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Firefox user Asian Angel loves Portable Firefox for projects like creating a Google Chrome clone, but you can also use it to run multiple, sandboxed instances of the browser at the same time. What’s the point? Well, it lets you log into multiple accounts at the same service (like Gmail) in different windows, and run certain extensions and styles in one browser instance but not another. You already know how to create multiple Firefox profiles and even run them simultaneously, but using Portable Firefox you can easily back up your customized installations and run them anywhere. Reader Asian Angel explains how she assembled a colorful “Firefox six pack” using the portable app.

This can be especially useful (or just plain fun) if you happen to be running a program like Yod’m 3D (last freeware version—foutth listing on page) or need to access multiple email accounts (i.e. Yahoo or Gmail for instance) at the same time.

A nice thing about using portables is the ability to have a copy ready to go with all of your extensions, settings, bookmarks, etc. intact if you have to do a fresh O.S. install. I try to make a backup copy of my portables once a week.

First things first, download a copy of portable Firefox if you do not already have it.

Setup Instructions

01. Install portable Firefox to the desktop temporarily until the modifications to run multiple instances are finished. I have renamed the installed folder “Portable Firefox” solely for the purpose of these instructions. Name the folder whatever works best for you.

02. Once that is done, expand the installed folder using Windows Explorer or an equivalent app (Cubic Explorer pictured here) and find the Source folder. Portable Firefox –> Other –> Source.

03. Inside the Source folder, you will find a file named “FirefoxPortable.ini”. This is the file that needs to be modified in order to run multiple instances. Note: This is also the location for the Readme.txt file that gives detailed descriptions for each of the options in the FirefoxPortable.ini file and where it needs to be placed after being modified.

04. Using your favorite text editor (Editra pictured here) to open the file, you can now make the necessary modifications.

05. The first change to make will be to the “AllowMultipleInstances” option. The default setting is “false” and needs to be changed to “true”. Note: Make certain that “true” is lower-case only…

06. The second change concerns the portable apps splash screen and is optional. This is for those who do not want to see the splash screen display on startup. The default setting for “DisableSplashScreen” is “false” and needs to be changed to “true”. Notes: Make certain that “true” is lower-case here as well. This will not affect the Splash! extension if you wish to use it.

07. Save the changes that have been made to the “FirefoxPortable.ini” file.

08. Once that is done, it is time to copy the “FirefoxPortable.ini” file to its new location.

09. Paste the “FirefoxPortable.ini” file into your main folder where the “FirefoxPortable.exe” is located (i.e. Portable Firefox).

10. Move your portable Firefox folder to Program Files and create a shortcut to the “FirefoxPortable.exe” file. Locate your new shortcut wherever is the most convenient for you.

Now you are ready to run your new portable version alongside your regularly installed version of Firefox and modify it with extensions and themes as desired. It will not access the extensions or themes that are associated with your regular install of Firefox.

Note: You will not be able to run multiple instances of your portable Firefox from the same folder in Program Files. To run additional instances, make a copy of the folder and give it a different name. Create a new shortcut to the new folder.

Here is an example from my Vista SP1 computer. I have five portable versions running at the same time as my regularly installed version of Firefox. Pictured left to right:

Top Row:
Firefox 3.0.3 with Light Styles Theme

Firefox 3.0.3 with IE8FF Theme

Firefox 3.0.3 with Red Cats (Green Flavor) Theme

Bottom Row:
Firefox 3.0.3 with Chromifox Theme

Ice Weasel 3.0 with Infinity Theme

*Ice Weasel is a rebranded version of Firefox*
Firefox TraceMonkey 3.1 Beta with Shiny Fox Theme

Thanks for the detailed instructions, Asian Angel—great work! Anyone out there using multiple Firefox instances to separate their work into roles or onto separate virtual desktops? Tell us about it in the comments.

BusinessWeek reports that counterfeit hardware has been found to be the cause of several malfunctions in high-level military machinery. The phony infiltration has a distinct possibility of leading to espionage or sabotage. In other words, move over, Meizu M8: you’re not the biggest faker in town anymore.

Several crashes of military aircraft can be attributed to knockoff chips, but more insidiously, internal military data might be at risk. Melissa E. Hathaway, a head of cybersecurity at the FBI, says, “Counterfeit products have been linked to the crash of mission-critical networks, and may also contain hidden ‘back doors’ enabling network security to be bypassed and sensitive data accessed [by hackers, thieves, and spies].” Robert P. Ernst, who investigates counterfeiting for the U.S. Navy, estimates that 15% of the spare or replacement microchips bought by the Pentagon are fake. Where do these parts actually come from?

Made in, as BusinessWeek colorfully puts it, the “Chinese hinterland,” a lot of these components are made on the cheap and sold to the government for much less than name-brands can offer. To be fair, no evidence of terrifying espionage has been found; all of the problems are due to crappy chips failing to work at the worst times, which really should have been expected, since the military has been paying half the price for the same product.

But you can start to take off that tin foil hat, because steps are being taken. After the inquiries the military has decided to effect a rule requiring the source of all chips be ascertained before they place a bid. I’m satisfied, aren’t you? [BusinessWeek]

Windows/Mac/Linux (all platforms): GIMP, the free, open-source graphics editor, has come out with a 2.6 version, and it’s put some significant changes into the editor’s interface and back-end operations. New to this version are support for 32 bits per color channel and a new GEGL-based backend (turned on and off in the preferences), polygonal and sectional selection with the Free Select Tool, better handling of windows, toolbars, docked tools, and menus, and a “brush dynamics” sub-menu that gives creators serious control over their pixel-pushing tools. Those are just a few of the many changes in this release. GIMP 2.6 is a free download for Windows, Mac, or Linux platforms, though it’s only (officially) available as source code at the moment. Read on for help installing GIMP 2.6 on Windows, Mac, and Linux systems.

Installing GIMP 2.6

• Ubuntu Linux: If you’re comfortable adding third-party sources to your respositories, one helpful user has built a custom source for both Hardy Heron (8.04) and those testing the alpha of 8.10. You can also grab pre-compiled packages from GetDeb.net (also available as one ZIPed up file), put them together, head there in a terminal and run a sudo dpkg -i * command on them.
• Windows: GimpUsers.com points us to a SourceForge-hosted Windows installer for 2.6.
• Other Linux systems/Mac OS X: For the moment, you’re stuck with compiling from source, or a lot of Google/forum hunting. Ready to take the source code plunge? Refer to Webmonkey’s guide to compiling.

The changes in 2.6 are welcome to many long-time users and, most likely, anyone held back from adopting the free editor because of technical restrictions. What most of us are seriously looking forward to, however, is the serious user interface overhaul promised for future editions.

Let’s hear from our GIMP, and Photoshop, users: What must-have feature is still missing from the open-source editor? What would you do differently if you were in charge of interface design? Share your gripes and glad-hands in the commments.

With or without the cooperation of television networks, your favorite TV shows have moved to the internet in a big way. On Tuesday we asked you to share the best sites to stream TV, and now we’re back with the five most popular answers. Keep reading for a breakdown of the best places on the web to find and watch the shows you love on-demand from the convenience of your browser.

Hulu

Hulu streams high-resolution, ad-supported videos of both television shows and movies. More specifically, the site distributes content by NBC-Universal, Fox, and a handful of their subsidiaries. Popular shows hosted by Hulu include The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, Battlestar Galactica, The Simpsons, The Office, and Saturday Night Live. The biggest complaint leveled against Hulu is its US-only restrictions, though many of you are using previously mentioned Hotspot Shield to access Hulu from outside the US. Hulu isn’t entirely US-only, though—the first show Hulu made available to the world at large was Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, with Lifehacker favorite Felicia Day.

SurfTheChannel

SurfTheChannel aggregates video from all over the internet—including sites like YouTube, MetaCafe, and Hulu (along with much more obscure sites)—then makes all of those videos available through a simple, searchable interface. It’s not always pretty, but the selection is huge. The downside: According to the STC homepage, the site will shut down on October 1st.

SideReel

SideReel is a video aggregation site similar to SurfTheChannel, providing links to streaming video from all over the internet. It’s an attractive site, but if you’re there to find video it can be difficult to navigate to begin with. If video is what you’re looking for, just navigate to the Links section of a show’s page and click on the episode you want.

Straight from the Source

Apart from the sites dedicated to streaming content, more and more networks are building their own on-site tools for streaming content from the source. For example, the big three networks all have streaming sites: the ABC Full Episode Player, the NBC Video Library, and CBS Video. If you missed a show you’re dying to catch online, be sure to check the web site of the network it aired on to see if it’s available.

BBC iPlayer

The BBC iPlayer streams content from up to 250 programs from the British Broadcasting Corporation. BBC iPlayer restricts streaming to the UK-only, but like Hulu, setting up a proxy with an application like previously mentioned Hotspot Shield has worked for many people looking to get around these restrictions.

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You’ve seen the best options, so now it’s time to vote for your favorite.
Which is the Best Site to Stream TV?
( surveys)
The internet is an excellent new frontier for keeping up with the TV shows you love, but it’s certainly not the only way new technology is making it easier to watch TV. For more, check out six ways to catch your favorite TV shows. Whether or not your favorite site made the list, let’s hear more about it in the comments.

Webapp cli.gs transforms your long URLs into short URLs with detailed click-through statistics. Unlike previously mentioned dwarfURL, cli.gs gives analytics junkies a rush with interactive AJAX graphs and detailed referrer data in addition to search engine references to the particular URL (or “clig”). cli.gs doesn’t stop there: any time someone mentions your clig in social media, be it a blogger, on Twitter, or via delicious, the source is also calculated and treated as coming from “social media.” Call it TinyURL on steroids. Clig are also supported by LongURL so you can get the details of the destination URL before you actually click.

Google Labs launches an addictive little webapp called In Quotes, which searches and compares things politicians have said in the news by keyword. So you can see what Obama and McCain have said recently about Iraq, health care, or energy. Hit the “Spin” button to get another quote (with a link to the source news story), or hit the politician drop-down to get quotes from the vice presidential candidates and others, from Hillary Clinton to Ron Paul.

Just in time for the rumored Oct. 14 MacBook event, AppleInsider has a source (notably without a track record) who’s supposedly seen the new MacBook and MacBook Pro. Matching—or perhaps simply using—current speculation, the source says that the two will look like a cross between the MacBook Air and current iMacs, with tapering and black contrast material. Interestingly, it takes long-running rumors of an aluminum MacBook a step further, saying that it’ll even look like it’s part of the same product family as the MacBook Pro.

The MacBook Pro is also apparently getting a bit of a port scramble, moving to backwards-compatible FireWire 800 and dropping dual-link DVI in favor of Apple’s mini-DVI port, a la the current MacBooks.

Most of Apple Insider’s source’s info matches up with current speculation, so it could be viewed as part of that stream of info, or more skeptically, as BS rumors have done before, using it. But, the timing for peekage is right, if in fact notebooks are due in a few weeks. Whether we’ll indeed see them in a few weeks or later—which would seemingly make this less likely—is up in the air, and there are points to be argued for both.

Still, it seems likely based on everything in aggregate that the new MacBooks will be aluminum, and that we can expect to see some design elements from the Air in the new notebooks, based on Apple’s overall design direction, whenever these damn things launch. [AppleInsider]

Filed under: Laptops

Look, there are a hundred reasons to think this might be fake. That janky right corner, the inexplicable “dock in the trackpad” conundrum, the odd lighting and the entirely-too-convenient iSight self portrait. Still, whoever made this has their finger on the pulse of the Apple faithful — or pretty much anyone else that thinks Apple is long overdue for a MacBook Pro refresh. We’ve got Air-inspired curves, a touchscreen trackpad, aluminum and glass in the style of Apple’s latest iMacs, and what appear to be separated keys, which have been slow in coming to the MacBook Pro holdout. Naturally there’s zero info on who the source is, and we’re expecting a “hah, I totally fooled you guys” to spring up at any moment, but there’s clearly some pent up demand for this thing if the rumor mill is any indication.

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David Hirsch, a former Googler who has just joined a venture-capital firm as a partner after an eight-month-long job search, has one provable talent: Excellent timing. Hirsch joined Google in 2000, and spent eight years at the company. But a former colleague tells us Hirsch was “useless.” Google’s touchy-feely management were too confrontation-averse to actually fire him; instead, Hirsch was demoted twice and eventually moved to a recruiting job in HR, where he worked for the last two and a half years of his so-called career at Google, accourding to our source. Unqualified even for a sales job? Sounds like most venture capitalist we know.