February 21, 2013
Getting Rid of Popup Ads in Chrome Caused by “Insta” Processes
I recently started getting popup ads with ridiculous frequency, like at least a dozen per hour (and that was a minimum), non-stop, as long as my Chrome browser was open (I’m running Windows 7, Chrome version 24.0.131257m). This was despite having my browser settings defined to block all popups. To make matters even more irritating, in addition to these ads being repetitive and constant, they weren’t even interesting, focusing mainly on things like weight loss, face lifts, and how to make lots of money surfing the Internet (yeah, right).
Getting back to business, after ruling out a virus (see news and discussion about Adserv virus), I went ahead and confirmed that my browser was indeed set to block popups. This led me on a fruitless and frustrating course of checking, rechecking, and making all manner of adjustments to my Chrome popup settings, an annoying mini-project that played out over the better part of a week.
Finally, I’d more or less given up, resigned to either re-installing Chrome, or limiting its use. However, before taking that step, I decided to do a search on what seemed to be the name of one of the companies putting out these ads. To my luck, I came across a Google Group, of all places, hosting a discussion describing the (pretty simple) solution.
The online discussion I came across suggested that “Insta” extensions—such as InstaTwitter, InstaTumblr, etc—in Chrome were the actual culprits. Why this is an issue in Chrome and not in Firefox or IE isn’t clear, though indeed, it seems to be a known problem.
So in my case, the solution was to disable InstaTwitter. Though I’ll provide, in addition to the (simple) solution that worked, the procedures that didn’t work; this might be useful for conveying the overall discovery process, which included some dead-end steps.
(However, note that these procedures might work just fine as solutions to other popup- and ad-related problems in Chrome.)
Didn’t Work #1:
In the Chrome browser, doing as follows:
1. Settings
2. Advanced Settings
3. Privacy
4. Content Settings
5. Pop-ups
6. “Do not allow any sites to show pop-ups (recommended)”
Didn’t Work #2:
In the Chrome browser, doing as follows:
1. Performing steps #1 – #5, as above.
2. “Allow all sites to show pop-ups”
3. Manage Exceptions
4. Block the following (your popups may differ; these were the ones I was getting):
This Worked!:
In the Chrome browser, do as follows:
1. Tools
2. Task Manager
3. Select InstaTwitter (or any other “Insta” processes like InstaTumblr, etc).
4. Click End Process
5. Close Task Manager
You may have to repeat the procedure for subsequent reboots or new log-ins to your PC. Or perhaps you could disable the Insta processes permanently.
June 5, 2012
This Must be the Place
This Must be the Place (2011). Strangest Holocaust film ever, if it can be categorized as such (I think it qualifies). First 1/2 hour is downright bizarre. Then film becomes quite compelling, at moments beautiful, even profound. Has got its upsetting scenes for sure. Need to take in this film with an open mind. Worth it, IMO. Great to see and hear David Byrne staying creative making music after all these years. A tip of the hat to Sean Penn on this one. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1440345/
February 22, 2012
A Comic Alternative to Documentation?
Recently, when clearing some bookshevles, my wife came across this illustrations-only set of instructions she’d prepared back in the late-90′s for our then pre-literate daughter, who’d demonstrated a propensity for (supervised, semi-independent) baking projects.
Having a fresh look at these instructions got me thinking about the use of comics and pictures-only documentation for non-literate and pre-literate users. In this case, the images are rather high-context, meaning, they might be meaningless to someone not familiar with the kitchen for which they were drawn, the equipment being used, and the end-product, in this case, popovers.
However, I can validate (or at least visually confirm) that these instructions—with a bit of practice—did in fact work. Our daughter, a pre-schooler at the time, indeed managed to create the intended product, based on following the image sequences in the drawings.
In the years since, I’ve come across a number of instances where a hardware vendor or app provider chose to rely mainly on illustrations, sometimes accompanied by text, other times relying only on pictures, in providing instructions for end-users.
Though I’ve yet to research the topic in-depth, I find the basic notion intriguing. That is, do we tend to be over-reliant on words, in cases where simple drawings would do the trick? Could we, as documentation specialists, make our instructional products more accessible to those who either have difficulty reading in general, or who aren’t familiar with the language(s) in which we provide wirtten documentation? Instead of—or more likely, in addition to—translating documentation into written languages, could we transform our instructions into comics or other illustrations-only media?
For what it’s worth, since I’m not a big fan of pudding-like baked goods, I’ve never actually tried the end-product. Nor am I a “foodie” or sharer of recipies (I tend to overlook such posts in Facebook and instantly delete them from email). Though if you decide to try applying these instructions at home, I’d be curious to hear about your outcome, as well as learn about your experiences with comic-based documentation.
February 19, 2012
Solving Lenovo X200 Blue Screen Problem
Some months back, I posted an article offering a solution to a known black screen issue with the Lenovo X200 PC. This time, we’re solving a blue screen issue …
After months of getting ‘blue screens’ (BSODs) when redocking the PC and taking it out of sleep mode (15% – 20% of the time), a colleague in the laptops lab came up with a brilliant solution that’s been succeeding. The solution involves disabling the function that allows certain hardware devices to bring the computer out of standby mode.
- In Windows (still working in XP), select the My Computer icon.
- Click the right-mouse button.
- In the pop-up menu, choose Properties.
- In the System Properties dialog, select the Hardware tab.
- Click the Device Manager button.
- In the list of components, expand the various trees, select the items appearing within the branches, right-click, and choose properties.
- For items with a Power Management tab, select that tab.
- Un-select “Allow this device to bring the computer out of standby.”
- Click OK.
To save you the task of inspecting each hardware element individually, the following are the items on my PC with Power Management:
- Modems > ThinkPad Modem Adapter
- Network Adapters > Intel Gigabit and Intel WiFi link.
Note
Leave USB Controllers alone, i.e. don’t uncheck “Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power,” under USB Controllers > USB Root Hub.
September 11, 2011
9/11: My Remembrance
Remembering 9/11. This is my remembrance, 10 years on.
First the incredulousness and disbelief. Then the emerging dread, fear, helplessness, tears, confusion, and rage. The tense, worried phone calls with US family in the moments immediately following the NYC crashes, awaiting those in proximity to WTC to check in. The stunned faces of office colleagues. Wondering how I would travel to a funeral if it came down to it. The immense relief that my immediate US family would emerge in tact. Trying to get a handle on the horror that they experienced close up. The profound grief for those whose family members would not be coming home that night. Imagining what the death tally would be and how the US would respond. The awesome bravery of first responders, emergency services personnel, and common citizens who rushed toward extreme danger and met death attempting to rescue and attend victims. Recalling that High Holidays were only a few days away and wondering if most of us would be in too deep a shock for prayer as ‘usual.’
Waking up to a “new normal,” that maybe wasn’t so new.
Feeling fortunate to be in Israel, yet wanting desperately to stand by US family and friends. The knowledge that something cataclysmic and calamitous was taking place. Trying to figure out how I’d explain it to my kids. The belief that this was a wake-up call for America and that she would respond decisively and uninhibitedly to a direct by attempt by barbarians at undermining her civilization. The subsequent disappointment in leadership. The realization that response would be at most a measured and muted avoidance of confronting the real lessons of that horrible day. The xenophobia, the simple-minded hate. The tremendous respect for America’s warrior class, and emerging sense that they’d end up bearing the brunt of a tragically confused and misguided policy reflecting a pervasive and persistent leadership gap. The fervent hope that sooner rather than later, the civilized world would wake up to the awareness that its existence is under direct threat and that what’s needed goes far beyond tighter policing of airports and border crossings.
Thinking that there are folks with honest grievances, who disagree with you, distrust you, dislike you, and who act out of distress in ways that are annoying. With these folks you try to have dialog, listen, discuss, come together to seek understanding and common ground, and where necessary make concessions to achieve reconciliation.
And then, acknowledging that there are folks who will hate you no matter what, who are ideologically committed to your absolute annihilation and total destruction, who wish for and seek your demise regardless how often you demonstrate kindness, sensitivity, decency, and humanity. With such monsters you negotiate only at your own extreme peril, as you risk placing in jeopardy the cherished values, foundational principles, and very way of life that you hold dear. Negotiating and trying to reason with religio-sociopathic killers will never succeed. It’s been tried too many times before and it’s programmed to fail. Don’t confuse the occasional lull or period of relative quiet for an imaginary peace that we do not have. As I’ve been saying since that awful day exactly 10 years ago, some day, we’ll have a real awakening. At that time, we’ll modify our thinking and behavior accordingly and do what’s needed to defend our civilization, flawed as it might be. The question is what will it take … to what unimaginable loss will we be subjected … for us to get there?
In the time following the attacks, I recall seeing our decision to have another child as a defiant act of hope. Upon discovering that we’d be blessed with twins, expected to come into the world just about a year after those events, I regarded the obvious symbolism as a sign that hope is the only choice for people of faith.
I was surprised to see this article in Israel’s center-left “paper of record” this weekend reporting on what they relate to as an avoidance mentality pervading many in Israel’s leadership echelons, especially with regard to clear and present threats. Perhaps we’re all hard-wired to forget our nightmares, and turn a blind eye to what frightens and confuses us. And when the fear and the nightmares are collective, we avoid and forget collectively. If you learned how to smile again post-9/11—as well as after the innumerable horrors that have befallen America, Israel, and other parts of the world—that’s a good and healthy thing. The ability to experience joy is a necessary part of recovery, and essential for living life fully. But let’s not allow that laughter and joy, necessary as it may be, to slide into the tempting hypnosis of mass-amnesia.
And please, let’s never forget those who perished on September 11th, 2001.
#9_11
August 29, 2011
The Big Switch, by Nicholas Carr
The following tweets summarize the main points of Nicholas Carr’s The Big Switch: Rewiring the World, from Edison to Google. Carr’s basic premise is that the migration of data storage and application hosting to “cloud” computing today is no less revolutionary than the construction of electrical grids in the late 19th century, and resultant provision of electricity to homes, businesses, and municipalities. The first third of the book tells the story of Edison, his contemporaries, and the impact of their innovations. The second third discusses the recent evolution of utility computing and its influence. The final third of the book is essentially a treatise on what we can expect from a future where the common individual has yielded any remaining semblance of privacy to governments, corporations, and various institutions.
[1/11] Finished reading The Big Switch, by Nicholas Carr. http://www.nicholasgcarr.com/bigswitch/ #TheBigSwitch #CloudComputing
[2/11] Informative and entertaining, though dark view of future of computers, networks, and connectivity. #TheBigSwitch #Internet
[3/11] Claims Internet puts disproportionate power in hands of gov’ts, corporations & institutions. #TheBigSwitch #Internet
[4/11] Power no longer in hands of individual end-user. #TheBigSwitch #Internet
[5/11] Rejects notion that computer systems are technologies of emancipation. #TheBigSwitch #Internet
[6/11] Rather, computer systems are technologies of control. #TheBigSwitch #Internet
[7/11] Computer systems designed to monitor & influence human behavior. #TheBigSwitch #Internet
[8/11] The more we share into databases, social networks, & cloud storage, the more vulnerable we make ourselves. #TheBigSwitch #Internet
[9/11] Consumerism long ago replaced libertarianism as prevailing ideology of online world. #9heBigSwitch #Internet
[10/11] Claims Google founders predict direct link between #brain & #Internet by 2020, i.e. physical-neural interface. #TheBigSwitch
[11/11] I’m finished tweeting on #TheBigSwitch. Enjoyed the book & recommend it.
July 3, 2011
Solving Lenovo X200 Black Screen Problem
I was recently looking around the Internet for a solution to the Lenovo X200 standby / resume (hibernate / wake-up) issue, which has gotten really annoying lately. Basically, the problem is that in about 15%-20% of cases, when placing the machine in standby or when trying to wake it up standby mode, it black screens.
I came across a bulletin board that recommended disabling the fingerprint scanner via the LT’s BIOS, although no instructions were provided on the site (and thus, no link).
You can disable the fingerprint scanner without going directly into the BIOS, as follows:
- In Windows (I’m working in WinXP), select the My Computer icon.
- Click the right-mouse button.
- In the pop-up menu, choose Properties.
- In the System Properties dialog, select the Hardware tab.
- Click the Device Manager button.
- In the main tree, open the Biometric branch.
- Once you’ve opened the branch, you should see an item marked AuthenTec Inc.; select it.
- Click the right-mouse button.
- In the pop-up menu, choose Disable.
Note that there might be a more recently released driver that solves the black-screen problem. In that case, instead of disabling it, perhaps updating to the newer driver would solve the black-screen problem without requiring a disable.
December 28, 2012
Gamification and LinkedIn Endorsements
Posted in business networking, Commentary tagged Career, Endorsements, Gamification, LinkedIn, Recruitment at 7:16 am by degyes
OK, I get it. Endorsements are LinkedIn’s way of gamifying its platform. Frankly, I’m finding this constant stream of endorsement notifications a bit pesky (though thank you to those who’ve taken a moment to endorse me). Maybe I’m old-fashioned but I’m more a fan of written recommendations. Even a terse one — provided it’s sincere, honest, and well-written — is far more meaningful and valuable than a point & click ‘endorsement’. Though naturally fewer in number, since they take effort to proactively request, and time for the recommender to sit down and write, wouldn’t an actual recommendation mean more to a prospective employer seeking intel on a job candidate? While I can see why some folks might get a kick out of seeing their endorsements stack up, would a recruiter even take them all that seriously? Is there something deeper or more significant that I’m not getting here?
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