03 September 2009

Gmail Labs

My new favorite discovery on Gmail labs where you can try out a variety of optional features. A few examples include:

*Flickr previews in mail
*Superstars (for all of your star-tagging needs)
*Random signature

To access Gmail labs, log into your account at http://gmail.com, click on the green beaker-shaped icon at the top of your Gmail, and scroll through the list of features other users are testing out. To use a feature, change the status to "Enable."

02 September 2009

Making spam out of ALERTBOX

I signed up for this online newsletter, but my UNC work computer thinks its spam, and having no taste for it, blocks it. Does anyone else have this problem, and what did you do?

Did I Do It Correctly?

If I send in Sub Task 1.4, for instance, and I have not done it correctly, when do I find out? In other words, when do you tell me that I need to try, try again? :) Thanks!

Password protecting the right place

A question:
I've been trying to complete subtask 1.4. I think I am running into some problems, but I'm honestly not sure. I'm a little concerned that I have password protected my public html directory. I followed the steps on the class website exactly, and what I came up with is this:
directory: /afs/isis.unc.edu/home/o/n/onyen/public_html
username: something
password: something else (that was a typo, which reminds me, is the backspace key functional in UNIX?)
Response:
It looks to me as if you have indeed password protected your public_html directory and not a subdirectory that is contained inside the public_html directory. I would recommend that you go back into your file structure and remove the protection from the public_html directory and then put in on a subdirectory within that directory. The steps go like the following. I have used colors only to highlight the commands and arguments. The colors have no relevance in the shell where you are operations.
  • connect to Isis
  • choose option 6 to enter shell
  • as the $ or the BASH prompt, check where you are with pwd
  • you are probably at your top level, so check to see what's at that level with ls (that's an ELL ESS)
  • if you see the public_html directory in your list of directories and files, change to that subdirectory with the cd command and the name of the subdirectory as the argument. It will look like this cd public_html
  • once there, look to see what's in there, but this time list all of the contents using the command ls and the argument -a. It will look like ls -a
  • If you see a file with a name like .htaccess (there may also be another file with a similar name there, but this one is the one to note), this directory is password protected. You don't want this, so run the protect command one more time
  • once in the protect dialog, work your way to the options and select the option that removes the protection from the public_html directory, then exit the protect dialog.
  • check again to be sure where you are by using pwd. You should still be in the public_html directory.
  • run the ls command one more time to see the name of the subdirectory within the public_html directory that you really want to protect
  • change directories to go down into that new directory using cd name_of_directory
  • once inside that new directory, use the command protect one more time and, by going through the steps in the protect dialog, protect only the new directory, not the public_html directory.
The backspace sometimes works, but sometimes it doesn't. Whether is works or not is a matter of what server module you are working in at the time. Some of them recognize the backspace, others don't. The protect dialog is one that doesn't seem to. If you make an error, and can't rectify it, finish the action and then go back to either edit your mistake or to delete your mistake and then restart the process.

Morning Coffee

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/2677

addon for firefox that opens multiple home page tabs

01 September 2009

Etsy search by color

On Etsy.com I found an amusing hammock for cell phones, iPods, or whatever your treasured technological accessory might be.
They also have a search feature that allows users to look for handmade items by color; it's quite entertaining to browse.
Enjoy!

Remember where you are

I want to re-emphasize something that we all encounter from time to time. It's important to be aware of where we are in our file structures. When you create your new directory on Isis for subtask 1.4, be sure to create it within the public_html directory.

If you create it in this directory (here I use the word "onyen" to represent an actual Onyen)

/afs/isis.unc.edu/home/o/n/onyen

it was created at the top level of your file structure. So, when you use your browser to go to (here I use the words "new_directory" to represent the name of the directory you just created)

http://www.unc.edu/~onyen/new_directory

you won't find it.

You won't find it because you cannot reach your top level space in Isis via a web browser coming into Isis via the web port (usually port 80). The ~ in the address tells Isis that you want to go to the public_html directory within the directory assigned to the onyen. Thus, you want to create your new directory in the directory one level lower in the hierarchy, or at this level

/afs/isis.unc.edu/home/o/n/onyen/public_html

When you do this, you can use this address

http://www.unc.edu/~onyen/new_directory

in your browser to find it.

C Cleaner

Clears up space on your computer:

http://www.ccleaner.com/

Cookies?

One of you all asked about Cookies last class period. We aren't going to discuss cookies in any kind of detail in this class, but Marshall Brain has a decent explanation of them at

How Internet Cookies Work