Posted by Dave Ferrite on 01 Dec 2008 | Tagged as: Uncategorized
No, I’m not dead. I’ve been hard at work on non-Flock projects that are (mostly) internal to my new employer and not public.
Sorry, this means you can’t see my work.
For those of you who’ve been clamoring over PocketFlock running the 2.0 final builds.
Chill.
Auto-Update works just fine.
Posted by Dave Ferrite on 16 Jul 2008 | Tagged as: Uncategorized
So I finally got a (paying) job working with computers and lo and behold I’m working tech support for a hosting company (no I won’t tell you which one).
I’ve made my parents proud at the cost of my soul.
It seems that nobody on the internet is fully aware of the awesome and mind-numbing stupidity that is lurking in the shadows of the net. From the arrogant script-kiddies to people that don’t know what a mail client is and still manages to run a company’s IT division.
I’ve had to deal with one such customer for about 2 days now. She canceled her account believing that she’s supposed to be using a Windows server if she runs Windows at home. Apparently she’s also responsible for managing 85% of all academic websites on the internet (her words, not mine) Whatever.
-anyways-
She’s been calling just to yell at us for about 20 minutes straight each day because the refund we issued her hasn’t yet reached her account. (Keep in mind, we sent the money, her bank is still processing it)
-sigh-
I’m always polite and talk to the customer in a professional tone, but there’s only so much you can say before you put the phone on mute and start spewing explitives you didn’t know existed before.
So let me say this in a nice enough way.
If you ever call tech support, by the time they’ve answered the phone, they already hate you.
Posted by Dave Ferrite on 15 Jul 2008 | Tagged as: Uncategorized
This post is both to let you know I’m still here and that I just updated the site to WordPress 2.6
Posted by Dave Ferrite on 26 Jun 2008 | Tagged as: Uncategorized
Due to a typo, the link for the Mac version of PocketFlock was downloading the Windows .zip, this has now been corrected.
Posted by Dave Ferrite on 23 Jun 2008 | Tagged as: PocketFlock
I’ve finally gotten around to releasing PocketFlock 2.0 based on the Flock 2.0 betas for both Mac and Windows systems. There’s a new launcher on the way for the Windows side of things that should eliminate UAC woes for Vista users (and hopefully provide a more unified source for both versions)
Anyways, you know where to get it.
Tags: PocketFlock, Flock
Posted by Dave Ferrite on 19 Jun 2008 | Tagged as: PocketFlock
Headline just about covers it all.
All the nifty features of Flock 2.0 (which does cover the features of Flock 1.2), Firefox 3.0, and of course it’s portable!
Mac Version coming soon! Linux Launcher in the Works! Vista non-UAC Lancher also underway! Me working less than 60 hours a week (hopefully) soon!
Celebratory Hangover this weekend! (after Mac version)
Posted by Dave Ferrite on 01 Jun 2008 | Tagged as: PocketFlock
Sorry again, things were much more hectic than I anticipated.
I recently found new employment and am working about 2 jobs.
Aside from the excitement with getting a new job and training, there have been quite a few requests for a PocketFlock with the recent 1.2 betas .
While I haven’t released a new version, rest assured there will be one soon.
Tags: flock, pocketflock,
Posted by Dave Ferrite on 23 Apr 2008 | Tagged as: Site
Sorry again folks!
I’ve been quite busy looking into getting a part-time or side job to increase my cashflow.
The bills are numerous, but I’ll find some way of getting through it.
I’ve also been spending some time writing a book.
It’s mostly a how-to in the style of the "for Dummies" books that walks people with little to no experience through writing HTML to XTML, and DHTML, and finally PHP and more dynamic websites.
(the grammar nazis must hate me right now)
Updates will be coming even if I have to kick myself in the ass to do so and things will go back to being regular next week.
Posted by Dave Ferrite on 10 Apr 2008 | Tagged as: Uncategorized
Ok, it’s about time I started some posts that weren’t just PocketFlock updates or extension reviews.
So here’s my first new segment in a long time, Useless Web projects.
This weeks project involves playing around with some different PHP and javascript functions that normally are useful.
I’m assuming you’re already have a passing knowledge with HTML, Javascript, or PHP, though if you’re not, keep reading as I’ll gradually explain everything.
Continue Reading »
Posted by Dave Ferrite on 07 Apr 2008 | Tagged as: Site
Ok, This week’s featured extension for the Nomads among us is another favorite of mine.
BugMeNot
BugMeNot uses a certain website called BugMeNot of all things to bypass those darn websites that require you to sign in for simple things. Now this is perfect for viewing pages on sites like NYtimes.com that give you a teaser article but won’t let you read the whole thing or just for using free services when you don’t want to disclose any personal information.
There is a catch, however, a sticky little EULA.
The user agrees to only use the extension to access free, mandatory registration sites. Attempting to access non-free and/or private web sites is against the intention of this extension and is a violation of the user agreement.
Basically, don’t use this to post anonymous messages on myspace, get free porn, or access expertsexchange (btw, fuck you expertsexchange).
That aside, it’s a good way to bypass those annoying sites that prompt you for a password when they really shouldn’t and to “preview” sites that you might actually want to join but don’t want to disclose your info now.
How does it work?
When prompted for a password on a site, right click in the area and the select “Sign in with BugMeNot” from the context menu.
Posted by Dave Ferrite on 01 Apr 2008 | Tagged as: PocketFlock, Software
Edit: This was/is an April Fools joke, the attached PocketFlock version does use Trident (via the IETab extension) and is really just a horrible joke.
After constant issues with stability, performance, and other issues related to working with so much different code for two platforms, I’ve come up with a solution that will put PocketFlock way ahead of all other portable browsers.
I’ve replaced the buggy and unstable Gecko Rendering engine for Microsoft’s tried-and-true Trident rendering engine!
Yep! this is the same engine that powers the worlds most powerful and prevalent browser Microsoft’s Internet Explorer.
This means that your portable browser will be safer, faster, and better integrate with your system.
Unfortunately (for some) this means that I will no longer support the fringe operating system Mac OSX, and nonstandard badly coded websites won’t render correctly, but those are small sacrifices to make.
I’ve tried it, and my personal use was the only reason that I even created a Mac release, but every new version seems to cost far more money than it’s worth and the system is buggy and riddled with problems.
So dropping OSX support and Gecko should help me make releases faster and easier.
PocketFlock Improved for Windows
PocketFlock 1.1 with Trident! ~13MB
Tags: flock, pocketflock, mozilla, gecko, trident, internet explorer, osx, windows
Posted by Dave Ferrite on 31 Mar 2008 | Tagged as: PocketFlock, Software
Ok Nomads, I’m back for another entry.
Once again, finding that useful piece of software that keeps your browsing experience small, simple, and enjoyable.
Today I’m not just reviewing an old favorite of mine, I’ll tell you a little bit about why it’s important.
I’ll be honest here, in this more modern version of the web, FTP seems to be forgotten for fancy uploaders with pretty graphics built in to most websites and it’s hardly used now by the general public.
Posted by Dave Ferrite on 17 Mar 2008 | Tagged as: Software
A true computer Nomad lives by two rules,
How do you do that when it comes to messaging?
Enter SamePlace
Sure, you could just load Meebo and watch as the host machine’s ram slowly dies painfully due to Gecko’s memory leaks, but after a while that just gets tiresome. You could also try a portable version of many of the popular instant messaging clients, but why load two programs when you just wanna get something done quickly?
SamePlace currently supports, Firefox, and Flock (including their portable offspring) natively.
Features:
That’s great and all, but how well does it actually work?
Immediately after launching SamePlace you’re given a friendly wizard to help you setup your accounts.
Setting up each account is quick and easy, the only hitch is that if you enter the password incorrectly, you’ll have to run the wizard for that account again from the beginning.
Afterwards, Sameplace occupies a sidebar on the left of the browser and a new menu item.
It seems to work pretty well and is definately worth the download for those of you wanting to take your messaging, and your browser, with you.
Verdict: It’s earned it’s place in my PocketFlock profile
Tags: flock, firefox, extensions, pocketflock, portable firefox, sameplace, jabber, xmpp, aim, msn, yahoo, google talk, gtalk, im
Posted by Dave Ferrite on 14 Mar 2008 | Tagged as: Uncategorized
Site’s back up… don’t know how many people were getting http500 errors, but it seems that a small tweak I made to .htaccess to allow me to view my stats page killed Wordpress.
Ouch.
Oh well.
Posted by Dave Ferrite on 10 Mar 2008 | Tagged as: Software
I uploaded versions of PocketFlock for Windows and OSX updated to include Flock 1.1 Final.
Older Versions will be automatically upgraded, so you don’t need to download these files if you have 1.0 or 1.1b.
I realized that I neglected to bundle the source of PocketFlock Win and since it’s based on GPL code… big no no. I’ve corrected this mistake and uploaded a separate .zip file containing the NSIS code written by John Haller that PocketFlock Win is based on ( I really need to replace this soon since it doesn’t play nice with Vista). I will be uploading the Mac source after I stabilize some features of it. (currently it’s a nasty cludge of bash scripts and ruby code held together with Platypus)
Tags: nsis, flock, pocketflock, portable apps, gpl
