“…Hey?! What happened to my web browser? And why isn’t my company login working?!…” Don’t worry, it wasn’t your dog chewing on your laptop again, it was “Automatic Updates” giving you the latest “security patches and fixes”. But wait. This time it included something else … not that you asked for it, but you now have been automatically “upgraded” from Internet Explorer 7 to IE8!

While I am all for security patches and the other necessary updates that Automatic Updates pushes to my computer automatically, I’m not so thrilled when my web browser is given an overhaul without my permission. I personally have it set on my system to “review my updates before installing” nonetheless, I don’t want to constantly be manually canceling the IE8 upgrade twice a week with my auto-updates manager.

Microsoft does recognize this (on some level) and has graciously given us a program/patch to “block” IE8 from automatically installing. The video tutorial here explains how you can easily implement it and then have the option to manually install IE8 when you are ready. Simply go to Microsoft Windows Update and choose the “Custom” updates to select the IE8 installation.  Now, this way, you are in control of your own update(s)… well, at least until Internet Explorer 9….

Please note: If you already have IE8 and you want to remove it from your system, it is very easy to remove and get IE7 back.  All that you need to do is go into your Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs (or just “Programs” if you are using Vista) > Select “Windows Internet Explorer 8″ and then “Remove” it.  A Removal Wizard will come up to remove it off of your system.  After a required system restart you will see the old IE7 icon in your Program list (and also likely on your desktop).

Because IE8 was treated as an “upgrade” to IE7 via the Automatic Updates, the Removal Wizard will just restore your system with the original IE7, so re-installation of IE7 is not necessary.  When you click/open the IE7 icon after removing IE8, it will ask you some preferences for some settings, but otherwise you won’t have to do anything extra to have Internet Explorer 7 restored back to the way it was before all of this began. Then, of course, to keep IE8 from coming back, you should run the IE8 Blocker right away to ensure you don’t have to repeat this process again!

Link to Download: Toolkit To Disable Automatic Delivery of Internet Explorer 8

I would have been happy with just those features, but the software gives you 25 other options to edit the captured image, ranging from rotating to filtering the image with different photo-effects.  Here’s some examples of some very quick captures I performed in seconds:

This makes posting a blog with pictures so much faster than before when I had to “right-click and save” an image … and sometimes right-clicking is disabled on some sites, or isn’t convenient if it’s an icon on your desktop or a certain section of the page which is not a copyable image.  This is great software for making quick tutorials and instructional slides as well.

A more full-featured software like TechSmith’s SnagIt costs $50 – $70, but to have this for free is a great addition to any users collection of software.

Well, it took them 2 years, but they finally did it! The newest iPhone 3GS finally has the long-awaited video camera. The quality is surprisingly good although it is only 30 frames per second at 640-by-480 resolution. There are built-in video editing features (as detailed in the short intro video above).

Apple fans have been wondering why a company built on the reputation of “the best graphics” has taken so long to offer video for their ultra-popular phone. It might have been a priority issue for the amount of hardware that they wanted to fit into the first 2 designs. Some even said they needed to hold back to offer it down the road and make the next-generation iphone “worth” the hype when they finally released it.

I am personally very happy with my iphone 3G and don’t plan on upgrading it anytime soon. Thankfully I now have “cut/copy/paste” and “search” available! Without those, I might have considered the 3GS, but I think iPhone understands that it’s consumer’s would have rioted if they held those features back to only be offered on the 3GS! So, for now, I’m very pleased with the 3G.

The newest iPhone 3GS has been released!

The Fastest iPhone Ever

The first thing you’ll notice about iPhone 3G S is how quickly you can launch applications. Web pages render in a fraction of the time, and you can view email attachments faster. Improved performance and updated 3D graphics deliver an incredible gaming experience, too. In fact, everything you do on iPhone 3G S is up to 2x faster and more responsive than iPhone 3GS - Apple.com