Feature Info

Have you ever wondered if the site you’re visiting is powered by WordPress or if the webapp you’re using is powered by Ruby on Rails? With these extensions for Google Chrome, you’ll never have to wonder again.

Geeks love digging under the hood to see what makes their favorite apps and sites tick. But opening the “View Source” window today doesn’t tell you everything there is to know about a website. Plus, even if you can tell what CMS is powering a website from its source, it can be tedious to dig through lines of code to find what you’re looking for. Also, the HTML code never tells you what web server a site is running on or what version of PHP it’s using.

With three extensions for Google Chrome you’ll never have to wonder again. Note that some sites may not give as much information, but still, you’ll find enough data from most sites to be interesting.

Discover Web Frameworks and Javascript Libraries with Chrome Sniffer

If you want to know what CMS is powering a site or if it’s using Google Analytics or Quantcast, this is the extension for you. Chrome Sniffer (link below) identifies over 40 different frameworks, and is constantly adding more. It shows the logo of the main framework on the site on the left of your address bar. Here wee see Chrome Sniffer noticed that How-To Geek is powered by WordPress.

Click the logo to see other frameworks on the site. We can see that the site also has Google Analytics and Quantcast. If you want more information about the framework, click on its logo and the framework’s homepage will open in a new tab.

As another example, we can see that the Tumblr Staff blog is powered by Tumblr (of course),

the Discus comment system, Quantcast, and the Prototype JavaScript framework.

Or here’s a site that’s powered by Drupal, Google Analytics, Mollom spam protection, and jQuery. Chrome Sniffer definitely uncovers a lot of neat stuff, so if you’re into web frameworks you’re sure to enjoy this extension.

Find Out What Web Server The Site is Running On

Want to know whether the site you’re looking at is running on IIS or Appache? The Web Server Notifier extension for Chrome (link below) lets you easily recognize the web server a site is running on by its favicon on the right of the address bar. Click the icon to see more information.

Some web servers will show you a lot of information about their server, including version, operating system, PHP version, OpenSSL version, and more.

Others will simply tell you their name.

If the site is powered by IIS, you can usually tell the version of Windows Server its running on since the IIS versions are specific to a version of Windows. Here we see that Microsoft.com is running on the latest and greatest – Windows Server 2008 R2 with IIS 7.5.

Discover Web Technologies Powering Sites

Wondering if a webapp is powered by Ruby on Rails or ASP.NET? The Web Technology Notifier extension for Chrome (link below), from the same developer as the Web Server Notifier, will let you easily discover the backend of a site. You’ll see the technology’s favicon on the right of your address bar, and, as with the other extension, can get more information by clicking the icon.

Here we can see that Backpack from 37signals is powered by the Phusion Passenger module to run Ruby on Rails.

Microsoft’s new Docs.com Office Online apps is powered by ASP.NET…

And How-To Geek has PHP running to power WordPress.

Conclusion

With all these tools at hand, you can find out a lot about your favorite sites. For example, with all three extensions we can see that How-To Geek runs on WordPress with PHP, uses Google Analytics and Quantcast, and is served by the LightSpeed web server. Fun info, huh?

Although still early in the process, newly leaked documents about Windows 8 offer some keen insight into where Microsoft wants to head with the next version of the operating system.

One thing that is made abundantly clear is that Microsoft has been paying attention to Apple. In the documents, which appear to come from an April meeting with computer makers, Microsoft discusses its Cupertino, Calif.-based rival and outlines plans to offer a Windows Store similar to the way Apple distributes software on its
iPhone. The documents, which Microsoft has declined to comment on or authenticate, also talk about plans to give Windows a more
iPad-like response time through new power management settings.

Among the Windows 8 details outlined in a leaked presentation are plans for a Windows Store, where consumers could go to directly buy PC software.(Credit: Courtesy of Microsoft Kitchen)

In particular, one slide titled "How Apple Does It: A Virtuous Cycle," talks about the need for simplicity in design. "Apple brand is known for high quality, uncomplicated, 'it just works,'" the slide says, adding that "This is something people will pay for!"

Other slides don't directly reference Apple, but talk about the need for a number of features popularized by its products, including the App Store, as well as a more instant-on feel.

Although Windows has continued to dominate the PC market, still holding roughly 95 percent of global market share, it faces a significant threat from mobile operating systems looking to encroach on the low end of the computer market, including the iPad and Android-based devices.

Hewlett-Packard, which originally talked about plans for a
Windows 7-based slate PC in January, now refuses to say whether it will build that product and has since announced plans to buy Palm in a deal expected to close shortly. Microsoft has been working on tablets for nearly a decade and, as early as 2005, outlined the hardware trends that would enable a device like the iPad. Thus far, however, only Apple has been able to create a hit with consumers.

Among the goals outlined for Windows 8 are some features that would appear to be aimed at making Windows more competitive in this market, including improved simplicity, better support of touch and gestures, as well as support for smaller-size screens.

Microsoft's Windows 8 game plan (images)

To achieve quicker boot-up, Microsoft is looking at several things, including a new combination of logging off and hibernating a machine that would offer a faster boot-up than a full restart. That combination would become the default on-off behavior, though just what to name the setting is still a question mark, according to the documents. The company is also looking to resume from sleep in less than a second, according to the documents.

"Windows 8 PCs turn on fast, nearly instantly in some cases, and are ready to work without any long or unexpected delays," reads one of dozens of slides posted to enthusiast site Microsoft Kitchen, among other places.

Of course, the goal of instant-on PCs is a long held, but as yet unrealized aspiration. Microsoft significantly improved its boot-up, resume, and shut-down times with Windows 7, but they all pale when compared to the nearly instantaneous response one gets from a mobile device such as the iPhone or iPad.

As for the store, Microsoft apparently plans to let each computer maker brand the store under their own name. Among the benefits to consumers would be the ability to access those applications on any PC they own. It is also outlined as an opportunity for partners to make money after the PC sale, though it is described as "revenue neutral" for Windows, suggesting that perhaps Microsoft is not planning to take a cut of sales.

One slide suggests that, in an earlier forum with hardware makers, Microsoft heard that such a store is seen as needed as soon as possible, though this is clearly a tricky undertaking with Microsoft having to balance the needs of software creators, consumers, partners, resellers, and the PC makers--not to mention Microsoft itself.

The slides also offer up a time frame for Internet Explorer 9, suggesting a beta of the new browser is expected by August. Microsoft has had developer platform previews of IE9, but those have lacked a significant user interface and other features. The beta, according to the slides, will be the "first release of full IE functionality."

When Walt Disney Co debuts its ESPN 3-D channel for World Cup coverage, the split-second cutaways and bold graphics that ESPN has become known for will be replaced by scenic panoramics and wide-angle player shots.

“You’ll see a different-looking story,” Chuck Pagano, ESPN vice president of technology, said in an interview. “We aren’t going as fast or with as many graphics. 3-D is a different viewing experience.”

Producing the in-your-face technology has proven to be a learning experience for the crew at ESPN. When testing 3-D camera shots at an Ohio State-University of Southern California football game in September, ESPN found it couldn’t track the action as well as with high-definition cameras because the ball moved too fast for the mounted 3-D cameras to capture without jarring the viewer. Also, some graphics shown in early 3-D testing proved visually overwhelming, so they were cut back.

Unlike filming in high-definition, capturing action on 3-D requires two high-definition cameras tied together on a mount. One camera shoots the image for the right eye, the other for the left. The signals from both cameras are fed from the live event for production, and then pushed to pay-TV distributors, where the signals are eventually merged together by a 3-D TV set.

Comcast Corp, DirecTV and AT&T Inc. have signed deals to carry ESPN’s 3-D channel in the U.S. Only customers with 3-D capable television sets will be able to take advantage of the programming. About 2.5 million U.S. homes will have such sets by the end of this year, according to U.K.-based research firm FutureSource Consulting.

Higher costs
For the World Cup, soccer’s governing body FIFA is producing the 3-D footage. The filmed action will be sent about 8,000 miles from South Africa to ESPN’s headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut, via a fiber-optic line under the Atlantic Ocean, and then transmitted from Bristol to viewers’ homes on the same video stream as high-definition feeds. A 3-D video stream consumes about the same bandwidth in a cable pipe as a high- definition feed.

Sony Corp., which is an official sponsor of the World Cup and partner with ESPN 3-D, will be supplying cameras to film the 3-D sports coverage. Sony has developed a specialized 3-D image processing device, the MPE-200, that will help correct any image differences between the two cameras, for example if one camera zooms out faster than the other, creating distortion.

Production costs for 3-D events are higher than the average telecast. Live 3-D broadcasts require ESPN to use a separate production truck and more cameras, Pagano said. Although he said filming in 3-D was more expensive, Pagano declined to specify how much, saying the charge was “incremental.”

“We’re still learning,” Pagano said. “3-D started as a science experiment and it still is a science experiment. We’re setting the protocols and methodologies for filming as we go along in our journey.

“They are more than an underwear to me, Mr. Farkus,” said George Constanza. “Two cups in the front, two loops in the back. How do they do it?”

Indeed, a bra is a paradox among paradoxes. It fits a woman so snugly and supports her bosom so well, yet for some men remains so impossibly difficult to remove. It may perhaps be the number one reason why quick-thinking but clumsy-fingered men never score.

Looking to permanently ameliorate this pesky situation is a shopping mall in China that just launched a bra-removing contest. Read on and pay attention, fellow nerds!

Our story begins at the Guangzhou mall in Guangzhou city, China. Earlier this month, officials at the shopping center staged a bra-removing contest in which participants were charged with removing eight bras in under 60 seconds. Whoever could manage the task was awarded with a 1,000 yuan ($146.50) voucher to spend as he or she chose.

During the contest, eight scantily clad ladies sporting a bra, face mask, and short-shorts stood in line on stage as competitors rushed by them quickly removing their bras. The catch was that that they had to do it with only one hand.

According to the Mumbai Mirror news agency, most crowd members clapped and cheered in jubilation. However, one uptight fart complained: “This must have been the brainwave of a dirty old man. Why would anyone want to take part in such a degrading spectacle?”

A shopping mall spokesman defended the competition, saying, “The workings of a woman’s bra are a mystery for many men. This activity helped more people understand bra culture and explore its secrets.” I suppose that knowledge is indeed power!

The irony is that it was in fact a woman who came out on top by undoing all eight bras in just 21 seconds. During an interview with Fox Chicago, she said, “I didn’t expect to win; maybe it was because I get so much practice in my everyday life.”

Remember fellas—practice makes perfect. So go buy a bra, put it on IN PRIVATE and get to undoing it over and over and over again. It’s embarrassing, but it may be your last chance to master the art of quickly undoing a bra—lest you’re cast out of the world of male-to-female copulation forever!