Ahmadism

Google-Specific Greasemonkey Scripts

2010-07-20T07:11:00.000-05:00

It's been a while since I wrote about one of my favorite Firefox extensions: Greasemonkey. In today's article, I wanted to show how the scripts run via Greasemonkey could enhance one of the sites that most us visit & use on a daily basis: Google!

Multi-Column Google Search Results

This can be incredibly useful on wider monitors. It's configurable to 1, 2 or 3 columns.

Google FX

A plethora of options of improvements for Google like Autopager, Sidebars, MultiLanguage Suggest, ThumbShots, Image Preview, Toolbars, Filters & much more - Fully Customizable - includes 8 Theme Colors with Iconization.

Google Book Downloader

Download any book from books.google.com. I must admit, I've not used this one, but it sounds intriguing.

Google Secure Pro

I love this one. Although I have some extensions that cover some of this, none cover this many. Basically, it forces Google products to use (https) secure connection . Also compatible with Opera 9+. Supported: Gmail, Calendar, Docs, Reader, History, Bookmarks, Groups, Knol, Notebook, Webmasters, Voice, Contacts.

Google Enhanced Black

This Black Google script enhances all Google service pages with an inverted color-scheme for reduced eye fatigue; it also removes ads & clutter and improves page layout and readability by widening search results.

There are others out there, and MakeUseOf captures some of them in two articles I hope you enjoy as much as I did:
9 Greasemonkey Scripts For More Productive Google Search
5 Useful Greasemonkey Scripts To Enhance Google Calendar

With the so many Greasemonkey scripts out there, I'm sure there are a few that I don't know about. Should you come across any, please don't hesitate to share them with us in the comments. ▣
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Must-Have Firefox Extensions & Add-Ons

2010-03-09T21:59:00.002-06:00

Provided by TechnologyNomad.com

If you're a Firefox user, then you already know that one of the things that make this open-source browser so popular is its extensibility --the big galaxy of useful extensions you can use with it. I for one, have a couple of add-ons/extensions/plug-ins that I simply cannot continue online without. I'll even go out on a limb and say that Firefox's extensibility is the reason the browser has become my very desktop. But what are those browser extensions that turn Firefox from a regular browser to a down-right necessity?

Let's think of this in a different manner. When you buy a new computer, or you land a new job or whatever it is that presents you with the opportunity to start fresh, what are the first things you do?

You see for me, the first thing I do is jump on the native browser that came with the machine and go download Firefox. And I won't go into what other applications I download and/or seek; but for Firefox itself, I immediately start looking for the following core extensions:

It's worth noting that I'm using "extensions" to include add-ons, plug-ins and extensions (of course).

Like all extensions & add-ons, if you don't like one you can always uninstall it; which's much cleaner & simpler than uninstalling a full-blown application.

Greasemonkey

God, I can spend all day on this alone.

The Greasemonkey add-on allows users to install scripts that make on-the-fly changes to most HTML-based web pages. Basically, as Greasemonkey scripts are persistent, the changes made to the web pages are executed every time the page is opened, making them effectively permanent for the user running the script.

These scripts do not actually change the web site itself, but it changes the way Firefox interacts with the HTML on a web page to make it act in a way that is more user-friendly and/or befitting of one's needs. This change only occurs in your Firefox browser and only for the current session. It does not change any coding on the server side or to the web site itself. It simply changes how Firefox reads the code on the page and redisplays it to you with the aesthetic and functionality based on the directions/code of the script(s) you have installed. Every time you visit the web site, the script changes the page for you without you noticing it. There is no delay in the changes visible to the naked eye, usually. Some scripts allow you to auto-fill forms. You can even automatically retrieve data from other sites to make two sites act as one ... very mashups-like.

Greasemonkey allows you to stipulate what pages (and sub pages/directories) to run the script of your choice on. And the reverse is also true. Greasemonkey allows you to exclude certain sites/pages as well.

By itself, Greasemonkey does none of these things. In fact, after you install it, you won't notice any change(s) at all, until you start installing what are called "user scripts."

The "Swiss Army Knife" of Firefox extensions may seem like it requires a bit of ramp-up to get going, but it does not. You simply install those "user scripts" without as much as restarting your browser. There are literally thousands already written for you. To install these "user scripts," first you must install the Greasemonkey Firefox extension. Then head out to Userscripts.org and search for a web site or page you'd like to see optimized and in what manner and you're sure to find something.

Like I said, I could write about Greasemonkey alone. The fact is, there are definitely some "user scripts" that I seek out and install under Greasemonkey; but this is not the time or the place for that. I will tell you that you can find some for most popular sites. There are some that modify how Google presents search results, others that modify YouTube, some that add functionality to StumbleUpon, enhance Flickr, etc. What Greasemonkey scripts are amongst the must-haves is truly a personal thing.

Xmarks

Formerly known as Foxmarks, Xmarks syncs all your bookmarks (and bookmarklets of course) across all computers. As a fan and advocate of cloud computing (with some personally-put restrictions), Xmarks simply puts all your bookmarks & bookmarklets into the cloud so you can access them from any other computer connected to the internet. In addition to online backup, Xmarks is available for Firefox, Internet Explorer (IE) and Safari; so if you add a bookmark in one browser, it will automatically become available in your other browsers as well.

Xmarks has many other features that go beyond the scope of this specific post. One worth mentioning, however, is that Xmarks offers profiles allowing you to display certain bookmarks at certain locations (you may not want certain bookmarks, for example, to automatically be shown and/or available at work). For me, this is an absolute must, since bookmarklets I have created cannot become property of the company I work for; or disputed at any point to be so. Should you leave a workplace for which you had a profile location, you simply disable that location in your profile and they're gone once you sync up.

DownThemAll

Ever wanted to download all the articles, images (only GIFs, only JPGs, or both) on a web site but wish that you could grab them all at one time? DownThemAll does just that. DownThemAll is a selective, powerful download manager. It makes short work of snatching all the images on a page (including those links to the "bigger" or "zoom" versions), all the MP3s off a music or podcast blog, or any other kind of filter you can set up.

The only way to elaborate any more on this wonderful add-on is to build a small walk-through of it; which again steers away from the intention here. So ... I encourage you to try it out yourself and go from there. I'm confident you'll like it.

Better Gmail 2

It's no surprise that Gmail has become the web-mail of choice for many of us. However, there are some nuances that many have expressed; including the inability to use folders (as oppose to Gmail's labels). Better Gmail 2 addresses that and many others.

Better Gmail 2 is sure to impress you with what it offers. Amongst its lesser known features is the gem of hiding labels on the message rows. Only on mouse-over do you see the label that the message was tagged with.

Download Statusbar

Once you start downloading any thing, you're sure going to seek a much better tool than the one native to Firefox. When you are dealing with multiple downloads, it’s easy to get confused and lose track of your files. Sure, there are lots of download managers out there, but sometimes you want something that’s so discreet you barely even notice it. Is there a tool that will do the job?

Download Statusbar is a Firefox add-on that is very low-key. In fact, when you are not downloading, it is invisible, and when active, it is very, very discreet. Download Statusbar completely integrates Firefox's standard release, so there is nothing to configure before you start to use it. When you download a file, a very small download indicator (the statusbar) will appear at the bottom of your screen. From here you can control the download, pausing and re-starting in one click, running the file once it downloads, copying the URL and visiting the source website.

The Download Statusbar display makes it very easy to see what files you are downloading and how close to completion they are. If you open the add-on’s configuration options, you’ll find that the display and download are completely customizable. There are also a series of hints available on the Download Statusbar website that make your downloading even quicker. Simply put, it is effective, low-maintenance and very simple, and if you are a frequent downloader, it’s a must-have extension.

This, of course, serves a different purpose than DownThemAll (mentioned above), which allows you to download (automatically) several files at once. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I use & highly recommend both, and for different reasons.

Others

Most other extensions, plug-ins and add-ons are usually added later as you come across them. What I mean is that when you visit YouTube you'll quickly learn that you need to install the Flash plug-in; and if you visit an audio site that serves RealAudio files, you'll need to install that plug-in. And so on and so forth.

Without a doubt, there are other Firefox add-ons that I have installed; but they are specific to my needs. For example, I like having a tab-centric application (like Tab Mix Plus), an easier copy (as in copy & paste) solution like AutoCopy, and a few others. There are extensions that cater specifically to Developers, ones that cater to bloggers, and ones that cater specifically to laptop users ... to which I highly recommend FireFound and Meebo. The web-based instant messaging (IM) site offers an extension that especially goes well with portable (run off of a USB drive or something similar) versions of Firefox. Again, I'm sure there are many other extensions out there, but these are the ones I rush to add when I have a fresh copy of Firefox.

As a Firefox user what extensions/add-ons are the ones you rush to add when you have a fresh copy of Firefox? Share those with us in the comments. ▣

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Your Online World After Your Death

2010-02-23T21:47:00.003-06:00

Re-published with permission from TechnologyNomad.com

In today's online World thinking about what happens to one's online accounts, which to many is a big chunk of their World, after their death might be morbid. Perhaps even a tad superstitious and pessimistic. Unfortunately, it's a necessary evil.

Now I wanted to write about the topic, but after doing a bit of research (as I always do for an article) revealed that blog site MakeUseOf covered it, and covered it quite well. According to the article, email services like Hotmail and Gmail allow next of kin to access accounts of deceased individuals as long as the family can provide proof of death. My guess is that anonymous accounts, where incomplete or incorrect information is provided, mean that the accounts get locked over time due to lack of usage. Whereas other services, like MySpace, will simply delete the account upon request. The infamous Facebook will also delete an account if asked, but they also go out of their way and turn the user's page into a memorial one, if the family so wishes. I highly recommend reading the MakeUseOf article as it covers quite a bit.

Another source revealed by a quick search on the topic is TIME. The article covers a perspective that might be of interest to many. Specifically, not wanting your relatives & loved ones in on your digital content. One paragraph from the TIME article (on the 2nd page) puts the whole thing in perspective:

In 2005, relatives of a Marine killed in Iraq requested access to his e‑mail account so they could make a scrapbook. When a judge sided with the family, Yahoo! copied the messages to a CD instead of turning over the account's password. Hotmail now allows family members to order a CD as long as they provide proof that they have power of attorney and a death certificate. Gmail requires the same paperwork, plus a copy of an e‑mail the deceased sent to the petitioner.

If you have nothing to hide, don't mind the contents of your online/digital world being shared or simply don't think that the info. you house in your online accounts will tarnish your legacy, then don't fret. Otherwise, I strongly recommend you make other plans or take up one of the "death management firms" linked in the TIME article. Better yet, if it's that big of a concern, talk to your lawyer about squeezing it in your will.

Personally, I don't have anything to hide (any more). But I'm sure many would rather default on their accounts (due to lack of usage) and have their accounts simply deleted instead of handing over the keys like that. For those, I suggest something like Death Switch.

OK, now I'm curious. How do YOU plan to take care of your online accounts in case of your death? I'm sure there are creative ways and other tools out there. I'm especially interested in FREE ones. Share what you got in the comments. ▣

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Chrome Natively Supports Greasemonkey

2010-02-02T21:15:00.000-06:00

Greasemonkey is a Mozilla Firefox add-on that allows users to install scripts that make on-the-fly changes to most HTML-based web pages. Basically, as Greasemonkey scripts are persistent, the changes made to the web pages are executed every time the page is opened, making them effectively permanent for the user running the script.

The original Greasemonkey developer and Google employee Aaron Boodman announced yesterday that Chrome version 4 and later will support at least 80% of the Greasemonkey scripts out there natively. That is, without any additional tweaking necessary; unlike many of the hacks that existed up until now.

This now gives those who contemplate switching to Google's Chrome a serious re-consider. For me personally, not having Greasemonkey alone was the reason behind my lack of interest in Chrome. Potentially, this now makes available 40,000 plus scripts. Although I've not tried it, I'm under the impression that each of the userscripts one would install is treated like an extension in and of itself.

Have you made the switch to Google's Chrome? If not, will the availability of Greasemonkey scripts lure you in now? Let us know in the comments. ▣

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HTML5: Bridging the Gap Between the Desktop and the Web

2010-01-27T16:28:00.010-06:00

I'm running a day behind in writing this week's articles, but I'm still very excited about several topics to put on display before you every week (on Tip Tuesday). This week I intended on writing about something other than HTML5. However, Google made a move that more or less forced my hand on the topic; so to speak.

Let's start with what HTML5 is.
Lifehacker answers the question with:

HTML5 is a specification for how the web's core language, HTML, should be formatted and utilized to deliver text, images, multimedia, web apps, search forms, and anything else you see in your browser. In some ways, it's mostly a core set of standards that only web developers really need to know. In other ways, it's a major revision to how the web is put together. Not every web site will use it, but those that do will have better support across modern desktop and mobile browsers (that is, everything except Internet Explorer).

While about.com answers it with:

HTML was developed by the W3C until 2004, when members of the HTML working group grew disturbed with the direction the W3C was going with HTML. They felt that the W3C was not paying enough attention to the real-world development needs of the language and focusing too much on XML and XHTML. So they formed a new group called WHATWG (Web Hypertext Application Technology Working Group) devoted to evolving the Web. They started by working on a new specification of HTML - HTML 5.

HTML 5 is a new version of HTML 4.01 and XHTML 1.0 focusing on the needs of Web application developers as well as evolving HTML and addressing issues found in the current specifications.

So what's so fancy about HTML5?
Going into details of the changes would probably exceed both the time and the patience of the average curious user. Instead, I will focus on some of the major changes, and how that will make our online experience better. Ben Galbraith, co-director of developer tools at Mozilla, is in agreement and stated:

HTML 5 features like Canvas, local storage, and Web Workers let us do more in the browser than ever before.

Here are some of changes that are taking place in a more relevant form:

Offline Storage: The easiest way to think of offline storage as something a lot like Google Gears -—you just won't need to install a plug-in to use it. Modern browsers are starting to implement the offline storage feature of HTML5. Not surprisingly, the current model of text-based key & value storage is expected to grow into a universal structured data storage as the standard matures. This would greatly expand the usefulness of web applications, and could render many desktop applications (with time) obsolete.
Drag & Drop: Simply put, this could put an end to the "browse" button to upload a file (like one does when submitting their resume online or uploading a profile picture of themselves). This HTML5 feature will allow the dragging files (mp3 files, documents, etc.) from the browser to one's own local storage (USB drive, Dropbox folder, etc.). Knowing that the Google Chrome OS (not the browser) is already in the works, the drag and drop feature of HTML5 simply bring a browser-based OS much closer to reality. The definitions around drag & drop are unclear, and will likely require JavaScript to work. Nonetheless, its uses are abundant and evident.
Canvas: Simply put, you can programatically (is that a word?) render pictures, charts, graphs, games and whatever else your imagination allows that previously were practical only with third party add ons such as Flash and Silverlight. Having <canvas> as an encapsulated part of HTML gives Web Designers/Artists a freedom, no longer confined to images and boxes, allowing them to use the entire page as an expression of content and design rich interfaces to their hearts' content.
Audtio & Video: The audio & video APIs are massive upgrades in media embedding. Although support is limited right now, something like video embedding has never been easier. Imagine YouTube no longer needing Flash to play videos. Instead, it's inherent within the page. Well, that's exactly what was announced, albeit in beta, a week or so ago.

There's much more to HTML 5 like Geolocation, Web Workers, Smarter Forms, and many others. HTML 5's web application focus is evident in such game-changing tools (although not yet) like Google's Wave. Whether it's structural in with HTML 5's API, reading further on the many beneficial changes is sure to help those technical and not.

Here are a few reading resources:

Offline Web Applications
Offline Application Caching
Steve Smith on Structural Tags in HTML5
Lachlan Hunt’s Preview of HTML5
Elliot Harold on New Elements in HTML5
Bruce Lawson’s HTML5 Form Demo
HTML5 Cheat Sheet A handy printable HTML 5 Cheat Sheet that lists all currently supported tags, their descriptions, their attributes and their support in HTML 4. Released Smashing Magazine.

If you're running an up-to-date version of Firefox, Safari, Chrome, or Opera—or, basically, any regularly updated browser besides Internet Explorer—give these links a shot:

HTML5 Demos: Huge list of capability demonstrations, gracefully compiled by Remy Sharp.
Welcome to Safari: Written entirely with HTML5 and CSS 3.
YouTube in HTML5: No Flash required at all (for Chrome and Safari only, at this point).
Canvas drawing and audioNeat interactive site that shows tweets from folks who are digging on HTML5, with streaming background audio and interactive data pieces.

And here are a couple of videos illustrating HTML 5 and what it can do:

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4FbF8GKChk

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tLBLVtIk3A

You Can Use HTML 5 Right Now.
I say that because HTML 5 has been a working draft for a couple of years and has undergone many revisions --The first draft of HTML 5 appeared on January 22, 2008, and it has been under revision ever since. HTML 5 is mapping our way into the future, but its final draft is not complete yet. One school of thought puts it W3C Candidate Recommendation stage around 2012, some even later. But the important thing to note is that the standard will be, and is being, implemented in stages. Safari, Internet Explorer 8, and Firefox 3.5 have some of the standard already implemented, with more being planned in future releases. Not surprisingly, Microsoft is resisting some of HTML 5's APIs (like <canvas> ... imagine what it would do to Silverlight).

Per smashingmagazine.com:

To effectively use HTML5 right now, we need to be able to control the environment in which it is used. Since support is not as widespread as we’d like it doesn’t make real sense for it to be heavily used unless, of course, we can lock down the usage to certain platforms which have HTML5 support. With Webkit leading the way for HTML5, we can safely focus on devices powered by Webkit.

The 3 hottest mobile devices right now: The Palm Pre, iPhone 3Gs and the new Google Android phone all have browsers that are based off the Webkit rendering engine.

Safari is even leading the way on the mobile HTML5 front; The iPhone (with the latest software upgrade) is the only device I could get to properly render the element. Because these devices are so young and all use the same rendering engine, the likelihood of them pushing a rapid software upgrade is pretty high.

Right now, you can confidently use many of the HTML5 features in iPhone Web app development and mostly likely expect Pre and Android to follow in suit.

This all now brings us to why Google forced my hand in writing about HTML 5. As I'm sure you know, Google Voice was rejected on the iPhone and created a major ripple this last summer (2009) to the point where the FCC was forced to interve. Well, given how Apple's Safari browser on the iPhone in particular is excelling in using HTML5 Google Voice Does An End Run Around Apple And Shows Up In The iPhone’s Browser. Genius! In the words of Borat "high five." ▣

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Safeguard Schools, Religious Institutions and Your Family Online

2010-01-19T20:04:00.005-06:00

There have been a few things that have changed since I last wrote about how to protect your computer and your family. Of course, the applications of this are many. For example, I highly recommend a proactive approach to protect schools, religious institutions, your family (and the family of those you know and care about), etc. The options are very easy and anyone can do one, a combination or all of them.

At the network level, where everyone on your network will be affected (that's a good thing for most), the previously mentioned OpenDNS route is a very good one. Since I've mentioned it, however, I've learned that OpenDNS was responsible for a minimum of 15% impact on my network performance. While the protection is nice, their DNS (a definition was also covered in last year's article) was slowing down all systems using it. This may have just been the case for me, but I did some thorough testing only to be surprised that it was OpenDNS behind my slower connection (both inbound and out). Despite the negative-discovery, I still think that OpenDNS is amongst the top & best option, which allows for maximum customization for the entire network. With the categories they offer, and the option to add domain names via their web interface, OpenDNS makes it easy to protect all internet-accessing machines within your network.

Almost eight months after writing the April article Google offered its own public (and free) DNS. The announcement this last December opened up a whole new option for all of us to use. Despite the lack of customization, Google's Public DNS still offers a lot of security benefits. Albeit, none of those benefits will offer protection against nudity, gambling, pornography, etc. Judging from personal experience, however, I'm very impressed with the speed of the DNS. I'm unable to detect any slowness or impact on my internet connection. On the contrary, it was faster than my ISP's own DNS (is that even possible?). With that speed, and with other options available to protect my network & individual machines from the profane side of the net, Google's public DNS was the right option for; and may be one for you too.

I still highly recommend using a customized hosts file in your Windows machine to help protect against many of the profane, inappropriate and plain-ol' annoying sites. The hosts file solution is awesome and adds a layer of protection that's unsurpassed by any other. Combining that with a good (and fast) DNS and you're well on your way to isolating & omitting more than 90% of the Internet's inappropriate content. To learn more about the hosts, I strongly recommend that you read last year's article. I went to great lengths to explain it and provide you the resources needed to make it happen without much work. Having a site that keeps an eye on such unwanted web addresses and updating a hosts file alone is worth the change to make in your hosts file. In other words, you'll never have to know what bad sites to block, what ad sites to block, what sites known for spyware, malware and the like to block, etc.

After standardizing on Firefox within my household, and within organizations I've helped, it was easy for me implement a few extensions to also help with protecting our children, congregation, company, etc. from all the inappropriate & dangerous content out there. Many swear by NoScript, which's an extension/add-on for Firefox that gives you the power to specify the sites you trust and only those sites will be allowed to run active content like JavaScript, Java (usually in applets) and other executable code. The add-on thus protects you from cross-site scripting and click-jacking attacks. Personally, I rely heavily on Greasemonkey. I always run Greasemonkey and adding to it is a breeze. In particular, I highly recommend the "Block XXX sites" script. Next in line is the "Profanity Filter." Hands down, it's the best one out there. For religious institutions and schools, these two are simply a must. If you're looking to have more control on substitution options for certain vulgarities, then I recommend Jmaxxz's Vulgar Word Blocker.

Many kids are online; and if you're responsible for protecting them directly or indirectly in an IT capacity, then I also recommend that you consider "5 terrific Web-Browsers to safeguard Kid’s internet activities."

My advice is based on my personal set up. It's also the one I recommend professionally or for any volunteer work I do. After I switched away from OpenDNS, it is now Google's Public DNS, a customized hosts file and Greasemonkey scripts after standardizing on Firefox. Did I mention that it was all FREE? And so easy to set up. You shouldn't have any questions, but if you did, I'm more than happy to help.

What's left? You still need a good anti-virus application. And there are several good ones out there that are 100% free and rival many of their commercial alternatives.

If you're responsible for the IT of a company, a religious organization, a school or a bunch of children, then I urge you to consider the above solutions. You do not want a child to come across some horrific images and/or content that many adults detest. ▣

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Shrinking Long URLs with Bit.ly and J.mp

2010-01-05T17:11:00.015-06:00

The URL shortener space is getting increasingly crowded, with a ton of new and existing companies bringing their offerings to the table. A few come to mind like: is.gd, tr.im, cli.gs and TinyURL. Although not yet for public consumption, Google has even launched its own service called Goo.gl. Google's launch comes on the heels of Facebook having quietly launched its own URL-shortening service called FB.me. Heading there in your browser simply takes you to Facebook's home page, whereas sharing links through Facebook's mobile site will shorten them for you using a shortened FB.me URL. Surprisingly, I've not seen much from Facebook about their new service.

As usual, I digree.

The one service I've failed to mention, and the one that I use the most ... the focus of today's article is bit.ly. Actually, I use the bit.ly powered j.mp, which's two characters shorter. J.mp ("jump") is in fact bit.ly but with a shorter domain name. You can learn more about it here. And in a World where every character counts (especially on the likes of Twitter), j.mp with the power of bit.ly is the best all around URL-shortener (IMHO, of course).

Although I use bit.ly's j.mp domain, I will be referring to the parent company, bit.ly, from here on.

Besides the basic functionality of shortening URLs, it also provide feature for URL analysis. You can track number of clicks, locations, referrers, time of clicks for any bit.ly URL without having to register, login or install any software. Bit.ly also offers customizable URLs, tracking, 301 redirection and a mobile version among many other features.

Bit.ly is trying to stay ahead of the competition with products like bitly.tv (more on that in a few) and bit.ly Pro, which currently allows a limited set of beta users to create their own branded short URLs. In essence, white-labeling the URL shortening service.

Bitly.tv displays a collage of the most-linked videos (through bit.ly) of the moment. Users can also sort by the top videos from the last day or the last two days. The site looks really slick and is well presented. When you click on a video, a light-box pops out, which plays the video as well as displays a variety of sharing options (Facebook, Twitter, e-mail) and shows a live stream of tweets about that piece of content. The live stream is especially compelling since you can see what other people are saying about the video as you formulate your own opinion.

In addition to powering Twitter (replacing TinyURL), bit.ly is baking into its Web service the Yfrog picture-sharing service made by Imageshack. Yfrog competes with other Twitter-friendly image-sharing services such as Twitpic. Imageshack is what power all of ahmadism.com's image hosting needs for free. For users who want to create easy short links to images they upload from their computers, the integration with Yfrong will be a bit of a time-saver. Also, users will get the real-time click through data from their images on the bit.ly site.

Bit.ly also announced on its blog that Google Reader and Typepad now generate bit.ly links natively.

I'm sure I've only revealed a few of bit.ly's offerings. For example, I know that bit.ly provides a very neat API. If you’re as API driven and like to automate the tasks around you, you’ll be happy to know that there is a new open data table that can shorten URL’s using YQL.

But let's go back to the stats feature for a minute. Did you know that if you put a + (plus) sign at the end of any bit.ly URL, it immediately goes to the info page for that link, displaying all those juicy stats, as opposed to the link itself? For example, for url "http://bit.ly/8ifP7w", open url "http://bit.ly/8ifP7w+", this will redirect to "http://bit.ly/info/8ifP7w" and show all the statistics for this shortened url.

With all this talk about shrinking long URLs, and being a cynic & a skeptic, made me want to see where some of these shortened URLs go before I click on them. Enter a bookmarklet. If you know me, you shouldn't be surprised at the introduction of a bookmarklet.

Get Long URLs

Simply drag the "Get Long URLs" link above to your browser toolbar. Alternatively to dragging and dropping, you could right-click the link and click "Bookmark This Link" in Firefox (my browser of choice), or "Add to Favorites..." in IE. Of course, IE will present you with some blocks to running them, which's why most serious-net-browsers do not use IE.

Short URLs generated by URL shortening services say little about the landing site but this bookmarklet can rewrite all short links on a web page so you know exactly where those links are pointing to. Once bookmarked (in your bookmarks), and you're on a page that that has a shortened URL (like a Twitter page, an email, etc.), click on the bookmarklet and it will convert all those shortened URLs back to their source giving you visibility to the destination.

Do you use a URL shortener? Which one? Tell us in the comments.
ahmadism.com is not affiliated in any way with bit.ly or any other URL shortener. This article was written solely out of experience with the various tools. ▣

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Fast & Free Mockup, Sketching, Wireframing and Prototyping

2009-12-29T21:47:00.012-06:00

If you're a Firefox user, then you already know that one of the things that make this open-source browser so popular is its extensibility --the big galaxy of useful extensions you can use with it. I for one, have a couple of add-ons/extensions/plug-ins that I simply cannot continue online without. I'll even go out on a limb and say that Firefox's extensibility is the reason the browser has become my desktop. But this post is not about Firefox or its many plug-ins ... I'm sure I'll cover some of the top ones on another Tip Tuesday here on Ahmadism. Rather, it's about one particular plug-in that I think many, especially for developers (and the geeks-at-heart like yours truly) who know a thing or two about basic design (or think they do): Pencil.

The Pencil Project is a free and open-source tool for making diagrams and GUI prototyping that everyone can use. Pencil is an open source (GPL v2) mockup/sketching/wireframing/prototyping environment that works on any platform that runs as a standalone application or as a Firefox add-on (FF3 and above). Pencil includes stencils (standard or custom), on-screen text editing, alignments, drop-in import of image and text, and image export for finished sketches (which, when combined with simple imagemaps, would make it a useful tool for generating interactive mockups).

If you've ever been in a hurry and ended up using any one of the many prototyping tools (and I'm picking on Microsoft here) like Microsoft's Visio, SketchFlow or even PowerPoint to mock up a GUI prototype, then you really ought to check out Pencil. For many of us who are likely to use GIMP, Photoshop (I have serious issues with how Photoshop deals with text manipulation, for example), etc. Pencil is a much faster, easier and amazing product; especially as a Firefox add-on. With Pencil, you can create rapid screen mockups and UI prototypes, add your own custom shapes to new palettes, save your work as a Pencil document format, export your diagram or UI.

Onscreen text editing supports both plain texts and rich texts:

Here's an image illustrating the Page Properties dialog with ability to choose another page as the background:

At first glance, Pencil may seem like a drawing tool; but its tools, shapes and widgets sets apart. Here's a glimpse at some of Pencil's features (from the project's home page):

Built-in stencils for diagraming and prototyping
Multi-page document with background page
Inter-page linkings!
On-screen text editing with rich-text supports
Exporting to HTML, PNG, Openoffice.org document, Word document and PDF.
Undo/redo supports
Installing user-defined stencils and templates
Standard drawing operations: aligning, z-ordering, scaling, rotating...
Cross-platforms
Adding external objects
Personal Collection
Clipart Browser
And much more...

Imagine getting a big idea or needing to present a conversation in a more tangible form ("you mean like this?"), and without needing anything but Firefox and Pencil as an add-on, you're able to represent the conversation right there & then. It's almost like a mind-mapping tool available whenever you're ready. Hmmm ... I've actually not used it as a mind-mapping tool, or thought of it as such, until I wrote these very words. I need to re-look into mind-mapping tools and evaluate a few; especially as I get older and need to jot things down (ahem!). I digress.

It's not uncommon that projects have wireframes (usually done by Information Architects, Business Analysts and/or both), and Designers have mockups (aka "comps" ... although there is a difference). At one point, there may come a need to have both overlap to see how they "fit." Needless to say, Pencil fills that gap. You can take this a step farther or bring it back a notch. All in all, the tool is truly inspirational in many ways. And given that it's part of your browser (many of us don't use it as a stand-alone), and if you save it to Dropbox-like solution, this turns the entire approach to a cloud-computing one that is accessible from any where. As a repository for your finished work, and to offload some space from your Dropbox-like solution, you can always use Google Docs (if you exported your work to a document of sorts like an OpenOffice or Word document, HTML or PDF). ▣

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Did You Know Google Could Do That?

2009-12-22T20:52:00.009-06:00

Google is no longer just a search engine. The company has become the poster child for most innovations related to the Web. "Google" is now a common verb. And they do almost everything with such style, common sense and a fresh approach. Am I a Google fan? Yes. But that's not the reason. Google came about after Yahoo! and other search engines like Excite, MSN (now Bing), Dogpile, AltaVista, InfoSpace, etc. And despite their late arrival, Google managed to stump all of them and become much more than a search engine.

Take one of the many Google applications & solutions they offer (most are free): Gmail, Google Music, Docs, public DNS, Google Maps and even something as basic and overlooked as Google Groups (which's not really an app, but still). Did I mention Google Voice, Google Calendar (which I LOVE) or Google Reader? There are simply too many to list here. They simply excel at whatever it is they do. And they're leading the way in all things cloud-computing. In addition to all that Google offers, they do it with a sense of humor. For example, they constantly offer hidden jokes/"easter eggs."

But there are many hidden features about Google and its search field/bar. See how many of these you know. And if you know of any that I've missed, by all means please share them with us in the comments.

Time in any city
To see the time in many cities around the world, type in “time” and the name of the city.
time {cityname}

Alternatively, you can ask the time in the form of a question (see the image below).

Weather in any city
Similar to the time above, you can now see the weather for many U.S. and worldwide cities. You just need to type “weather” followed by the city and state, zip/postal code, or city and country.
weather {City Name}

Map of anywhere
Are you new in a city/country? Perhaps you moved to a new area or simply want to learn more about a location. Google makes finding that very easy. Type in the name or zip/postal code of a location and the word “map” and Google will return a map of that location. Clicking on the map will take you to a larger version on Google Maps.
{location} map

Convert Currency
Google Currency Converter, I believe, is a part of Google Calculator; which I will be talking about next. Perhaps you want to find out how much an item costs in another currency ... perhaps where you're traveling. Or perhaps you're trying to see how much the money you have budgeted for a vacation will carry you in the vacation spot. Whatever the reason is, Google can convert that with a great deal of accuracy. Of course, Currency Exchange offices will differ; but you get the idea.
{current currency with or without number} in {desired currency}

Airport & airline-flight status
Whether you're picking up someone, dropping them off or flying out yourself Google's search is ready from any Internet-enabled device (since many phones have them now too). To see flight status for arriving and departing, type in the name of the airline and the flight number into the search box. You can also see delays at a specific airport by typing in the name of the city or three-letter airport code followed by the word “airport”.
{airlinename flightnumber}

Unit Conversion
You can convert weight, distance, temperature, time, mass, energy, and (as I mentioned earlier) currency. For example, you can answer the question of how many ounces are in 2 cups.
{current unit} in {desired unit}

Dictionary/Definitions
Most will tell you to type "define" and the word or phrase you're needing defined. However, there's a difference between the results of that and using "define:" with the colon and then the word or phrase you're needing defined. Google uses many sources to come back with the different definitions out there.
define:{word}

Track your package(s) from UPS, FedEx and USPS
You can track packages by typing the tracking number for your UPS, FedEx or USPS package directly into the search box. Google will return results that include quick links to easily track the status of your shipment.

Calculator
Whether it's simple or complex math, Google's got you covered. Knowing the operators, however, will go a long way in helping you get what you want in the fastest possible way.

These are just a few examples of what Google offers. Others (off the top of my head) include movie times, area codes (although I prefer to type "area code"), zip codes, stock quotes, and many others.

Did you know that Google could do all of that? If you did, which ones are you favorites? ▣

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Facebook: Privacy, Security and You

2009-12-15T22:51:00.007-06:00

It's no surprise that Facebook has garnered a lot of negative press over its privacy overhaul from a week or so ago. As soon as one logged into Facebook, the company asked that they personalize their privacy settings. That is, they asked all 350 million or so users to read, understand and act appropriately to the major privacy changes they've made. And in a step, which may have been done with good intentions (although I highly doubt it), Facebook "recommended" some settings of its own. Most of you should have already gone through the exercise, but if you have not, it's worth mentioning that I personally do not recommend Facebook's "recommended" privacy settings.

The privacy announcement itself, the preceding open letter (from Facebook's founder, Mark Zuckerberg), and the announcement made five months earlier made it apparent that Facebook was revamping its privacy policy, settings, use, etc. The changes were thought to be about simplification and putting more control for the user on the behemoth social networking site. After all, Facebook has received criticism for its confusing privacy settings by such groups as the Canadian Privacy Commissioner and the Norwegian consumer protection agency. While they may have simplified the privacy settings, they unfortunately also took away some settings making at least one particular area "publicly available information."

This all made the simpler privacy settings seem as if it was done with the intention of encouraging users to be more transparent in a very indirect fashion. One might even suggest that it was done in a mischievous manner. Coupled with some of the negative (for the user) changes made, and it comes as no surprise that Facebook is receiving quite a bit of negative publicity. Facebook apps (like the quizzes), for example, have been a point of contention, given the amount of personal data access the developers of such apps have. This raised eyebrows with the very same Canadian Privacy Commission that had previous concerns (see above); along with the ACLU. Naturally, the amount of privacy changes, and the manner in which Facebook suggests settings prompted the ACLU to be concerned once again; and rightfully so.

Other groups include the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which did a very thorough review of some of Facebook's good, bad and ugly privacy changes. I highly recommend you read it if you're serious and curious about how much of your personal data you share on Facebook.

As of earlier this evening, there was a report talks about how Facebook is suggesting that you ~~lie~~ can change your personal information to protect yourself. That's a good idea, but keep in mind that you may be in violation of Facebook's Terms of Service. As an additional measure, I strongly recommend that you review your own Facebook privacy settings in detail and ensure that you're not making them available to "everyone."

With the recent Google announcement of real-time search (partnering with Twitter, Facebook and others), having a privacy setting of "everyone" now means literally EVERY ONE. Even worse, once the search engines get a hold of the data, it's cached on another (their) system where changing your settings on Facebook may simply be too late. It's no longer in Facebook's hands/systems to secure in accordance with your changes. At this point, simply put, your data has left the building.

Still, I advise each and every one of you to take the time to understand and customize your privacy settings. Doing so will help protect yourselves, your family and any kids you know who use the service. Knowing, of course, that there's a balance that must be achieved between the extreme ends of absolute security on one end, and very public on the other. I invite you to read about how to protect yourself (4 things to do); and to watch the following video to help you get started with customizing your privacy settings.

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTpa3AS39uA

With 350+ million users, it's worth noting that it may simply be too late. Most have seen the privacy announcement, made changes and/or ignored it and have simply moved on using Facebook how they always have, unaware of the ramifications.

At the end of the day, is Facebook secure for me to use? Despite some of the losses in user security/privacy controls, the ongoing negative criticism, and with the right settings in place, Facebook is still a very usable and joyous social networking site. If not careful, however, it could easily find itself in the social dump of yesteryear along with many others; which I won't mention (ahm ... MySpace, Friendster, etc.).

Update: Facebook today, December 17, 2009, was challenged on privacy changes/rules. ▣

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Home Security with Webcams

2009-12-08T17:03:00.020-06:00

I've toyed with the idea of making my computer (one of them) act as a hub for some security cameras. So I took to the web and read up on the topic. It came as no surprise that most material out there talked about how best to secure your home by closing/locking all windows/doors, using contact sensors, etc. At the bottom of those suggestions were options for those who can afford setting up cameras, systems and such.

In this day and age, however, most laptops (which outsold desktops last year - 2008) come with built-in webcams (web cameras), offer webcams free as part of a bundle, etc. Some of us have at least one webcam laying around the house. A year or so ago, I was able to get a very good deal on a couple of nice ones (two separate models purchased separately).

Although the reasons may be obvious, let's first take a look at why one would want to have a security/surveillance system in place. Without spending too much time on this point, here are some of the reasons:

Monitoring of buildings or offices after hours for security.
As a video surveillance recorder in businesses to prevent theft, vandalism, burglaries, etc.
Used in conjunction with a security alarm, you can analyze and play back security footage to determine if a security call out is warranted.
Simple, yet effective video security system for your home.
As a pet surveillance system. Find out what they are up to when you're not around.
Nanny watch.
Kid watch --The Kids get in from school at 4pm. You don't get home till 6pm. They are old enough to look after themselves but you still want to keep an eye on things.
Front door/Driveway watch.
Watch for (and with some camera set ups, talk back) deliveries.
etc.

The applications are many. But in addition to the cost of hardware and the actual set up (wiring, placement, etc.), there's also the cost of the software ... the system itself, if you will. That's the heart of today's article.

Beyond your computer and the webcam(s), you should not need any additional electronics. No need for a DVR, a dedicated system, "security" cameras, CCTV, etc. As for the software, well, many are free. And with some creativity, you may not be able to get 100% of what you want, but you'll come awfully close. Let's keep in mind that some of the many capabilities many seek & expect must exist in the cameras themselves.

What I personally am after is a setup where I could simply point the camera in a direction, and with motion detection, it snaps photos and/or video, and uploads them somewhere. That way, should the computer itself be taken, I have access to those snapshots. For me personally, I'd like some flexibility with the location of the upload. In other words, I wouldn't want to rely on the same company of the software to "host" that media for me. Instead, I would like an ubiquitous option like FTP, email and even social media sites like Twitter, Picasa or Flickr. The latter, Flickr, would make for an excellent choice as long as the account is not public and I don't hit that 100mb limit that comes with the free Flickr plan.

So before I talk about the software options, it's worth noting that there are two categories: Software applications; which are programs you install on your machine ... And, Webapps (Web applications); which run via your browser.

Although most (especially high-end) webcams come with their own software applications, the ones I will be reviewing are generic and should work with any webcam. Webapps, on the other hand, can sometimes be less capable than software applications, but on the plus side there's nothing to install. And in many cases, you can use the same service with a single account on, and from, several machines. Some of the ones I will review can also support multiple cameras at once, which is handy for covering more than one location, angle, room, house, store, etc. at a time.

I'm only reviewing software solutions that offer a free version (no trials); and I'm only reviewing a hand-full. I'm sure there are others out there that I don't know about; therefore, I welcome your feedback in the comments on any that deserve mention.

Let's get started, shall we? Coincidentally, both webcams I have are Logitech. One is the QuickCam® Pro 9000 for Business, and the other is the QuickCam® Deluxe for Notebooks.

Software Applications

Yawcam
This windows-only application has many options, which may come across as complex; instead, there's just plenty to chose from. After spending a little time in the Yawcam settings you can set automatic FTP uploading, emailing, or just saving captured images to your hard drive. You can even set a schedule for when Yawcam is enabled to capture images so your webcam isn't constantly snapping pictures while you're sitting in its path. The free java-based application even has a stealth mode.

The app does an exceptional job at letting you pick various ways you want to be notified. In addition to the ones I mentioned above, it can also play any sound on your computer, or start another program (such as a lock-down or keyboard locking application).

Here're some of the features Yawcam list on their website:
.: Video streaming
.: Image snapshots
.: Built-in webserver
.: Motion detection
.: Ftp-upload
.: Text and image overlays
.: Password protection
.: Online announcements for communities
.: Scheduler for online time
.: Multi languages

Here's a good step-by-step on how to setup your webcam with Yawcam (although you don't really need one): Skatter Tech.

I must say (without any vested interest), out of all the ones I mention today Yawcam is the one I like the most and is the software application I run at home.

EyeSpyFx
This Windows and Mac application did not come across as intuitive; although, in all fairness, I did not get a chance to install it and play with it. I was distracted & confused by their web site too much to try it. Still, it's been around for a few years, works on both platforms and deserves the mention.

Their mobile video surveillance software, called EyeSpyFX Webcam, allows you to create your own webcam monitoring service.

This webcam viewing software works by broadcasting a live webcam page displaying the images captured by any webcam you have connected to your local network. Once you download and install the software package to your local PC, you can use any standard web camera to capture and broadcast live images. Live images can be accessed either through a standard PC with internet connection, or web enabled cell phone. When accessed through a cell phone, the broadcast web page will automatically optimize to suit your specific mobile phone.

The EyeSpyFX Webcam software comes with many unique features and benefits. These include:

Remote camera control -- If you have a web camera that has pan/tilt/zoom functionality, you can use EyeSpyFX Webcam to manage these controls remotely. In addition, you can also use your cell phone to take remote snapshots as well.
Privacy protection -- EyeSpyFX Webcam provides extra security and privacy protection controls to ensure an unauthorized user cannot gain access to your web cameras or video feeds.
Simple to use -- This software package is designed to be simple and easy to use. Once you download the software, it can be installed in a matter of seconds and will work with any ISP regardless of bandwidth connection speed. It will also function regardless of whether the broadcasting computer utilizes a dynamic or fixed IP address. The software is also designed to work with all standard web cameras and with any GPRS/GSM color picture phone.

Other Windows-only software applications that warrant mention and looking into include AbelCam, Yoics and HomeCamera.

Webapps

Orb
I've mentioned Orb in the past, as it is one of the best ways to listen to your own collection of music without the need to carry it with you. And you can listen to it all from any where and on pretty much any internet-enabled device. The same application can serve up your webcam ... live! Orb, however, is a software application that installs & runs on your machine, which acts as a server, allowing you access to what it streams over the web. While it's a likely fit in the software application, its interface and ease-of-use (albeit unfairly) put it in the webapp category. Think of it as a hybrid.

This solution, however, doesn't offer snapshots, archiving, publishing, hosting, etc. It's more of a "I want to see what my camera sees." So what made this an option? Well, when used with something like Yawcam, it's the best package you get even from many of the high-end solutions.

OrsonEye

OrsonEye is free software that lets you use a small, cheap, and easy network camera to automatically upload images to Flickr.

Although I've not tried it, I get the impression that it runs directly on standard Axis webcams (no need to leave computer on) , simple to set up (no port forwards on your router); but I'm not sure on how. I have a feeling you must install something first.

Ugolog
This is a really easy Web-based security tool that displays live footage and an archive of snapshots from your Webcam. It works with any camera that's attached to your computer or a remote camera with an IP address.

While there is no way to receive alerts via e-mail, the service provides alerts via an RSS feed for every camera you have set up. Using a service like Pingie (an SMS alert service for RSS feeds), would let you get an SMS alert every time a new photo shows up.

UStream.tv/Justin.tv
Both UStream.tv and Justin.tv are set up to let anyone create a live broadcast free of charge. There's also a way to make the stream password-protected, meaning only you and those you've given the code to will be able to see it.

You could use this free service to broadcast your band's concert, your high school's football game, your company's training session or just about anything else. More importantly, you now could use for all your security needs. All you need is an account, a video camera (either a webcam or a camcorder that has webcam capabilities) and a broadband Internet connection. You can schedule events, send out invites and archive broadcasts for later viewing.

Hardware

You could go high-tech with a webcam robot like the Rovio™ or the amazing Spykee™. The latter received higher reviews; not surprising since the build-it-yourself robot can move, watch, hear, speak and monitor using any computer and an internet connection. The Spykee takes pictures and records videos. It lets you make free calls over the Internet with the VoIP phone function. It's also an mp3 reader allowing you to listen to your own mp3 music. The monitoring and video surveillance detects movement and sends you a picture of the intruder by email.

As for webcams that are more robust than my Logitechs, and ones that have more oomph and features, I recommend the Sharx Security VIPcella-IR (here on Amazon) and the Panasonic BL-C131 (here on Amazon). I won't bore you with the specs, details or the $200+ price tags, but I urge you to check them out (no, I don't get any commission or advertising or anything). These are simply the cameras on my wish list.

Whether you use your existing webcam, go with a more advanced/robust one, select a software app or a webapp, your choices are sure to payoff. The rest is about creativity in placement & implementation, and a little elbow grease. Having free software options, however, is sure to help make it easier. ▣

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Google Music Search (aka OneBox)

2009-12-01T14:49:00.009-06:00

Google updated the music search OneBox, which used to include song titles, album names and some other information licensed from AllMusic. Google Music Search (aka Onebox) is a music search feature that appears inside Google search that will give you not a little 30-second clip, but a full song play.

Search for an artist, an album name or even some lyrics and Google returns a list of songs that can be played with one click. Full music previews are provided by iLike and Lala, but Google also links to other music sites: Pandora, Rhapsody and imeem. When you click on a music result, Google opens a player in a pop-up window, which isn't very user-friendly.

"With Lala, you can hear one full length preview per song. Each subsequent play will be a 0:30 clip," explains Lala. This limitation is very easy to bypass: just clear the cookies for lala.com.

Basically, as you can see in the picture above, you will see play buttons alongside different songs when you get search results. If you press play, a popup from MySpace (iLike) or Lala appears, letting you play the full song and giving you buttons to buy it or get more info. You will also have the chance to check out the band on other services/sites as I've mentioned above.

As you might imagine, there's no mention of iTunes in all of this. This (the lack of iTunes-mention), however, does make me wonder about Apple and whether or not they plan to use the server farm they're building to make their own search engine --Ultimately, this would mean that Google will not be the default search engine for their Safari browser. It can only get more interesting.

Back to what I was saying ...

In essence, Google isn't playing the music at all. It's up to MySpace and Lala to manage the rights of the full-song playback business, and to serve up the content. For more info, check out the YouTube video (below) or Google blog.

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DV24RBmy-2I

Around the same time this came out a month or so ago (October 2009), and not wanting to feel left out, Yahoo! reminds users that it launched a similar feature last year. "Since launching a partnership with Rhapsody in September 2008 and launching the FoxyPlayer last year, music has been an integral part of the Yahoo! Search experience as well. We have found that nearly 6 percent of all Yahoo! searches are music-related."

Here's the thing ...
(you'll shortly get an idea why I put this waaay at the bottom of this post)

I've been searching music on Google for a few years. And I've been able to "listen" to the results without a hitch. If you've followed this blog at all, it should come as no surprise that I use a bookmarklet. I don't want to give it all away, to be honest, but I'm more than happy to share it for a limited number of people. Let me know in the comments and I'll send you the bookmarklet.

So what does this bookmarklet do? It searches Google (and no other) for music based on a string you provide it (usually the name of the artist or the song ... not the lyrics). I simply manipulate the Google page (the search page and the results page) into something that caters to music. The results are mp3 & ogg files that I can "listen" to right there and then. And no, there are no third-party applications, other links (hidden or otherwise), etc. It's simply a Google search with some serious URL manipulation to customize the search and the results. Yes, it's that simple.

Heck, with FoxyTunes, a free browser plug-in I have on Firefox, it automatically adds the play button next to the results of the bookmarklet. Can I find all the music I want with this bookmarklet? Honestly, no. It's limited by what ... ummm ... I've said too much. Just know that you'll find more than 90% of what you're seeking. And again, if I send you the bookmarklet, you'll have its code to see exactly what it does. You'll even be able to modify it to do other things (hint!). ▣

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5 Useful Bookmarklets

2009-11-24T14:53:00.018-06:00

It's been a while since I wrote about my favorite web "technology" ... bookmarklets. Despite the huge collection I have, I'm constantly coming across some awesome-written bookmarklets. I've also had the opportunity to write a couple for personal use (to help with blogging, etc.), and I wanted to share 5 useful everyday bookmarklets.

To learn more about bookmarklets and what they are, I invite you to read this past post. To summarize, a bookmarklet is a a term that may have originated as a result of the merge between "bookmark" and "applet." Browser-independent, bookmarklets add functionality to any web browser. Consisting primarily of JavaScript code, bookmarklets can be stored in the bookmark/favorite bar of any browser and used from there to perform useful tasks affecting (in most cases) the current page.

In short, bookmarklets allow you to temporarily modify the current page to do something you need. Once you refresh the page, or revisit it, it will be back to the way the web page designer intended it. For a more permanent solution, using the very same JavaScript solutions you find or write, you basically need that JavaScript to run on the specified page all the time ... automatically --And that's exactly what Greasemonkey is and does.

With services like Xmarks, which give you access to your bookmarks from practically any where there's an internet connection, bookmarklets are an excellent cross-browser way of performing some tasks without the need for toolbars (which can be a security risk). Here are 5 bookmarklets, which I'm hoping you find useful:

1. Linkify

My mother sends me all kinds of emails, which are usually links she's come across or forwards from other people. I guess Yahoo! Mail doesn't automatically convert links into ... well ... links. Instead, it keeps them as non-clickable text. That's where Linkify comes in. When I click on the bookmarklet while I've got her email up on the page, it makes what was once a non-clickable link into one that is.

Linkify

Simply drag the "Linkify" link above to your browser toolbar. Alternatively to dragging and dropping, you could right-click the link and click "Bookmark This Link" in Firefox (my browser of choice), or "Add to Favorites..." in IE. Of course, IE will present you with some blocks to running them, which's why most serious-net-browsers do not use IE.

2. List All Links

Sometimes it's handy to list all the links on a page. I use it on pages where music is listed, but don't want to fiddle with all the nonsense. I also use it to test pages and ensure that all the links work instead of scrolling or finding out if an image is a link or not. You get the idea.

List All Links

Like the "Linkify" bookmarklet above, drag the "List All Links" link above to your browser toolbar.

3. Edit Current Website

This bookmarklet turns the current page into a lite WYSIWYG, and helps me with productivity/blogging, but can also be for fun. Imagine changing the headlines at a major newspaper website with your own words, taking a screen shot, etc. Its best use, however, comes with altering text on the fly allowing for easier copy & paste.

Edit Current Page/Website

4. Favelet Suite

The Favelet Suite bookmarklet is the Swiss Army knife of the web design bookmarklet world. It includes the following features:

Color List
Document Tree Chart
HTML Attribute Viewer
HTTP Header Viewer
Hidden Field Modifier
Javascript Object Tree
MODIv2
Mouseover DOM Inspector
Object Dimensions
Page Info
Remove Children
Resize Fonts
Ruler
Show Source
Style Sheet Tweak
Style Sheet Viewer

Favelet Suite

5. Linearize

Reformats a page so that the entire contents is in a single column. It's great when you want to copy a lot of text from a page. I use it to more easily grab text from long articles with complex layouts, which you can dump into a text-to-speech reader when your eyes are tired (geeky, right?). (originally by Jesse Ruderman)

Linearize

EXTRA

Here's an extra tip, which builds on the same principle as bookmarklets but is not really one. Still, you may find this simple tip handy if you always have a web browser running on your desktop screen in maximized mode, which most of us do.

There are instances when you need to access program shortcuts and files placed on the desktop.

Now instead of minimizing the browser to access these files, you can simply create a shortcut in the bookmarks toolbar of your browser that points to the desktop folder. Click this bookmark and you’ll be able to browse through desktop content within the browser.

To create a bookmark pointing to the desktop, open this address file:///c:/Users/ (probably easier to copy & paste it instead) inside a new tab in your browser (Firefox?). Click your user name and then drag-n-drop the "desktop" folder to your bookmarks toolbar. I do this with my Desktop and with my My Dropbox folders.
▣

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The Mosquito Ringtone

2009-11-17T10:33:00.007-06:00

I remembered reading about this a couple of years ago when I was describing it to a couple of people who have not heard or knew about it at all. But I couldn't remember what the name / reference of this "teenagers-only could hear" audio. So I started to look it up, and wanted to write about this technological ingenuity, its history, etc.

This technology was marketed back in 2005 as an ultrasonic teenager repellent, an ear-splitting 17-kilohertz (17.4KHz, to be exact) buzzer designed, by British inventor Howard Stapleton with Welsh security company Compound Security Systems, to help shopkeepers disperse young people loitering in front of their stores while leaving adults unaffected. Basically, the idea was meant to drive away teens through ultra high frequency sounds much like how a dog whistle would affect dogs.

“The Mosquito”, as the product was named, took advantage of a curious medical fact that most people are unaware of. The principle behind it is a biological reality that hearing experts refer to as presbycusis (a more accurate source here), or aging ear.

While most human communication takes place in a frequency range between 200 and 8,000 hertz (a hertz being the scientific unit of frequency equal to one cycle per second), most adults' ability to hear frequencies higher than that begins to deteriorate in early middle age.

"It's the most common sensory abnormality in the world," said Dr. Rick A. Friedman, an ear surgeon and research scientist at the House Ear Institute in Los Angeles.

But in a bit of techno-jujitsu, someone — a person unknown at this time, but probably not someone with presbycusis — realized that the Mosquito, which uses this common adult abnormality to adults' advantage, could be turned against them.

As with any inventive good idea, sooner or later someone is going to use it for something other then the original intended purpose. In this case, some equally inventive teens in the inventor’s hometown (Birmingham) caught on to what the company was doing and decided to put turn the idea into something they could use. They took the ultra sonic frequency and converted into to a cell phone ringtone which they aptly named “Teen Buzz”. As such, the “adult proof” ringtone known as the mosquito ringtone was born. The ringtone immediately caught on like wildfire in the UK, and has since quickly spread throughout the reaches of the Internet to teens everywhere. Teens learned they could hear each others phones ringing at school but their teachers couldn’t. The ringtone goes by many different names including Teen Buzz, Mozzy Tone, Mosquito Ringtone, Ultra Sonic Ringtone, and others. It has been used in several TV series here in the United States as well as in this (below) very clever KFC TV Commercial.

In April of 2007, KFC Featured the Mosquito Ringtone in a type of viral interactive commercial. They were giving away (1000) $10 gift cards to the first thousand people that could correctly state at what point in the commercial the ultra sonic sound was played. I don’t know if it is part of the YouTube conversion process, but it’s pretty obvious where the sound is played.

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMWqIeb7b6g

"Our high-frequency buzzer was copied. It is not exactly what we developed, but it's a pretty good imitation," said Simon Morris, marketing director for Compound Security Systems, the company behind the Mosquito. "You've got to give the kids credit for ingenuity."

Since then, Mr. Morris said his company has received so much attention — none of it profit-making because the ring tone was in effect pirated — that he and his partner, Howard Stapleton, the inventor, decided to start selling a ring tone of their own. It is called Mosquitotone, and it is now advertised as "the authentic Mosquito ring tone."

To many, this whole notion of a group of people being able to hear something while another older one cannot is all hard to believe. But I assure you it's real. Here's a video that demonstrates this:

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrewnzQYrPI

This ring tone comes in different KHz. Some are designed to not be heard by those above 50, or those above 40, or those above 30 and so on and so forth, give or take a few years. Its applications may go beyond teenagers and their cellphones at school. Can you think of an application or two? Share them with us in the comments. ▣

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RJDJ: Technology Turning Music into a Drug

2009-11-10T12:26:00.006-06:00

RJDJ is an iPhone application created by same innovator as Last.fm. The London-based technology company started by Austrian entrepreneur Michael Breidenbruecker recently launched the world's first iPhone-only album, allowing listeners to create their own real-time mixes.

The application creates a unique experience with each track, or "scene" as RJDJ calls it. I could spend several hours explaining how this technology works, and how addictive it can be, but I wouldn't do it justice. Most importantly, I wouldn't do the word "addictive" as it refers to this app justice either.

Personally, I hope that they'll make a version for Andriod phones.

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPrIPcyemdM

What's your take on this new drug? I think it would be awesome for the kids, on a subway ride, etc. What's your take? ▣

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Tips for Browsing & Working Faster

2009-11-03T19:17:00.013-06:00

As someone who does most of his work online, the browser has become the cornerstone application I run at all times. And being in technology for almost 15 years, I can't help but notice some of the browsing habits that my family, friends and colleagues have. In most cases, I'm their tech support and their first line of defense for most of their PC needs (purchase, how-to, strategy, approach, web site, email, etc.). So, I wanted to write a few browsing (and some non-browser) tips to help speed things up and help all to not only be speedier, but more productive.

It is worth mentioning (up front) that these tips are derived from my own personal style, and may not all work for you. However, I'm hoping that at least a few of them will come in handy and perhaps help you develop your own style. Since the objective of these tips is to be speedy and more productive, it should come as no surprise that this means I rely on the keyboard for most of them (instead of the mouse) minimizing "lift." That is, the act of lifting my hand and going to the mouse to only click on something once and allow me to resume typing. A perfect example of this is the URL bar/field. Many take the mouse to click on that field so that they could type away the URL in mind. I'm getting ahead of myself, but I figured an example is in order.

The Browser Itself

I wouldn't be surprised if the main application most of us use in today's age is the browser. Heck, I'm willing to go as far as suggesting that the browser is the new operating system (OS) of today. And your choice of browser says a lot about you, your browsing habits, and a whole lot more. Let me be short, sweet and to the point and say that if you're using Internet Explorer (IE) and you don't really have to (because of your work's IT, etc.) then do us all, and do yourself, a favor and switch. And if you're on IE6, then know ahead of time that you'll have to choose a side. Yes, it's that serious. Personally, I use Firefox. And if I wasn't, I would use Google Chrome. Why? Well, the number one reason I use Firefox beside the its compliance with the standards out there is its add-ons and extensions. There are some I simply would rather not work (or live) without.

Keyboard Shortcuts

As I previously mentioned, avoiding that reach to the mouse is sure to save you time and help accomplish things more efficiently. Addressing my earlier point, seeing a professional reach for the mouse and clicking on the URL bar only to type "www.google.com" kills me. Within most browsers (yes IE too), you can alt+d to put the cursor within the URL bar highlighting the entire current URL ready for you to type over it with what ever your heart desires. Besides copy (ctrl+c) and paste (ctrl+v), going to the URL is the next most common thing ... heck, I think it may even beat copy & paste.

While we're at it, you don't really need to type "www." and the ".com" at the end. Just type (in the example I used of going to www.google.com) "google" and hit ctrl+enter. That combo adds "http://www." before the string and ".com" after the string. The string being the "google" part.

Here's a list of keyboard shortcuts that apply to most browsers, but are listed here with Firefox in mind (yes, I'm bias):

Go back one page in history: Backspace [or Alt + Left Arrow]
Go forward one page in history: Shift + Backspace [or Alt + Right Arrow]
Home Page of browser: Alt + Home
Reload current page: F5 [or Ctrl + R]
Stop loading current page: Esc
Page down (i.e., scroll down) in current web page: Spacebar
Page up (i.e., scroll up) in current web page: Shift + Spacebar
Go to bottom of current page: End
Go to top of current page: Home
Zoom in (i.e., increase text size of page): Ctrl + =
Zoom out (i.e., decrease text size of page): Ctrl + -

Find a word in current page: Ctrl + F
Find again: F3 [or Ctrl + G]
Find Previous: Shift + F3

Print current page: Ctrl + P
Bookmark current page: Ctrl + D
View Page Source: Ctrl + U

New Tab: Ctrl + T
New Window: Ctrl + N
Close Tab: Ctrl + F4 [or Ctrl + W]
Close Window: Alt + F4 [or Shift + Ctrl + W]
Select Tab (1 to 8): Ctrl + (1 to 8) [for example, to select 2nd Tab: Ctrl + 2]
Select Last Tab: Ctrl + 9

Toggle Private Browsing: Ctrl + Shift + P
Select location bar: Ctrl + L
Select search bar: Ctrl + K

This keyboard shortcut list does not do it justice. My favorite list can be found here.

Don't expect to memorize half of them. Simply refer to the shortcuts and use them; and you'll learn them in due time. Despite my technology tenure, I learned one keyboard shortcut today, for example (shift+spacebar).

Use Tabs

I remember once reading something similar to the following line (I'm adapting it a bit): If the browser is the new operating system, then the tab is the new system process, and the tab bar is the new taskbar. There are always reasons to launch a new browser window, but for the most part try and use tabs whenever possible.

There are many add-ons (for Firefox) that help optimize tabs and their use. Most should know how to open a link in a new tab (just right-click the link ... when in doubt, right-click). As evident by the keyboard shortcuts, there's always more than one way to do the same thing. So look it up and see if using it works for you ... but be fair, give it some practice first. When I don't have a link but know my URL, I simply ctrl+t (open a new tab), type the main domain name & hit ctrl+enter to make it a .com url with the www part and I'm off to go. It's longer to read (and type) than to do, I assure you.

Get Organized

Organize your bookmarks in folders. I know that many use outside social bookmarking sites, and even local bookmarking is usually heavily tagged (meta-data); but I still think folders in this case (for bookmarks) rule. And I recommend creating as many of them as you can. Later, if you're serious about organizing, you'll find yourself consolidating some of the folders or even nesting some within others. The end result, in all cases, should be a more organized browser, a more accessible list of links and more efficient cataloging.

For example, I have a bookmark folder sitting on my Bookmarks Toolbar called E-Mail. In it are all the email sites I visit (gmail.com, mail.yahoo.com, hotmail.com, etc.). Another easily accessible folder (although this need not be this accessible) is a folder I created called Bookmarklets. More on those in a little bit. Another folder, again on the Bookmarks Toolbar, is (replaced with the company for whom I'm working). In it are links to the intranet, and several other internal links. In this same folder, I also keep the external and internal links (when they're different) to access my mail over the web. The next point should tie nicely with the reason behind this madness.

Use Keywords on Your Bookmarks

I don't use this as heavy, or even in the same way as most people do. Let's first talk about what they are: Once a bookmark is created, you can go back to it, go to its properties and see a field called "Keyword." It is in this field where you can set a small word or phrase (I'd keep it concatenated) to use instead of the actual bookmarked URL itself. Let me elaborate ... Let's say you bookmarked "http://mail.yahoo.com." Then you go give put "ym" as the string in the Keyword field. Now, all you have to do is type ym in the URL bar and hit enter. Circling back to the keyboard shortcuts, you would do alt+d then ym and enter; and voilà, you're at Yahoo! Mail. Of course, you can make your keywords as long or as short as you need them to be.

But where this is the most handy is with longer URLs that you want to bookmark. For me, the longest URLs I seek the most are bookmarklets. Excellent segue into the next section ...

Use Bookmarklets

I don't like to use toolbars outside of what came native with the browser. Heck, even that I butcher to maximize my browser real-estate on my old laptop (a used Dell Latitude D505). I don't install the Google Toolbar, the Yahoo! one, or any other. Toolbars will slow your browser down and are a security risk I'm simply not willing to take. Don't get me wrong, there are a few especially for developers that are absolutely amazing. Nope, I don't use those either. If I had a browser that had them, I'd have them disabled most of the time.

So what do I use instead? Most of what I need, and most of what the toolbars do, can be done with bookmarklets. Bookmarklets are basically JavaScript that calls that have been bookmarked. For example, javascript:alert("hello world"); is technically a link that can be bookmarked. Many sites offer bookmarklets that you can drag to your toolbar for later use.

JavaScript is used on most web pages. Those JavaScript bookmarklets allow you to run your own "manipulations" against the page that you're currently on/viewing. For example, you can force most pages to have a black or white background using a bookmarklet. Amongst such bookmarklets are the ones from such social bookmarking tools I previously mentioned, like Delicious, Tumblr, and others. Amongst my most used bookmarklets are URL shorteners. They not only provide a shorter URL for whatever I want to send out, but tracking (if you're logged in ... free account) all those URLs as well. I digress. You can read more about it here.

Now that I have my bookmarklets, I organize them in a folder called just that (see above), and then I assign my most used ones a keyword of their own to make accessing them a breeze. Like the Yahoo! Mail bookmark, now I can invoke a bookmarklet with alt+d, , enter.

Bookmarklets is what I use the most. And if you've been following my articles, you'll know I'm a bookmarklet-collecting freak. And I use a lot of them. I love the ones that help me read or watch YouTube by dimming everything else (two different bookmarklets). I use bookmarklets to help me write my blog (masking images and aligning them), to QA, to test accessibility, etc. There are many server services, with URLs, out there there that you could pass a URL to (like the current URL of a page) to do something with the page for you. Among such services is PrintWhatYouLike. I know this is not a bookmarklet article, but assigning such a bookmarklet a keyword and using it can have green implications (saving ink and printing paper).

A Couple of Words on Bookmarking ...

Where many use Delicious, Tumblr, or even others like Google Bookmarks and Instapaper, I've not been able to make that jump yet. Perhaps it's because I use Xmarks (formerly known as Foxmarks). Xmarks syncs my bookmarks and allows me to choose which ones are visible/accessible on different profiles. So my "work" profile only shows these folders, and not these others. I could also always go to xmarks.com and access my bookmarks from any computer with internet access.

I do, however, use photo/image bookmarking through a 3rd-party. Where most use such services as vi.sualize.us, I've found myself in love with weheartit (pun intended). I've added their bookmarklet to my collection, made sure it's in my Bookmarklets folder (organized) and have assigned the keyword "loveit" to it. Now, when I'm on a page/site that contains an image or a photo I like, I simply alt+d to go to the URL field, type loveit and hit enter. I then pick the image on that page that I want to "bookmark."

Other Browser Tricks

There are other tricks you can use to boost the likes of Firefox, which you can find here (speeding Firefox itself), extensions and add-ons that are highly recommended, and finally hacks to Firefox's configuration.

These are all things you can do to enhance Firefox. The bulk of the browser tips (and most are generic to apply to other browsers as well) came before the last paragraph, and they are discipline-based with a few technical ones here & there to help you along the way.

Outside of the Browser World

I'll try and be brief here. I find myself often needing to take a note. Nothing elaborate. I'm usually jotting a phone number down (although I do a lot more ... like this entire article), and I usually need it quick ... like NOW! My application of choice is Notepad. But in the spirit of keyboard shortcuts, I do not click on the start menu, find all programs, accessories, yada yada. Instead, I type ctrl+alt+n. That's the shortcut key I've assigned Notepad. I've also assigned one to the calculator (ctrl+alt+c). Now I'm only 3 -key presses away from getting what I need done.

There are many other things/quirks I do to help me work faster and being more productive. One overlooked item that I use almost always is alt+tab to switch/cycle amongst running applications within Windows. I cycle through tabs, since the browser is the bulk of what I use, with ctrl+tab. Sometimes, it's easier for me to do ctrl+1 for the 1st tab. On many occasions, I find myself guessing the number of the tab (hmm, it's about the 6th open tab so ... ) ctrl+6. All it does is bring focus to that tab. No harm with being wrong. I just adjust the number based on how close I got.

Using services that consolidate multiple touch points for you will inevitably, and perhaps by definition, help you work faster & better. Many of us use instant messengers like Yahoo! IM, AOL IM (AIM), Facebook chat, MSN, GTalk, Jabber, etc. But we also use Twitter, check our email, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. I use one application for them all: Digsby. It's a standalone application that's not browser based (must install it on Windows), but it's free and worth it if it was not.

Another highly recommended tools to help you work faster, better and be more productive include password managers like 1password and KeePass. Combining their use with your browser life and perhaps some cloud computing services (umm, like Dropbox ), and you'll quickly be armed with security on the go. Read more about that here.

As you can see, what you use outside of the browser (like to listen to your music, to watch video, etc.) can also help you be more efficient. Naturally, not all things that consolidate are worth a lick. Some things are best left separate.

That's the tip of the iceberg for my style and what I do. What's yours? I would love to learn new tricks (wuf wuf). Share them with us in the comments. ▣

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Cloud Computing: Definition, Pros & Cons

2009-10-29T12:33:00.010-05:00

My apologies, this article is a couple of days late due to illness.

I've talked about cloud computing and have touched more so on its benefits than anything else. In today's article, I wanted to give this technology-trend a place of its own, defining it properly and taking a closer look at its pros and cons ... perhaps more so on its cons; as to help exercise reasonable care, if nothing else.

What exactly is cloud computing?

You can find lots of definitions on Google or in technology-related publications. I, however, think of it as simply using centralized services over the Internet.

So what exactly are we talking about here? The "cloud" is more or less an IT or "geek" term for the Internet, and cloud computing, or cloud integration, means storing and having access to your computer data and software on the Internet, rather than running it on your personal computer or office server. In fact, if you use programs such as Gmail or Google Docs, you may not realize you are already doing cloud computing.

To put cloud computing in simpler terms, I invite you to watch this video:

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdBd14rjcs0

The companies offering cloud computing services are some of the biggest and best known in the information and/or technology industry: Google offers the Google App Engine, Amazon.com sells Elastic Cloud Compute (EC2), Microsoft released Azure and Windows Live Sky Drive, and AOL provides Xdrive, to name a few. If you’ve ever used MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn, Picasa, Flickr, Hotmail, or one of the many Google services, then you’ve used cloud computing. A recent survey conducted by Pew Internet showed that 69% of all Americans use cloud-based software to store pictures, videos, emails, calendars and other various data online.

One definition I came across and liked enough to save (don't know its source) is:

Cloud computing is a way of providing both hardware and software as a service via the internet. Users access the necessary infrastructure, applications, systems, and hardware via the web using their web browser. Cloud computing combines the concept of software-as-a-service, where a software application is accessed and used in a hosted environment, together with the concept of utility computing, where shared, scalable software and hardware is purchased on a usage basis.

Whether cloud computing is the same as Software as a Service (Saas) or not requires a more technical definition and explanation. One I feel is not meant for this article. To learn more about that, however, I strongly encourage the following article, which I've found to be the best & most comprehensive explanation.

The benefits (pros) & advantages of cloud computing

Having your data and business computing programs running online, rather than exclusively on your office computers, means that you and your staff have access to them anytime, anywhere there's an Internet connection. Small businesses like the idea of being able to access their data from home, at a client's location, on the road, or even on a smartphone. And of course, if you know you will have to work disconnected, you can load the files you need onto a hard drive, a USB flash stick/drive or better yet use another offline/online cloud computing tool I mentioned in the past called Dropbox (or many like it). Many of the more common cloud computing offers out there, such as Google Gears and Adobe AIR, make it possible for some Web-based programs to be used on a computer even when you're not connected. That basically took one aspect that may have been viewed as a limitation and made it a huge plus.

Some of the more basic benefits/pros of cloud computing include:

How it frees up physical space - Think of remote data storage, servers you'd otherwise have to to keep in house, etc.
Cloud computing eliminates the needs for maintaining a cool enough environment for computer hardware that can easily overheat and crash.
Saves electricity - in larger organizations this alone may be worth it.
Eliminates the cost of maintaining one's own IT staff to update and upgrade software or hardware because the data center handles that.
Software & Hardware maintenance - Software provided online is upgraded and maintained by the provider, so the small business owner does not have to purchase the newest version of a software program or download fixes and patches for this or that server, router or hardware. Not having to buy a program outright but entering into a monthly or annual contract is very appealing, as is the fact that many applications are offered for free. The fixed cost allows business owners to plan rather than be caught off-guard when a costly software or hardware upgrade must be purchased.

For me personally, cloud computing has provided a sense of work-life balance. My personal budget, without any account numbers or anything except debits and credits, is in the cloud shared with my wife to simplify budgeting & updating. My to-do list is on the cloud. I email strictly now via the cloud. And best of all, my calendar is in the cloud. This affords me the flexibility to coordinate things between my personal life (more like several lives) and work. But enough about me.

Other less obvious benefits, especially for businesses, include:

Data fragmentation and dispersal are held by Unbiased Party (cloud vendor assertion); in fact, shifting public data to an external cloud reduces the exposure of the internal sensitive data.
Survey says that more than one-third of IT professionals abuse administrative passwords to access confidential data (see this)
Cloud homogeneity makes security auditing/testing simpler
Dedicated Security Team
Rapid Re-Constitution of Services
Greater Investment in Security Infrastructure (Real-Time Detection of System Tampering; Low-Cost Disaster Recovery and Data Storage Solutions, Hypervisor Protection Against Network Attacks).
1 In 5 Companies Cutting IT Security Spending in 2009 (see this)
Simplification of Compliance Analysis
On-Demand Security Controls

It is important to note there are downsides to shipping your company's entire conglomeration of data to a remote storage site. Many people find it difficult to relinquish control of their data. And it's not what I recommend at all. Instead, I'm suggesting you understand the risks and make a decision about what needs to be in the cloud and what doesn't. For some, it all can be in the cloud, with back ups locally (on premise). For others it's a mix & match solution.

Let's take a look at some of the reasons why many are still apprehensive about cloud computing.

The risks (cons) & disadvantages of cloud computing

The chief executive of leading security company Check Point, Gil Shwed, has warned enterprises from plunging too quickly into cloud computing, stating that the technology is inherently dangerous.

“The basic fact that you’re sharing data with others is a huge security risk. If I have my server with my data at least I know that I can protect my data, but if I mix hundreds of these [servers] there might be one bug, in one application, that will allow a virus to move to the others. A bug, a configuration error, anything.”

Shwed did not wish to discourage the move towards the cloud, however.

“I am definitely a supporter of cloud computing, but I don’t think it will take over from traditional computing – it will have some portion of the market. One of the things the enterprises want is control, and once you outsource ... you lose a big portion of that control, so companies will only do this if there is a very, very, good reason," he said.

“There is a clear and interesting challenge there, the move from controlling things to letting other people control it for you.”

While I don't want to discount Mr. Shwed, you have to take his perspective into consideration. He's in the security business. Naturally, it's all about control; as evident by his quotes. As a small business or even a larger one (several larger ones actually), as I will mention in my conclusion below, some things are OK to relinquish control of provided the risks are understood and perhaps even mitigated. For example, I'm OK with relinquishing control of my email for my business or for most businesses I work with to cloud computing. The convenience and cost benefits out weight the control and risks (especially when they're mitigated).

Let's move on to other risks & disadvantages, and I'll try not to interrupt with my opinion again.

Security & Privacy
Research showed that the most common concern about implementing Cloud programs was security and privacy, a finding supported by an IDC study of 244 CIO's on Cloud Computing where 75% of respondents listed Security as their number one concern.

"With services such as Google's SaaS, data loss is less likely because the information is accessible from anywhere and anytime without saving it to an easily lost or stolen USB stick or CD" (Eran Feigenbaum, director of security for Google Apps)

Most organizations pay extraordinary attention and devote considerable resources to IT security, but that doesn't mean that their data is any more or less secure. The reality is that many attacks come from a lack of timely software update management and server misconfiguration. And the likelihood of such issues occurring (at least as frequently) is greatly reduced in the Cloud, where security-patching process is more streamlined than in a typical enterprise: vendors, servers and software architecture tend to be more homogeneous, and due to economies of scale, there is staff dedicated to security, ensuring application of the latest security patches.

While anonymous computer hackers are very unlikely to gain access to your business information in the cloud, a disgruntled former employee familiar with your company might be able to guess your passwords or answer your security questions and get into your accounts to do mischief —or worse.

Don't get me wrong, there have been a couple of highly publicized incidents recently where online services lost supposedly secure data or went offline for some period of time, during which their customers' accounts were inaccessible.

But it's worth noting that the larger Cloud providers tend to have a better grasp of threats, because these people deal with security issues at more complex levels than your own IT team sees on a daily basis.

Under the Law
To search your house or office (including documents or any files like music stored on your computer's hard drive), cops need to obtain a search warrant. To get to the information you've stored on a third-party's web servers, they only need a subpoena, which is easier to obtain. This latter kind of search can also happen without your knowledge. The NY Times reports:

Thanks in part to the Patriot Act, the federal government has been able to demand some details of your online activities from service providers - and not to tell you about it. There have been thousands of such requests lodged since the law was passed, and the F.B.I.'s own audits have shown that there can be plenty of overreach - perhaps wholly inadvertent - in requests like these.

Also under the law, is the difficulty of determining where data will be stored, and, thus, what courts have jurisdiction and what law governs the use and treatment of such data (i.e., local, state, federal, foreign, etc.). Information sent or received by an organization or individual using a cloud computing service could be physically located in the United States or any other country in the world. How will a cloud computing customer address situations where one country’s reporting or discovery obligations conflict with the data privacy laws of another county? How will a cloud computing customer protect its intellectual property rights against infringement or other wrongful activity when its cloud-based applications are hosted in a country that does not recognize certain intellectual property protection measures?

Companies should take note that the concerns over security and privacy are not limited to law enforcement. A company considering a cloud computing arrangement will need to know what steps the cloud provider takes to ensure that a customer’s data is not inadvertently disclosed to another customer who may be sharing the same resources. Organizations need to extensively vet the security and privacy standards of a cloud provider, including asking the following questions: a) What security commitments are taken and are they sufficient to meet my company’s needs? b) Do the terms of use commit the cloud provider to keeping a user’s data secure, or even private, from other legitimate users of the service? c) Do you have the right to perform audits on the cloud provider’s policies and processes? d) What right does the cloud provider have to change those policies and processes?

Third Party Control
Although this mainly applies to services not at the enterprise level, it is still very relevant. Amazon reacheing into customers' Kindles and remotely deletes already-purchased books. Facebook launching Beacon, an advertising mechanism that collects and publishes information about what you do on external web sites on your Facebook profile (only to apologize and offer opt-out later). Apple denies approval for the Google Voice application in the App Store. Twitter doesn't offer the ability to export more than 3,200 status updates. Flickr only lets you see the last 200 photos you uploaded if you don't have a paid Pro account. MySpace and Facebook don't immediately remove photos from their servers when you delete them. When you're living in the cloud, you're at the mercy of a third party who can make decisions about your data and platform in ways never seen before in computing.

Lock-Out
One of the biggest benefits of storing your data in the cloud is that you don't have to worry about backing it up anymore. Big companies with hundreds of servers are more reliable than your little external hard drive, right? Yes. But servers do go down, and when you're dependent on a web application to get your email or access that presentation for the big meeting, there's always the risk that your internet connection will go down, or that the webapp's servers will. Offline technologies like the previously mentioned Google Gears, decent export functionality, and a good backup system can alleviate this particular concern, but not all systems offer those things. Again, it's about understanding the risks and mitigating them.

In conclusion ...
It’s interesting that the government is behind cloud computing and has recently launched apps.gov, a catalog of applications in the cloud. Despite the challenges of cloud computing, many large organizations are not only evaluating it, but are jumping to adopt it. Jaguar Land Rover moved to Google Apps. And the Los Angeles City Council today (if I wasn't ill to write this on time - 2 days ago) voted unanimously to “Go Google,” (like Jaguar Land Rover) approving a $7.25 million contract to outsource the city’s e-mail system to Google’s cloud and transition some 30,000 city employees to the cloud over the coming year, according to a report in the Los Angeles Times.

In case you haven't noticed, I personally am right on the cloud bandwagon with all of you. My web browser is the one app I run on my desktop at all times; I've entrusted the likes of Google, Facebook, Twitter, Dropbox, Amazon, and Yahoo with my data just like you have. The key is to know what you're getting into when you make that choice, to crank up your personal security (like alternate email addresses and password choices) and to lobby for better user protection by hosting providers in the cloud.

It’s clear that cloud computing is a wave of the future. Ultimately, putting your data in the cloud involves choosing convenience and productivity at the cost of some security risk. In the real world, convenience almost always wins, and there's nothing wrong with that. What's important is that you understand the dangers. All you have to do is exercise some good judgment and practices and you ought to be able to alleviate many of the risks and challenges of cloud computing, leaving you to enjoy its many benefits. ▣

UPDATE: A relevant story to this post hit this evening, Thursday, October 29th, 2009, that a Federal Judge Says E-Mail Not Protected by 4th Amendment.

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Call Your Friends Without Knowing Their Phone Numbers

2009-10-20T20:31:00.003-05:00

In today's Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco, Morgan Stanley's Mary Meeker presented some internet trends. Amongst them is

Mobile Internet Usage Is and Will Be Bigger than Most Think.
Apple Mobile Share Should Surprise on Upside Near-Term.
Next Generation Platforms (Social Networking + Mobile) Driving Unprecedented Change in Communications + Commerce.

Also that AT&T’s mobile data traffic has increased by 4,932% over the last three years; and there will be over 1 billion "heavy mobile data users" by 2013. Most of her 68 page presentation shows that social networking + mobile are driving big changes in communication and commerce.

Enter OrganIP. The name initially lead me to believe it had medical or musical applications; but I think that perhaps it's supposed to be a play on the word "organize." Who knows. What matters is that the service talks to Meeker's trend analysis and may help make phone numbers a thing of the past. OrganIP makes it possible to speak anyone’s name and call them using voice over IP (VoIP) technology. A company called Digitrad developed the service by combining its Yes.tel unified identity technology and its messaging services — just as Digitrad says it wants to destroy the business card with Yes.tel, it now says you may never have to remember a phone number again.

The idea is compelling: if tens or hundreds of millions of people make calls to their social network "friends," someone will be able make a lot of money from it. So far, though, no one has had much success in appealing to such users. That is, until France-based Digitrad presented at last month's DEMO conference trying to turn social networks into giant phone books.

Here's a video of the presentation from youTube:

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3c-GsUryyQ

"OrganIP solves two problems I have. I can't remember anyone's phone number and there are too many ways people can connect with me," said Chris Shipley, Executive Producer of the DEMO Conferences. "With OrganIP I have a single, easy to remember way for people to connect with me. What makes this great is that OrganIP finds me - whether I am in a social network, surfing the net or on my mobile phone, and connects with me in the way that makes the most sense for me. Simply type my name and OrganIP will find me."

Basically, OrganIP requires users only to know the name of the person they're trying to call. Once they type it into the OrganIP Web interface, the service will look the person up in Facebook and other places. If the person is logged into Facebook at the time, it will pop up a screen. Clicking will let recipients accept the calls via headsets or computer speakers and microphones, or send it to voice mail. They can also choose to have voice mail messages transcribed and sent to them as text. OrganIP uses Flash technology, which is built into almost every browser in the world, to deliver the audio streams. Calls can also reach recipients on landline or mobile phones through PSTN gateways.

Users can initiate OrganIP calls in one of two ways. The first is by accessing the service's Website through their own browsers. The second is through mobile client software running on smart phones. The software is currently available for Android, with BlackBerry, iPhone, PalmPre, Symbian and Windows Mobile versions to come. If the user is connected to the Internet via Wi-Fi, OrganIP provides a SIP URI for them to access. Otherwise, it gives them a temporary local phone number to ring to make the connection.

Besides Facebook, OrganIP currently looks up names in Google contacts, as well as via the open .tel directory system. Unsurprisingly, OrganIP parent Digitrad is in the business of issuing .tel addresses. The service will soon search LinkedIn, Plaxo and MSN as well. The goal is to provide instant access to over 700 million social network users. If it succeeds in reaching only a fraction of those, it will be well on the way to replacing phone numbers with names.

Based on their press release, OrganIP's service was suppose to become available in open beta yesterday. Unfortunately, their site says nothing about it, the delay or any other info. that I've found.

It's worth mentioning that other newcomers are sure to follow suit. Although I personally fail to see its usefulness, another socio-mobile (if I can call it that) service is JAJAH. The service, a month or so ago, launched in beta its @Call feature. The calling service works when a member tweets “@call @twittername.” The tweet will cause both phones to ring, and the Twitterers will be connected without the service sharing either telephone number.

JAJAH@Call also works independent of the platform you use, so whether you use the web, a destkop client, or a mobile application when tweeting, the tweet-to-call service should work without hiccup.

Though pretty unique, JAJAH@Call has some interesting conditions associated with the service, none more interesting than the 2 minute talk time limitation, which the company considers the verbal equivalent of a tweet. Also, in order to work, both parties — caller and recipient — need to be members of the JAJAH@Call service.

I'm curious, are you likely to use either or both services? Let us know in the comments. ▣

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Visual Bookmarking - We Heart It (we♥it)

2009-10-13T21:51:00.006-05:00

I have a vast collection of bookmarks that I've collected over the years. I often revisit one only to be dumbfounded by why I bookmarked the site in the first place, the page no longer exists, the image or the video behind the reason I bookmarked the page is no longer active/available, etc.

As I slowly comb through and clean up/out my bookmarks, I've come to realize that in this day & age of social media I really don't need to bookmark an entire page. Some times I want just the text. And some times, I want just images or the video. And other times, I want the whole site preserved and saved to my computer's hard drive.

I use different solutions for each of the three. For the 1st one, I use a Google product (more on that on a different day). And for the last one, I use a piece of software, which I've enjoyed having for a number of years. But for bookmarking (not saving) images and/or video, I've come to find one service to be the easiest: weheartit.com

I come across many many great images, photos (yes there's a difference between the two) and videos that I want to bookmark/remember. Sometimes I want to look at them all on one page either by category/tag or just have them all there. That's where weheartit (we♥it) comes.

Are there other services out there? Yes, there are plenty. To name a few, there's the by-invite-only ffffound.com, which is really aimed more for the artsy type. Then there's dropular.net, which's another invite-only service; except this one is "mostly designed for fashion designers, photographers, architects, graphic designers and artists." Then there's vi.sualize.us. If I wasn't using weheartit, I'd likely be using vi.sualize.us; but I like weheartit's ease of use and simplicity. Of course, there are many others; but these are the ones that come to mind at the moment.

So how do I use it? Well, when I come across something I like ... something that I want to remember for later ... but mostly something I find inspirational and/or just beautiful, I ♥ it.

More specifically, weheartit provides a bookmarklet that I assigned (in Firefox only) a keyword to ("loveit"). From there, while I'm on a page with the photo/image/video I like, I simply type "loveit" (without the quotes, of course) in the browser's URL and hit enter. I immediately get the pink border around the objects of that page allowing me to click on the heart of the one I'm interested in saving. Voilà.

If I wanted to, I could then use a URL shortener like bit.ly (I use their sister shortener called j.mp) and tweet or post on Facebook an image or video I liked. In a way, making my own twitpic.com replacement.

Are you using a visual bookmarking service? Which one? How are YOU using it? Let us know in the comments. ▣

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A Simple Firefox 3 Hack to Fix Its Memory Leak

2009-10-06T19:45:00.001-05:00

Firefox is likely the best browser out there. And in my humble opinion, it pretty much is. But that does not mean that it doesn't have its own share of issues. A quick search reveals how the open source browser is plagued with memory leak issues. Now, Firefox 2 may have been inundated with such memory issues, but the latest and greatest (FF 3.5.x) has resolved many of those issues.

Per Mozilla:

With a new management function in place, Firefox keeps memory usage under control. The XPCOM cycle collector continuously cleans up unused memory. Plus, hundreds of memory leaks have been remedied.

Of course, since Firefox is very extensible (with wide array of extensions, plug-ins, add-ons, etc.), it comes as no surprise that the application would run heavy at times. For most users, Firefox doesn't use an abnormally large amount of memory. For others, however, Firefox's memory consumption is a major problem.

There are many different memory problems, and ways to "patch" them helping you restore some of that much needed memory.

First, though, let's make sure we're all on the same page and define what are memory leaks. Whatis.com defines it as:

A memory leak is the gradual loss of available computer memory when a program (an application or part of the operating system) repeatedly fails to return memory that it has obtained for temporary use. As a result, the available memory for that application or that part of the operating system becomes exhausted and the program can no longer function. For a program that is frequently opened or called or that runs continuously, even a very small memory leak can eventually cause the program or the system to terminate. A memory leak is the result of a program bug.

Some operating systems provide memory leak detection so that a problem can be detected before an application or the operating system crashes. Some program development tools also provide automatic "housekeeping" for the developer. It is always the best programming practice to return memory and any temporary file to the operating system after the program no longer needs it.

How do you know how much memory Firefox (or any other application) is specifically using?

Hit Ctrl+Alt+Delete in Windows 2000/XP (or Ctrl+Shift+Esc in Vista/Windows 7) to pop up the built-in Task Manager, which offers a pretty decent look at what programs you're running, as well as current CPU and memory usage for each and a basic description. I personally go straight to the "Processes" tab, and then click on "Image Name" to sort that column alphabetically. I scroll down to the F's and there's firefox.exe. The "Mem Usage" column, matching it to the row of the application you're seeking (Firefox in this case), shows you exactly how much memory that application is consuming in Kilobytes (KBs). If the number is in the thousands, as it will likely be, then simply divide it by 1,024 to know how much it's consuming in megabytes (MBs).

Understanding the columns in Vista/Window 7 can be confusing, so I urge you read "What do the Task Manager memory columns mean?" by Microsoft. How to optimize your system's memory, optimizing the task manager along with a few other tricks along the same line is the subject, I'm hoping, of a future Tip Tuesday on ahmadism.com

Getting back to the browser itself, it's worth mentioning that Firefox caches objects for future use. In addition, memory becomes fragmented as memory is repeatedly allocated and de-allocated. This general increase is normal.

Normal Firefox memory usage reported by Windows might be as high as 100-150 MBs. These numbers will vary because Firefox is configured by default to use more memory on systems that have more memory available and less on systems with less. If you experience substantially more usage than this, there may be a problem, or you may just be viewing pages with large amounts of data.

So could Firefox extensions, themes and plug-ins be causing this?

For extensions & themes (not plug-ins), observing memory usage while Firefox is in safe mode may help tell you whether one of your extensions or themes is causing memory problems. There is a list of extension-specific problems, which may be of benefit.

Plugins can cause Firefox to use more memory when they're used and may not release their memory until Firefox is closed. It's a good idea to make sure you're using the most recent version of every plugin. To save the maximum amount of memory, uninstall any unnecessary plugins. Or you can block/control specific instances of memory usage, such as for Flash Player, via extensions or configuration options. Flash images in particular are pervasive in modern web pages (as ads, videos, etc) and so are a common source of memory usage. Here's some plugin-specific information.

Reducing Adobe Reader memory usage

Aside from extensions, themes and plug-ins, what else could be consuming memory when using Firefox?

In addition to the settings you can make/modify to reduce memory usage (below), there's download history.
Memory usage can increase and Firefox can slow down or hang if the download history is allowed to accumulate. Clear the download history (you may need to exit Firefox and delete the file "downloads.rdf" from the profile folder in some very rare cases) and change this setting to circumvent the problem:

"Tools -> Options -> Privacy -> Download History -> Remove Files from the Download Manager", select: "Upon successful download".

So what settings can you change to reduce Firefox's memory usage?

Aaah, the trade secrets at last. Before I move on, it is essential that you understand that many (if not all) the changes suggested below require a change to the browser's configuration; which is like messing with Windows' registry and could render your browser useless in the worst case scenario. Changing the about:config preferences below may have an effect on memory consumption but may also affect performance or reduce functionality. Use at your own risk.

How to access the about:config preferences in Firefox 3

In Firefox, type about:config in the Location Bar (address bar) and press Enter to access the hidden configuration options and display the list of preferences, as shown below in Firefox 3. (If you see a page with the warning message, This might void your warranty!, click the button labeled "I'll be careful, I promise!", to continue.)

To add a new preference, context-click (right-click) anywhere in the list of preferences. In the context menu, select New then select the type of preference you are adding.

String is any sequence of text
Integer is a number
Boolean is true-false

To modify an existing preference, context-click (right-click) on the preference, select Modify and type in the new value. In some cases, Toggle will be the selection offered for boolean (true-false) preferences.

To reset a preference to its default value or to remove an added preference, context-click (right-click) on the preference and select Reset. If you added the entry via about:config, the preference will no longer be listed after restarting the program.

browser.cache.memory.capacity

Controls how much memory is used to cache pages. More accurately (and geeky), when images are loaded, they can be cached so they don't need to be decoded or uncompressed to be redisplayed. This preference controls the maximum amount of memory to use for caching decoded images and chrome (application user interface elements).

Right click on the page and choose New then Integer and create an integer called browser.cache.memory.capacity and set it to a low number. This controls how many kilobytes of memory are used for the browser’s cache.

The possible value of "-1" (without the quotes) means Firefox will automatically decide the maximum memory to use to cache decoded images and chrome based on the total amount of RAM.

"0" (the number zero, again without the quotes) means do not cache decoded images and chrome in memory. Any positive integer means the maximum amount of memory in KB to use to cache decoded images and chrome (1 MBs = 1024 KBs).

Caveats: browser.cache.memory.enable (see below) must be true for this preference to take effect. Lowering this value causes less memory to be used but also increases the load time of previously visited pages and dialogs. Raising it has the opposite effect.
To view current memory cache usage, put about:cache?device=memory in the Location Bar
This preference does not exist by default in applications other than Thunderbird.

What numbers do I recommend? Well, if you have 1 GBs of RAM installed in your machine, then try 32768 KBs as the memory cache integer. For 2 GBs, try 45056 KBs. And for 4 GBs, try 59392. If you have more than 4 GBs then you shouldn't be complaining about memory leaks ;)

browser.cache.memory.enable

This boolean preference (true or false) looks at when a page is loaded, it can be cached so it doesn't need to be rerendered to be redisplayed. This preference controls whether to use memory to cache decoded images, chrome (application user interface elements), and secure (https) pages. browser.cache.memory.capacity (above) controls the maximum amount of memory to use.

A value of "true" (without the quotes), which is the default value in Firefox, allows decoded images, chrome, and secure pages to be cached in memory. Whereas a value of "false" (without the quotes) means don't cache decoded images, chrome, and secure pages in memory.

Caveats: Setting this preference to false causes less memory to be used but also increases the load time of previously visited pages and dialogs, especially those of secure sites.
If browser.cache.disk_cache_ssl is set to true, secure pages will be stored in disk cache, not memory cache.

browser.sessionhistory.max_total_viewers

Pages that were recently visited are stored in memory in such a way that they don't have to be re-parsed (this is different from the memory cache). This improves performance when pressing Back and Forward.

This preference limits the maximum number of pages stored in memory per tab.

Like browser.cache.memory.capacity, a "-1" (without the quotes) will automatically determine the maximum amount of pages to store in memory based on the total amount of RAM. "-1" is the default value. "0" (the number zero without quotes) tells Firefox to not store any pages in memory. Whereas any positive integer up to 8 will indicate the number of pages to store in memory.

Lowering this value causes less memory to be used but also causes more previously visited pages to have to be re-parsed (thus increasing their load time). Raising it has the opposite effect. One page will on average take 4MB of memory. I personally recommend the value to be between 5 and 8, but if need be, it can go down to 2 or even 1.

config.trim_on_minimize

Configure Firefox (Windows only) to swap memory to disk when minimized. This will make Firefox less responsive if you minimize/maximize a lot, but it is good if you need to free memory while multi-tasking to other applications.

Right click on the page and choose New then Boolean and create a boolean called config.trim_on_minimize and set it to true. Now when you minimize the window it will free up memory.

network.prefetch-next

Network link prefetch will download all pages with the rel=”prefetch” tag. This uses up more memory than you would otherwise think. Simply set network.prefetch-next to false. However, for sites that use prefetching, disabling this preference will decrease the amount of bandwidth used, but increase the time required to navigate sites.

browser.cache.disk.capacity

When a page is loaded, it is cached so it doesn't need to be downloaded to be redisplayed. This preference controls the maximum amount of hard drive space to use for caching purposes. A positive integer means a maximum amount of hard drive space in KB to use for cache. Firefox's default is 50000 KBs. A value of "0" (the number zero without any quotes) means do not cache files on the hard drive. Note: browser.cache.disk.enable must be true for this preference to take effect.

I know it must be odd that I'm even suggesting this, but an there are extensions out there that could help. Amongst such extensions is RAMBack, which allows the user to manually free memory, such as caches, that is usually used to increase performance. This gives the advantage of small cache sizes without having to always suffer the performance hit.

And finally the obvious ... If you find that Firefox's memory usage continues to grow after long periods of being open, you may want to consider periodically restarting Firefox to bring the memory usage back to reasonable levels. Close Firefox and select the Save and Quit option to reopen your tabs when Firefox restarts.

I'm curious how all of this helps. Share it with the rest of us in the comments. ▣

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Google Wave: A Tidal Advancement in Web Communication

2009-09-29T23:13:00.007-05:00

Google Wave, announced back in May, to soft-launch to 100k lucky users tomorrow, September 30th, 2009. I'm dying to get one. So what's the buzz all about?

Allow me to first attempt to describe what Wave is. Google Wave is an in-browser communication and collaboration tool that is sure to "unify" communication on the web. Google Wave is an open-source real-time communication platform. It combines many (if not most) aspects of email, instant messaging (IM), wikis (like Wikipedia), web chat, social networking, content management and project management; all built into one elegant, in-browser communication client.

One of Google Wave's primary developers described it as "what email would look like if it were invented today."
In Google's own words:
What is a wave?

A wave is equal parts conversation and document. People can communicate and work together with richly formatted text, photos, videos, maps, and more.

A wave is shared. Any participant can reply anywhere in the message, edit the content and add participants at any point in the process. Then playback lets anyone rewind the wave to see who said what and when.

A wave is live. With live transmission as you type, participants on a wave can have faster conversations, see edits and interact with extensions in real-time.

So what is a "wave?"

Think of a "wave" as a document or a message ... well, more like one's entire chat history with a friend; including any 3rd or more parties that may have been "conferenced" in from time to time.

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_UyVmITiYQ

I could write a small book about what I think of Google Wave, and I've not had the pleasure of trying it yet. Reading about it and watching a video on it was plenty to get me intrigued. If you don't have time to watch the awesome 80-minute video above (no, it's not because I'm a geek), which can be found at google.com/wave, then I invite you to visit Lifehacker to watch the focused & chopped-up summary-tidbits of the same video.

Game-changing

Google Wave is well on its way to becoming a paradigm-shifter. The approach behind Google Wave is best summarized into three categories: The first is Google Wave, the product, which Google creates, works on and eventually releases to the public as a web app. The second is Google Wave, the platform, which is a system in place for developers to get involved in and create things for. But the third aspect is Google Wave, the protocol, which is its existence as a web communication platform. Let me say that again, Google Wave is not just a wiki, email, a document management system and IM on steroids it is a product, a platform and a protocol ... all in one open-source in-browser application.

All three parts are equally important, but for me personally, the protocol part is truly amazing. Like email (you can send an email from your Yahoo! account to someone who's got a Hotmail or Gmail account, for example), Google Wave has been developed as a standard that will be able to run on any server, so it won't belong to Google. Anyone will be able to run their own "Wave," and that Wave can compete with Google or do whatever it wants to. But since it's created as a standard protocol, different waves can talk to and understand each other.

Google Wave's functionality, extensions and embeds alone are sure to impact not only tools out there in the social media & Web 2.0 sphere, but it could literally take over and render obsolete sites like Wikipedia, Google's own GDocs & GReader, site/blog commenting and even off-the-shelf software packages like content management systems (unless they build their own Wave extensions, which might be key to their survival). Now that I think about it, Google Wave may be the pioneer for "Web 3.0."

The drag-and-drop file upload alone is sure to be a hit. No more will a user need to search, attach and open files as we currently do with email. Google Wave ignores that entire process by allowing users to drag files from the desktop and dropping them. Anyone can then see the files as they’re being uploaded. Similar to Posterous, images are shown in an album format, music can be played, and docs can be quickly shared ... all right there, live!

Collaboration

Aside from the wiki-like features, and seeing others type character-by-character live, gaming will be amazing. As demonstrated, playing chess will be very possible from one's Wave. Complex real-time games are just around the corner. That's where Google Wave Gadgets will come in. As Mashable describes it:

A Wave Gadget is one of two types of Google Wave extensions. Gadgets are fully-functional applications. According to Google, gadgets are primarily for changing the look and feel of waves, although this seems to only scratch the surface of the potential of a wave gadget.

First: almost any iGoogle or OpenSocial gadget can run within Google Wave. That means thousands of applications that have been already created will work in Google Wave. Second: a gadget built within Google Wave can take advantage of live interaction with multiple users. This means something like a live online game with active participation from all users. In that way, it has similarities to Facebook or MySpace applications, which take advantage of your friend network to make games, quizzes, and applications more meaningufl and useful.

Gadgets are specific to individual waves, rather than to specific users. Thus, it’s not like having a Facebook app on your profile – the gadget belongs to everyone within the wave. They also do not have titles, to better integrate with the actual conversation. Some of the gadgets already built include a Sudoku gadget, Bidder (which turns your Wave into an auction), and Maps (which allows for collaboration on a Google Map).

For a more technical explanation, be sure to check out Google’s Wave Gadgets Tutorial.

As I've alluded to before, this barely scratches the surface. I urge you to watch the 80-minute video above. It's truly worth it whether you are a geek like me or not. I know that there are already a few "apps" for Google Wave, which I'm going to go ahead and be the first to call "wapps" (different from for a WAP, of course), like the Twitter extension (Twave), which ... well ... it's obvious. What others do you see happening in the near future? Share with us in the comments. ▣

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Personal Life Recorders Are Around the Corner

2009-09-15T17:23:00.006-05:00

With terabyte (TB) hard-drives becoming cheaper (I actually saw an external 2TB HD for under $180 today), I was curious about memory in general and even more curious about how fast we're advancing in that space. Then I remembered reading about holographic memory & storage by IBM; and also remembered reading about storing data in thin air and retrieving it several (100 or so, I believe) miles away off of an island or something like that. Unfortunately, I cannot re-find the latter despite some serious googling on the topic.

So I asked myself? With memory & storage getting smaller, cheaper and possibly faster, what's next? After a small amount of research into the topic, I came across personal life recorders (PLRs). Needless to say my eyes became wider thinking about the possibilities.

Magnetic RAM

A USA Today article back in 2004 (5 years ago!) captured my undivided attention. In short, the report spoke of a MRAM or magnetic random access memory along with its co-inventor Stuart Parkin with IBM.

Further research showed that Don Norman speculated about a "Personal Life Recorder" (PLR) type of device back in his 1992 book "Turn Signals Are The Facial Expression of Automobiles." He theorized that these PLR’s would start out as a device given to young children, called the "Teddy". The "Teddy" would be given to us as children and record all of our personal life moments, and as we mature, the data could be transferred to new devices that matched out maturity level.

NEC's concept dew Life Recording Interface

Prior to USA Today's report, Jakob Nielsen, web usability guru, has written a speculative article on what the next 25 years (from today, that is) in computing will bring (found on Slashdot). He suggests that, in about 20 years (again from today; and not from the post's date), a personal computer will have enough hard disk space to record every second of your life and possibly in HDTV-quality video.

With so much being recorded (pictures, video & audio), with the convergence & widespread of technology in the home, in automobiles, mobile devices, TV's, home networks, security and even fridges, adding a PLR will inevitably mean the need ... likely, the requirement ... to have software that will sort, organize, tag, etc. all this data. Some, whom I've come across while researching this topic, have labeled such software as Digital Life Aggregators (DLAs). For me, however, they're not much of an aggregator per se; instead, they're more like Digital Life Managers (DLM), or when bundled Digital Life Suites (DLS).

The Momenta neck-worn PC

Whether they're called Digital Life Recorders (DLRs) or Personal Life Recorders, and whether the sure-to-be-needed software to manage it along with the slew of many other technologies is called Digital Life Aggregators or Digital Life Managers/Suites is all negligible in comparison to the enormous number of applications for which this will be used. Aside from making a Psychiatrist's life easier, future generations will be able to re-enact events of our current generation in much the same way some today like to re-enact the Civil War. Future generations will have better visibility into their ancestral culture, life, etc.

I can easily see great advancements in the medical field because of such devices. In addition to the mental insight, we will be able to decipher symptoms based on what we consume. Similar advancements in law enforcement and security are sure to be realized from Life Recorders and MRAM. The applications, as I previously mentioned, are numerous. I can't even wrap my head around them all.

We're already headed in that direction. We tweet about our daily life & news the instant things happen. We share perhaps even more on the likes of Facebook. We post videos on sites like Vimeo and YouTube. We share photos on Dailybooth and Flickr. Among many (hundreds, if not thousands) other social media platforms & sites. The difference, one that I like ... being the control-freak I am, is that these are all explicit actions. But again, as little as a decade ago, we would not have fathomed sharing as much as we do today. In the meantime, it's not just IBM that's working this angle. Take a look at Microsoft's MyLifeBits project, or even their SenseCam one. I wonder what Google is cooking up in that arena! Other companies already have products out there ready to jump right in the middle of all of this. Take a look at this, this (the classiest of the bunch), this one or my favorite the Momenta "neck-worn PC."

The prospect of one's entire life being recorded does not appeal to many; and understandably so. After all, the privacy implications alone are sure to be a nightmare. Rest assured, however, it is coming. It's just around the corner. What remains beg the questions "are YOU ready for it? Will you be amongst the adopters?" Let us know in the comments. ▣

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Listen to Music Anywhere without MP3s

2009-09-08T06:38:00.002-05:00

I love listening to music. I like listening to it in the car, at home, in the office, on the plane, etc. But what mood I'm in dictates much of the music I want to listen to. And I didn't want to carry all of my music with me. Inevitably I'd want to hear a song I didn't bring. Syncing up an mp3 player with the music I anticipated to want to hear was a chore that quickly grew old. To make things even more complicated, my car didn't have an mp3 player, I wanted to play my music out from the speakers when I was either at home or at work and I didn't like carrying my mp3 player with me to and from work.

Basically, do you ever wish your music library could go where you go? I don't mean carrying it around in an iPod, which isn't always practical. I'm talking about streaming your tunes to any internet-connected PC, be it the desktop at your office, the notebook you take on the road or even the iMac at your in-laws' house. In my case, I had internet connection most of the time; with the exception of when I'm flying (and that's slowly changing). I loved the idea of streaming my music over the internet. And thanks to broadband, the internet's pipes are now fat enough to ferry our music just about anywhere. What any one of us needs to decide is how to go about it: stream songs directly from your own computer, or use a hosting service that stores your library online.

Call me crazy, but I'm not comfy with the hosting online solution. It seems like I could show the actual bought CD or mp3 (from the likes of Amazon) and the RIAA would still not be convinced. No thank you. But hey, there are plenty of reasons where hosting online might make sense for you. Especially when one realizes the huge bonus/benefit of an online back up. Alternatively, you could listen to music from online services that are becoming more popular with time; but it's not of your own collection.

For me, though, streaming music over the 'net from services like Last.fm and Pandora is great; but they don't let you queue up music for later, unless you're a monthly subscriber. If you're the DIY type, however, then Opentape might be the service & set up for you. Another, not so cumbersome, DIY solution can be found at the Wired How-To Wiki. On the other hand, if you're looking for a pre-built web solution ready to search and stack your picks, Mixtape.me and Grooveshark are a couple of good choices among many others. But if you're anything like me, and particularly fond of your own collection but can't or don't want to bring the whole collection with you (or host it online), then taking the path of least resistance might suit you too --That is, to leave your music library in its current home: your home PC. Because, simply put, there's nothing to upload, you can start streaming almost instantly. You just need to choose an application/service that satisfies your needs.

Amongst such services are JukeFly, Subsonic and Orb. I personally use Orb and love it. It's free, easy to set up and streams to any browser with an internet connection. Not only does it stream music, but it also streams photos and TV too. All of these service basically run a small server on your desktop that scans any music folders, which you configured/added to them, and makes all of that music available through their slick web interface.

I wished I left it at that! Despite the size of my music collection, I still get tired of listening to them and seek new or old-but-long-forgotten beats. I guess I could listen to one of the many local radio stations that also broadcast online; but I wanted more. I wanted to listen to music on demand. Enter Songza. Search and play a wide variety of popular music for free with Songza. In a nutshell Songza is a search engine for music that can stream songs as soon as you click on them and create and organize playlists on-the-fly.

This one feature, the ability to create a playlist that I could come back to, shuffle and play at my leisure is what sets apart from the rest. Join us and listen to Ahmadism's playlist here (keep in mind it's constantly changing). Beyond that with Songza you can share songs via email, with a simple link (like this one), or embedded on a web site. Did I mention that they play the music from YouTube whenever the video's available? Songza isn't the first site aiming to fill the YouTube-of-audio shoes, but if you've got limited options for listening to music at work and recommendation sites like Pandora aren't really your thing, and you're tired of your own collection, then Songza is worth a look. I'm definitely enjoying it. ▣

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Twitter: Beyond Tweeting

2009-09-01T12:31:00.020-05:00

A few weeks ago, we talked about Twitter and how to use it beyond the mundane "I'm going to ..." posts. With the proliferation of "smart phones," and more specifically web-enabled phones, and the fact that 80% of Twitter usage is on mobile devices (imagine what that means for bad customer experiences!), it should come as no surprise that Twitter is being used beyond tweeting.

Twitter's open API (OAuth) allows 3rd party applications & services to extend the microblogging service beyond novice tweeting reinventing what one can do in a 140-characters or less. Once Twitter evolved from just a status updating platform, it was photo sharing that came to the scene next.

Consequently, photo-sharing services will not be covered as an alternative in today's beyond tweeting list. This includes indirect photo-sharing services like FriendFeed, via SMS or email like Posterous & Twitxr or others out there. For those who are interested, however, here are a few of the direct photo-sharing services worth noting: TwitPic, TweetPhoto, Pikchur, Picktor, yfrog and Twitgoo. Another new comer is Flickr2Twitter, which was Flickr announced the end of June, 2009.

So ... what else can you do with Twitter; beyond tweeting, that is?

1. Exchange Business Cards

twtBizCard is awesome if most of your business contacts are on Twitter. The service lets you set up an electronic business card that can be easily tweeted to your contacts by sending them an @reply with the hastag #twtBizCard.

I can't say that I've had the opportunity to put the service to a real life test, but I'm very familiar with the concept --I use Contxts to send SMS cards, and I love it. iPhone users have at least 8 free options to send an e-business card from their phone in addition to using Contxts. But hey, this is about Twitter and how to use it beyond tweeting; remember? (I'm reminding myself)

2. Twitter As Someone Else

The addicting cTwitLike allows you to view Tweets from those being followed by a certain user. They've improved the interface quite a bit, but even before then, the service has proven to be very interesting and fun to use. Simply enter the Twitter name of anyone (celebrity-watching anyone?) and you'll see all the latest tweets from the tweople that person follows.

3. Social Bookmarking Anyone?

Bookmarking is not a new concept, obviously. And services like Delicious out there are plenty. I personally rely mostly on Xmarks (previously known as Foxmarks), and on my account (must be logged in) with Bit.ly.

To bookmark what you tweet, however, requires a whole new service. Namely one that combines the feature of a URL shortener like Bit.ly and the accessibility of Xmarks or Delicious. And for me, a bookmarklet is an absolute must. Enter Fleck (lite edition). If you share a lot of links on Twitter, like I do, and you want the option to remember them later, Fleck (lite) is for you. Here's a video that should help familiarize you with the service, if you're not using it already:

4. And Share Some More

I'm sure you already know that you can share pictures on Twitter (and I mentioned a few lines above), but how about sharing your music? Want to share your videos on Twitter? How about sharing any file you want (with a size limit, of course)?

That's right. There are services out there that do just that. Let's go down that list, shall we? For music, there are simply many out there. After all, it depends on what you want to do really. Blip.fm and Song.ly top that list based on my observations in the Twittersphere. One that should be added to that list, however, is Songza. Personally, I'm more of the type that listens to my own collection or a radio station that has a web presence. For my own collection, I stream it from my house without exposing what files I have and don't have using Orb.

For video ... I've honestly not used any! So I'm just going to list the ones I know of. It would be great if I got back some comments back on why one is preferred over the others.
It's my understanding that YouTube positioned itself as the way to share video inside of Twitter's status updates; but again, I don't have that confirmed. Other services include TwitVid.io, TwitVid.com, Tweetube, twitLENS, Twitc and Twiddeo.

As I previously mentioned, you can really share any file on Twitter. FileSocial gives you a maximum file size of 50MBs to share your heart out. With sign-up, which gives you 20MBs, you can send a person-to-person file privately using FileTwt. The downside is they don't use OAuth for authentication.

5. Train, Show, Demonstrate and Educate

Screenr allows you to record screencasts for your Twitter followers with their web-based tool, and without the need for any installation. This makes the web-based tool available on PCs and Macs. And the screencast will play on iPhones too. Screenr's seamless integration with Twitter makes it easy to post your completed screencast as soon as your done with it.

Screencasters have a few handy tools at their disposal including the bookmarklet, which allows you to click to record from anywhere on the web. We also like that users can opt not to tweet screencasts, one-click publish to YouTube, download the .mp4 file for personal keeping, and grab the embed code to share on the web. --Quoted from Mashable.com

As a bookmarklet freak, Screenr had me at "record."

There are many other things you can do with Twitter beyond tweeting. The above five are just a glimpse of the applications/services available out there at your disposal. Do you have one you'd like to share with the rest of us? Let us know in the comments. ▣

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What is Web 2.0?

2009-08-25T07:27:00.000-05:00

I'm often asked "What really is web 2.0?" I wanted to write about the Web 2.0 phenomenon and cover it as much as possible in today's post.

Web 2.0 is a misnomer

The Web, since its inception, has changed constantly, never remaining static even for a moment. There was never a period of upgrade or when something major changed. There was never a Web 1.0 or an upgrade, which warrants a new "2.0" label. Though the term bears the familiar version number so often attached to software products, it doesn't actually refer to any one technology. Rather, Web 2.0 is the moniker for an emerging set of Internet-based tools and an emerging philosophy on how to use them. In that sense, "Web 2.0" is a misnomer.

Not Just Online

The name "Web 2.0" gives the impression that its strategies are entirely web-based. In reality, Web 2.0 is a collaborative communications plus community-building strategy that is enhanced by online technologies but exists beyond it. In fact, they work best when they reach us in both our online and real world lives.

Web 2.0 History

The term "Web 2.0" was coined by Darcy DiNucci in 1999 when she wrote "Fragmented Future." Her use of the term deals mainly with Web design and aesthetics; she argues that the Web is "fragmenting" due to the widespread use of portable Web-ready devices. Her article is aimed at Web designers, reminding them to code for an ever-increasing variety of hardware. As such, her use of the term hints at - but does not directly relate to - the current uses of the term.

A company called O'Reilly Media, one of the most prolific and best-known publishers of books about computers and other/general tech, coined the phrase "Web 2.0" in 2003, before the 1st "Web 2.0" conference that took place in 2004. The term, at its most basic, refers to the Internet becoming a platform.

When I'm asked ...

When I'm asked about what Web 2.0 means, I'm often trying to say the following but rarely get it all out:

The Web as an application platform
Social affiliation
Being online vs. going online
Digital self-expression
The participator (read/write) web
Glocalization ("making global information available to local social contexts and giving people the flexibility to find, organize, share and create information in a locally meaningful fashion that is globally accessible")
Cloud computing

Web 2.0 is social, it's open (or at least it should be), it's letting go of control over your data, it's mixing the global with the local. Web 2.0 is about new interfaces - new ways of searching and accessing Web content. And last but not least, Web 2.0 is a platform - and not just for developers to create web applications like Gmail and Flickr. The Web is a platform to build on for educators, media, politics, community, for virtually everyone in fact!

Web 2.0 Philosophy

Web 2.0 is recently associated with tools like blogs, wikis, podcasts, etc. But as I'm sure you gathered, it's more than that. For example, it's about how educators are adapting to a new generation of kids who are growing up on the Web, the so-called "Digital Natives." Tangent: The challenge for educators now and for the future is to learn and teach internet literacy, converse and collaborate with their students using Web tools, and help our children make sense of the huge amounts of information and media that surround us.

It's worth mentioning and clarifying that the technologies encompassed by Web 2.0 include, but are by no means limited to, blogs, tags, RSS, social bookmarking, mashups, and Widgets & AJAX. It's how these, and many others, intersect and interact with one another. For example, it's how RSS meets social bookmarking. It's how AJAX, blogging, tagging & social bookmarking and RSS all come into play all on one page. Although it could be argued that it's separate from "Web 2.0" I personally believe that the philosophy behind Web 2.0 also encompasses cloud computing. The Web 2.0 philosophy focuses on the idea that the people who consume media, access the internet, and use the Web shouldn't passively absorb what's available -- rather, they should be active contributors, helping customize media and technology for their own purposes, as well as those of their communities.

This philosophy contrasts sharply with the old "Web 1.0" methodology (if there was ever one), in which news was provided by a handful of large corporations, Web pages were static and rarely updated, and only the tech-savvy could contribute to the development of the World Wide Web.

What does this mean for me?

Web 2.0 tools are important, but their impact goes much deeper than their gadget-novelty might suggest. Individuals and organizations alike are finding new and increasingly effective ways of connecting through Web 2.0 technology. This is the human side of this technical transformation.

Even the smallest organization has a story to share and voices to amplify. Web 2.0 can help you be heard. This new Web of connections is already allowing many to build movements for social, environmental, economic, and political change.

It's all that and more

Web 2.0 is all of the above things and I'm sure a lot more, which I'm sure I'm overlooking. Don't let anyone tell you it's one or the other definition. Web 2.0 is about the people, when it comes down to it. So it has to be inclusive. The definitions of technologists, social scientists, web designers, philosophers, educators, business people, anybody - they all count.

What does Web 2.0 mean to you? Let us know in the comments. ▣

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