input[type=search] {
    -webkit-appearance:textfield;
    -webkit-box-sizing:content-box;
}
 
input::-webkit-search-decoration,
input::-webkit-search-cancel-button {
    display: none;
}

If you are using a webkit based browser you can checkout the live demo at -> http://mikegrace.s3.amazonaws.com/geek-blog/webkit-search-input-example.html

Because the extensions are sandboxed, all of the scripts from the extensions run a bit differently than they used to in the previous Kynetx extensions. Without getting into the technical details too much, the previous extensions just injected JavaScript into the page and the new extensions run JavaScript in a sandbox which has access to the DOM but can’t access anything else on the page. Because of this change my retweet app broke since I was using the jQuery loaded by Twitter.com to bring up the new tweet box (I do this because Twitter.com used that library to bind a click event and to trigger that event it has to be from the same library that bound it). Thankfully, with the help of a friend, I was able to get a work around for both Firefox and Chrome’s sandbox environment.

How I did it…

If the app is run not inside a sandbox I can just access the jQuery that Twitter.com loads to open a new tweet box

$("#new-tweet").trigger("click");

From within the Firefox sandbox I can access the page outside of the sandbox

window['$']("#new-tweet").trigger("click");

If I am in the Chrome sandbox I can create a script element that has the JavaScript that I want to execute. Crude, but it works. : )

var trigger_click_script = document.createElement("script");
var fallback = "window['$']('#new-tweet').trigger('click');";
trigger_click_script.innerHTML = fallback;
document.getElementsByTagName("head")[0].appendChild(trigger_click_script);

Here is the JavaScript code that I ended up with that gets executed when a user clicks on the retweet button.

// get stuff to retweet
var tweet = $K(this).parents(".tweet-content").find(".tweet-text").text();
var name = $K(this).parents(".tweet-content").find(".tweet-screen-name").text();
 
// build tweet
var retweet = "RT @"+name+" "+tweet;
 
// open new tweet box
$("#new-tweet").trigger("click");
 
// hack for FF sandbox
if ($("#tweet-dialog:visible").length === 0) {
  window['$']("#new-tweet").trigger("click");
}
 
// put tweet in new tweet box
$K(".draggable textarea.twitter-anywhere-tweet-box-editor").val(retweet).focus();
$K("#tweet_dialog a.tweet-button.button.disabled").removeClass("disabled");
 
// hack for chrome sandbox
if ($("#tweet-dialog:visible").length === 0) {
  var fallback = "window['$']('#new-tweet').trigger('click'); ";
  fallback += "window['$']('.draggable textarea.twitter-anywhere-tweet-box-editor').val('"+retweet+"').focus(); ";
  fallback += "window['$']('#tweet_dialog a.tweet-button.button.disabled').removeClass('disabled'); ";
  var trigger_click_script = document.createElement("script");
  trigger_click_script.innerHTML = fallback;
  document.getElementsByTagName("head")[0].appendChild(trigger_click_script);
}

You will need to install Desktop Notifier app linked to at http://www.notify.io/ and my Kynetx app will walk you through getting setup what it needs to run. Once everything is setup and running, you can click the ‘test’ link created by the Kynetx app to make sure everything is working

Download Chrome Extension

Download Firefox Extension

1) Open Transmit preferences

2) View “Cloud” options

3) Add custom header for crx file extensions (content-type text/plain)

4) Add custom header for xpi file extensions (content-type application/x-xpinstall)

Once these are set, every time a file with one of those extensions gets uploaded the proper headers will be set and your user’s browsers will automatically start the install process.

I found Facebook’s “Find Friends” browse page and thought it would be fun to do an experiment with the data contained within. To participate in the experiment download and install either this Firefox or Chrome Kynetx browser extension.

Download Chrome Extension

Download Firefox Extension

The app will put a button on the Friend Finder page which will allow you to view a graph based on the currently loaded possible friends.

Clicking on the “Show awesome possible friend chart!” button will reveal the awesome possible friend chart.

I will be putting up the general findings soon at http://facebookfriendfinderstats.michaelgrace.org/. :)

I took that as a challenge and built a Kynetx app that would fix that problem.

Action shots:

Status Update Before

Status Update After

Photo Before

Photo After

Download Chrome Extension

Download Firefox Extension

]]> http://geek.michaelgrace.org/2011/01/shun-the-facebook-likes-kynetx-app/feed/ 2 http://geek.michaelgrace.org/2010/12/minimal-one-true-fan/ http://geek.michaelgrace.org/2010/12/minimal-one-true-fan/#comments Tue, 28 Dec 2010 20:11:36 +0000 MikeGrace http://geek.michaelgrace.org/?p=1538 I am a BIG fan of One True Fan. Maybe even “the” one true fan of One True Fan. ; )

I’ve noticed recently that I have been hiding the One True Fan bar a lot for various reasons. I really love the bar but I don’t always want to see it, but at the same time I always want it to be there. So… I built a Kynetx app that solves my problem and maybe others will find it useful also.

Minimal One True Fan is a Chrome and Firefox Extension that

1. looks for the One True Fan bar on the page
2. hides the bar
3. takes the checked in status button and places it in the bottom left corner of the page
4. clicking on the status button will bring the bar back

See the Minimal One True Fan Kynetx app and the One True Fan extensions in action!

Download Chrome Extension

Download Firefox Extension

Update 01/04/2011

Updated the app to also show the avatar of the current One True Fan of the current site because who doesn’t love to see if they are the One True Fan? : D

• I think Google Chrome rocks.
• So what?
• Who cares about my opinion?
• Proof that I’m right.
• … thanks for telling me about Google Chrome… WAY better than IE…
• :-)

I think GOOGLE CHROME ROCKS!

I have been a loong time fan of Mozilla’s Firefox web browser, and for many reasons. Firefox has extensions, is clean, standards compliant, has firebug, and a fun logo. I recently started trying out Google’s Chrome because most of my geek friends were raving about it. … and WOW! Talk about fast and clean and well done! I am very impressed with Chrome. Some would ask, “why not just use Safari since they are both about the same?” While they do use the some open source rendering engine, they offer completely different user experiences. Chrome has done browser extensions right, and by right I mean that it’s easy for both the developer and consumer. No need for restarting the browser after instal, building extensions is the simplest out of IE (shudder)/ Firefox/ Safari, and no toolbars allowed! I have also really enjoyed the way the interface is designed. Chrome has stayed clean, simple, and effective for all of my browsing and development needs.

SOOOO WHAT!?!

WHO CARES ABOUT MY OPINION?!

I admit that I am not the average user. I am a geek that lives in a text editor and in the browser so my opinion is greatly skewed and it is even hard for me to trust that my experience will be similar to those who aren’t freaks of the geek.

HERE’S THE PROOF!

At sunday dinner, my niece was complaining about their “internet” crashing and freezing while working on the computer. “Who’s your internet provider?”, I asked. “NO. No. no. The internet stops working and crashes” she replied while drawing a computer screen sized box with her pointer fingers. Saving the fact that the browser was being confused for the internet for a later blog post, I told her that IE was just a way to display the contents of the web and that she should download Google Chrome and use that instead.

I didn’t explain where to download it, how to use it, or why it would be better. I really didn’t expect her to find it, install it, and actually use it but I was wrong. Just one day later, today, I got a facebook notice from her with a cute little note that not only blew my socks off, but also confirmed my thoughts on why Chrome has been growing in market share.

“Hey thanks for telling me about Google chrome…WAY better than internet explorer :]
Google! :]”

That little message made my day and may be a big step in my niece becoming a geek.

I’m very excited about releasing the next version of my Kynetx application that utilizes a recently released Kynetx action, percolation. This action digs deep into the bowels of the dark search engine pits and pulls out relevant search results.

If you’ve already been using the first version app, you already have the update. The code updated as soon as I pressed the version update button! : ) Now install the app if you don’t already have it and start having fun searching.

.. And come join us at our next Impact Conference! Developers, entrepreneurs, and everyone else is invited to come and learn because THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING! Visit http://www.kynetx.com/ for more details.

Google Chrome

Mozilla Firefox

Information Card

Microsoft Internet Explorer

THE PROBLEM

Information is flying all around us like debris from a tornado going through a trailer park. Information overload is a real problem now for the average person and it can wreak havoc on a persons productivity and goals. Never before in the history man has there been soo much information available. Experts, books, seminars, awareness: the availability of these are low if not non-existent. We are like little children who have been handed a gun with incredible power but no one is talking about how to safely handle it, and people are getting hurt!

WHAT TO DO

Fortunately for you, if you “shoot yourself in the foot” its your fault! Probably not what you were expecting, but it’s true. You have control over most of the information you subscribe to.

• RSS Feeds
• Television
• Radio
• Email
• Social Networks
• Magazines
• Newspaper

WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH MY BROWSER?

You can control what your Firefox looks like. I have seen too many people who try to browse the web with so many buttons, bars, and add-ons that much of the space for actually viewing web pages is reduced by about a third or more. Take back your browser real estate and surf the web with freedom again!

WHAT CAN I DO?

Here is an example of two extremes.

If the bloated one looks similar to yours or a friends browser then you are in the right place.

To Do:

• Use the Toolbar collapse button to hide the clutter until you need it

• Remove all add-ons you aren’t using all of the time (Spring Cleaning!)
• Hide toolbars (functionality can often be accessed through the application menu)
• Remove buttons that aren’t needed (most have keyboard shortcuts which are faster)

This is really fun because you get to drag and drop buttons where ever you like.

• Hide status bar if you don’t use it (Bottom gray bar)

• Disable “Always show the tab bar”

The real trick is to balance the functionality of add-ons and buttons with space. After many months of trying different configurations, this has been the most effective layout for me.

I use the keyboard shortcuts for the Firebug add-on and the other basic browser buttons like forward, back, refresh, so I have removed all those buttons and add-on bars. I show the status bar on the bottom so I can see if the HTML pages I am coding are validating as strict without running a validator. I also hide the bookmarks bar because I don’t use them very frequently. Everyone uses the web differently which makes Firefox great for many people because it can be customized for their needs. Play around with your layout, reduce distractions, and find what works best for you.

Storm Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/liebedich/ / CC BY 2.0

There are a few reasons why your installed add-ons might get marked as incompatible. Sometimes the developer has not changed the install requirements to accept your version. Mozilla suggests to developers that they don’t mark it compatible until they KNOW it is compatible. So, many developers don’t mark their add-ons compatible with beta and alpha releases of Firefox. Another reason an add-on might not be marked as compatible is because it really ISN’T compatible. Running an incompatible add-on can corrupt data in your browser profile and other places on your computer so don’t force add-ons to work unless you are willing to deal with the risks.

Precautions:

• Don’t force add-ons unless you are willing to deal with possible browser crashing and data/profile corruption!
• Backup your profile!
• Be an add-on minimalist! The more add-ons you have, the more that can go wrong… very wrong.
• Backup your system regularly. If you don’t do this already your crazy and you should start yesterday!

How:

To force Firefox to accept all installed add-ons we simply need to tell it in it’s configuration file to ignore incompatibility. It will still check for updates and inform you that add-ons are incompatible, but it will let them run.

Steps:

1. Open Firefox
2. Type about:config into browser bar and press enter
3. Click “I’ll be careful, I promise!” button and chuckle at Mozilla’s developer’s humor
4. Right click on any list item in browser window and select “New” -> “Boolean”
5. Paste extensions.checkCompatibility into alert box input window
6. Select “False”
7. Open add-ons window: Select “Tools” -> “Add-ons”
8. Click “Restart” on yellow notification bar
9. Throw your hands up in the air
10. Shout for joy
11. Spin around in your twirly chair and get back to work
12. ; )

Visual Steps:

1. Click on the first image
2. Click on the arrows that show up when you mouse over the image to walk through the steps visually
3. Enjoy the show

Shocked Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/carbonnyc/ / CC BY 2.0

GoogEEFree

UPDATE:
Within two days after writing this I had 6 friends on Twitter tell me thank you and that they hate Experts Exchange, while 1 friend basically said I was being lame. I hadn’t realized there were so many other people who despise Experts Exchange. I was also checking my visitor stats the day after posting this and came across this in my stats:

I am not sue how they found my post but I couldn’t stop laughing when I found out that someone in the Experts Exchange network visited my blog post on them.

FF 3.7a - aka Minefield

Firefox 3.7 Alpha is available for download for developers to try out but it is still very alpha. I love the humor that the Mozilla developers have as seen through the icon used for Firefox 3.7a. The developers have lovingly named the alpha “Minefield”. Love it! ; ) Still want to try it out? Download Firefox 3.7 Alpha

I think there is immense power and potential in being able to write commands for Ubiquity using JavaScript and HTML. As JavaScript and HTML becomes, pardon the pun but, ubiquitous more people will be able to create commands that extend the functionality of the browser while on the web. I am really impressed with the entire setup and I think Mozilla deserves two thumbs up for pioneering the future of the web.

I have several other commands I have written to use and some just for practice, located on my ubiquity page. I will continue to update the scripts as I write new commands and work on improving the web. Would love it if you subscribed to the commands and gave me feedback on what you think.

Set cursor focus in Firefox to search box -> cmd + K
Set cursor focus in most Mac OS X browsers -> cmd + L

Two of my most used and most useful keyboard shortcuts while browsing the web using Firefox on Mac OS X

My good friend Mike showed me the keyboard shortcut to jump to the Firefox search box after he accidentally stumbled upon it. Thanks Mike!

If you aren’t already using Firefox I highly encourage you to because there is no other browser like it. When I am writing a blog post, I use the quick search in the top right corner of Firefox to search for photos on Flickr using the Creative Commons license. If you are not using Firefox, (shame! shame!), do your Creative Commons search at http://search.creativecommons.org/ Search results appear in one column with tabs at the top to chose from search sources other than Flickr.
As I scroll through the images I open the ones I find interesting in a new tab. After searching through a good amount of photos, it has gotten easier to find good ones and I’m beginning to find a style that fits my blog. I then download the size that best fits my needs by clicking on “all sizes” right above the image.

I then end up going back to the page with just that image and all of the comments people have made on the photo. It is time to get the attribution links for all the legal stuff. The link to the Creative Commons license is on the right side with a link just under the heading “Additional Information”. The Creative Commons license page explains to what extent the image can be used and how to attribute the image to the owner.

The top section of this particular license agreement allows me to use this image on my blog (share) and to remix the image to use it in other ways. If this license agreement did not have the remix statement, it is my understanding that I could not crop the image and use in some of the ways I have in this post. The next section explains how to attribute the photo to the owner and usually provides a nice HTML snippet to copy and paste into your blog or web page.
Note: You can get to the license page from other pages but the link from the images main page is the one that I have found to have the HTML snippet that I use to attribute the images to their respective owners.

After placing the HTML snippets at the end of my blog post I am nice and make the images link back to their main Flickr page which is not required by the license. I find that this is the best way to connect viewers directly with the source of the image and I would appreciate others doing the same with my images if they ever got used. ; ) I also usually open the photos in Photoshop and compress them a bit more for web viewing.

How I feel after a good Flickr - CC fix

Many artists are happy to let you use their work when you follow the guidelines set in the license. Sometimes if I feel I have done a nice job on a blog post I will leave them a comment on their Flickr photo page letting them know I have used their photo and some have even commented on my blog posts thanking me for using their work! ; )

Photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/zanastardust/ / CC BY 2.0
http://www.flickr.com/photos/31878512@N06/ / CC BY 2.0