just an asterisk

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

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

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

In my mind, the rich fantasy world where people actually discuss technology at cocktail parties, I have to admit that I still worry about credibility.  I daydream of you whipping out my newest cocktail party geek tidbit and the lucky recipient responds with “neat” and follows it with “where’d ya learn that?”.  With pride in your knowledge of the obscure, you say “justanasterisk.com” and in return you get… a blank stare.  Ok so it’s less of a daydream than a worrying, nagging, pestering thought.

However, if you say “Google told me”, I’m pretty sure that you will not get the same response.  Thus, in full admission of my own blog’s failings and guided by a passion for giving you the best possible info, I present: Google on Google (well I guess Google is actually presenting it… )

How Google Works

If you’re dubious about this link (because you think google is an evil empire or out of some absolutely insane loyalty to me) then here is a sample of what you’ll see:

Enjoy it!

~ab

I received a request from Dave on this one – Thanks Dave! – and I couldn’t resist trying to do it.  Here is the Frankenstein-like result:

What the program does

This program is for emailing new events to your Google Calendar.  It checks your Gmail account for new events that were sent to a special label every ten seconds.  It can only process one calendar entry every ten seconds (but if you’r emailing in more than that, it’s pretty impressive and you are far too busy to be playing with my software).

I couldn’t find any 3rd party services that do this, so I had to improvise using AutoHotKey and a script I wrote previously for quick adding events to Google calendar.  The result is a bit rickety, but it does the job.  Improvements may or may not occur over time and currently it does not work with google apps (although it couldn’t be that hard to fix this).

Setup

It requires three pieces of setup (these are the defaults which can be modified if you know how to script):

1. Create a Gmail filter that puts take email sent to youraddress+jaacal@gmail.com into a new folder/label called jaacal.  You can also say “skip the inbox” so these emails don’t clutter things up.

2. Download the zip file from this link – Email to Google Calendar (93) – and unpack it to a directory of your choosing.

3.  Change the logon.txt file to include your email, your user name (email without @gmail.com) and your password.  Make sure you keep this file in the same folder as the EXE file.

Workin’ it

Once you’ve done these three steps, run the EXE file and walk away.  Send an email with your quick add text in the subject line to the address above and it will appear on your calendar within about 20 seconds.  An example of a quick add subject line could be something like “dinner with Dave to thank him for such a good idea tommorrow 10pm”.  It doesn’t matter what you put in the body, the program will just ignore it.

Download Email to Google Calendar (93)

And that’s about it! Let me know your thoughts at ab@justanasterisk.com or in the comments.

~ab

Dear reader,

A year has passed since my first JAA post.  All said, I’ve written 104 posts (with a few guests).  My hope is that these articles have helped strengthen your confidence to solve your own computer issues.  I will continue to write in 2010 and I hope that you’ll continue to read!

I leave you and 2009 with one of my favorite IT crowd clips.  If IT were less like this – I wouldn’t have a blog…

Happy, healthy, peaceful and safe new year to all!

~ab

Whether you celebrate the holiday or not, my very best to you all.

In 2010, may you be happy, healthy, peaceful and safe!

Sorry for the poor video quality, but this one is a classic (with John Denver).

~ab

I recently came across this project from Bonnier.  It’s a rather intense magazine prototype (that doesn’t exist yet), realized in response to a thought experiment on the future – What about magazines is so great that we’d want to preserve it when we go digital?  Well one answer is embedded below.

Mag+ from Bonnier on Vimeo.

Read more »

I’m in Bangalore right now, working during the week and exploring on the weekend.  I thought it would be fun to describe what it’s like, as it’s certainly one of  the most unusual experiences I’ve ever had. The photo above is the view from my hotel window.  I wouldn’t say it’s the best advertising, but it’s a good place to start this description. Read more »