Older blog entries for hacker (starting at number 407)

HOWTO: Download Oracle Java Releases from the Commandline

The recent and critical Java CVE necessitates that everyone either uninstall, remove or update Java immediately. My employer uses a lot of Java, and removing or uninstalling it across thousands of machines just isn’t possible. We also support 4 platforms for each new release (in 32-bit and 64-bit), so pushing out a new version of [...]

Syndicated 2013-01-14 19:13:44 from random neuron misfires

Facebook Does It Again, Silently Sending GPS Coordinates with Every Message

Yes, they’ve done it again. The most-recent update of the Facebook mobile application (Android and iPhone) reverses and resets the default settings for “Location Services”, so that every single Facebook message you send, also sends your exact GPS coordinates to the recipient (and to Facebook’s own messaging servers), even if you have your GPS disabled [...]

Syndicated 2013-01-10 00:13:19 from random neuron misfires

HOWTO: Search and Destroy “Unlabeled” mail in Google Gmail

I have over 14 years of email stored in Google Gmail now, all sorted, organized and tagged. It’s a huge archive going back through several jobs, plenty of experiences personal and professional. Some day it might make a good bit of data mining for an autobiography, but I digress.. One thing about Google Gmail has [...] Related posts:

1. Faster than a speeding IMAP In a previous post, I described two methods of moving...
2. Importing a decade of email into Google Gmail I have over 10 years of email on my machine,...
3. Removing thousands of duplicate email messages from your email I’ve been slowly loading all of my mail into GMail...

Syndicated 2012-11-12 21:20:17 from random neuron misfires

AT&T; Locks Horns with Hurricane Sandy and my data-only MiFi

We were hit pretty hard by Hurricane Sandy out here in New London, CT. Lots of property was damaged, wiped out boats tossed onto shore and crashed into other property. We also lost power, thousands of homes without power for days, as trees came crashing through wires, telephone poles were pulled to the ground by [...] Related posts:

1. AT&T officially loses over 10 years of my business I’ve been an AT&T customer for a very long time;...
2. Testing the Speed of BlackBerry Tethering Against My Own Networks I’ve been a long-time Cingular customer with my phones, and...
3. My First Day with the New AT&T MiFi Device I ordered a Novatel MiFi 2372 from Amazon this week,...

Syndicated 2012-11-11 16:24:44 from random neuron misfires

HOWTO: Block “SongPop” game updates and events on Facebook

I’m a big fan of keeping my Facebook feed, news and wall clean and filtered, no junk and no noise that I don’t need or want to read. On Google Chrome, I use the “Social Fixer” extension to block ads, drop columns and other unnecessary items from the pages, but this doesn’t work on Firefox [...] Related posts:

1. Feeding on Feeds for Productivity: Sage vs. Google Reader I use a lot of rdf/rss/atom feeds to keep up...
2. HOWTO: Browsing securely, using i2p with Firefox and FoxyProxy I’ve been using i2p for a few things, including browsing...
3. SOLVED: General Failure in sending the command to the application This problem results from clicking on a URL, mailto or...

Syndicated 2012-11-11 15:58:22 from random neuron misfires

OpenFlock, code, monkeys and keyboards

dsifry: I created a project for OpenFlock here. Add yourself. Your sites aren’t routing, and only one is up, with lots of dead links. Yes, I know, we all have no time left. Once I clear my plate, I can help you with this if you still need it. CVS Have to work on my [...] Related posts:

1. Code, headaches and life PODS mysql> select url from pods limit 1,1000; 543 rows...
2. 12 Monkeys Mon Jun 11 23:59:40 PDT 2001 12 Monkeys Er, I...
3. Lots of code and Canadian Cross Compilers Wed Jun 20 02:28:55 PDT 2001 Spent all day working...

Syndicated 2012-10-29 17:26:57 from random neuron misfires

USA Today interview at Palmsource conference

Hey look! I was in USA Today! Note to self: Never talk to anyone at PalmSource. He never presented himself as a reporter when he was at the booth talking smalltalk to me. dhd: I feel your pain wrt telecommunications companies. I can make long-distance calls, but not local calls, because my “local long distance” [...] Related posts:

1. Palm, Palmsource, and cross-country relocations robk, you may want to take a look at OpenFlock...
2. Thinkpad goes back to IBM again today for repair, 4th time and counting… Apparently the Thinkpad T23 is the biggest flop they’ve made,...
3. At 1:38pm today, I lost my best friend, my buddy, Dart… He’s not really lost, he’s still alive and well, preserved...

Syndicated 2012-10-29 05:26:52 from random neuron misfires

Toys, toys toys!

Toys!I managed to get to the local CompUSA here in town, and picked up a new Sony CLIE handheld. This one has a jogdial, and Memory Stick external upgradable storage. It comes with an additional 8-meg stick of memory, but I opted to get an additional 64 megs for use with Plucker and some other [...] Related posts:

1. More toys… My shiny new Thinkpad T42p came with an UltraBay Slim...
2. Projects, tech toys and Kerry Lauder in Berkeley kgb: What company was this for? I’m curious, because I...
3. Plucker is not dead, new things are coming… 2007-09-27: Press Release: New Plucker website released with lots of...

Syndicated 2012-10-28 17:27:13 from random neuron misfires

Post Christmas Blues

grog: I’m sorry about your recent loss. Heartfelt apologies go out to you and Yvonne. Christmas is over It’s funny to see how fast people get Christmas over with. Christmas starts sometime in July (if the department store displays are to be believed), and yet the day after Christmas, trees are on the curbs, husbands [...] Related posts:

1. Kerry Lauder Band Christmas Release My friend Kerry and her band just released their third...
2. Christmas Season Christmas Season Well, it’s that time of year again. Food,...
3. Merry Christmas, Tire Slasher I went to the mall today to return/exchange some suits...

Syndicated 2012-10-28 05:26:42 from random neuron misfires

Sleep is for Mortals

3:23 am, PST (or “Sleep is for Mortals”) I had this book awhile back called “Wide Awake At 3 AM” by Richard Coleman, and it was about using a revolving wake period (add an hour each day, go to sleep an hour later) to increase the amount of time you stay awake. Supposed to be [...] Related posts:

1. Can’t get my head out of the mud Weekends Well, another weekend gone and passed. This one was...
2. Time, Time, Time Like everyone else, I’ve been so buried with billable things,...
3. Ideas, Linuxworld and Celiacs IdeasForge Am I the only one getting tired of seeing...

Syndicated 2012-10-27 17:26:42 from random neuron misfires