An Update For TechoTagger
I still use my Technorati Tagger application on a daily basis, and apparently, so do a few other people, as I have had a couple of requests for some changes. Normally, I would not pay attention to these requests when they are in reference to an application developed solely for my personal use.
But after looking at the requests again, I thought I would knock out a new version, and here it is.
Slobokan’s Technorati Tagger 1.1 allows you modify the caption that preceeds your tag list, as well as the positioning and the size of the tags inserted in your blog entry.
Because the TechnoTagger simply formats the code and copies it to the clipboard for you, it will work with any blogging platform or client.
You simply enter in your list of tags, such as:
this, is, a, tag, list
and the TechoTagger will format it for you:
<div align=”right”><
div style=”font-size: 10px;”>Technorati Tags:
<a href=”http://www.technorati.com/tag/this”>this</a>,
<a href=”http://www.technorati.com/tag/is”>is</a>,
<a href=”http://www.technorati.com/tag/a”>a</a>,
<a href=”http://www.technorati.com/tag/tag”>tag</a>,
<a href=”http://www.technorati.com/tag/list”>list</a>
</div></div>
and when you paste that code into your blog entry, it will appear as:
With the actual HTML code in your posts, you wont have to worry about migrating to another blogging platform either, because all of your tag entries will be in html format, not some other format other platforms might not recognize.
Note: No installation necessary. Just download, unzip, and run the executable.
Slobokan’s Technorati Tagger
On my blog, Slobokan’s Site O’ Schtuff I recently migrated from Wordpress to Drupal. While there are a couple of Wordpress plugins which make it easy to put technorati tags in your posts, I found that after migrating I was stuck with obscure code at the bottom of hundreds of posts.
When using Wordpress, the plugin made the tags appear as:
Technorati Tags: this, is, a, tag, list.
But after the migration I was stuck with:
<tags> this, is, a, tag, list </tags>
or some other variant thereof.
I haven’t had the time to write a script to remove those lines, or better yet, convert them to a better format, but I did have time to write Slobokan’s Technorati Tagger.
This simple application allows you to enter a comma delimited list and then generate the actual HTML code needed to insert in your post. The generated code is automatically copied to the clipboard for pasting into your blogging application, all you have to do is paste the code (Ctrl-V).
With the actual HTML code in your posts, you wont have to worry about migrating to another blogging platform, or if your existing plugin working with future versions of the one you are currently using.
Note: No installation necessary. Just download, unzip, and run the executable.
Sphere: Related Contentpixoh
Can’t afford Photoshop? Slow computer got you so bogged down that your snail mail arrives faster than your email? No more room on your hard drive? Maybe you just want to play with a kewl new web app.
Check out pixoh. It’s still in development, but I found it quite handy for doing those simple tasks.
[tags]pixoh, photo editing[/tags]
Sphere: Related ContentFeedDemon 2.0
I have been waiting to do this review for a few weeks now, but thought I would wait until Nick released the final version.
If you are looking for a Windows based RSS reader, you should take a look at FeedDemon 2.0.
FeedDemon leaves it’s competition in the dust. It’s user friendly interface and the ability to sync with Newsgator Online and other Newsgator products makes it the #1 RSS reader, IMHO.
With FeedDemon 2.0, Nick Bradbury takes us to a whole new level. Organizing feeds is much, much, easier with the single-level tree view as opposed to the old style dropdown lists. The choice of newspaper styles lets you change things up a bit. The watches make sure I never miss what I am looking for, and the news bins make sure I never forget to blog about the things I didn’t want to miss in the first place.
There is so much more I could mention, but honestly, I would rather spend my evening catching up on some feeds in FeedDemon, so why don’t you take a look at the release notes to see what has changed. Some would condense this down to one word, “everything”.
As a user of FeedDemon since the beginning, I believe this latest version (which is the most powerful, yet easy-to-use product I have seen) is Nick Bradbury’s finest achievement.
Technorati Tags: FeedDemon, Newsgator, Nick Bradbury, RSS
Sphere: Related ContentThe Best Notepad Alternative
On February 17th I did a review of Notepad2, and titled the post “The Best Notepad Replacement“.
On March 15th, Craig Baker recommended TextPad.
After downloading and installing it, I must say, I am impressed. I am a “multiple tabs” person. I always have 5 to 10 apps open in Windows, and at least 15-20 tabs open in Firefox, on a slow day. Any application that allows me to have multiple tabs wins points right off the bat. Notepad2 does not (and according to it’s author, will not) support multiple documents being open at the same time.
From a functionality point of view, I didn’t notice too many things that “stood out”, except the compare files tool, which has already come in handy, as I had to find some changes which were made in a file. Textpad took care of that task within seconds of opening the two documents.
I have titled this post, “The Best Notepad Alternative” for a couple of reasons.
#1 - Textpad is not free. You can evaluate it, but then you must register it, for $30. Notepad is free, and the best replacement would also be free.
#2 - Textpad feels “geekier”. The average notepad user would probably prefer the look and feel of Notepad2.
As a code junkie, I must say that I found myself preferring to open Textpad rather than Notepad2.
If you prefer the ability to open multiple documents, and you don’t mind the small price tag, then I highly recommend Textpad. It’s a great alternative, and to some, a great replacement.
Sphere: Related ContentVirus: CryZip Trojan
For your information:
Virus hunters have discovered a new Trojan that encrypts files on an infected computer and then demands $300 in ransom for a decryption password.
The Trojan, identified as Cryzip, uses a commercial zip library to store the victim’s documents inside a password-protected zip file and leaves step-by-step instructions on how to pay the ransom to retrieve the files.
It is not yet clear how the Trojan is being distributed, but security researchers say it was part of a small e-mail spam run that successfully evaded anti-virus scanners by staying below the radar.
While this type of attack, known as “ransomware,” is not entirely new, it points to an increasing level of sophistication among online thieves who use social engineering tactics to trick victims into installing malware, said Shane Coursen, senior technical consultant at Moscow-based anti-virus vendor Kaspersky Lab.
[Source: eweek.com]
Sphere: Related ContentHamachi
For the past couple of years I have been testing different VPN solutions.
Each solution I tried didn’t really work well, consistently. Some had problems running smoothly under XP, others required so much configuration on the server end they weren’t worth the hassle, and others seemed to work well, but had security holes a third grader could find.
Back in December, Steve Gibson and Leo Laporte discussed Hamachi during the Security Now podcast. I decided to give it a try, and I haven’t looked back.
I now use Hamachi on all my desktop machine and my laptop, all seven servers I am responsible for monitoring, and a few other machines I need to connect too from time to time.
From the Hamachi website:
Hamachi is a UDP-based virtual private networking system. Its peers utilize the help of a 3rd node called mediation server to locate each other and to boot strap the connection between themselves. The connection itself is direct and once it’s established no traffic flows through our servers.
Hamachi is not just truly peer-to-peer, it is verifiably secure peer-to-peer.
Believe it or not, but we are able to successfully mediate p2p connections in roughly 97% of all cases we dealt with so far (few tens of thousands as of early March). This includes peers sitting behind different firewalls and/or broadband routers (aka NAT devices). It is high-tech and it is really cool
The number of users of Hamachi has doubled in the past month and they are experiencing some growing pains, but other than the occasional “restarts” the reliability of the solution is great. Best of all, Hamachi is free.
If you are looking for an easy to set up, easy to use, VPN solution, check out Hamachi. They have versions for Windows and Linux, and I hear there is a version of the Mac coming soon.
I even have Hamachi running as a service on all my machines.
[tags]Hamachi, VPN, Free[/tags]
Sphere: Related ContentDeskpins
Have you ever been working in an application and needed it to stay on top of all other windows while you were working on it? I find applications that allow the “Always On Top” feature to be much more useful than those that don’t.
They are especially helpful if you are trying to read something from one window while typing in another, or while adding numbers, or even watching the progress of one window while you are working in another.
Enter Deskpins.
Through the use of a small icon in the system tray, you can “pin” any window to the top, whenever you want.
I downloaded this app yesterday, and have already found it to be one of the most useful tools in my collection.
[tags]software, deskpins, useful apps[/tags]
Sphere: Related ContentThe Best Notepad Replacement
As a programmer, I sometimes find it easier to open a text editor real quick to make my changes. If you have used notepad, you can understand the frustration someone might face when trying to use it on a regular basis. To say the least, notepad leaves a lot to be desired.
I have been using Notepad2 for a while now. One of the things I love about it, is the fact it knows the syntax of many different programming formats. It knows html, xml, php, css, javascript, vbscript, perl, c++, sql, python, and many more. Most importantly, it understands pascal, which I use in my delphi applications.
If you’re not already using this great little app, you should be! It’s quick, it’s efficient, and best of all, it’s free! Go grab Notepad2 today!
Sphere: Related ContentExpanding Our Horizons
Over the years, this has been the place for me to showcase the applications I have written.
While my software is still available for download, I have decided to expand The Alligator Pit to include reviews, opinions, tips, and information about software in general.
So, welcome, to the new Alligator Pit.
Sphere: Related Content