Devils Workshop

Disable third party apps from your Twitter account

Aditya Kane — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 08:48:35 +0000

Twitter recently announced that 3rd party applications will no longer be allowed to store your user-name and passwords. Even though applications will not save the password, it can still be used to access your Twitter account even if you change the password. This happens with the OAuth service which requires to sign in only once for a third-party app. This means potentially all the apps you have used for Twitter can access your account.

Twitter has settings which allows controlling which app is allowed to access your Twitter account details.

How to revoke access for certain Apps?

Just login into your Twitter account on the website. Then look up Settings.
Under Settings there is a the Connections Tab.
Clicking on Connections will show you a complete list of all the apps that can access Twitter. This is very useful as under new guidelines Apps will not need to have you sign in more than once to get access to your account.
Simply look up the app you do not want to have access of your Twitter account and revoke its access.

I have tested many applications with my Twitter credentials. So revoking access to some apps is a great boon.

Do you use a lot of apps to use Twitter? Do drop in your views through your comments.

-- This Post Disable third party apps from your Twitter account is Published on Devils Workshop .

Why Disabling Error Report in Windows is Not a Cool Idea?

Anshul — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 15:40:20 +0000

In order to make Windows stable, Microsoft comes with an error reporting tool which is enabled by default. Every time a program crashes, a window pops up asking you to send diagnostic information to Microsoft. For those lucky souls who have never come face to face with it, this is what it looks like:

As if the crashed program was not enough to irritate you, Windows throws up this pop-up on your face driving you to extreme limits of exasperation. Cursing under your breath, you click on “Don’t Send”. But that does not please you enough. So you decide to take a revenge on Windows for irritating you. You look for ways to disable this feature permanently. A quick Google search introduces you to thousands of sites that are happy to help you out with this. Five minutes later, you are giving a mocking smile to Windows. Revenge completed. Windows will not dare to annoy you in future.

But wait! Was this really a cool thing to do?

No, it wasn’t. You wasted your vote by clicking on “Don’t Send”. And you gave away the right to vote in future by disabling this feature. A vote that could have helped fix a bug.

You might be wondering if reporting an error has any effect on Microsoft. Because the same program keeps on crashing again and again, even when you reported about it the first time. This has led to a general perception of Microsoft’s error reporting tool as:

But actually that is not the case. Every error that is reported is taken very seriously by Microsoft. They have a team dedicated for this purpose-WER (Windows Error Reporting) team, which analysis each error that is submitted. A common adage is that 80 percent of the errors and crashes in Windows are caused by 20 percent of the bugs detected. When you report a crash, the WER team analyses it to find the bug that caused it. To optimally utilize the resources, bugs that are responsible for most number of crashes are fixed first.

Same applies for third party software that you install on your computer. These software makers have the option to sign up to access the Windows Error Reporting data, using which they can find where their program is failing, and fix it in subsequent releases.

Thus when you send a diagnostic report to Microsoft, you are actually voting for a bug. More number of votes that a bug gets more is the chances of it getting fixed.

So next time when you get a thought of disabling the error report, think again. You might unknowingly contribute in making the Windows experience better for yourself and others by sending the error report.

Have you ever reported errors to Microsoft? Did you see any improvement after that? What are your chief reasons for not using the reporting tool? We’ll love to hear your views on this topic.

Image Credit

-- This Post Why Disabling Error Report in Windows is Not a Cool Idea? is Published on Devils Workshop .

After the Deadline spell check for Browsers

Aditya Kane — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 15:41:45 +0000

Having a great vocabulary or a good command over the language does not mean we cannot make mistakes when it comes to writing an email or even a note. There are times, when we are not sure if about an article or general grammar rules. Then there are mistakes which creep in inadvertently. We bloggers call them typos.

After the Deadline is a great service which allows correcting grammar and even checking context of a word in a sentence.

Features of After the Deadline

The best part of ‘After the Deadline’ is that it has a host of options to check up on from Grammar mistakes to double negatives.
Another good feature is I could exclude some websites. ‘After the Deadline’ does not check up on your writing on those sites.
You might wonder why not use the inbuilt correction from the browser. I found ‘After the Deadline’ far more advanced. It does check for context even if the spelling of the word is correct. This is helps in the case you when I write the word ‘thing’ in place of ‘think’. Most browser correction software cannot pick this up.

Some drawbacks

There are a couple of drawbacks or negatives of After the Deadline extension or Add-on.

I was not able to use it properly with Gmail. Also I had to restart my browser even with Chrome, to get the features working fine.
Some text boxes still are incompatible with ‘After the Deadline’ extension or add-on. We cannot use it there.

‘After the Deadline’ is one of my favorite spell checking tools. I have used this for a couple of weeks and to be honest I have not seen anything better out there. Download it on your browser or even as a bookmarklet. If you have a WordPress blog you can download the plugin too.

Try it out and do drop in your comments.

Link: Download After the Deadline

-- This Post After the Deadline spell check for Browsers is Published on Devils Workshop .

Blackberry’s solution for India

Aditya Kane — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 08:18:09 +0000

Research in Motion’s Blackberry has found a solution for its Indian users. It will have a corporate forum which will allow the Indian government to get access to data which might be sensitive from a security point of view.

Previously the government had given a deadline until the 31st of August 2010 for RIM to conform with certain demands. The sore point has been the messaging service which is encrypted and has a lot of users using it for privacy.

What are Indian demands?

The government has wanted some clarifications from Blackberry since 2008. It seems it has set a deadline and looks a lot more serious on following through and if needed even banning Blackberry’s messaging service.

Indian government wants a Blackberry’s server to be located in India. This is so that their solutions can be tested within the country.
The government wants to be able to track or access encrypted data sent over the RIM messaging network for security purposes.

Blackberry’s Solution

Blackberry has offered a solution that it will lead an industry forum to allow lawful access. This access will be given only on issues on security. This offer has got Blackberry a reprieve of 60 days.

What saved blackberry?

The Common Wealth Games 2010 start in Delhi, India on the 3rd of October. This will obviously attract a lot of tourists from around the world. International criticism of banning RIM’s messaging service is what the Government might be trying to avoid.
Considering there are over 1.2 million Blackberry users in India, the government might think twice before actually following through with a ban.

What could this mean to other companies?

It is not clear what the plans are for the government for the future. But if RIM complies to demands for data access than Google and Skype might be the next companies which would need to give assurances to India’s telecom regulators.
There is speculation that this might lead to people to move over to getting an iPhone or the latest from Nokia. But that seems unlikely as the service affected will only the messaging service.
Also applications like Nimbuzz which already offers alternatives which comply with the regulations.

What do you think about the entire issues? Is RIM right to protect the privacy of its users or should it comply with regulators? Do drop in your comments.

Link: Bloomberg

-- This Post Blackberry’s solution for India is Published on Devils Workshop .

New Panorama feature makes Firefox 4 the browser to beat

Aditya Kane — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 16:02:11 +0000

Anyone who does a lot of work online has come across this problem. The problem of managing the several tabs we have open. Mozilla has made Firefox 4 beta version available. It’s first build was nothing much to speak about except it was very fast. Now with the latest updated version of Firefox 4 beta there are two new feature which simply blew my mind away.

Features of Firefox 4 Panorama

First download Firefox 4 beta version. The latest version has Panorama feature.
Panorama is situated discreetly where all the tabs are located to the extreme right. Simply click on it will give you an option similar to the image shown above.
Just rearrange your tabs you have open into different groups. Smaller groups can be the unimportant ones while large ones can be important sites you like to visit.
Click on the tab and you are taken to it. This is different form bookmarks as if you close the browser the sites are saved in Panorama. If you close the tabs it is not saved.

New App Tab feature

With the new Firefox 4 update another new feature is enabled. This one allowed me to create App Tabs.
Right click on any tab and create App Tab. (Image to right)
The tab is saved as a small icon which always open when you load up the browser the next time. Something similar to Pin Tab feature of Chrome browser.
I think App Tabs will make it a lot more easy to look up some pages which we do not look up too often but do watch regularly. Like a Twitter page or a blog you are following.

Download Latest Firefox 4

Download the Latest Firefox 4 by visiting their landing page for Beta version. If you have already an earlier version of Firefox 4 available, update it from accession Help and Check for Updates on the browser itself.

Video Demo of Panorama feature

Here is a video which explains Panorama Tab feature briefly.

So do you think Firefox 4 will be the browser to beat? I certainly do think so. Do drop in your comments with your views.

-- This Post New Panorama feature makes Firefox 4 the browser to beat is Published on Devils Workshop .

Hidden meaning behind some famous logos

Aditya Kane — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 02:30:28 +0000

A logo is very important as an identity for a company or a brand. A logo ideally is expected to be creative and interesting. Many companies do a lot or research and take efforts to come up with that one awesome logo which signifies their company. Most times such logos say something more than what appears to be.

Here are some interesting logos of brands and learn about hidden meaning behind them.

Formula 1

The logo at first glance looks quite simple and boring. But give it a closer look. There you can see the symbol of ‘One’ inside the blank space between ‘F’ and red colored ’1′.

Link: Formula 1 Logo

Toblerone

Toblerone is a company that makes chocolates. It originated in a place called Bern, Switzerland. This place is called the city of bears. You can see the outline of a bear on the mountain. Try looking for a standing bear.

Link: Toblerone Logo

Elettro Domestici

ED is an Italian company into domestic electronic appliances. This logo of ED shows a black colored electric plug. But the contracts with white gives the illusion of the characters ‘E’ and ‘D’.

Sony Vaio

The Vaio logo also has a secret. The ‘va’ part represents the basic analogue signal and the ‘io’ looks like the binary 1′s and 0′s.

Link: VAIO

Baskin and Robins

Baskin and Robbins is famous ice cream brand. It has 31 flavors of ice-cream. The logo shows the letter B and R. Just looking at the pink part of the logo will show the number ’31′.

Link: Baskin and Robbins

Amazon

The logo for Amazon shows a smiley. Along with that the arrows show moves from A to Z. This logo symbolizes that they sell things from A to Z.

Link: Amazon

Continental Tyres

Continental is a company which sells wheels. At first glance it looks like the simple word ‘Continental’. Look at ‘C’ and ‘o’ closely and you will see that it creates the illusion of a tyre.

Link: Continental Tyres

So these are some of the logos around with some hidden meaning. Next time you look at a logo of a brand, spend some time to find some hidden meaning. You might be surprised at what you see.

Do drop in your view through your comments.

-- This Post Hidden meaning behind some famous logos is Published on Devils Workshop .

Check loading speed of multiple websites

Aditya Kane — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 16:50:56 +0000

Many people have obsessed on the time it takes for a site to load up on the browser. Recently, Google had declared that how fast your website gets loaded will have an impact on SEO or page ranks.

I think when it comes to blogs, speed might not have such an adverse impact but I am sure it got a lot of bloggers wondering how their website performed when compared for speed with others (competitors).

Which loads Faster is a website that tests loading speed for two different websites from one page itself and compares them.

Features of Which loads Faster

The image above showed two websites being tested for loading speed. We used Devils’ Workshop and wpVeda.
There are added features or repeating tests and capturing data.
Another interesting feature is Race. This allows multiple websites to load up and be tested in a group. The group with fasted loading speeds wins the race.

Apart from Google looking at loading speed, a site which is slow can finally end up frustrating visitors too. So it would be a nice idea to compare your website for speed against some popular ones.

Do try out Which loads Faster and share with us what are your views on loading speed for websites? Are they any important? Do drop in your comments.

-- This Post Check loading speed of multiple websites is Published on Devils Workshop .

Blogger to WordPress User-Guide Series [Announcement]

Aditya Kane — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 14:34:08 +0000

Early this month we announced an affiliate program with our Blogger to WordPress Migration service. This service has migrated many blogs onto the WordPress platform.

We got a lot of queries from clients (who had migrated newly to WordPress) about features which are integral to WordPress platform. We had initially planned a simple FAQ with some common issues which are faced by bloggers new to WordPress.

The idea further developed into creating a Blogger to WordPress user-guide on our Blogger to WP website.

Nitun Lanjewar, who heads technical support for Blogger To WordPress Migration service along with me (Aditya Kane) have authored the series. There are about 15 posts in all, we will publish one post every day on Blogger To WP blog.

To get all updates in the series subscribe to the blog.

Are you making money with our Blogger to WordPress affiliate program?

-- This Post Blogger to WordPress User-Guide Series [Announcement] is Published on Devils Workshop .

Exclude a website from real-time search results with Google [Tips]

Aditya Kane — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 12:17:47 +0000

Yesterday I covered real-time results with Google search. The results shown with real-time are continuous as they are published on the internet. I feel this is great and I can even create Google alerts directly from the search page.

The only issue was if I was searching for a real-time results about a certain event most results would be picked up from Twitter. I did not like that and wished I could exclude Twitter for real-time search results.

How it works!

It is quite simple. Just type in your search query and search for it. I searched for “Cricket” and got many results. Most of these results were from Twitter.
To exclude search results showing links from Twitter I just had to enter “Cricket -site:twitter.com“
Immediately the real-time results being shown had tweets omitted as search results.:-)

Extra Tips

This trick works even with normal Google search results. This is a great way to search for something and exclude results from popular social networking websites.
This tip can also work with Twitter search. For example search for “#India -username” (do not use @username and use only username) and you can get all tweets with India tag but a particular username’s tweets are omitted. Helps to omit spam.

Do try out these tips and if you know a few more do share them through your comments.

-- This Post Exclude a website from real-time search results with Google [Tips] is Published on Devils Workshop .

Get real time search results with Google

Aditya Kane — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 21:35:46 +0000

Google has recently made a few noises about real-time results. This is probably because Twitter is fast becoming the most dominant search engine for internet users, when it comes to real-time results.

So now we have Google Real Time results which shows webs results as they happen.

How to use Google realtime?

Just head over to http://google.com/realtime. This will take you to the real-time search landing page like seen in the image above.
Type in the query and you will get live results which are streaming. Unfortunately most results are from Twitter. This is ironic as Google realtime is actually trying to counter the rise of Twitter, which is the rising as a search tool for real-time results.
Another way you can reach these realtime search results are by clicking on the left hand tab named Updates. (see image below

Google realtime results looks like a cool service but it is showing a lot of results from Twitter. I might just use Twitter search instead.

Try out Google Realtime search and drop in your views through your comments.

-- This Post Get real time search results with Google is Published on Devils Workshop .

Devils Workshop

Disable third party apps from your Twitter account

How to revoke access for certain Apps?

Related posts:

Why Disabling Error Report in Windows is Not a Cool Idea?

Related posts:

After the Deadline spell check for Browsers

Features of After the Deadline

Some drawbacks

Related posts:

Blackberry’s solution for India

What are Indian demands?

Blackberry’s Solution

What saved blackberry?

What could this mean to other companies?

Related posts:

New Panorama feature makes Firefox 4 the browser to beat

Features of Firefox 4 Panorama

New App Tab feature

Download Latest Firefox 4

Related posts:

Hidden meaning behind some famous logos

Formula 1

Toblerone

Elettro Domestici

Sony Vaio

Baskin and Robins

Amazon

Continental Tyres

Related posts:

Check loading speed of multiple websites

Features of Which loads Faster

Related posts:

Blogger to WordPress User-Guide Series [Announcement]

Related posts:

Exclude a website from real-time search results with Google [Tips]

How it works!

Extra Tips

Related posts:

Get real time search results with Google

How to use Google realtime?

Related posts: