To disable Facebook Messenger for Firefox, simply right-click the blue F button in the top-right corner of your Firefox window and then select the option to remove it.

“The new Facebook Messenger integration, which is the first new service to come out of Mozilla’s new Social API project, is optional and must be turned on by the user, according to a Nov. 20 post on The Mozilla Blog. So far, the Facebook integration is a preview into the fledgling service, and more capabilities and features will be added.”

Super Wi-Fi

Super WiFi,or IEEE 802.22 and IEEE 802.11af as it’s Technically known, is a term coined by the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to describe a wireless networking proposal which the FCC plans to use for the creation of longer-distance wireless internet.^[1][2] The use of the trademark “Wi-Fi” in the name has been criticized because it is not based on Wi-Fi technology or endorsed by the Wi-Fi Alliance.^[1]

Instead of using the 2.4 GHz radio frequency of Wi-Fi, the ‘Super Wi-Fi’ proposal uses the lower-frequency white spaces between television channel frequencies.^[3] These lower frequencies allow the signal to travel further and penetrate walls better than the higher frequencies previously used.^[3] The FCC’s plan is to allow those white space frequencies to be used for free, as happens with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.^[3]

via Super Wi-Fi – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

If you have the Windows firewall blocking all unauthorized outgoing connections, some Flash content doesn’t work properly.

1. Start “Windows Firewall With Advanced Security” as an administrator
2. Create a new Outbound Rule and allow the following program file: C:\Windows\SysWOW64\Macromed\Flash\FlashPlayerPlugin_11_3_300_257.exe

   Filename may vary depending on Flash and Windows version.

c:\netsh firewall set logging droppedpackets = enable

Although the log file doesn’t include the name of the program that is trying to make an outbound connection, the log file can then be found at: %systemroot%\system32\LogFiles\Firewall\pfirewall.log

via Enabling Windows firewall "dropped packets" log – Microsoft Answers.

Add these custom filters to Adblockplus:

• ||addthis.com^$third-party
• ||addtoany.com^$third-party
• ||sharethis.com^$third-party

via Adblock Plus – View topic – Share/Save pop-ups.

Connect your things to the Internet, without a nerd degree.

via Twine : Listen to your world, talk to the Internet by Supermechanical — Kickstarter.

At page 14 of Google’s results for keywords “android touchpad”, they list 447,000 results and at page 15 it drops to 144 results. Inflated result counts?

LifeNet is a WiFi-based data communication solution designed for post-disaster scenarios. It is open-source software and designed to run on consumer devices such as laptops, smart-phones and wireless routers. LifeNet is an ad hoc networking platform over which critical software applications including chat, voice messaging, MIS systems, etc. can be easily deployed. LifeNet can grow incrementally, is robust to node failures and enables Internet sharing. A novel multi-path ad-hoc routing protocol present at its core, enables LifeNet to achieve these features.

via LifeNet: About LifeNet.

Set up 4 to 6 passwords:
one for all the low-security sites,
another for any site that has your credit card number,
another for social networking,
another for email,
another for work,
and the most secure for your banking sites. Sleep better.

Keep them on a piece of paper somewhere safe like your wallet.

These rules are not always possible, but they help reduce the numbers of passwords while staying fairly secure.

via Observations: How to Know if Hackers Have Stolen Your Password.

I tried to add a 2nd google account on my Android phone and got the following error even if I connected using wifi: “can’t establish a reliable data connection to the server”.

The workaround that I found is to register your Google account through your YouTube app, after which your gmail for that account will be available for syncing.

Source http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=780545

[code]/set irc_join_delay 20[/code]

The default value is 2 seconds. 20 seconds should be okay in most cases.

If the IRC client supports server passwords, you can also identify automatically and more quickly by using YourUsername:YourPassword as your server password. (It is quicker then using the “/msg nickserv identity password” command so you should be identified by the time the auto-join happens).

via irc – Prevent xchat from trying to join channels until I have been authenticated – Ask Ubuntu – Stack Exchange.

I was trying to do a DHCP reservation but D-Link’s DIR-615 wouldn’t accept my phone’s MAC address because it didn’t start with “00″. Although the firmware was fixed since version 3.11NA (download update), here is what I did to work around this problem:

1. Using Firebug in Firefox, set a break-point at line 420 in file public.js
2. Edit temp_mac’s array value at position 0 from “fc” to “00″ (“fc” or anything else)
3. Continue execution of script

Spiceworks: complete network management software, helpdesk, PC inventory tools & IT reporting solution (for free).

A few programs:

• Tor: “enabling Internet anonymity by thwarting network traffic analysis”
• Privoxy: “It has filtering capabilities for protecting privacy, modifying web page data, managing cookies, controlling access, and selectively removing content such as ads, banners and pop-ups.”
• Enigmail: “It enables you to write and receive email messages signed and/or encrypted with the OpenPGP standard.”
• Off-the-Record Messaging (OTR): “cryptographic protocol that provides strong encryption for instant messaging conversations”

An interesting talk on Youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpHWnHxmnXg (Part 1)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOEMv0S8AcA (Part 2)

Using Firefox and Adblock Plus, you can block some unwanted “features” of Facebook: http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2010/05/how-to_avoid_facebook_malware.html. For example, it should prevent Facebook from sharing information with other websites.

Or if you want, you can completely delete your account, thanks to the The Consumerist. You could also just deactivate your account if you plan on re-using it.

To be able to access my Adsense account, I had to add the following exception filter in Adblock plus:

@@https://www.google.com/adsense/

Note: I use the Easylist (USA) subscription.

Skype 2.1.0.47 beta uses pulseaudio as the default sound device, so you need to change the default sound device fo skype using a pulseaudio.

1. Install pavucontrol if it’s not already installed
2. Start pavucontrol
3. Play a sound in the application where you need to change the default sound device.
4. While the sound is playing, switch back to pavucontrol and change the sound device.
5. that should be it.

I needed to set my Logitech Clearchat Wireless Headphones as the default sound device for Skype 2.1.0.47 beta in Ubuntu Karmic Alpha (pavucontrol was not installed).

Using Digi Watchport/H USB Serial Humidity/Temperature Sensor in Linux

Ubuntu 9.04 has everything you need except for minicom. So all I had to do was to:

• plug it in

  dmesg should get you the following output:

  usb 2-9: new full speed USB device using ohci_hcd and address 50
usb 2-9: configuration #1 chosen from 1 choice
io_ti 2-9:1.0: Edgeport TI 1 port adapter converter detected
usb 2-9: Edgeport TI 1 port adapter converter now attached to ttyUSB0

• Install minicom: sudo apt-get install minicom
• Edit minicom settings: ~$ minicom -s

  1. Change the Serial Device to /dev/ttyUSB0

  2. Change the Bps/Par/Bits field to 9600 8N1, (9600 baud, 8 bits, no parity, 1 stop bit). These are the default settings used by the Linux kernel; they can, if necessary, be overridden from the kernel command line by adding extra parameters to the console= option. See kernel-parameters.txt and serial-console.txt.

  3. Turn off both Hardware Flow Control and Software Flow Control.

  4. In the Modem and dialing menu, remove the Init string and Reset string completely if required.

  5. Save your new config
  6. start minicom
  7. more details
• Use one of the following commands:
  

  Command	Description	Return Value
  ?<CR>	Tells about the command set available for this Watchport	as described in this section
  I<CR>	Tells what kind of Watchport is connected.	Watchport/H<CR>
  H<CR>	Gives the percentage relative humidity.	38%<CR>
  T<CR>	Gives temperature in Celsius.	+22.2500C<CR>
  TC<CR>	Also gives temperature in Celsius.	+22.2500C<CR>
  TF<CR>	Gives temperature in Fahrenheit.	+72.0000F<CR>
  TF+<CR>	Repeats the TF command every 3-4 seconds until the next keystroke. Appending + also works with the TC and H commands	+72.0000F<CR>
  L4<CR>	Adjusts the slew rate of the data line. When “L” is followed by a numeric value, 1 through 8, Watchport responds with OK. Other values return Invalid Command. The default setting is 4. Adjust the parameter until the data transmission becomes error-free. The setting remains in effect until the Watchport is power-cycled.	OK

Download Watchport’s manual

Now all I need is a perl script to automate the posting of these values to twitter?

I tried many other add-ons and extensions, but these are the ones I can’t live without:

1. Adblock Plus
2. No Script
3. Firebug (mostly for web development)

Bonus:

1. ShareMeNot
2. HTTPS Everywhere

See also http://alexpb.com/images/microsoft.says.microsoft.is.stupid-2006-03-29_1702.png, an old screenshot I took from 2006.

Bonding multiple network interfaces can be used for load balancing or fault tolerance.

• Bonding Reference

• What can you do with a second Ethernet port?
• A simple tutorial

Note: Bonding is also called port trunking or teaming.

First, download and install Audacity.

Then, to be able to record both the microphone input and the sound card output at the same time using Audacity, you have to un-mute the microphone playback in the Volume control.

1. Double click the speaker in the System Tray
2. Click Options – Properties – Playback – Check Microphone – Click OK
3. Un-check the microphones mute and raise the volume

You should now be able to hear yourself in the speakers or earphone when you talk in the microphone and also be able to record the output (person you called) and the input (you) in Audacity. Select Stereo Mix on Audacity’s Mixer Toolbar and hit Record.