Tag: chrome

Vivaldi for iOS, At Last!

Finally! After ages of using Vivaldi as my browser of choice on my laptop, there is an iOS version of Vivaldi that I can use on my iPhone! I just installed it and synced it and now all the stuff I save off on my MacBook Pro should be available on my iPhone. Now I just have to put it onto my iPad. Thanks for the memories, Google Chrome for iOS but your day appears to have come to an end at last!

Vivaldi Notepad

I have been using the Vivaldi browser* on my Mac for quite a while now. No complaints. I like it. I feel better about the state of the world when I am not using Chrome. I said the same thing about Firefox when I stopped using that browser and started using Chrome. Now here we are again. It’s probably just a matter of time before I say it about Vivaldi too.

That’s not what we’re here to talk about though. What we’re here to talk about is the notepad app built into Vivaldi’s sidebar. I don’t use it often, but when I do it feels like it is a literal lifesaver.

How cool is that? I just thought you all should know. You’re welcome.

*Browser might be the one word that I typo the most. I usually type it browswer, but there are hundreds of other errors that work for me too.

iPad Multitask

I just used the iPad’s multitask function for the first time. I was taking notes on songs I might want to re-record. Chrome was open on the left half of my screen, playing tracks from alonetone.com, while Trello was open on the right so I could add a comment to each song’s card.

It was so cool it literally changed my life.*

*

ScribeFire on Firefox

Scribefire on Firefox is different than on Chrome.  At least the version I installed is.  Weird.  On Chrome at home it opens a new tab.  On Firefox it divides the screen in half horizontally and puts the app in the bottom half. 

Who is the genius who came up with this campaign?

I don’t really like it this way.  All of the same information is here, but it’s just chopped in half.  I shouldn’t need a scroll bar, and I shouldn’t lose half of whatever page I was on.

It’s okay though.  The quest for cool Chrome add on s continues, and if I find super cool add ons I’ll look for Firefox versions as well.

It’s a brave new world we live in.  Embrace it.

Chrome Add Ons

The company I work for uses Google Apps.  Gmail, mostly, but also Drive, Sites, and Hangouts.  Hangouts default to opening a sub window above your gmail window.  That is a little annoying as you only get a notification in the task bar.  If you have another tab on top, you don’t know some one is sending you a message.  Someone at work suggested using a Chrome Add On that pulls Hangouts into it’s own window, which also pops up when you get a message.  Win, thinks me.

Since then I have been all about extending Chrome.  I put the Hangouts app on my home computer as well as work.  I’ve also got a download helper, and a Gmail notifier.  Cool.  I have now set to finding anything else that might be even the slightest bit cool.  Forexample, I am writing this post using an Add On called ScribeFire.  It’s pretty cool.  I am also hoping to go all crazy on greasemonkey scripts that will extend Flickr.

I’ll let you know how it all works out.

iOS Question, Answered

A little lunch time Googling told me that I was right in my assumption that you cannot change the default browser on an iOS device.  It is possible if you jail break your device, but I have no interest in doing that.

I guess I will just have to copy links out of emails and other apps.  Not too big a deal, but I do want to use Chrome instead of Safari for now.  I really don’t know why.

I was a die hard Firefox user until I got my iMac.  For some reason when I set up the new computer I installed Chrome right away.  I don’t think I installed Firefox at all.  I actually use both at work as I have my own Google account and we use Gmail for work and I prefer to keep them separate.  I want both accounts open so I use two browsers.  Chrome for work, Firefox for personal.

Since getting the iMac I had rarely used my MacBook Pro.  During the February music goofiness I used it quite a bit and without really thinking about it I was using Chrome for all of my browsing.  Given that I kept all of the song arrangements and lyrics on a Google Document, and that every single idea I had got uploaded to the ‘net somewhere, I did a lot of browsing during the music making.

I guess Chrome just quietly won me over.  I don’t think the browsing experience is any better or worse in iOS, at least as far as rendering the pages is concerned.  I do prefer the tabbed functions in Chrome to the multi-page functions in Safari.  Maybe I’m just a nerd.

Yeah, I’m probably just a nerd.

iOS Question

Let’s file this post as a note to myself.  I have something I want to investigate, but I don’t have time right now.

Question:  Can you change the default browser on an iOS device?  On my iPhone and iPad I have buried the Safari app in a folder somewhere and replaced it on the static menu at the bottom of the screen (does that have a name?) with Chrome.  The only issue I have is that links clicked in emails still open in Safari.  I am curious if there is a way to make Chrome the default browser.  I am 99.9% sure it is not possible, but I want to look around some before starting a massive internet campaign to get the option added to the next iOS release.  (that’s sarcasm, kids.  keep your eyes open or you might miss it)