This post originally appeared on the American Express OPEN Forum, where Mashable regularly contributes articles about leveraging social media and technology in small business.

The Internet is a black hole of procrastination. It’s a rare occasion when we open up our web browsers and just do work without checking Facebook or getting sucked intoYouTube.

Not only is it possible to get work done, but your web browser can actually help you be more productive. If you use Mozilla’s Firefox, you’re in even more luck since we’ve compiled this list of five Firefox add-ons to boost your work flow efficiency.

Take a look and let us know which add-ons you use to stay productive.

1. The Multi-Tasker: Tab Mix Plus

 

If you use Firefox, you’ve learned to love tabs, but it’s far too easy to get over-zealous and end up with an unrecognizable clutter up there. Tab Mix Plus will help you wrangle your tabs including sorting options, the ability to undo closed tabs and it even come with a session manager to help you multitask like a pro. Besides, more than one million users can’t be wrong.

2. The Formatter: Print Edit

 

Print Edit is one heck of a hack if you know how to use it. The main purpose of the add-on is to help you format any webpage for printing. From the edit mode, you can add and remove elements from a page — like, say, banner ads or search bars — for a cleaner printed page. The add-on, however, can also give you detailed information on the make up of a website. “Inspecting” individual elements will bring up their properties in CSS. For example, did you know that the width on the “I’m Feeling Lucky” button on Google is 102px wide, in bold font with a background color of #f8f8f8?

It’s a fun and quick hack for discovering how elements on a site are created.

3. The Forgetter: ReminderFox

 

Keep forgetting birthdays? Meetings? What you need to do next Thursday? ReminderFox is a simply add-on that acts like a digital to-do list and calendar permanently attached to your browser. It’s not a revolutionary idea, but it’s one that could save you from missing that important business appointment.

4. The Power Shopper: PriceBlink

If you’ve shopped online for anything recently, you know that prices can vary drastically between websites. An espresso machine on Amazon could be $50 cheaper on eBay. PriceBlink aims to streamline your comparison shopping by automatically searching for the same product across dozens of sites and alerting you when it’s available somewhere else for cheaper. The add-on also has alerts for coupons and deals on any website you visit to help you get the most bang for your buck whether you need to buy a last-minute gift or supplies for your office.

5. The Socializer: Yoono

 

If your “work” also means staying up to date with your social profile, than Yoono is a good in-browser option, especially if you want to stay connected without leaving Hootsuite or Tweetdeck open all day. Yoono syncs up with Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, chat services and more with a discrete little vertical and/or horizontal bar. The add-on will scroll updates from your connected networks and allows you to publish and post text, image and video at the same time.

Image courtesy of Flickr, Jacob Davies

(Photo via Mercola.com)

Have you ever had the experience where you’re so frustrated with trying to get your thoughts down that you don’t write anything down at all?  You say to yourself, “This will never capture what I’m really thinking.  It’s just so hard to use.”

On the flip side, have you ever used a program or tool that’s been so easy to use that it’s actually hilariously fun and amusing to do empty your head into it?  (Enough that you look forward to doing it?)

Mindnode Pro is one of those simple, easy to use mind mapping programs that shows how small time programmers like Markus Muller (and friends) can and will do incredible work to help you empty your head.  And it truly brings value to you unlike many similar programs I can think of on the market.

The Good

There are a lot of great things that Mindnode and it’s Pro version can do.  Let’s take a look at a few of them.

1.  Automatic Saving

It’s wonderful to know that you don’t have to waste time hitting save for your mind map constantly.  Saving is automatic, you don’t have to think about it.  That means there’s less stress when something (perish the thought) crashes for some reason.  (This is the iPad version though)

2.  Easy to Use

This is especially true for the iPad version though it applies to its Mac version too.  Few other mind mapping programs are decent looking and easy enough to use.  Mindjet Mindmanager for the iPhone/iPad could definitely take a few pointers on design (even its computer version too now that I think of it).

On the iPad the pinch and zoom capability makes mind mapping one of the most pleasurable and fun activities for the tablet (pinch and zoom is available on the Mac trackpad).  Mindnode is particularly well suited to the iPad tablet.

3.  Easy Syncing

Sharing your mind maps between computers can be a real pain in the back side.  Mindnode Pro is the easiest on by far in terms of sharing mind maps.  Mindnode Pro does OPML format (outlining program markup language – thank god!) making it easy to turn outlines from Omnioutliner into mind maps and vice versa.  If you want a bad example of mind map sharing, try the clunky setup from Mindjet Mindmanager.

4.  Instant Tidy Up (Re-Organization)

I’m glad to see that the “Re-organize Nodes” command moved to a menu that makes more sense — the Information menu instead of the Export menu.  Alas, Markus, my brain and finger are trained to clicking Export so it will take some adjustment.  It is wonderful to have the feature because it makes the mess of mind mapping readable after 2 hours of doing it.

5.  Find the Right Mind Maps Fast

As of version 1.5.3, Markus and friends added a search function to the mind map listing.  That’s fantastic because it makes finding mind maps much easier.  This is especially handy if you’re a writer, researcher blogger who has as many as 6 drafts of a single project on the iPad or computer.

The ability to find the latest draft fast and quickly is important (you’d hate to miss an important point buried in a new draft because you couldn’t find it).

The Bad

These are things about Mindnode Pro that could be improved to make it even better.  None of these are exceptionally terrible flaws — they just leave something to aim for later on.

6.  More Wireless Keyboard Control

More integration and control with the bluetooth wireless keyboards could be handy for the mind mapping program.  Right now you can cut and paste text inside of bubbles on the map — doing that for the bubble itself is impossible.  In addition:

• Hot keys for fast or useful actions like “Re-Organize Nodes” would be handy.
• Allow the wireless keyboard to do the Delete command would be useful.
• The Copy command would be really useful (for entire bubbles not just text).

7.  Making Smart Layout the Standard

Smart Layout automatically organizes your thoughts as you type them out so it always looks neat and tidy.  It’s available only on the Mac computer version of Mindnode Pro.  In fact you can set it to the default for all new mind maps in the program (in the latest version).

On the iPad, you can only wait for the default Smart Layout option to appear.  As you read already, you have to hit the “Re-organize Nodes” command in the Information menu to tidy things up.

8.  Moving Thoughts Between Mind Maps

The ability to move the nodes between different mind maps would be a huge advantage especially if a thought might work in 2 different projects you’re working on.  Combine this with wireless keyboard commands (cut and paste) and improvements and this could be quite easy.

9.  Syncing Could Be Taken Up One More Notch

The syncing on Mindnode between the iPad and the Mac are the best I’ve seen so far.  Still if its sync abilities were more like 1Password’s automatic sync that’d make it gold.

With 1Password, passwords are automatically synced between its database on the Mac and the iPad (i.e. they’re made the same and backed up) the moment they find each other on the Wifi network.

If Mindnode Pro could automatically backup mind maps on the iPad to a folder in Documents for example the moment the iPad and Mac detect each other (and the programs are open) that’d be fantastic.

Of course that may require extra encryption setup before hand.

The Ugly

With Mindnode nothing is really that ugly.  You could call these the last 2 particularly noteworthy issues to fix so that Mindnode would be better than shoe shined platinum.

10.  The Wireless Keyboard Glitch

The only issue that keeps popping up is that if you’re using a wireless keyboard and you activate the built in keyboard (by accident) you can’t get rid of the built in keyboard unless you restart the whole iPad.

It’s quite annoying because the keyboard steals half the screen.

Another way to deal with it is to disable the wireless keyboard’s ability to activate the onscreen keyboard

11.  The Folding Nodes – Seeing Only What You Need and No More

The Mac version on the computer already has this option.  The iPad version is still missing it.  With Re-Organize Nodes command it makes this missing feature less painful on the iPad.  The only thing that would be interesting would be to have Expand/Collapse All Nodes work for subsections of the map by clicking on the parent of that section.

In a few short months since the iPad came onto the scene this year, Mindnode as a Mac and iPad application has come a long way.  It’s ahead of Mindjet Mindmanager by a far margin and blows the rest of the competition out of the water (as far as I’m concerned).  Congratulate Markus for an exceptional tool that will help you clear the mind, organize your thoughts and write better — every post I write starts (and is nearly finished) in Mindnode Pro — it’s just that good a program.

PS.  Have anything else you’d like to see in a mind mapping program?  Drop a line through email or in the comments below.

PPS.  Markus – “Small is beautiful.”  And maybe “Please don’t ever go big.” (unless you really have to)

As many of you may know I recently built a new computer and had a few hiccups.  Most of the hiccups were due to it being my first attempt at building a machine, but one of the problems was a faulty power supply.  I procrastinated past my Newegg 30 day return policy and was left to deal with the manufacturer, which happened to be Sigma Products.

I notified them of my problem and was expecting your everyday run of the mill customer service.  Boy was I wrong.  Here is a copy of the help document they sent me…unedited mind you.  I found it hilarious.

Power supply self-test.

Turn off your power supply.

Unplug all of connectors from your mobo & derives. Find a piece of metal paper clip, straight it up.

You can find a green wire on your 20 pin main power code (see picture), next to the green wire is black wire on each side. Insert your metal paper clip one end to green wire, the other end to either black wire. Then turn on your power supply to check if the power fan is spinning.

If the fan isn’t spinning, please, either return defective unit to where you purchased from or send e mail to  rma@sigmaproduct.com to request RMA #, in order to process return defective power unit.  If the power fan spins which power is good, please, check your rest of parts.

That’s right, they wanted me to jerry rig the power supply to test it. I know that this is a pretty standard self test method, but I couldn’t help but think that if the Sigma legal team saw this email they would blow a gasket. Also, the email reads like a 14 year old wrote it.

The icing on the cake was the return itself. After I shipped it to them they sent me a new one in the exact same shipping box, with the exact same packing bubbles. They even went as far as to rip off the 6 priority mail labels that I put on the box, so they could send it back to me UPS. What can I say though, they got me a new one, quickly, free of charge, but I can’t help but think that their RMA department is a just monkey with a box cutter.

The Royal Society has suggested ways the government can overhaul information and communications technology (ICT) teaching in schools.

It follows promises from Education Secretary Michael Gove to scrap the way the subject is taught currently.

The body, which oversees UK sciences, recommends dividing computing into distinct subjects such as computer science and digital literacy.

It said the government must do more to recruit specialist ICT teachers.

Poorly conceived

The report was led by Prof Steve Furber, the designer of the BBC Micro, widely acknowledged as one of the first educational computers.

He was commissioned to investigate why there has been a chronic decline in the numbers of students studying ICT and computing.

The publication of his report is timely, following just days after Mr Gove’s speech to educationalists in which he said current ICT lessons were “demotivating and dull”.

Mr Gove pledged that, from September the government will introduce a flexible curriculum in computer science and programming, designed with the help of universities and industry.

Prof Furber said something had to be done to halt the decline in those wanting to learn computing skills: “The UK has a proud history of leading the way in the field of computer science and associated disciplines, from the development of the world’s first stored-program computers to more recent innovations such as the invention of the world wide web.

“However, from this bright start, we are now watching the enthusiasm of the next generation waste away through poorly conceived courses and syllabuses.

“If we cannot address the problem of how to educate our young people in inspirational and appropriate ways, we risk a future workforce that is totally unskilled and unsuited to tomorrow’s job market,” he said.

The aspiration, said Prof Furber, was to allow all children with an interest in computing to gain experience of programming and robotics, from basic computer languages in primary schools to web-based systems for those in senior school.

The report also highlighted the lack of specialist ICT teachers. According to government statistics only 35% of ICT teachers are specialists, compared to more than 80% for core subjects such as maths and English.

The government should set new target levels for specialist teachers, the report said.

It urged computer science to be treated as a “rigorous subject”, in the same way that mathematics and physics were.

Meanwhile digital literacy needs to be put on a par with reading and writing, it said.

Although there is no formal announcement made about configuration of this new MacBook Airs according to our reliable source it include Intel’s latest microprocessors, updated Intel integrated graphics, and of course the Thunderbolt technology which is an Intel interface for super high-speed data transfer with speeds of up to 10 gbps.  According to Intel using Thunderbolt you can transfer full-length high-definition movies in half a minute and backup enough music to play continuously for 365 days in just over few minutes.

Cloud technology is quickly gaining favor in the personal and business technology arena, because of ease of use to seamlessly store information on multiple devices for little, and in some case, no cost. But like all new technology, there is a risk that comes from storing information in the cloud, especially for small business owners.

Brian McGinley, senior vice president of data risk management for Identity Theft 911, said the risks presented by storing data in the cloud are not defined in black and white because the technology is still developing.

“Not all clouds are created equal,” McGinley said. “You will find some toe-dipping initially until security issues are weeded out.”

While the potential for cloud computing is rapidly growing,  McGinley warned users need to proceed with caution and be willing to assume responsibility for security blips when they arise.

“Companies that are using, or are planning on using the cloud, need to understand that they can transfer information [to the cloud], but they can’t transfer the responsibility of protecting that information,” he said. “They need to do their due diligence and see what security practices are in place with individual cloud providers, and what their liability is in the event of a breach.”

Samara Lynn, lead analyst of Business and Networking at PC Magazine, said cloud computing offers many benefits for small business owners, including major cost savings. Programs like DropBox and Microsoft Office 365 can be used for between $5 and $10 per user, per month.

“You don’t have to buy hardware and can have people manage it locally,” Lynn said. “The big standout is the cost effectiveness of moving to the cloud.”

Centralized data management is another perk for cloud users, she said, as opposed to having different systems scattered in a data center. Users can also easily add more storage space when necessary.

Small business owners can also control who accesses what material in the cloud, Lynn said, offering an added layer of data protection.

“A lot of cloud-service providers have access control levels, where you can determine who has access to what;  you have quite a bit of management flexibility,” she said.

But not all information belongs in the cloud. Putting sensitive information on the cloud can be risky, and can be a major blow to a small business if breached.

Here’s what McGinley and Lynn suggest small business owners should, and shouldn’t store in the cloud.

Email: YES. Lynn said anything that is commoditized, like email, is safe to store in the cloud. “You can really get it from anywhere, and it’s a great platform for the cloud.”

Personally Identifiable Data: NO

McGinley said storing any type of personal information for yourself or your customers in the cloud would be a mistake. Anything with date of birth, Social Security number, passport numbers should not be kept in the cloud.

“Cloud providers are no less bulletproof than any other industry,” he said. “It’s the extension of trust. You have to understand contractually what minimum security practices will be required, and what notification processes there are in place if a breach occurs.”

Litigation strategies, Medical Files, Tax Information: NO.

Any information that is dealing with potential litigation, or confidential legal files, shouldn’t be stored in the cloud, McGinley said.

“If you want to do this, you should consider a strong encryption protocol.”

Lynn added that anything that must be HIPPA, SOX or FIPs compliant, shouldn’t be stored in the cloud because the technology isn’t yet required to meet these standards.

“A lot of services are compliant,” she said. “It’s up to the (small businesses) to use their service to make sure the data meets those requirements.”

Basic Data Files: YES.

Storing things like group project files or Word documents in the cloud can actually make life easier for small business owners. “This means you can access them from anywhere, anytime,” Lynn said. “Any sort of collaboration system, like a service where you could upload files and share them with employees are ideal for the cloud.”

Mission-Critical Information: NO.

Information that is central to allowing your business to run every day should not be stored solely in the cloud, Lynn advises. This can directly impact your revenue if the system were to go down, even if a breach doesn’t occur.

“We see services go down every day.”

LAS VEGAS — For the first time this week at CES, Sony is showing off its Crystal LCD TV, a 55-inch display that works in a different way from conventional HDTVs — but with noticeably better video quality.

The display has about 6 million tiny LEDs, making up the full HD image. It’s called a self-emitting display because instead of liquid crystal dots being illuminated by a backlight as they are in conventional LCD HDTVs, this display creates its image with 6 million microscopic points of light directly shining from the front of the display. This results in an exceptionally bright and vivid image.

In its Future Technology section at CES 2012, Sony placed the display next to a conventional LCD HDTV. It was immediately obvious that even though the Crystal LCD TV’s resolution was no higher than the LCD display next to it, it looked noticeably better. Its colors seemed more intense, and slow motion sequences movements looked significantly smoother.

On the other hand, the bezel — the frame around the video screen itself — was much bigger than that of the conventional LCD display. That’s in contrast to many of the newest HDTVs we’ve seen here, with bezels that are almost invisible.

In his keynote speech to the press on Monday, Sony CEO Sir Howard Stringer boasted: “Your eyes will pop, your mouths will water, and you’ll tell your friends: I have seen the future — and it’s a Sony.” It didn’t exactly make our eyes pop, but the screen’s color and sharpness matched that of the new OLED screens we’ve seen so far here in Las Vegas.

Sony’s presenting it as a demo unit for now. We are wondering if that wider bezel is a necessary byproduct of the complicated technology necessary to build this kind of television.

Here’s Sony’s LCD TV Product Manager Arturo Jordan explaining how the technology works, and answering the most pressing question we had: When can we get one?

The sensor is a 1.5-inch, 14.3-megapixel CMOS design, larger than a micro four-thirds, though smaller than the APS-C sensors found in Canon DSLRs. The G1 X has some pro-level features, like being able to shoot in RAW format and an ISO that can go up to 12,800. Of course, it also shoots HD video (up to 1080p), and it has a 4X optical zoom. The fold-out LCD is really useful in composing hard-to-get shots.

The G1 X is potentially ideal for two different kinds of photographers. First, it’s a good “companion” camera for a pro, since it provides something something easy to grab for casual shooting, but can still capture photos ordinary point-and-shoots can’t get (such as low-light pics). It’s also a good choice for shutterbugs who want to step up from everyday point-and-shoots but don’t want the hassle of owning a full DSLR.

In our brief hands-on with the G1 X, we were impressed with how good it felt to hold. It’s definitely nice and compact — you wouldn’t worry about losing or breaking it like you might with something larger.

At the same time, its performance is clearly miles ahead of other point-and-shoots; taking some relatively close photos of subjects with the flash, the G1 X took pains to ensure their faces weren’t overexposed. Of course, for $800 (very steep for a point-and-shoot), it needs to really deliver the goods, and it does.

The other two PowerShots are the ELPH 520 ($300) and the ELPH 110 ($250), both more compact models. Canon says the 520 is the world’s thinnest point-and-shoot with 12X optical zoom. It has a 10.1MP sensor and a burst mode that can snap 6.8 frames per second (fps). The 110 has a 5X optical zoom and a 16MP sensor, though its burst mode is slightly less nimble, at 5.8 fps. Both models have ISO that goes up to 3,200 and can shoot 1080p video.

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All three boast improved DIGIC 5 image-processing technology (last year’s models had DIGIC 4), which helps with faster burst shooting and improves white balance for video capture. There’s also the new Face ID feature, which lets you assign names to specific faces and prioritize them for focus. So next time you’re taking photos of Timmy’s whole hockey team, you’ll be able to make sure he’s in focus, no matter how many kids there are in the shot.

The Canon G1 X and ELPH 110 go on sale in February, and the 520 follows in March. The ELPH 110 and 520 come in multiple colors, viewable in the gallery below.

What do you think of Canon’s offerings? Are you excited about the G1 X? And is it worth $800? Sound off in the comments.

Google’s video publishing powerhouse YouTube recently unveiled a major upgrade to its video analytics predecessor YouTube Insight. The new system, YouTube Analytics, features a much-improved dashboard that’s easy to navigate and understand.

Beyond aesthetics, YouTube Analytics also includes a cache of new tools that allows you to have a deeper understanding of who’s watching your videos, what viewer demographic associations are and which topics viewers watch most. Here’s a look at some of the most useful features that can help you tailor your business videos and offer a more engaging video channel:

Detailed viewer data: Among the new features is the ability to split off viewer data from engagement data and drill into each of these categories to generate insights into viewer “Likes” and “Dislikes” across all videos in your channel.

Related: Three Tips for Using Public Wi-Fi Safely

In addition to providing viewer stats, demographics and abandonment rates, the new program comes with data on how users are accessing content and which channels deliver the most engaged viewers. It also offers a host of engagement metrics that can help video owners understand the social side of their viewer data — specifically, what viewers think about each of the videos in your channel. This can help you decide which videos to promote, which new videos to create and what content to scrap.

Related: Seven Tips for Marketing a Business with Video

Audience retention reports: For each video in your channel, you’re now able to see exactly where viewers start to lose interest in your videos. With this information, you can learn more about the attention span of your audience, as well as what specific types of content they prefer.

How to use the data: Ask yourself the following questions to get a feel for how to use the information found in the new Youtube Analytics program to make decisions about your current and future business video choices:

1. Take a look at your Top 10 Videos, as displayed in the new Youtube Analytics dashboard. Do you notice any trends throughout these videos? Do they cover similar topics or run about the same length? Extrapolating from this information should give you a good idea of what type of video to launch next.

2. Next, look at your top Traffic Sources. Which sites send you the most visitors? Can you use the other tools within the Youtube Analytics dashboard to learn more about the visitors from each source? Even if you have one source that sends the bulk of your traffic, keep an eye out for other sources that send highly engaged visitors and beef up your promotional efforts on these sites.

3. Finally, look at your Audience Retention reports. How long, on average, are viewers sticking around during and after your videos? If they aren’t making it through your content or seem to lose interest quickly, get a handle on what they’re looking for to provide future video content that’s more engaging.

Some 290 million Americans, in 114.7 million households, own at least one TV. Compare that with 234 million cellphone owners, 211 million Americans who are online, and the 116 million (ages 13 and up) who surf the mobile web.

A recent Nielsen report examines media consumption in the U.S., through TVs, the Internet and mobile phones.

Internet users have nearly caught up with mobile users, with 234 million consumers and 211 million consumers respectively.

Nearly one-third (35.9 million) of TV-owning households have four or more televisions. Just 17.5 million households have exactly one television, the least popular number of sets among all TV-owning households.

Are you surprised by how much TV ownership continues to outpace Internet use? Let us know in the comments.