A Chrome Extension That Does Nothing
Since it was first introduced, Google Chrome has been my browser of choice. So, when version 4 was released, I was particularly pleased to see the new extensions feature. When I went to view the extensions gallery, a particular entry stood out from the rest:
This extension does nothing.
Right there among the top rated extensions, I found one that did nothing:
When I viewed the details about the extension, it became obvious that many people were fueling the joke by adding supportive comments. Still, you see glimmers of confusion every now and then.
The last comment is my favorite.
Capturing Only the Active Window with Print Screen
Print Screen takes a screenshot of the entire Windows desktop.
Ah, yes… Print Screen. I’ve been using the Prt Scr key for many years now – for a long time, it was my primary method of taking screenshots. However, when I started working as a developer, I quickly discovered the benefits of using specialized screenshot utilities. Presently, I use Snipping Tool and Jing much more than Print Screen. The problem was always that Print Screen would copy the whole desktop, which is particularly frustrating when you have multiple monitors. Soon after starting as a developer, I was told that pressing Alt + Prt Scr would copy only the active window to the clipboard. This proved convenient in the cases where I wanted exactly that – just one window. Compare both the screenshots in this post to get a better idea of what I mean.
Alt + Print Screen only takes a screenshot of the active window.
Task Manager Has a Tiny Footprint Mode
If you use Windows, chances are, you know about the Task Manager.
Windows Task Manager is a task manager application included with Microsoft Windows NT family of operating systems that provides detailed information about computer performance and running applications, processes and CPU usage, commit charge and memory information, network activity and statistics, logged-in users, and system services. The Task Manager can also be used to set process priorities, processor affinity, forcibly terminate processes, and shut down, restart, hibernate or log off from Windows.
Typically accessed via CTRL+ALT+DEL, this handy tool was never intended to be widely used. Watch below for a laugh as engineer David Bradley takes a friendly jab at Bill Gates, regarding the feature:
I use it very often, mainly to kill processes, change priorities, and monitor system performance. That’s why, a few years ago, I was surprised to find a somewhat hidden feature in there. Simply double-click anywhere in the main Task Management window, and it will switch over to Tiny Footprint mode. The menu bar and tab bar disappear, and the contents are maximized.
Task Manager window showing performance data in Tiny Footprint mode. The content takes up more space, making it easier to read.
Apparently, some people were accidentally activating this mode, and didn’t know how to change it back. To help those people, Microsoft added a knowledge base article. All you have to do to is double-click the window contents once more.
Changing Drive Letters In Windows
At home, I use multiple external hard drives; however, I don’t always leave them on. I usually have just one of them running at a time. Today, when my turned on my main external hard drive, it was assigned the drive letter I by Windows, whereas it usually used F. This caused some problems – some of my shortcuts expect it to be the F drive.
When I look at my drives in Windows, here is what I see:
My drives. Notice how "F" is actually free?
Looking at the drives, I don’t quite understand why Windows thought I would be a good idea. I’m guessing it remembers another drive that had F, and wants to reserve it. Why it didn’t do that before, is beyond me.
To correct the shortcuts, I had to change the drive letter of the drive – which would make the paths valid again. I only had to do this once before, so I thought I’d offer the steps here, in case someone else would find it useful. The change is made using the Disk Management tool that comes with Windows.
In Windows 7, either:
- Search for “Disk Management” in the Start menu, and select the “Create and format hard disk partitions” option.
or
- In a “Run Command” window, enter “diskmgmt.msc”.
You’ll be presented with the Disk Management screen:
Once there, simply right-click the disk you wish to change, and select “Change Drive Letter and Paths”.
You’ll be presented with the following dialog:
Select the drive letter, and press “Change”.
When the dialog opens, select the letter you want to use. In my case, I changed the “Assign the following drive letter:” field value from I to F.
After that, press OK. You’re get a warning saying:
Some programs that rely on drive letters might not run correctly. Do you want to continue?
Copying the Contents of Windows Dialogs
As a developer, I very often see error messages – some of those originate from the products I develop, and I have to report them as bugs. Whenever I get an error message in a dialog, I typically take a screenshot, and add that to the bug base issue. That’s fine, but it means people can’t search for that error message in the bug base – in order to enable that, I’d usually just manually type out the error message, rather than take a screenshot. That was before. Today, I’d just press CTRL+C to copy the error dialog contents.
That’s right, whenever you see a dialog in Windows, like this:
A typical Windows error message dialog.
You can press CTRL+C to copy, and then open up Notepad, and press CTRL+V to paste:
The dialog title, contents, and even the button text are saved to the clipboard.
I had no idea this was possible until I read a Lifehacker article explaining it. Since I’ve started using it, I’ve found it very useful in my every day work. Maybe you will too!
Just a note, though – it doesn’t seem to work everywhere. For example, JavaScript alert dialogs can’t be copied in Firefox, but they can in Internet Explorer.
Yahoo! Answers: Coughing With Your Mouth Closed
Yet again, I was looking for some information online, and I found this ridiculous question and answer.
"Can u cough with your mouth closed with out any thing happening?"
While difficult to take seriously, Yahoo! Answers does at least offer a good laugh.
To Love and Hate NoScript
Mozilla Firefox has always been one of my favorite browsers. The only contender that was able to knock it from its #1 position was Google Chrome. Even though Chrome is still lacking in a few departments (extensions, bookmark management), I swear by it because of the overall performance. Plus, whenever they release a major version, I know they’ll have further performance enhancements – that’s just what they do. I also prefer the minimalistic nature of their user interface – which, as it turns out, also integrates beautifully with my operating system, Windows 7.
Despite Firefox dropping to #2 in my list, I still use it regularly for web development. They have plenty of extensions to keep me coming back: Firebug, Web Developer, ColorZilla, HTML Validator, and… well, NoScript. All of those extensions are excellent; however, NoScript sometimes irritates me.
NoScript Firefox extension provides extra protection for Firefox, Flock, Seamonkey and other mozilla-based browsers: this free, open source add-on allows JavaScript, Java and Flash and other plugins to be executed only by trusted web sites of your choice (e.g. your online bank), and provides the most powerful Anti-XSS protection available in a browser.
NoScript’s unique whitelist based pre-emptive script blocking approach prevents exploitation of security vulnerabilities (known and even not known yet!) with no loss of functionality…
Certainly sounds great – and it works very well too. I really get a sense of safety in knowing I can selectively enable specific elements on webpages, blocking everything else by default. The functionality they offer is great. The problem I have is more with the developers, not the extension. You see, here’s the problem: NoScript is regularly updated, so you’re very likely to see this on a regular basis:
Kind of annoying, but by itself, not a deal breaker. After an restarting Firefox due to the update, I’m immediately greeted by the following page:
Let me state this very clearly: Every time I update NoScript, I’m thrown to that page. Ugh. Sure, they show me the change log, news, and more – but they also show me ads… a lot of them. Let’s start by looking at how much of the site is devoted to ads. I’ll highlight pure advertisements in red, affiliations in pink, and donation controls in orange:
That’s quite a lot of advertising on the main page… and it is above the fold of the page. It’s not the worst I’ve ever seen, but it is still a significant assault on my eyes. I won’t show you screenshots of what the rest of the page looks like, but trust me – it follows the same trend. If you’d like to see it all, you can visit it here. That said, I get the whole “we’re starving programmers and we need the money” thing, but I expect a certain amount of elegance in pursuing revenue. Considering their previous shady practices, though, I’m not entirely surprised.
Another aspect of their advertising that particularly bothers me is how they claim to be “your friendly web cop”, keeping you safe, and yet, they are suggesting software that they probably never even tried. I’m particularly referring to the “PC slowing you down? Free scan” and “Top tip! Click here to check if your drivers are up-to-date!” ads. I would never click on those things… but I know some people that might, especially if they are shown on a security-related site. At first glance, even I have to ask myself if it is an ad – it almost looks like it could be another software offering from the same company. Things like that really make me want to start using AdBlock Plus again… and that’s not cool, since I am a web developer myself.
Overall, if their site was more tastefully presented, and the ads were more respectful in number and placement, I’d have less of a problem with them showing me their page every time I update. In its current state, it is just so obvious to me that they are money-hungry – to the point where they put little thought behind the resulting user experience. Even with that aspect improved, a pretty page could still be an annoyance if you are automatically thrown to it once a week. Thankfully, the NoScript guys have a way for you to disable the feature. Hurrah!
Solution
With the latest version of NoScript installed (In my case, 1.9.9.15):
1) Right-click the NoScript icon, and select Options.
2) Click the “Notifications” tab.
3) Find the checkbox titled “Display the release notes on updates”, and uncheck it.
4) Click “OK”.
That’s it! The NoScript page should no longer be force-fed to you after every update. Take a moment to truly enjoy that fact.
If you’re ever wondering about what they added in a particular update, you can check the update-specific release notes from within Firefox itself. In the Add-ons Manager, click the “Updates” tab, select the NoScript update, and click the “Show Information” button at the bottom of the dialog. Once clicked, you’ll see additional information about the update:
Now… remind me, NoScript developers, why I need to see your homepage every time you release a new minor version? For the sake of your advertising revenue, perhaps?
A Good Place to Find Free Loading Animations
As I was working on one of my personal web development projects today, I realized I would need a loading animation. Thankfully, I remembered a very useful web service I discovered a long time ago – AjaxLoad.info. The site is specifically designed to provide free, customizable loading animations – in GIF format. They have at least 25 different types of loading animations – so if you’re looking for one, I recommend you check what they have to offer.
As for the “free” factor – in case you’re wondering: there aren’t any specific licenses associated with the images, but the front page clearly states that “generated gifs are totally free for use”. That said, enjoy.
An Easier Way to Search for Domain Names
In the past, whenever I wanted to search for available domain names, I checked with individual domain registrars. While this worked, it really wasn’t optimal- every time I wanted to check another domain’s availability, I had to press Back in my browser, re-enter a domain, re-submit the request, and then I’d know. Most websites were set up like this, unfortunately. Furthermore, if I wanted to compare domain registration fees, I’d have to check multiple websites.
I’m happy to say that these inconveniences are now no longer an issue. The solution lies in a site called Instant Domain Search. The webpage aims to facilitate the process of searching for a domain, and to do so, it:
- searches automatically as you type
- lists different rates from leading registrars
- lists domains names that are for sale
Check it out:
Personally, I’m never going back to the old method.
The Wall of Cookies
Back in June 2008, I invited a friend of mine to an Iron Maiden concert here in Montreal. Since he lives in Nova Scotia, this meant that he’d be staying at my place for a few days. Over the years I’ve known him, it was very clear to me that he really enjoyed cookies… so I thought I should be equipped for his arrival:
The cabinet was almost completely full – each package you see in the photo had another identical one right behind it. Needless to say, we didn’t finish all the cookies – I had to give them away to friends and family.