Love and Social Media

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8E1AtDE3gY

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Happy Thursday

I've been wanting to do something different on Thursdays, especially since they're may favorite day of the week. I haven't figured out what I'll do yet; in the meantime, here's something funny that I've been sharing at work and on Facebook. Enjoy.

My favorite quote today came from a Reddit commenter (http://bit.ly/m7llWo):

There's a toggle switch on his cranium that can be adjusted by punching him in the head. The location isn't obvious, so you'll have to keep trying different spots on that soft melon until he stops this behavior.

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Branding & Social Media: An Inspirational Slide Show

I love this slide show from TBWA on branding and social media.

Today’s media world is thrilling, captivating and full of challenges for brands - a revolution in brands and people’s behavior in fact. But as in all revolutions, it’s sometimes difficult to get a clear view of what’s going on. And so, dear readers, TBWA’s strategy department was looking for patterns and similarities from different discussions and has attempted to sum up the revolution in 135 slides. Our goal is to explore the different ways of tackling today’s communication challenges - and to show how successful brands are switching from brand-centric to audience-centric behaviour. Inspired by many different people and brands, it intends to spark a conversation about the need for Media Arts, and how it is ingrained with the theory of Disruption.

The Audience Is Always Right

What do you think?  ▣
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Your Online World After Your Death

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.

HTML5: Bridging the Gap Between the Desktop and the Web

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

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

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

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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Facebook: Privacy, Security and You

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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Blake Mycoski: Creating Sustainable Charity

By now, the mission of TOMS Shoes is well known: When you buy a pair of their shoes, you help provide a child in need with new shoes. It's called the "One for One" movement and it has helped the company emerge as a leader in conscious consumerism.

When it's a holiday season for you and yours, TOMS is asking you to "choose Shoes" for the occasion. Forget holidays; whether it's a gift for yourself, a friend, or someone in your family, giving TOMS Shoes this holiday also means that a child will receive a present that will help them grow up healthy and happy.

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysE2VlyvdnI

TOMS "One for One" is not a gimmick intended to boost holiday sales. Instead, it is the basis of the company's business model. Blake Mycoski didn’t just want to start a charity to put shoes on the feet of children who needed them — he wanted to do something more sustainable, something that didn’t rely on asking for donations.

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kt3BQQ6dQaQ

Innovative thinking, running a for-profit business and giving globally can all coexist ... and inspire others in more ways that one.

Got an inspirational story to share, please let us know in the comments.  ▣

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Google Music Search (aka OneBox)

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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Tips for Browsing & Working Faster

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

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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