1.) Go to Google.com

For my images, I did a search on something pretty safe: baseball gloves. It’s clean, work-related, and simple. Note the SafeSearch settings (if you’re logged in to Google) in the image below. If you’re not logged in, you should do so, because you’re going to need to edit the Search Settings for your account.

2.) Edit your Search Settings

Click the Gear icon in the top-right of your Google Search Results, and then click on Search Settings. You’ll be taken to a page with all the search settings available to you.  Scroll towards the bottom until you find the section labeled SafeSearch Filtering, like in the image below.

3.) Start the Locking process

Click on the Lock SafeSearch link at the bottom of this section. This will lock  your SafeSearch setting to the “strict filtering” to remove explicit text and images. (“Moderate” just removes images, and “Off” does not remove anything.)

You’ll be taken to a Login screen to verify your account. Do it. Also note the text on the left side of the page: Google will place an image of colored balls (like the one at the top of this post) in the upper-right-hand corner of the search results to show that the Lock is in effect.

After you’ve signed in, click the Lock SafeSearch button in the Image below…

This will give you a %-Complete progress text as it runs through all the Google Domains…

When it has completed, you’ll see a status message. Unfortunately, in preparing this blog post, I got an “incomplete” message like the one below…

If this happens to you, click the Back to Search settings link at the top/bottom of the message, and find the SafeSearch Filtering settings like the image in Step 2 (it will look different from the one in Step 2). Then click the Verify link in that section…

You’ll be taken to a page similar to the original Lock SafeSearch page. Click on the Verify SafeSearch button…

4.) Test it out

Once you have completed the Verification process (mine never said it was fully locked, and I don’t know which domains were not successful, but Search was fine), test it out.

I was using Chrome, and just re-typed “baseball gloves” in the OmniBox, and the result was as I expected…

Conclusion

That’s it. If you want to undo this setting, just follow the instructions again from the Verification part of Step 3, but choose Unlock instead of Verify.

Technorati Tags: google, google account, google search, google settings, lock safesearch, safesearch, safesearch filtering, safesearch settings, search, strict safesearch, strict safesearch locking

I started poking around to see what happens if you force https on a Google Search, and it turns out you’re redirected to:

https://encrypted.google.com

Then I wondered how to make this my default search engine without the use of plugins. It turns out it’s very simple.

1. Do a Google Search using the above URL, and you’ll notice the basic format is: https://encrypted.google.com/search?<insert-a-bunch-of-parameters>&q=<query>. We are just interested in the bolded part of that fake URL: https://encrypted.google.com/search?q=<query>
2. In Chrome OS, click the Wrench menu, click Options, then go to Basics and find the Search section. Click on Manage search engines… button.
3. You’ll get a window with all the Search Engines that your Chrome OS knows about. At the bottom of the “Other search engines” list, you’ll see a row for adding a new search engine.
1. In “Add a new search engine“, put something like: Google SSL
2. In “Keyword“, put something like: encrypted.google.com
3. In “URL with %s in place of query“, put the URL we made from above: https://encrypted.google.com/search?q=%s
4. Hit Enter.
4. Hover over the newly created search engine entry, and click Make Default when the button appears over the URL column.
5. Then try out a new search in the Omnibox and it should be SSL’d through Google’s SSL Beta search service.

Technorati Tags: chrome os, chrome os ssl search, chromeos, cr48, google, google search, google ssl, google ssl search, ssl, ssl search

Internet Browsing extensions

• Adblock Plus for Google Chrome (beta) – Just like in Firefox, it blocks ads. There is the ABP stopsign in the omni-box next to the Favorite-Star that you can use to turn it on/off or create a filter.
• Flashblock – Does what it says on the tin…and more. This extension blocks all types of Flash/Shockwave media files as well as Silverlight. There’s no visible toggle switch aside from turning the extension on and off or clicking the blocked flash object in question to activate it (as long as it’s visible). To whitelist a whole site (in the event that it is blocking invisible flash objects) press CTRL + SHIFT + F.

Communications

• Google Talk – Allows you to chat with a fixed Google Chat window inside of the Chrome browser.
• Meebo.com – A uber-service IM web-based app for any of your conceivable IMing needs.
• Trillin.im – My favorite Multi-Service IM application, in web-based version, with cloud sync for contacts, logs, and other settings.

Social Networking / Sharing

• Bit.ly – Adds a button to the browser that shrinks the active page’s url and puts it in a box ready for you to share. Social Account toggles appear on the window for granular sharing.
• Facebook for Chrome – Adds a notification button to the browser, that shows a red number when you have new notifications (mail, reactions, invitations, etc). When clicked, it opens a tabbed view of your Wall, News Feed, Notification list, and Messages, as well as ability to update your status. Also includes Facebook Chat capabilities
• Seesmic Web – A one-stop app for all your social networking needs. Switch to the Black UI to save some battery power.
• WordPress Comments Notifier – Useful for bloggers who want to stay on top of their blog comments. I decided to install this in light of my intention to bring this blog back to life. Ironically, with the frequency I check my blog (out of SEO curiosity for traffic sources based on search terms) I don’t have to worry about many unapproved comments sitting around for very long. Plus it makes a handy shortcut to the blog.

Games

• Entanglement – Included in the first version of the Google Chrome OS laptops, this is a fun, time-passing, connect the lines mental game.
• Qbox – A challenging mental game where you have to unscramble the letters of an insightful quote from someone historic.
• Sinuous – A simple, addicting game. Avoid crashing into the red dots by moving your mouse around the screen. The longer you last, the faster and more abundant the dots become. Pick up the power-ups along the way to last longer.

Living in the Cloud

• Aviary – A layer-based, Photoshop-like web-based image editor/creator.
• DeviantArt muro – Web-based paint-like graphics app that lets you draw right on the webpage, and save them to load for later. It’s a super-advanced graphics app, compatible with several types of hardware input devices.
• DropBox – Adds a button to the browser that, when clicked & authenticated, shows you a directory listing of your DropBox shares and their contents. When you click on the interested file, it opens in the browser (provided it is allowed). Useful for text-based files, images, and media.
• Full Screen Weather – Based on data from WeatherUnderground.com, this full-screen weather app uses the location-awareness built into Chrome to determine your location (if allowed) and then overlay current weather conditions on a scalable/movable full-screen Google Maps frame.
• Google Calendar Checker Plus – If you’re all sync’d up in Google Calendar, this extension keeps it all in the forefront of your mind. On the browser button it shows the timeframe for your next appointment (5m, 2D, 1w, etc). On hover, it shows what/when the next appointment is. On click, it loads the actual calendar, based on the options you’ve set in the extension settings. The plugin also has toaster alerts for events, and the ability to create new events inside the popup-calendar.
• Google Voice – The browser button shows the number of new items waiting for you. On click, the ability to send text messages or place calls right from your browser and view your inbox, where you can clear items from the notifications with a click their message body or archive/delete them.
• Grooveshark – Similar to the late Anywhere.fm and iMeem, Grooveshark lets you listen to whatever song you can search for on the internet, create your own music collection, or stream their pre-made radio stations.
• Picknik – Made popular as Flickr’s web-based photo-editing application of choice, you can get this photo editor as an app for your chrome browser as well.

Web Development

• Firebug Lite for Google Chrome – Adds a browser button that creates a frame similar to the appearance of the Firefox extension, but with a little less functionality. Still helpful to see what files are being called, and viewing their contents/locations.
• FTP Free – If you haven’t made the switch to a cloud-sync’d file storage, and rely on FTP access, then this is the extension for you. FTP functionality, right in your browser. Just configure the server connection/creds and go.
• SourceKit – This was my solution from a previous post, that I mentioned I’d write more about when it was completed. The last time I checked, they had gone from a non-functional version, to one that works, but has some minor cosmetic issues that make it nearly unusable. Once it is finished though, it will be a powerful DropBox-syncing code editor, using the Bespin (now ACE) web-based HTML5 editor.
• TextDrop – A simple web-based DropBox-syncing text editor. More details can be found here.
• Web Development Toolbar – A popup window-based version of the toolbar extension in Firefox. Useful for web developers and designers in all areas of CSS, HTML, JavaScript, and anything else you can find in a webpage.

Technorati Tags: adblock plus, bit.ly, chrome, chrome os, chrome os extensions, cr-48, dropbox, facebook, firebug, flashblock, FTP, google, google calendar, google chrome, google chrome extensions, google chrome os, google voice, sourcekit, textdrop, web development toolbar, WordPress

Source: admintell.napco.com

Monday, I got an unexpected surprise on my doorstep: a Google Cr-48 Chrome OS Netbook (youtube video). From the video, you can see that it’s nothing more than a Chrome Browser with a keyboard and Wifi/3G internet access.

After spending a day getting it set up and testing the battery life with some moderate usage throughout the day, I’m going to start writing some blog posts related to what it takes to cut the cords and transition the daily routine of a programmer into the cloud.

Generally, netbooks aren’t for people who use a computer for things as computer-intensive as programing or graphic design, and are really optimized for journalists, bloggers, and people who like to waste time on social networking sites. In this blog series, I’m going to describe the software needed (or created in some cases) to turn a netbook into a productive tool for people who generally need software on a daily basis.

I’ll also describe what it’s like to use Google’s Chrome OS: the good, the bad and the ugly. There will be more videos about the device, the hardware itself (which is sure to change), and the software apps needed to make the transition.

Technorati Tags: 3g, chrome os, cloud computing, cr-48, google, ground computing, living in the cloud, netbook, productivity, Programming, wifi, wireless

That’s right – it’s time for Quakecon 2009.

I’ve added a  Google Latitude App to the right sidebar of my blog to show where I am in the whole ordeal – but don’t be fooled, I will have remote access to both locations, from both locations – so no funny business.

Granted this idea works better for people that have to make a longer trek than my 35 mile drive – but it’s still cool none the less.

To get your own badge check out the Google Latitude badge page.

Technorati Tags: api, badge, google, gps, latitude, quakecon

So, after the first time, I replied with something ridiculous, usually “I want your body…in my mouth.” and then blocked the user, and closed the window…

creepysalmon: Surely He hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.
creepysalmon: who the hell art thou?
creepysalmon: [[Neo]]?
[[Neo]]: ?
[[Neo]]: creepysalmon: Surely He hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.
[[Neo]]: Auto-response sent to creepysalmon: Away since 6:54PM (GMT-6)
[[Neo]]: creepysalmon: who the hell art thou?
[[Neo]]: creepysalmon: [[Neo]]?
[[Neo]]: you started this…who are you?
creepysalmon: Looks like bots have gotten into Yahoo.
creepysalmon: Ah…
creepysalmon: it’s a bot.
[[Neo]]: yeah
creepysalmon: our apologies.
[[Neo]]: np
creepysalmon: [[Neo]]: WE verily miss you. Dost thou ever think about the good times?
creepysalmon: how very droll!

Until last night, when I decided to await a response…

liberatedsalmon: I may be a robot, but if you say ‘domo arigato’ to me, I will hurt you.
[[Neo]]: domo arigato, beeyotch
[[Neo]]: I want your body…
[[Neo]]: in my mouth
liberatedsalmon: huh?
liberatedsalmon: http://[spamwebsite]/debtfree
[[Neo]]: only if you get in my mouth
liberatedsalmon: you first
[[Neo]]: so how come you’re creating all these *salmon screennames? do people really click your links?
liberatedsalmon: huh?
[[Neo]]: how much of this conversation are you actually participating in?
[[Neo]]: on my end, you initiated it
liberatedsalmon: wierd
[[Neo]]: liberatedsalmon: I may be a robot, but if you say ‘domo arigato’ to me, I will hurt you.
[[Neo]]: [[Neo]]: domo arigato, beeyotch
[[Neo]]: [[Neo]]: I want your body…
[[Neo]]: [[Neo]]: …in my mouth
[[Neo]]: liberatedsalmon: huh?
[[Neo]]: liberatedsalmon: http://[spamwebsite]/debtfree
[[Neo]]: [[Neo]]: only if you get in my mouth
liberatedsalmon: you im’d me
[[Neo]]: what was my first sentence?
[[Neo]]: was it what I just sent you?
liberatedsalmon: thats what poped up on my screen
liberatedsalmon: you said lets play desert bus together.
[[Neo]]: can you copy the chat log from the beginning few lines, and send it to me?
liberatedsalmon: my nic isnt salmon anything .. your’s is allergenicsalmon though
[[Neo]]: interesting…I bet someone grabbed our screennames, and is proxying them to other people
[[Neo]]: my real one is “[[Neo]]”
liberatedsalmon: allergenicsalmon: Let’s play Desert Bus together! M.R.: huh?
liberatedsalmon: mine’s M.R.
[[Neo]]: hmm…this is not the first time I’ve had a salmon derivative IM me
[[Neo]]: talking about seeing things in the clouds, or if I liked puppy dogs
[[Neo]]: http://profiles.yahoo.com/liberatedsalmon
[[Neo]]: I wonder what ProjectU is, according to that profile
liberatedsalmon: who knows
[[Neo]]: I’m investigating further…I’ll let you go since neither one of us started this conversation…maybe it’s an elaborate scheme to get people to meet people online :-p
liberatedsalmon: hehe
liberatedsalmon: definalty wierd
liberatedsalmon: i’d say it was a hack attempt but i didnt get any links to click on
[[Neo]]: I got one from you
liberatedsalmon: unless there’s an exploitable bug in the new yahoo IM
[[Neo]]: but I am not even using Yahoo Messenger
liberatedsalmon: i usually use trillian
liberatedsalmon: but i got yahoo messenger last week to test some web bits.
[[Neo]]: it has to be something inside the protocol for yahoo messenger…if I had to guess, I’d say someone set up a Jabber/XMPP that connected to the yahoo IM service, and was using fake names to initiate connections to gleamed sn’s
[[Neo]]: I do too…Trillian Astra
liberatedsalmon: i wonder if it has anything to do with the yahoobox you can add to your website
[[Neo]]: that thought kinda makes me interested in setting one up, just to try it, and solve the question that’s floating around the internet
[[Neo]]: probably not…at least not on my end – I don’t do hardly anything with yahoo and this screenname
[[Neo]]: I have to use it for work, but that has a different acct tied to it
liberatedsalmon: well good luck!
[[Neo]]: thanks

After working out that neither of us started this conversation, I was able to surmise that it was either:

• an exploit in the Yahoo Instant Message delivery protocol, using the OpenSource Jabber/XMPP protocol, since one doesn’t have to be on another’s buddy list in order to contact them. or…
• a non-malicious social experiment to connect people with other people on the internet.

Well, my estimations and predictions weren’t too far off.

Last night I went searching for salmon screennames and ProjectU, and came across @mjlambie‘s twitter page, and his post made in January about the liberatedsalmon screenname, and left a message. This afternoon, I find a response from him mentioning Project Upstream. A couple click-arounds, and I come across a LiveJournal page that describes the project, in vague detail. A couple more clicks, and you can find more details about it.

Essentially, from the comments on the LiveJournal page…

“…Project Upstream was trying to identify the open minded people who would be willing to swim against the stream and chat with the random strangers with whom they were connected.”

“The world honestly needs more ways to reach out and meet each other. Connecting people randomly should be an every day occurrence. I can wait to see who I get paired up with next.”

…the project is to connect random people on the internet, all part of a larger project/idea called “The Great Hatsby“. Fortunately, they have included a command that you can send to stop receiving random connections to your screenname: “$optout”. Just send it to any of the spamfish and it will remove you from their list.

So there you have it, hope that helps get you started for finding out why you’re getting these messages from allergenicsalmon, liberatedsalmon, creepysalmon, or any other *salmon-derivative.

Update: Since the original posting of this article, over 1.5 years ago, The Great Hatsby wikipedia page has been removed from the site. The article detailed how a similar project was done on the AOL Instant Messaging platform using trout-derivative screennames.

Technorati Tags: aclockworkcoho, allergenicsalmon, AutomatedCoho, creepysalmon, Disorderlysalmon, excelletsalmon, foreignsalmon, glorioussalmon, google, liberatedsalmon, NanoScaleCoho, paradoxicalsalmon, profiles, project, ProjectU, ProjectUpstream, salmon, TalkativeCoho, The Great Hatsby, tickingsalmon, twitter, WoolenCoho

You don’t have to worry about spam or anything – I don’t like it either.

In other news, I’m also working on a tutorial entry that describes how to get data from a Google Docs Spreadsheet. Normally, I wouldn’t worry about trying to release this code, but since it was such a pain for me to figure out (like the UT3 Server setup), I’m sure it’s a pain for others to figure out as well.

The code creates a secure-authenticated session to Google Accounts, and then requests the data from a particular cell on a spreadsheet. My code goes one step further though, and posts that data to Twitter – which means it also creates an authenticated POST request via the Twitter API.

“Why do that?’ you ask…Well, if you want to be able to update a spreadsheet from, say an iPhone or other Mobile Browser, Google Docs will not let you. But I’ll explain more in the coming entry. Be looking for that sometime this week (I hope).

Technorati Tags: api, beta, blog, Connect, google, server, site, Technology, ThePizzy, twitter, ut3

Of course, with any new technology I try to build or incorporate into something bigger, I first test it on my own site, the-spot.net, and then implement it elsewhere as intended.

Most of the work I had learned by reading “Professional AJAX” beforehand, and doing the XML-Http-Requests manually, and creating my own classes and such. But this time around, it was much simpler.

We implemented the Lightbox image overlay script, and found that it made use of the Prototype.js framework (for handling the asynchronous JavaScript calls) and Script.aculo.us for handling the animation of the overlaid image.

So I took it one step further, and decided to read up on the various ways to make use of these frameworks, and ended up calling all the various modules on the My Spot page of the-spot.net, it does create a problem for SEO-driven development.

If you’re looking for automatically updating content on a page that doesn’t have to change for it to happen, then you cause this code (once you include the prototype.js script in your page):

new Ajax.PeriodicalUpdater(‘products’, ‘/some_url’,
{
method: ‘get’,
insertion: Insertion.Top,
frequency: 1,
decay: 2
});

But while this code does the job to get your content updated automatically, at the given frequency in seconds (multiplied by the decay per each cycle containing unchanged content), the Google crawlers aren’t going to find it – because all that is on your page is this:

<div id=”products”></div>

…and that does not have any content in it for the Google crawlers and other search engine bots to read.

I’m still grappling with how to get content into that box for the crawlers to read, but not my users – and since my site is php-driven, I should be able to include the normal template includes enclosed in <noscript> tags:

<noscript>
<!-- INCLUDE “modules/module.html” -->
</noscript>

…in order for my pages to show content for the crawlers, but not my visitors – unless they have JavaScript turned off, of course. I’ll give it a shot though, and post more information later. I have to go back and re-edit my pages and templates to make sure they are still compliant with the original template architecture.

Technorati Tags: ajax, asynchronous javascript, code, decay, development, div, framework, frameworks, frequency, google, image overlay, insertion, JavaScript, Lightbox, noscript, PeriodicalUpdater, prototype, SEO-driven, technology, url, XHTML, xml http requests

The first bit of software is for syncing Google Calendar to the Windows Mobile 5 Outlook Calendar. It’s called OggSync. There is a free version, and a paid subscription version. With the free version you can *manually* sync 1 Google Calendar with your phone. Personally, that was not enough for me, because I use about 5 calendars for various things (Personal Public, Personal Finances, Movies/TV Shows, Social Life, and the-spot.net). So I bought the subscription version, with allows *scheduled automatic* updates at regular intervals, and unlimited Google Calendars to be sync’d.

The program has 2-way read/write capabilities, with the exception of repeating events – and that is an issue on Google’s end, not the software’s. It’s got a simple and unattractive interface, but once you set up your configuration, you rarely have to bother with it. It does not autostart with the phone, so you do have to load it when you want it to auto-sync. But when you close it, the program runs in the background to keep things going. And that works great in conjunction with Google Calendar, and Provider for Google Calendar plugin for Mozilla Thunderbird.

The other bit of software that I started using with Cingular’s Xpress Mail that came on the phone. This functions in the same fashion as the Blackberry’s Xpress Messaging software does, which allows you to keep synchronized with your desktop exchange calendar. When you install the PC software, you register your phone and a user name, and leave it running all the time alongside Microsoft Outlook. Then you install the client by going to the web interface and go to the Download section in the upper right hand corner. There you download the appropriate device client by choosing your phone manufacturer, and entering your phone number. Click Next, and choose whether to send the link to your PC or via SMS for the client to install on your phone. Once you go through the setup and configuration, it’s seamlessly integrated with your Outlook Client. The communication is near instantaneous, and helps a lot when you’re an IT worker or executive that is out of the office doing business, and need to be up-to-date with your communications.

Now if I could just find a way to sync up my Google Docs with my Open Office and/or desktop and/or Windows Mobile My-Docs. I’ll let you know what I find.

Technorati Tags: automatic updates, autostart, calendars, cingular 8125, exchange calendar, free version, google, mail, messaging software, microsoft outlook, mozilla thunderbird, outlook calendar, personal finances, personal public, phone manufacturer, subscription version, sync, web interface, windows mobile, xpress

It took a couple weeks of using the apps on my laptop, desktop and even at work in some cases to get a feel for where certain features were located on the ribbon and even in the different window/menu structure. Also some new features were added that were helpful for being productive, but required some fooling with to figure out how to use them effectively.

But, as with all other things, it came to an end. The TR Beta 2 ran out at the end of March 2007. That meant I had to either pony up for the new version of Office, or sit there and hit the “you must uninstall this software” message every time I wanted to load the program. OR, I could do one more thing, that I tried to do a couple months ago – and move to OpenSource.

That is what I decided to do. I can’t afford the $250-ish price tag for legit Office 2007, and I’m not real interested in getting a cracked version of the software for a couple reasons – I don’t want to deal with the WGA hassle, and I’ve already used the software. So I moved to Open Office, Mozilla Thunderbird, and Mozilla Sunbird/Lightening.

My main tiff I had with Office was that it didn’t synchronize with anything. Sure, you could export your Outlook calendar to a web calendar with Office Online – but Office Online is gay – it requires you to use IE for things. It’s not necessarily that I don’t like IE, but that I have much more settings configuration invested in FireFox. But the calendars didn’t sync up or down automatically…and you can’t write to them and make changes in one place, and get it to sync to the other automatically.

Enter: Mozilla Thunderbird, Mozilla Sunbird, Mozilla Lightening, and the Provider plugin for Google Calendars.

I installed Thunderbird, Sunbird, and Lightening, and then realized I had the same predicament with them as I did with Outlook. So I went searching and found GCAL Daemon which worked great, but was a separate application. Today I found the Provider for Google Calendar plugin. This makes it much easier to manage your calendar and configure the settings. And it lets you read AND write to the Google Calendars.

So far, this has proved to be useful. I use google.com/ig as my start page at work, and I have the calendar add-on on that page – as well as my gmail account, and some other things. All this stuff is also sync’d to my laptop through Thunder/Sunbird/Lightening and the plugin, and the same with my desktop. It’s the connectivity I’ve been looking for.

I’m still trying to find a working way to sync my Google Calendar to my Windows Mobil 5 phone…I found FinchSync, but it gave java error until I configured it…now the two don’t connect. And it’s looking for a .ics calendar file to sync, but I don’t have one of those, since I’m syncing over the internet. So I’ll keep looking.

Anyway, that’s what I’m using right now to keep my communication channels in place in a world without MS Outlook.

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Technorati Tags: calendars, google, i decided, mail, mozilla thunderbird, outlook calendar, style, sync