ScottMulligan.ca

I have always wondered which organisation was responsible for “creating” the internet and I have never been able to find a satisfactory answer. Luckily I found a great video that helped clear things up for me.

According to the video there were actually a couple organisations working on networks in parallel. It was because there were many organisations with different networks that there was a need to adopt a uniform standard to allow different networks to be compatible with each other. So the internet was really a collaborative project based on the efforts of different organisations even though they likely didn’t understand the importance of their work when they first started!

Enjoy the video.

Take yourself off the grid with the pull cord generated PCG1. The PCG1 is basically a rechargeable battery that you can charge whenever you want by sparing some calories and pulling the recharge cord. But if you don’t feel like overexerting yourself and are near an outlet or USB jack, just plug it in for a full recharge.

[Continue Reading...]

I was pretty bummed out when Pandora was forced to officially lock out listeners outside of the USA in May of 2007. It was a big blow but I comforted myself by thinking that it was only a matter on time before they settled their legal dispute and allowed international listeners back online. After almost 2 years of waiting I decided that it was time to take action… and success! This might not be the perfect solution but I have Pandora back and that’s all that matters to me.

What is Pandora?

Pandora is an online music service that gives the listener complete control over their online radio experience. Pandora is based on the Music Genome Project and allows you to explore music and expand your world by finding new music similar to your particular music tastes. For example you can enter a song name or artist and Pandora will build a radio station around your selection in order to bring you the best possible listening experience. You can broaden the style of the radio station by entering multiple artists or song names, create up to 100 personal stations, and share your stations with others or search for stations created by others. You can also interact with your radio station as it plays by giving a song a thumbs up or a thumbs down or skipping a song all together. You are allowed to skip up to 6 songs per hour. This interactivity helps ensure you are getting the music you want and nothing else.

• For a more detailed overview of Pandora check out How Pandora Radio Works by HowStuffWorks.com.

Many people often wonder if Pandora is a legitimate operation. Well it is… inside the United States. And here is where the problems start to materialize. Pandora operates under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which gives them a way to pay royalties for songs in the US. Since there is no international equivalent of the DMCA, Pandora must sign deals directly with rights holders (music labels and artists of each song) in order to operate legally in other countries. Unfortunately separate deals for each song is an almost impossible task.

Pandora always made it clear that it was available for U.S. listeners only and requires a U.S. zip code for registration. But that didn’t stop many international users from registering using zip codes like the infamous “90210″. Now that Pandora is forced to block international users with IP-based filtering, it is a bit more difficult to listen to this popular music site… but not impossible.

How can you get Pandora?

If you go to the Pandora home page right now you will probably see an apologetic message from Pandora explaining that they are no longer allowed to stream music outside of the US. So I decided to find out how to fool the IP filtering tool used by Pandora so that I could reclaim my favourite music site. It turns out that it is very easy to accomplish this.

The solution is to set up a simple web proxy so your IP address and location remain anonymous. This is an easy and reliable way to listen to Pandora. And to be honest, Pandora sort of gives this solution away in their FAQ’s where one of the questions is, “How can I get around this? Perhaps a proxy server?”.

How do you set up a web proxy?

You can download proxy software to make the job really easy. The program I chose was UltraSurf which is really fast and easy to set up. Download UltraSurf as either a zip or exe file and run the executable to start the proxy connection. UltraSurf is a Windows only program but there are a lot of alternatives such as Hotspot Shield which is a virtual private network that works on Windows and Mac. The only downside to Ultrasurf is that it doesn’t work with all browsers so start off by opening Internet Explorer as that is the browser it was originally created for. I can’t guarantee that UltraSurf will work for every internet connection but it has worked on all of the computers I have tried so far. If you find that it does not work then I would suggest trying another proxy to see if you have better results.

Once you have set up your web proxy, you will be able to check if it works by going to Pandora. If you get the same apologetic intro that you did before then you will have to try something else (Remember to try opening Pandora in Internet Explorer first if you are using UltraSurf). But if everything goes right and you can access Pandora then congratulations! You can start exploring all that Pandora has to offer. I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

What is a proxy?

A proxy is a computer which communicates on behalf of another computer. So an anonymous proxy protects your IP address from going to the websites you visit and instead sends the IP address of the proxy. So really all you have done is added a middle man to the process.

Final Thoughts

On a side note, the idea of using a proxy to mask your IP address can be applied to video streaming sites such as Hulu and Sling which are also only available inside the US. But one thing to remember is that your internet connection speed usually drops while running through a proxy because it has to run through a remote server. So depending on your internet connection this can lead to choppy video or no video at all. In addition Hulu blocks computers running some of the popular proxies including UltraSurf. I’m not trying to scare you away from streaming video through a proxy but I’m just saying that it is a bit more difficult so be patient. Good luck!

The following graphic shows the browser market share as of February 2009. These stats were provided by Net Applications and are based on approximately 160 million online users per month from all over the world.

Browser Market Share
February 2009

Everyone knows about the big name browsers like Internet Explorer and Firefox but I was interested in what makes up that other 0.23% shown in the stats above. So I have compiled a list of browsers that are not so well known. Here is the list in no particular order.

Maxthon (Windows)

Maxthon is a tabbed browser that is very intuitive with an easy to use interface that was well thought through. Aside from the basic browsing features Maxthon has a built in RSS and podcast reader, mouse shortcuts for common browser functions, the ability to drag and drop keywords into search bars, and over 1400 add-ons. And if you accidentally close a tab you can quickly reopen that lost tab with an undo list. There are a ton of other features that allow you to customize Maxthon however you want.

Flock (Windows/Mac/Linux)

To sum this browser up, it is basically Firefox pimped out for the hardcore blogger and social networking addict. Flock is built upon the Firefox code base and extends the interface to include social networking features for MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Flickr, Blogger, Gmail and other popular services. Just to highlight the similarity between Firefox and Flock, all Firefox add-ons will also work on Flock.

xB Browser (Windows)

xB Browser is designed to be an anonymous web browser that runs on the Tor anonymity network. So this browser may help if you are paranoid about internet monitoring and censorship or just don’t want your girlfriend to see what you are up to on the internet. Of course it is important to remember that your browsing habits are not completely anonymous as most governments have the ability to monitor the internet at their discretion. So xB Browser is not an invitation to start up any illegal online activity but it will help keep you as anonymous as possible.

Shiira (Mac)

Shiira is an open source browser that is based on the same rendering engine as Safari. The goal of the project is to create a better and more useful browser for Mac users that may one day be more popular than Safari. Shiira seems to have focused on improving the user interface of the browser and making the visual appearance extremely customizable. At this point in time Shiira seems to be comparable to Safari and offers a good alternative browser for the Mac platform.

K-Meleon (Windows)

The advantage of this browser is that it loads pages very fast and uses much less memory than most modern browsers. The browser is based on the Mozilla code base but is visually similar to Internet Explorer. In order to streamline K-Meleon and make it use less memory, you will find less functionality in the browser but this makes K-Meleon a good option for older and underpowered PC’s or anyone who is in a hurry to surf the web.

Lunascape (Windows)

Lunascape is the world’s first triple engine browser. What does that mean? Well usually each browser is built upon one specific engine. Internet explorer is built upon the Trident engine, Firefox is built upon the Gecko engine, and Safari and Google Chrome are built upon the WebKit engine. The problem is that each engine has its own set of quirks which means that webpages can be displayed differently depending on the engine your browser uses. This is a huge issue for web developers. Lunascape decided to include all 3 of the engines listed above in their browser so a user can quickly switch engines while surfing the web. This means that a Lunascape user can switch to the engine that will best display the content they are reading. This is also great for web developers because it allows them to easily see how their work will be displayed on the different engines without needing to install and open three different browsers.

Lynx (Windows/Mac/Linux)

You don’t see many text-only browsers these days but Lynx is an older browser that is still kicking around today. Lynx can’t display media like images or videos but it can open external programs like image viewers and video players to do the job when necessary. Most people laugh at the idea of a text-only browser but it simplifies web surfing and is perfect if you have a really slow computer or internet connection like some people in remote areas of the world.

Safari (Windows/Mac)

In my mind Safari is one of the big boys and is fairly popular so I won’t spend any time describing it but I just wanted to let everyone know that it is also available for Windows users. It’s a good looking browser and is perfect for web developers who want to see what their work looks like on a Mac based browser.

Bitty (All)

The only way to describe this one is that Bitty is a very unique browser. Bitty is a browser that you can embed in other browsers. That is a strange idea that is hard to explain but it basically means that just like you can embed a YouTube video in a webpage, you can also embed Bitty into a webpage. So you end up with a browser embedded within a browser. Its like picture-in-picture on the web. This may not seem like a very useful thing to do but it can actually be a very handy widget to add to a webpage because you can display stuff like RSS feeds and content from other websites directly on your own site. The only downside is that there are some ads built into the browser. But it sure is cool. Check out my site within my site in the Bitty browser below!

Portable Browsers

The idea behind a portable browser is that you can load it onto any Flash drive or portable hard drive and can take your personalized browser with you wherever you go. So there is no need to download the browser software on a computer when you want to use it. Instead just plug in your flash drive and start surfing the web. This can allow you to bring all of your bookmarks, settings, emails, and more with you when you are away from your home PC.

You can find portable versions of most common browsers such as:

• Portable Firefox
• Portable Opera

3D Browsers

The idea of a 3D browser has been around for a long time but I don’t think it will become popular anytime soon. This is not to say that there aren’t any good 3D browsers out there because there are some interesting ones. But I don’t think I’m ready to jump from a 2D browser world into a 3D browser because I like the simplicity that 2D offers. Here is a short list of some 3D browsers that all implement a different 3D solution.

• Browse3D
• uBrowser
• 3B

There are a lot more browsers out there but I have only listed the browsers that I have personally tried. I may have only browsed with some of them for a couple minutes but I have used them all at some point in time. After taking all of these browsers for a test drive I have decided to stay with Firefox but I must say that there is a browsers out there for everyone.

Last Thursday was the release date for Internet Explorer 8 which is now available for download. Microsoft’s new browser boasts new features including web slicing and accelerators.

[Continue Reading...]

I don’t have a cell phone, but I can still send out text messages as much as I want. I’m sure many of you have already discovered this but you can send free text messages from your computer. Although it is important to note that the recipient of the message may be charged depending on their cell phone plan.

There are two different ways to do this:

1. Each mobile phone company has a website set up so you can send text messages to their customers.

• Rogers
• Fido
• Telus
• Bell Mobility
• Koodo

If you don’t know what carrier a person is with then you can try a site like YouText.com that works for all Canadian mobile carriers.

2. You can also send a text message directly from an email by using a 10 digit phone number and the extensions listed below as the email address to send to.

• Rogers: (10-digit phone number)@pcs.rogers.com
• Fido: (10-digit phone number)@fido.ca
• Telus: (10-digit phone number)@msg.telus.com
• Bell: (10-digit phone number)@txt.bell.ca
• Koodo: (10-digit phone number)@msg.koodomobile.com
• Sasktel: (10-digit phone number)@sms.sasktel.com
• Solo: (10-digit phone number)@txt.bell.ca
• MTS: (10-digit phone number)@text.mtsmobility.com
• Virgin: (10-digit phone number)@vmobile.ca

So if the person you wish to text has the number of 613-555-7252 and is on a Bell cell phone then you would send an email to: 6135557252@txt.bell.ca

If you would like to send free text messages to someone outside of Canada then you should check out other websites that offer this service for many popular carriers around the world. See some example sites listed below.

• http://www.onlinetextmessage.com/
• http://www.gizmosms.com/

If you would like to add any mobile carriers to the list please leave a comment. Also let me know if you encounter any problems while trying to send a text message as I have not personally tried out all of the carriers listed above.

One important feature that is missing from most email services is the ability to schedule when an email gets sent. This feature would allow you to compose an email and then schedule it to be sent at a later time right down to the minute. Until this feature starts to appear in common email services we will have to find another tool to accomplish this task.

The best tool I have found so far is LetterMeLater. You have the option to send quick emails to the future or you can sign up on their website for an account to better manage your future emails, send attachments up to a total of 2MB per email, and create and import email groups. And if you want you can send an email to LetterMeLater with scheduling instructions from your regular email account and LetterMeLater will set things up without you ever having to actually login to you online account.

This can be a very useful tool as it can allow you to schedule future emails to be sent to people for special events like birthdays and anniversaries. Or on the flip side, you can also send email reminders to yourself so you don’t forget a birthday or anniversary. Another possible use would be to send out work emails late at night or early in the morning so your boss thinks you are working late hours. Not that I would ever do such a thing, haha!

I’m sure this tool can be used for a lot of other purposes that I have not yet considered. How would you use this tool?

There is a long list of newcomers that have tried to challenge Google over the years and failed miserably. Stephen Wolfram is a smart enough man to realize that there is no need to challenge Google. So instead he is bringing an entirely new type of search engine to the internet. Although I would not call it a “search engine”. I think a more appropriate term is “answer engine.”

Its name is WolframAlpha and I call it an “answer engine” because you can ask it questions and it computes answers for you. It differs from Google in this way because Google is basically a lookup tool that returns web pages and documents that might contain the answer you are looking for. WolframAlpha actually computes the answer to questions using some level of understanding and reasoning. Some example questions are: What is the location of Timbuktu?”, “How many protons are in a hydrogen atom?”, and “What was the average rainfall in Boston last year?”. WolframAlpha will only answer questions that have factual answers so don’t expect an answer if you ask a question like, “Should I go to the dance with Jimmy?”.

Stephen Wolfram is the mind behind Mathematica which has emerged as the most powerful general computation system ever created. And his new system will take things to a whole new level. But only time will tell if WolframAlpha will be as smart and complete as anticipated. Who knows if it will match the hype but it has the potential to be as important as Google.

So in two months when you need to find the answer to a question… Don’t Google it, Wolfram it.

Yet another great and little known feature built into Firefox is the ability to create keyword searches. You can create a keyword search for any search box you find on the internet like the ones on Google, YouTube, Wikipedia, etc. You could even do it for the search box in the right hand menu of this site if you really wanted. It’s fast, easy, and makes searching your favourite sites as easy as a couple keystrokes.

Let’s say I have created a keyword search for Wikipedia and I want to search for “ancient greece” on Wikipedia. All I have to do is type “w ancient greece” into my URL bar and it will take me to the result for that search on Wikipedia. In this case the keyword I have set for Wikipedia is “w” and “ancient greece” is my search term.

It only takes a second to set up a keyword search like this so go ahead and try it out in Firefox. Go to one of your favourite sites like Wikipedia. Right click the search field and select “Add a Keyword for this Search…”. A window will pop up and you should enter a name for the keyword search (it doesn’t matter what the name is) and the keyword you want. In the example above I set the keyword to “w” for Wikipedia but it could be anything you want like “wp”, “wiki”, or “bestencyclopediaever”. But a keyword that long sort of defeats the purpose of a shortcut like this. Once you have set up your keyword search, test it out by typing in your keyword followed by your search term.

Sorry for not having audio with the video. I will need to dig up my microphone next time.

I hope you find this quick tip useful. I use it all the time and think it’s a great little feature.

Google is always innovating to keep ahead of the competition. Some of their ideas are great, and some are huge flops but you’ve got to admire their passion for making the internet a better place for all of us.

Google certainly has a track record of success, but instead of highlighting their great ideas I thought it might be fun to take a look at some of their great failures.

1. Google SearchWiki - I’m not sure what happened to this but one day it just disappeared. Google SearchWiki was a way for you to customize Google search results by re-ranking, deleting, adding, and commenting on search results. You could move the results you like to the top, add new sites, write notes attached to a particular site, and remove results that you didn’t like. The changes you made only affected your own searches and were shown to you on future searches when you were logged into Google.
2. Google Web Accelerator - This downloadable application was supposed to be able to load web pages faster on DSL and cable connections. Apparently it sort of worked but aside from some bugs and security issues many people objected to the application on the basis that it was yet another way for Google to monitor the behaviour of online users. Google decided to discontinue it and it is no longer available for download.
3. Google Answers - This was an online service that allowed users to ask questions and [Continue Reading...]