adapted for the big screen – aimed at young adults but enjoyed by people of all ages, you might be interested in taking a virtual tour that comes with the help of Bing. This online guide gives a tour of every location included in the book, from the Cullen house to the high school.

When visiting the website, you’re able to select numerous locations on the map, where you’re then given an opportunity to view movies that show the actual spots used during filming. The tour also includes links to photo galleries and exclusive content, including a mini-documentary which discusses the vampire lore that serves as the historical framework for the series.

Twilight has exploded into one of Hollywood’s hottest commodities, and this is as good as it gets for those looking to acquaint themselves with the world behind the craze.

Visit the virtual Twilight Tour here.

If you’ve ever used a utility included with the Windows Operating System, you know the hurdles required to even access the folder within which it’s found. If you’re suffering the fatigue of having to take an unnecessary number of steps to make your way to these tools, we have an app that offers fast access without the hassle you’re used to.

Before proceeding, we should add that this will require the installation of .NET Framework 3.5. At the end of this article, you’ll find a link to it.

Requiring no installation, all you need to do is unpack the executable, place it within the “Program Files” folder and assign it a shortcut.

Once you’ve completed the brief task of setting it up, you can start the Windows Utilities Launcher, where you’re given immediate access to the utilities you’d otherwise have to endure superfluous clicking to locate. Looking at the “Utilities” tab, users will notice all the usual helpers – Computer, Device, Disk, Performance, Display, Services, Task, System, Add/Remove, et.al.

On the “Settings” tab, you’re given the option of having the Launcher start up with Windows; you’re also able to have it start minimized, which will see it occupying your system tray whenever you boot up your computer.

This app also comes with a handy right-click menu. Including the Task Manager, you can access the Notepad and Calculator from the right-click menu.

While these utilities aren’t frequently used, they’re still very helpful in a time of need, which every user will be confronted by at some point. Its use comes with ease, finding that it’ll spare you those few extra steps that were previously required. If you have questions about how to use these utilities, or discover that whatever issue you were attempting to correct hasn’t been resolved, Geek Choice is here to help you.

This application is available or Windows XP, Windows Vista, and the recently launched Windows 7.

First, if you haven’t already done so, download .NET Framework (version 3.5 SP1) here.

Then, download Windows Utilities Launcher (version 1.1) here.

Budget-priced netbooks are all the rave. Offering much of the same functionality that your  standard laptop delivers, at a significantly less expense to your bank account, netbooks are compact mini-laptops that provide the convenient portability many of us demand in  these rapidly moving times.

While they’re stripped of certain amenities we find in the typical laptop – a DVD drive, for example – they’re wifi-enabled and perfect for library-bound students or employees who need only access to the internet.

The Android-powered EasyPC E790 was just announced, coming with a pricetag that will put on a smile on those hunkering down in these trying economic times. Coming from Menq, a China-based company, this netbook is priced at $89. It’s equipped with a 7-inch screen, 400Mhz Arm9 processor, and 128MB of ram ( more than enough to run Adroid ).

Geek Choice will continue to keep you posted about the latest news in the world of computing.

Microsoft recently made the successor to the popular Microsoft Office 2007, Office 2010, open for public beta. Available for both 32 bit and 64 bit systems, this new package is poised to become the standard once it moves on to its final stage.

To download the beta, you must be subscribed to MSDN (Microsoft Developer Network) or TechNet.

Be advised that it is not recommended to access the beta across P2P networks, with obvious concerns about using such services for the exchange of copyrighted software.

Ever find yourself on a website you only rarely browse for a specific purpose, yet you’re unable to recall just what that is? Ever maintain ongoing dialogues on your favorite message board, wishing there were a way jot your thoughts down?  If you’re someone who’s slightly forgetful, requiring the occasional reminder for something important, we have a neat Firefox extension that you might put to good use.

Called Internote, this extension allows a user to place sticky notes  (yes, they look exactly like the sticky notes any office dweller is familiar with) on any website page they’re visiting. Even better, the sticky notes will remain there until removed, staying around for the user’s next visit.

After the extension has been installed, the status bar will see the addition of a small yellow icon. If you’re so inclined, you can make the icon larger. Simply clicking the icon once will generate a new sticky note. Placement of each note is up to you, with no limit on the number of stickies you wish to apply.

If you want to edit a sticky note, remembering something you wished to amend it with, use the Internote manager. With it, you can open any of the stickies you’ve left behind and modify them: changing the content of the notes, assigning them to different websites, and even altering their appearance.

While it seems rather simple, it’s an incredibly resourceful tool for people who spend a good amount of time on the internet and are involved with tasks that require the management of all kinds of data.

You can download the Internote extension here.

Being the most popular streaming site on the web, home to content that ranges from music videos to full-length pictures, YouTube is also visited by millions the world over.

As anyone knows, a good number of those on the internet behave in ways that some might find objectionable, using profane language and exhibiting behavior that is nothing short of juvenile.

If you’re a frequent visitor of YouTube who’d like your viewing experience to be free of the rhetorical rubbish, there’s a new extension for Firefox that cleans up the comments and makes your time more pleasant.

Called the YouTube Comment Snob, this extension filters the comments to your choosing, allowing you to block those video responses that might border on offensive. It filters out the following:

• Those comments that include more than the allowable number of spelling mistakes ( you can specify the tolerable number of errors).

• Comments that are entirely in CAPS

• Comments that are entirely in lowercase

• Overuse of punctuation (i.e. ?!?!?!?!?)

• Explicit language

As seen below, the commentary ranges from profane (which has been blackened out) to overly puerile.

Once the Comment Snob has been implemented, you’ll see that those comments which fall into your specified filter have been hidden. The filter even provides the reasoning behind the comment’s removal. If you’re curious about what was hidden, you’re given the option to reveal what was said, if you so choose.

When using the Comment Snob, you’re offered the ability to specify that content which you’d rather not see, including a choice of how many spelling mistakes are allowed before the comment is deemed unsuitable.

Some people have a high tolerance for buffoonery, even finding it amusing on some levels, but I’m guessing that many of you would rather not be subjected to infantile behavior when looking to pass time on the internet. This tool will help rid YouTube of those comments you’d rather not see.

You can download the YouTube Comment Snob extension here.

Google Translate enables users to instantly translate text and web pages into their native language. Not unlike other services included within its stable of innovative products, Google Translate introduces a convenient and easy-to-use resource that speaks to the pioneering impact of Google on our use of the internet.  Serving over 98% of internet users today, Google Translate is available in 51 languages.

Aside from cosmetic changes, which have resulted in a cleaner appearance than we last remember, Google has implemented new features that are designed to make use of this service even more responsive and intuitive.

Those features include:

• Translate Instantly: Doing away with the old “Translate” button, Google Translate will not instantly translate your text, showing updating the translates right as you type.

• Read and write any language: When translating certain languages, it’s difficult to glean the phonetic subtleties that accompany its pronunciation, as the characters – Chinese, for example – can’t be read. By clicking “Show romanization,”  Google Translate will churn out the translated text in phonetically English form.

• Translations for Arabic, Persian, and Hindi: Should a user want to translate from one of these three languages, yet find they’re unable to type to script on the keyboard, this new feature grants users the ability to type words as they sound and convert them into the original script format.

• Text-to-Speech: After performing a translation into English, one now has an opportunity to listen to those translations spoken.

As internet use spreads, bringing disparate cultures closer together, tools of this type will prove invaluable. Once again, Google has developed a service that expands upon our use of the internet, augmenting it for the benefit of the greater community.

Visit Google Translate here.