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I use Jing for most of my blog and technical documentation. Jing is a screen capture utility that allows me to draw arrows, markup and paste (and even shoot video). But Jing can be a memory hog and its uploading feature is anything but fast to use. But how about a utility with an installer that is a mere 1MB in size? It is a small free application I found yesterday called Gyazo.
It does one thing, and it does it very well. It allows you to capture a screenshot with its crosshairs and it will automatically upload it to the web and copy its URL to your clipboard. Did I mention that it does not require any signing up? And how about this – Gyazo is a cross-platform app with support for Mac, Linux and Windows!
Let’s check it out. You can start by visiting their English or Japanese site here and here respectively. Download the installer and get it installed. Once it is installed you can run it from the start menu.
Then when you launch it, your mouse will turn into crosshairs like this:
As you draw your box to select your screenshot you will see it covered in a light gray shade and the dimensions of the box will appear in the bottom left hand corner of your selection as you can see in the shot above. (note: I used Jing for these captures as it is the only thing that captures the mouse).
Upon making your selection and releasing the mouse your screenshot is uploaded to the web. You will be shown the webpage in your default browser when it is ready.
You can then copy and paste that URL to share it with friends or colleagues. The link that was returned was:
http://gyazo.com/4aee403789e9ba4acb0d5e6b0e3509eb.png
You can see it is stored on the Gyazo website and it has a PNG extension. You can download the image by right clicking on it and saving it. You can also use the 4 links that appear when you mouse over the upper left hand corner of your image to share your image. Gyazo supports Twitter, Tumblr and Flickr but you can hotlink or paste the URL of this image anywhere where you can insert an image.
By hitting the Twitter logo button this is what happens:
If you are not logged into Twitter you will be prompted for your password after you add your optional tweet and hit the post button.
You can see how it looks in my twitter stream here. I do not have a Tumblr account but that is what the next button does:
You need to enter your Tumblr authentication information and an optional caption. Hit the post button and it will posted to your blog. Personally I would have preferred Wordpress (if the author is listening, I would like to use it regularly on my Wordpress website).
The last social network button is for Flickr:
Click post and your image will be posted to your Flickr page. If you are not logged in you will be prompted to.
The last button is for information. It pretty much just gives you the URL of your image and a link to the Gyazo website like this:
Do you have a quicker way for sharing screenshots and images online? If so, we would love to hear about it in the comments!
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Google has just released a video demonstrating the speed of the new beta of its Chrome web browser. As we noted yesterday, Chrome continues to gain marketshare among tech savvy users. Speed has always been one of Chrome’s hallmark features and the latest beta really takes it to another level.
While differences in rendering engines still exist, relative or perceived loading speed has become the key differentiator between browsers. That’s why Opera highlights speed with each of its releases and why Mozilla is focusing more on speed with each Firefox release.
While there are some variables when it comes to speed optimization that cannot be directly controlled by the browser — ping time, server load, network latency — JavaScript rendering is one area that browser makers have found can make a tremendous difference in overall web speed. To that end, the major browser makers all have their own ideas about how to better tune the JavaScript engine in their respective browsers for better performance.
Google Chrome uses a JavaScript engine called V8 that has been developed in-house to be extremely fast. The latest version of V8, which is in the new Chrome beta, is reportedly 30-35% better than the last beta channel release. Google even notes that its overall performance with Chrome has improved between 213 – 305% when compared to the very first Chrome beta released back in 2008.
As a longtime Safari user in Mac OS X, I have to say that the latest Chrome beta is fast enough to almost become my default browser. I’ll need to see how it performs with some sites I use for work-related tasks before making the switch, but in terms of pure speed, the new Chrome beta definitely wins.
If you’re curious how Google shot and produced the speed test video, check out this clip that shows off the production process.
If you’re already running a beta build of Google Chrome, you should be upgraded to the latest version automatically. If you want to try the latest beta release, you can download it for Windows, Mac or Linux.
What do you think of the new Chrome beta? What do you think of Google’s speed test video? Let us know!
Tags: chrome, google chrome, javascript, opera, software, speed, web browsers
What I'm Reading: The New Google Chrome Beta Is Wicked Fast [VIDEO]: Google has just released a video demonstrati... http://bit.ly/bXmNvO
- Dave Weinberg
Microsoft Updates Bing iPhone App and Removes It from All International iTunes Stores http://bit.ly/ddG6vW
Microsoft just launched a new version of its Bing iPhone app. The iPhone app gives you comprehensive access to Bing's core services, including Bing maps and directions, as well as news and image search. Besides offering better stability and a few interface tweaks, the new version of the Bing app also integrates more tightly with the iPhone by giving you access to your contacts in the mapping feature and making it easier to copy and paste URLs and share interesting results through email.
Sponsor
Just as it launched this new version of the app, however, Microsoft also pulled the Bing applications from all the non-U.S. versions of the App Store. According to a statement Microsoft sent to Neowin, the company "inadvertently made it available to all countries in which the Apple Marketplace has a presence." Why it took Microsoft three months to pull the app, which was released in December 2009, remains a bit of a mystery.
If you are in the U.S., however, the Bing iPhone app remains to be the best way to access Microsoft's "decision engine" on your phone. The new version now includes a number of interesting new features. One of the most useful features is the app's ability to let you bookmark maps, websites and direction. Sadly, however, this feature isn't integrated with Apple's Safari, so your bookmarks don't carry over to the iPhone's default browser.
Other new features include better parental control settings, private search and the ability to edit your search history and support for first generation iPod touch devices.
Discuss
Microsoft Updates Bing iPhone App. It now supports the 1st gen iPod Touch! http://regator.com/?u=3w4xf2
- Carroll
Jolicloud, the French startup founded by well-known European entrepreneur Tariq Krim that produces a custom Linux-based operating system for netbooks, has just announced on its blog that it will be releasing a solid beta version of the OS later this month.
In a fairly surprising move, the company also announced that it is ditching Mozilla Prism in favor of Google Chrome to power the back-end of its app platform. All Web applications currently in the App Center – more than 600 by now – will automatically be converted to Chrome.
The move is interesting because many believe that Google’s own upcoming operating system, Chrome OS, will overshadow Jolicloud’s effort in a huge way. If that’s your line of thought as well, check out Michael Arrington’s recent interview of Krim on that very subject.
Jolicloud says the reasons for the switch, which was decided upon after evaluation of “different technologies and opportunities”, were Chrome’s speed (courtesy of its V8 JavaScript Engine), better memory usage, support for multiple authentication technologies right out the gate (Facebook Connect, Twitter Connect, etc.) and enhanced HTML5 and Web sockets support, among others.
However, Jolicloud is quick to point out that the move will not its commitment to Firefox, which will still be the default browser.
The startup says the upcoming version of the Jolicloud OS will feature a new desktop mode adapted for all screens larger than 11 inches and be compatible with 100% of Intel-based netbooks (see second screenshot below). In addition, an entirely new release of Jolicloud Express for easy installation on Windows netbooks is on its way.
(Full disclosure: Krim will be showing off the new version of Jolicloud next week at Plugg, a conference I organize. I didn’t know that for sure until after this blog post went up).
Netbook OS Maker Jolicloud Switches From Mozilla Prism To Chrome For Web Apps
- Sarah Perez
Microsoft’s Dave Heiner posted the above image on his official blog at Microsoft Friday. It’s the first test of the system that will let users decide which browser they’d like to use, as per the European Union’s mandate on Microsoft. Users in Europe — and only in Europe — running Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 will begin seeing a screen like this one in just a few weeks.
From Heiner’s post:
In December, the European Commission and Microsoft arrived at a resolution of a number of long-standing competition law issues. Microsoft made a legally binding commitment that PC manufacturers and users will continue to be able to install any browser on Windows, to make any browser the default browser, and to turn access to Internet Explorer on or off. In addition, Microsoft agreed to use Windows Update to provide a browser choice screen to Windows users in Europe who are running Internet Explorer as their default browser. This browser choice screen will present a list of browsers, with links to learn more about them and install them. The design and operation of this choice screen was worked out in the course of extensive discussions with the Commission and is reflected in the commitment that Microsoft made. Users who get the choice screen will be free to choose any browser or stick with the browser they have, as they prefer.
It’s interesting that Chrome is listed first in the screenshot. Also, note that the Firefox logo actually stands out rather sharply at first glance.
The browser choice screen will be rolled out in the United Kingdom, Belgium and France starting the week of March 1, 2010. The picker will be automatically downloaded via Windows Update. There are more details on the Microsoft site.
