just an asterisk

Maybe you don’t know this, but when you search for something in Google, and then click on my blog (or any blog) and arrive here, I can see what you searched for to get here. It’s a bit strange and voyeuristic, but it helps us bloggers figure out what people actually want to read.  For example, I know that someone searched for “three asterisk microsoft word” and ended being disappointed on my site (he/she only stuck around for 30 seconds).  By way of apology, I offer the answer that this mystery person was probably looking for, along with some other weird word tricks.  In the future, you won’t even have to think it before I’ll write a post… :) Read more »

I don’t publicize my blog very much at my day job.  It’s just not really relevant to what I do for a living and frankly, I like having a strong line between work and play.  However, this is a luxury that may disappear soon (if it hasn’t already).  This past week, I read this article which demonstrated the elephant memory of the internet (and resulted in me learning something new about that expression.)  Basically, one of the contributors of DownloadSquad.com (a great blog for software) attempted to remove himself from Facebook a few months ago.  He was surprise to find that his Facebook image was still available from Google’s image search, even when his account was closed.

The truth is this:  when your picture goes out into the lovely webs of cyberspace, it’s never gone.  It might be just sitting on a shelf without a label – that is, until the technology to link you to the evidence comes along.  As an example, try Googling yourself on Google’s image search:

When I tried this, I found my photo on page 17 of the results from a site that I had never seen before.  That alone was pretty strange.  However, don’t stop there – add a piece of information about yourself that others might know (like the company you worked for last) and you might be surprised how much the field narrows.  I went from page 17 with millions of hits down to page 1 with my picture as number 2, just by adding a former job to my search.

Companies liked LinkedIn and Facebook are the source of many of these images, but there are also companies that archive older pictures from the Facebook or LinkedIn database.  For example, Radaris (which does background checks) has a copy of my LinkedIn image (how is that ok?).  Long story short, even if you remove a picture from the site you’ve signed up with, you might be too late.

There really isn’t a fix for this. The best answer is probably not to post things unless you’re sure you want the world to see it.  I know that we’ve heard this before, but the supporting evidence is rarely so easy to find.

Best of luck staying safe out there!

~ab

It’s a bit of a misnomer actually – rich text doesn’t have anything to do with riches or wealth. In fact, it’s not even the correct name, as Microsoft has sole proprietorship of the term “rich text” so our emails are technically “enriched text” (which probably would have been a better name…)

But anyway…

Here is what is really important:  Gmail has always supported signatures, but they were lame. You could write in plain text and split it into multiple lines. This all changed today when Gmail introduced “rich text” signatures, so I thought I’d walk through what you can do now.

Part 1: Rich is mostly about formatting

To see your signature, go to Settings and then the General tab. You’ll see the signature window about half-way down the page.

As you can see from my screenshot above, rich formatting gives you that toolbar that you’ve seen above your Gmail for so long. Using the simple buttons like bold, italic and underline, you can add basic flourishes. There are also font options, colors and high-lighting for your spicy new signature. One of my favorite additions is that you can insert true links into your emails.  For example, you can put a link to “my site” rather than spelling out the web address of your homepage.

Part 2: Inserting photos

Inserting photos into your signature is now much easier, although it still requires a bit of work. The first step is to click on this little button:

Once you’ve done this, you’ll be asked for a website where you’ve stored your photo. Yes, I realize that it’s a bit of a pain to have to keep the image online, but as you can see, once you have the link it is very easy to include a photo – even a very stupid one.

When you’re done typing the address, you should see the image appear in the box below the address field (as mine did above). Click OK to finish.

When you’re done with part 1 and/or part 2, don’t forget to save your work! You wouldn’t want to lose it!

Have fun with the new signatures. Feel free to brag about any cool ideas in the comments!
~ab

Hi all,

After a few weeks with my new MacBook Pro, I’ve probably installed (and then deleted) 100+ apps as I try to rebuild my digital life on a new platform. Finding apps that did what I needed was a bit of a chore (not to mention a bit pricey sometimes), so it was great to find lists like this one from Mac.Appstorm.Net (check it out).  Some of my favorites?

1. Firefox – My alternative to Mac’s Safari browser.  Firefox is better supported, and so I use Safari until I hit a problem.

2. Fluid – creates applications out of websites.  It sounds a bit strange, but it’s way better than just a bookmark for sites like Gmail, Remember the Milk, etc.

3. Cinch – Snaps windows around like Windows 7.  I grew to love the feature and feel less-productive without it (this is not evidence-based…).

Are there any apps that I should try out?  Anything that a mac user out there is dying to know?  Leave a note or suggestion in the comments and we’ll take a look.

If you’re in the same boat as me – enjoy the transition!

~ab

In truth, I get it. The idea is so simple: click a button, pay $100 for a year and receive your push mail, contacts, calendar, storage for your photos and files, plus a “find my iphone” application all in one handy interface to your computer. However, it forever irks me when I’m told about these services as if they are the only game in town. I mentioned my doubt to the Mac Store genius a few days ago and was told “yes but MobileMe is seemless and far less complicated”…

That sounded like a challenge to me, so I wrote out my alternative to MobileMe system.  I thought it would take longer, but it’s actually quite simple.  Here are my choices: Read more »

There seems to be quite a bit of confusion about what “cloud computing” really means.

“Cloud computing is Internet-based computing, whereby shared resources, software and information, are provided to computers and other devices on-demand, like the electricity grid.” (Wikipedia)

I’m a geek and the above, although well intentioned is about as easy to understand as the other buzzy language I hear on the topic.  Let’s write our own definition (in a few parts): Read more »

I haven’t written very much lately, as my travels and day job have worn me out.  However, it’s a big day.  I’m sitting in a Starbucks in Toronto trying to get a feel for my new MacBook Pro.   Even though it’s only day 1 (well day 2 if you count the flight), I can see that this is going to change how this blog continues forward.

Why?  Well I’m learning!  Apple is not my strong suit and everything is new.  That said, every feature pleasantly surprises me.  Each time I think “there must be a way to…”, I stumble upon what I’m looking for, amazed that it’s there, without code or effort.  What had worried me about the transition was this: I’m a pretty geeky dude.  Won’t it be hard to transition the hard stuff from Windows to Mac?  The answer?  Not even a little bit.

Google Calendar and Gmail were both quick to setup (a Google search put me on the right path).  Microsoft Office was a simple install.  My programming environment in Windows (Komodo Edit) is available for Mac, so no transition there.   Skype and Dropbox were the same story.  To be honest, if we discount the time for my downloads, I’ve probably set the entire machine up, super-user environment and all in less than 3 hours.  That even includes the time I’ve spent playing with it… Pretty amazing.

Given the fun I’m having, I’ve decided that just an asterisk is going to follow me on my new adventure into Mac land, writing about the land of the apple from the big apple.  That said, my day job still requires a PC and I’m sitting on a ton of windows hardware, so JAA will have to be about more than just the domain of Steve Jobs.  We’ll see where the balance lies after a few months…

I guess this is really a post about posts that I’ll write in the future.  Keep an eye out for a Mac post soon and feel free to send questions to ab@justanasterisk.com.  I’d love to have ideas of what to try next.  We’ll explore this lovely transition together.

Best,

~ab

This isn’t news, but I’ve been having fun with it (and I’m a bit strapped for time these days).  My new TV came with streaming Netflix built in (as I mentioned in my last post).  But what does this really mean???  Well I’ll tell you – I can watch Netflix from my television, streaming it over the web on my home network.  The network setup was a pain in the butt, but once I got it working, I couldn’t believe that I’d lived without for so long.  To think of all the times I ordered pay-per-view when I could have just watched something for free!

Read more »

Recently, my wife and I purchased a new television.  It was fun to browse and explore all the new acronyms, but in truth my knowledge of televisions is a bit sub-par.  The thing was, I was pretty happy with my CRT (cathode ray tube – the technology behind the pervious generation of TVs and those big clunky monitors).  The problem, as is always the case with technology, was that I wanted more than my old box could deliver – HDTV (High Definition Television) was calling… I am not qualified (even after my shopping research) to give you the full scoop on HDTV.  All I can tell you is that HD TVs use a connector called HDMI and that each of these cables runs about $40 – which is just stupid as you need one for each device you want to attach… (editorial, yes, but does that mean it’s untrue?)