Category Archives: technology

Hardware and software, hacks, tricks and tips, online findings, resources, trouble-shooting guides, tech help and support and my own “ah-ha” moments as I make my way as an Internet-based consultant and hopelessly addicted gadget geek.

I’ll include hardware and software I’ve found (and use), those that I wish I could use (or wish I could afford) or that is still in the lab — but piques my interest. These blog entries will focus on the technology that makes my geek flag fly high.

Hulu Disappoints: Super Cookies

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key to personal and digital privacyI love Hulu. I’ve been with them (and a PAYING customer since the pro version was first introduced.) I’ve advocated them to my family and friends. I’ve even selected phones based on whether or not there’s a supported Hulu app. I love Hulu.

Then, last week, I read that Hulu was (like many large companies)using super-cookies (inside Adobe flash files). I feel betrayed. I can’t believe they are using cookies that track my every move and store my history. It’s quite disappointing.

After reading the article, I went on a mission to figure out how to remove the existing cookies and resist the logging of future super-cookies. What I found was this article on how to change the flash settings to protect your privacy. I used it to reset my preferences on the Adobe product and I also downloaded Flush, a Mac-specific product to “flush” super-cookies. This little app is now set to launch every time I turn on my MacBook Pro so I flush any existing cookies from the last use of the computer.

We live in a world where there are no secrets, there is no privacy and big business is not in the habit of protecting their customers. Even though I find this particularly disappointing with the companies I once trusted, there’s really no way to get around it… other than to have a personal mission to protect your information yourself. So, do it.

 

Admin Theme for WP – I’m in LOVE with Dean Robinson!

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An example of how different these two WP blogs look on the backside now -- thanks to Fluency!

I’ve been working to update WickedBlog, to launch a new simple living blog, and to handle the WordPress sites of many clients. I’m a multi-tasker, and often have multiple sites and multiple windows in each site open at once.

Switching back and forth is a bit irksome, to say the least — especially when the admin end all looks the same. And, when I’m on a roll, I don’t want to have to stop and search to see where I am before I can follow the next brainstorm of ideas.  Continue reading →

Save iPhone SMS and MMS Messages to Your Mac!

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I’ve looked for AGES for a way to backup my iPhone — the WHOLE shebang — without transferring my private information to a web-hosted service and then downloading it.

Although there are several options for those with a PC, there are remarkably few for Mac-lovers. After trying several on for size, I found one that I like enough to recommend. I’m sharing to (hopefully) save others hours of research and hunting and trial-and-error to find a working resource.

The name of the product is PhoneView and it’s a $20 investment. It will back up phone messages and recent call history (all great stuff for the small business owner). It also makes your iPhone “searchable” from your Mac, and sets it up to work as a portable disk drive. And — you can grab vCards straight from the iPhone and add them to your master list on your Mac. Nice!

It does NOT require jailbreaking, or altering your iphone in any way, so it’s safe. This is the functionality that Apple SHOULD have built into iTunes, but didn’t.

It works on the iPad too!

So, if you are interested, download their free trail and give it a spin before putting down your hard-earned cash. That’s what I did. ;)

How to Download Docs From iWork to the iPad

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I managed to do this once, when I first got the iPad… then I forgot how I did it (so it must have been a pure-luck-bumble-into-success in the first place). After spending WAY too much time trying to figure it out and trying to look up the steps online, I found a description which helped me over on ArsTechnica.com. (Thanks, guys!)

I decided to take it a bit further, because of the slippery little visual cues and created my own “step-by-step” for anyone else trying to do serious work on the iPad who has also hit this stumbling block.

Open in Safari and go to iWork.com and log in. (I set an icon on iPad’s homepage to make this quicker.)

Select the blue “down” arrow and hold your finger there a second until the drop down menu appears. You can select what format – Numbers, PDF, or Excel:

Once you do that, it opens into the Safari Browser – which will seem like you are in a “view only” format — but you AREN’T. (Never fear!)

At this point, you can tap anywhere on the screen and a previously invisible bar will appear at the top, just under the browser. (It appears briefly when it launches in the browser, but if you blink you will miss it.) Tapping the screen brings it back for a few critical seconds.

On the left you have an “Open in..” button and on the right you have a specific format (the one you picked when you selected the blue down arrow on the previous screen).

In this case, I was opening it in numbers, so that’s the option on the right button.

I hope this helps others who have struggled with this.

***Now, if only I had an easy way to view and make comments via the notes option in iWork on the iPad. (Right now I’m using the Atomic browser app – but it’s dicey at best.) It seems odd to me that the Safari browser won’t show one of the best features about the iWork online “cloud” option – notes from clients for collaboration. :(

iTunes won’t update Apps!!! iTunes error 400.

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For several weeks, I’ve had to update my apps one at a time on my iphones — yes, we have multiples in this house (three) plus an iPod touch. So, manual updates get to be a bit cumbersome.

I’ve been getting an error (without an error number, just so you know, saying there’s no internet connection — which there WAS) along with a second error (400) when I try to update. Error 400 in relation to the iTunes store, BTW, referenced iTunes version 4.8 and is seldom seen now. It would also tell me that the iTunes store was temporarily unavailable and it asked me to try again later. For weeks.

The odd thing was that I can get online and view the iTunes store. I could also buy and download apps, but I couldn’t update any — and I had over 230 that said they need to be updated.

Earlier this week, on Sunday, I spent the entire day — literally over five hours — on the phone with Apple trying to figure this one out before my iPad pre-order arrives and needs access to the iTunes updates too.

We finally gave up when the levels of tech support were exhausted and my issue was sent to “engineering” to resolve it.

Today (on Tuesday) I’m cleaning things off my Mac, and decided to be rid of some programs I no longer need or want. One of them was NetBarrier X5. Since this one had proven to be less than simple to uninstall — it was going to require a bit of research. Some months ago, I simply opened it up so it wasn’t blocking my ports for wireless apps and other programs that I use until I had time to actually get rid of it.

While enjoying my insomnia tonight, I decided to clean this particular little program off my machine. I have to do a web search to determine how to do it. While searching, I actually trip across this article which states that there is some weirdness reported between iTunes store permissions and logins and NetBarrier.

Long story short… removing the NetBarrier (which had to be done by re-downloading the product and then attempting to install and hitting the uninstall instead) and then a reboot and the problem was solved.

Now, I just have to call my support guy back at Apple and let him know what I’ve found so they can document it on their site’s tech support.

And one more huge, bothersome thing to do is off my list…along with the smaller one that caused it.