Gary Hepting - Senior Web Developer » Internet Technology http://garyhepting.com Professional Website Designs, Web Development and Search Engine Optimization in Portland Oregon Fri, 10 Sep 2010 03:02:07 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 31+ Awesome Android Apps and some Runners-Up http://garyhepting.com/2010/08/30-awesome-android-apps-and-some-runners-up/ http://garyhepting.com/2010/08/30-awesome-android-apps-and-some-runners-up/#comments Wed, 11 Aug 2010 05:09:28 +0000 Gary Hepting http://garyhepting.com/?p=1049 AppBrain App Market

AppBrain App Market

These are the best, the most amazing, the cutting-edge, pick-of-the-crop, Android apps available on the Market.

Many men died to bring us this information. We must honor their memory and celebrate the freedom they died to protect… by enjoying all of the free apps we can get our fingers (or thumbs) on. We must go forth and start customizing their configurations, tweaking their settings, and rating them in the Market!

  1. LauncherPro - Best replacement Home application for Android
    Runner Up: ADW Launcher
  2. Google Maps – GPS-enabled maps, step-by-step voice-guided navigation & directions
  3. mVideoPlayer - best video player app for Android
  4. Pandora - Internet Radio that plays what you like
    Runner Up: Last.fm
  5. Google Voice – Google Visual VoiceMail, SMS and more
  6. Gmote 2.0 – Touch Pad, Keyboard and Media Controller for your PC over WiFi
    Runner Up: RemoteDroid
  7. EStrongs File Explorer – Best file manager and file explorer for Android
  8. EStrongs Task Manager – Absolutely the best task manager/task killer for Android
    Runner Up: TaskPanel Lite or TaskPanel X
  9. MySettings - Quick toggle settings on your Android
    Runner Up: Quick Settings
  10. AppBrain App Market – Best way to search, sync and manage your beloved Android apps – also use Fast Web Installer
  11. Shazam - Music Discovery Engine
  12. Awesome Drop (File Sync) – Drag and drop to sync files to your phone from a web browser
  13. myRemote - Best WiFi remote control for Windows Media Center
  14. Boxee - WiFi remote media controller for Boxee
  15. RoMote- Roku DVP remote control over WiFi
  16. Personal Finance by PageOnce – Track all your bank, credit cards, bills, and other accounts on your phone
  17. Dropbox - Synchronization and cloud storage across all of your PCs and Android devices
    Runner Up: ASUS WebStorage
  18. PayPal - PayPal is now powered by Bump!
  19. QuickDesk Beta – Enhancement to Home Application
    Runner Up: Launch-X
  20. Toggl Timer - Track your time on the go with the official Android app for Toggl.com
  21. Skyfire Browser – server-assisted video pre-compression and streaming services
    Opera Mini     - server-assisted webpage pre-compression – save money on bandwidth
  22. Facebook for Android- updates your status, view your News Feed, upcoming Events, and friends, upload photos, read messages
  23. PdaNet Free Edition – USB Tether and Bluetooth Internet connection sharing
    Runner Up: EasyTether Lite
  24. WYSE PocketCloud RDP/VNC -Beta – Very fast Remote Desktop Connection over RDP/VNC protocols
  25. AppMonster - Backup, restore and manage your apps
  26. Mobile Banking - Do virtually everything you can at a Bank of America ATM or branch
    Runner Up: Wells Fargo Mobile
  27. Bump - BlueTooth powered contact info and file sharing
    Runner Up: BlueTooth File Transfer
  28. RingDroid - Make ring tones by taking samples from audio files on your phone
  29. Google Gesture Search – Search your phone contacts, apps, emails, messages and more with gestures
  30. Google Goggles - Augmented reality browser/camera, Android barcode scanner and more
  31. WordPress - Write new posts, edit content, and manage comments with built-in notifications
]]> http://garyhepting.com/2010/08/30-awesome-android-apps-and-some-runners-up/feed/ 0 Moving on from IE 6 in 2010. Google no longer supporting IE 6 http://garyhepting.com/2010/02/moving-on-from-ie-6-in-2010-google-no-longer-supporting-ie-6/ http://garyhepting.com/2010/02/moving-on-from-ie-6-in-2010-google-no-longer-supporting-ie-6/#comments Tue, 02 Feb 2010 06:47:46 +0000 Gary Hepting http://garyhepting.com/?p=1013 I got another awesome letter from Google today I thought I should share with the world, because it means thing will be changing for the good in 2010.

Google has officially announced it will not be support IE 6 browsers on a few of their major services, such as Google Apps (letter below), YouTube and Gmail.

Dear Google Apps admin,

In order to continue to improve our products and deliver more sophisticated features and performance, we are harnessing some of the latest improvements in web browser technology.  This includes faster JavaScript processing and new standards like HTML5.  As a result, over the course of 2010, we will be phasing out support for Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 ​as well as other older browsers that are not supported by their own manufacturers.

We plan to begin phasing out support of these older browsers on the Google Docs suite and the Google Sites editor on March 1, 2010.  After that point, certain functionality within these applications may have higher latency and may not work correctly in these older browsers. Later in 2010, we will start to phase out support for these browsers for Google Mail and Google Calendar.

Google Apps will continue to support Internet Explorer 7.0 and above, Firefox 3.0 and above, Google Chrome 4.0 and above, and Safari 3.0 and above.

Starting this week, users on these older browsers will see a message in Google Docs and the Google Sites editor explaining this change and asking them to upgrade their browser.  We will also alert you again closer to March 1 to remind you of this change.

In 2009, the Google Apps team delivered more than 100 improvements to enhance your product experience.  We are aiming to beat that in 2010 and continue to deliver the best and most innovative collaboration products for businesses.

Thank you for your continued support!

Sincerely,

The Google Apps team

Email preferences: You have received this mandatory email service announcement to update you about important changes to your Google Apps product or account.

Google Inc.
1600 Amphitheatre Parkway
Mountain View, CA 94043

I feel like this movement has been long awaiting the support of a giant such as Google to back it. Microsoft has not supported or even accepted any responsibility for the IE 6 browser quite some time and it is non-sense to continue to apply hacks and work-arounds to perfectly legitimate website code to support it.

However, as website developers and owners, I also believe we should make the initiative to instruct our visitors using IE 6 that they need to change their software before we just cut them off completely. Implementing User Agent detection and displaying messages to these users on every page they view might be a good start. Offering them their choice of downloading IE 8, Firefox 3.6, Safari 4 or Google Chrome 2 would also be a great way to encourage them to upgrade.

]]> http://garyhepting.com/2010/02/moving-on-from-ie-6-in-2010-google-no-longer-supporting-ie-6/feed/ 0 Securing Website Forms with and without CAPTCHA http://garyhepting.com/2010/01/securing-website-forms-with-and-without-captcha/ http://garyhepting.com/2010/01/securing-website-forms-with-and-without-captcha/#comments Sun, 31 Jan 2010 03:03:48 +0000 Gary Hepting http://garyhepting.com/?p=961 There are means to block automated or remote submission of the website forms. Having an unsecured form these days is just asking for a few hundred junk emails a week if not more. There are about 4-5 decent ways of blocking SPAM and potential “hacker” or intrusive programs from abusing our forms:

1. The most elegant in my opinion and definitely the least annoying to users, but not a completely secure or “perfect” solution is currently referred to simply as “Safer Contact Forms without Captcha”. There isn’t really anything tangible to show you a demo of, but an overview of the technology method can be reviewed here: http://15daysofjquery.com/safer-contact-forms-without-captchas/11/ or here: http://docs.jquery.com/Tutorials:Safer_Contact_Forms_Without_CAPTCHAs (i think this is the original author of this method, but they’re both the same thing)

Two downsides to this approach are:
1. Users must have cookies enabled as well as Javascript. A teeny tiny amount of visitors will not, but we can prompt them with a message.2. This security concept is based on the current methods that “bad bots” and hacker-programs use, but is in no means actually “securing” anything.
2. Number 2 because it is my second favorite option currently available: Ajax Fancy Captcha jQuery plugin. This one is cutting edge and truly is the best and most realistic way of proving someone is actually a human in todays software abilities and limitations. A live interactive demonstration of this is here: http://www.webdesignbeach.com/beachbar/ajax-fancy-captcha-jquery-plugin

Two downsides to this approach are:
1. “You don’t want to use CAPTCHA’s in general because you just know that requiring your visitors to read squiggly letters
and numbers just to send you a message is going to suppress communication – not encourage it.” – Quoted from the article
in option #1 :)
2. This method is the least friendly to handicap visitors using screen readers, etc. This isn’t a major concern on this project, since we are not subject to be Section 508 Compliant or anything, but it’s always something we should be conscious of. You never want to dishonor the ADA… ;)

3. Option #3 is very widely used and is actually the industry leader in CAPTCHA solutions in the open-source world. You’ve probably seen and used this at least a dozen times on various websites: http://recaptcha.net/plugins/php/

4. Option #4 is another flavor of CAPCHTA that is a little less “bloated” and has more readable characters, but is less effective than Option #3: http://www.archreality.com/jcap/. I’ve implemented this one one of our clients websites recently that you can look at: http://www.plansource.com/plansource/contact

]]> http://garyhepting.com/2010/01/securing-website-forms-with-and-without-captcha/feed/ 0 We’re a Favorite Place on Google! http://garyhepting.com/2009/12/pdx-freelancers-is-one-of-googles-favorite-places/ http://garyhepting.com/2009/12/pdx-freelancers-is-one-of-googles-favorite-places/#comments Thu, 24 Dec 2009 04:19:12 +0000 Gary Hepting http://garyhepting.com/?p=932 Google Maps Favorite Places

I received this (awesome) letter from Google today and thought it was cool enough to share:

Dear Business Owner,Congratulations! You’re a Favorite Place on Google. Between July 1and September 30, Google users found
your PDX Freelancers – Website Designers in Portland business listing ****** times, and requested driving
directions or other information about your business **** times.

Because you’re so popular, we’re enclosing a window decal that shows customers you’re a “Favorite Place
on Google.” The sticker includes a special bar code that potential customers may scan with cameras on their
phones. Then they can see your business listing on Google, read and write reviews, and add you as a favorite
right there. We encourage you to put up this decal so potential customers know that you’re a Favorite Place
on Google.

With the holiday shopping season here, we encourage you to update your free Google listing right away. It’s
easy to check if your hours, address, and business description are correct. We also recommend you add
photos, videos, and even coupons to help your business stand out. All of this is free. You’ll notice the results
every time someone says, “We found you on Google.”

Congratulations on your popularity on Google. We look forward to providing you with more and better ways
to grow your business.

Sincerely,
Michaela Prescott
The Google Local Business Team

]]> http://garyhepting.com/2009/12/pdx-freelancers-is-one-of-googles-favorite-places/feed/ 0 Robots.txt, Robots Meta Tag, .htaccess mod_rewrite http://garyhepting.com/2009/11/robots-txt-robots-meta-tag-htaccess-mod_rewrite/ http://garyhepting.com/2009/11/robots-txt-robots-meta-tag-htaccess-mod_rewrite/#comments Sun, 15 Nov 2009 20:50:29 +0000 Gary Hepting http://garyhepting.com/?p=863 Search-Engine-Marketing

There are three commonly supported methods for instructing/requesting internet indexing spiders/bots/robots what to scan and what to skip. Each of these methods are complimentary in usefulness to each other, but none are not equal in effect.

  1. robots.txt
  2. Robots Meta Tag
  3. .htacess and mod_rewrite

Summary:

To really protect and enforce rules for any specific user agent that is visiting your website you will have to constantly analyze website traffic analytics, bandwidth reports and visiting IP addresses and geographic locations, known pubilc or private proxy servers, and the specific methods and tactics of EVERY unwanted program and visitor and be able to implement new means to thwart their new methods on a regular basis.

]]> http://garyhepting.com/2009/11/robots-txt-robots-meta-tag-htaccess-mod_rewrite/feed/ 0 Block Unwanted Visitors by IP Address or UserAgent in Apache using mod_rewrite http://garyhepting.com/2009/11/block-unwanted-visitors-by-ip-address-using-mod_rewrite/ http://garyhepting.com/2009/11/block-unwanted-visitors-by-ip-address-using-mod_rewrite/#comments Sun, 15 Nov 2009 20:45:55 +0000 Gary Hepting http://garyhepting.com/?p=861 Use .htaccess rules to block unwanted bots, spiders and other UserAgents that don’t fetch, or that fetch and ignore robots.txt.

Blocking visitors by IP address filtering in .htaccess file:

# deny specific IP addresses, and allow all others
order allow, deny
deny from 123.45.6.7
deny from 123.45.6.8
deny from 123.45.6.9
allow from all


Block specific UserAgent using mod_rewrite

   # Block Google Images Bot from Indexing your Copyrighted Images
   # Hopefully someday Google will publish a "supported way" of
   # Disallowing the Google Image Bot when necessary, but until then...
   RewriteEngine on
   RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Googlebot-Image
   RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://images.google.com/


The catch-22 with this method is that “sneaky” program developers can simply masquerade as “normal” visitors by using common web browser user agent strings. Reinforcing the fact that all three of these methods are USEFUL, but in no way a complete or secure solution even with the precise use of all three.


Also see:

  1. robots.txt
  2. Robots Meta Tag
]]> http://garyhepting.com/2009/11/block-unwanted-visitors-by-ip-address-using-mod_rewrite/feed/ 0 Robots Meta Tag http://garyhepting.com/2009/11/robots-meta-tag/ http://garyhepting.com/2009/11/robots-meta-tag/#comments Sun, 15 Nov 2009 20:34:33 +0000 Gary Hepting http://garyhepting.com/?p=858 meta-tags

Use an embedded meta tag on a specific page to instruct search engine spiders and robots what to index and disallow:

  1. Pages including “noindex, nofollow” indicate that they are NOT to be index, NOT to be included in listings, and NOT to be scanned for reciprocal links.
  2. Pages including “index, nofollow” indicate that they are to be indexed and listed, but not scanned for reciprocal links.
  3. Pages including “index, follow” indicate that they are to be fully index and scanned for all reciprocal links and included in all applicable listings.

DO NOT index, DO NOT include in listings, and DO NOT follow reciprocal links

<input name="robots" content="noindex, nofollow" />

Index, include in listings, but DO NOT follow reciprocal links

<input name="robots" content="index, nofollow" />

Index, include in listings, and follow reciprocal links

<input name="robots" content="index, follow" />

Also see:

  1. Robots.txt
  2. .htacess and mod_rewrite
]]> http://garyhepting.com/2009/11/robots-meta-tag/feed/ 0 Robots.txt http://garyhepting.com/2009/11/robots-txt/ http://garyhepting.com/2009/11/robots-txt/#comments Sun, 15 Nov 2009 19:25:55 +0000 Gary Hepting http://garyhepting.com/?p=834 Robots.txt is a plain text file that is implemented in the root directory of a URI as a configuration file used by some search engine spiders and internet robots/bot programs to help direct them to what you want to be indexed and what you don’t. Although many robots will read and follow your instructions in the “/robots.txt” file, many ‘less compliant’ programs may actually ignore this file completely.

Here are a few examples of robots.txt file (plain text):

Ask all search engines to NOT index or follow links on the entire website:

#asks all search engines to NOT index and NOT follow any pages or links on the entire website
User-agent: *
Disallow: /

Allows all search engines to index and follow links on the entire website by Disallowing nothing:

#allows search engines to index and follow all pages and links on the entire website by Disallowing nothing
User-agent: *
Disallow:

Disallows specific folders and files from indexing and following:

User-agent: *
Disallow: /uploads/ # since this folder may contain secure, private, cached or temporary files, we should disallow this entire folder from being indexed.
Disallow: /tmp/ # since this folder may contain cached or temporary files, we should disallow this entire folder from being indexed
Disallow: /page.php


Also see:

  1. Robots Meta Tag
  2. .htacess and mod_rewrite
]]> http://garyhepting.com/2009/11/robots-txt/feed/ 0 Sitemap Generators: Automating Google Sitemap Creation for Search Engine Optimization http://garyhepting.com/2009/08/seo-sitemap-generators/ http://garyhepting.com/2009/08/seo-sitemap-generators/#comments Thu, 27 Aug 2009 17:22:08 +0000 Gary Hepting http://garyhepting.com/?p=684 Server-side Programs

CMS and Other Plugins

Downloadable Tools

Online Generators/Services

Code Snippets / Libraries

]]> http://garyhepting.com/2009/08/seo-sitemap-generators/feed/ 0 Hyperlink Protocols: Create Hyperlinks to Email, Instant Messengers, VOIP programs & Phone Numbers http://garyhepting.com/2009/08/hyperlink-protocols/ http://garyhepting.com/2009/08/hyperlink-protocols/#comments Wed, 26 Aug 2009 04:30:29 +0000 Gary Hepting http://garyhepting.com/?p=487 Google Talk Chat Hyperlinks

Google Talk Chat Hyperlinks

It’s occurred to me that Hyperlinks are a part of every day life for pretty much everyone these days. Whether you use them in basic internet browsing, copying and pasting YouTube and Facebook links to your friends, or making websites, knowing how to create hyperlinks is an important thing to know!

Some people don’t realize there are a lot more kinds of hyperlinks than just ones that use the HTTP or HTTPS (HTTP with SSL encryption) protocols. Many of which are very useful to today’s socially-networked webmasters and internet gurus.

Here are some useful examples:

Email HyperLink:
Example Email Link

<a href="mailto:youremail@yourdomain.com?subject=Email+Subject">Example Email Link</a>

Phone Number HyperLink:
Example Phone Link

<a title="Call 503-555-1212" href="callto:5035551212">Example Phone Link</a>

Skype Call HyperLink:
Example Skype Call Hyperlink

<a title="Call YourScreenName on Skype" href="skype:yourscreenname?call">Example Skype Call Hyperlink</a>

Skype Chat HyperLink:
Example Skype Chat Hyperlink

<a title="Chat with YourScreenName on Skype" href="skype:yourscreenname?chat">Example Skype Chat Hyperlink</a>

Google Talk Instant Message HyperLink:
Example Google Talk IM Hyperlink

<a title="Instant Message YourScreenName" href="gtalk:chat?jid=yourscreenname">Example Google Talk IM Hyperlink</a>

Google Talk Call Hyperlink:
Example Google Talk Call Hyperlink

<a title="Call YourScreenName on Google Talk" href="gtalk:call?jid=yourscreenname">Example Google Talk Call Hyperlink</a>

MSN/Windows Live HyperLink:
Example MSN/Windows Live IM Hyperlink

<a title="Instant Message YourScreenName on MSN/Windows Live Messenger" href="msnim:chat?contact=yourscreenname">Example MSN/Windows Live IM Hyperlink</a>

Yahoo! Instant Messanger HyperLink:
Example Yahoo! Instant Messenger IM Hyperlink

<a title="Chat with YourScreenName on Yahoo! Instant Messenger" href="ymsgr:sendim?yourscreenname">Example Yahoo! Instant Messenger IM Hyperlink</a>

AOL Instant Messenger HyperLink:
Example AOL Instant Messenger IM Hyperlink

<a title="Chat with YourScreenName on AOL Instant Messenger" href="aim:goim?screenname=yourscreenname">Example AOL Instant Messenger IM Hyperlink</a>

I’ll update this post and add more useful examples as I think of them.

]]> http://garyhepting.com/2009/08/hyperlink-protocols/feed/ 0