I don’t really have time to fix my userscript Tweak Gametrailers but I just did anyway. The latest changes over at Gametrailers.com introduced a new flash player and banished QuickTime and Windows Media Player. In addition with few moderate changes in the naming scheme my script didn’t work anymore. Now it’ll work again and it’s even smaller than before.
Ah, just to let you all now: Obviously, the guys over at Gametrailers made some bigger changes. Effective immediately you only need to register to completely bypass the age verification. Of course, my script still will take care of that annoyance. Have fun!
So, during the last few weeks I’ve been looking for a password manager. I recently stumbled over RoboForm which is a quite interesting product if you’re looking for a password manager that runs in your browser and acts as a form filler. I tested it for a few days but I didn’t really like it all that much. RoboForm is convenient but it only works within your browser. I’d like to have my password manager available to me all the time, though. Plus, you absolutely have to pay for RoboForm after a trial period of 30 days or it will become seriously crippled in its functionality.
That’s why I once again turned to KeePass which I’ve used for a short while a few years ago. So, I installed KeePass on my systems and dropped the heavily encrypted database in my Dropbox account. After configuration I immediately discovered the awesome potential of a feature called AutoType: Just set the focus on the control accepting your username, press your defined shortcut and the magic happens. KeePass logs you in with the credentials you provided. Nice, you might think. Well, it didn’t work all too well in the browser. I discovered a few scripts on Userscripts.org but not one of them worked as I wanted them too.
No problem, I thought. Just create one yourself … and here it is: KeePass AutoType Enhancer. This script sets the focus on any username field it detects on a web page. You can configure the script to even focus controls that are outside the viewport so that the browser scroll as necessary. If you don’t, it will ignore controls outside the viewport. I’ve implemented the shortcut CTRL+ALT+S to manually focus on the username field. The shortcut will always set the focus on the appropriate field even if it isn’t inside the viewport, thus ignoring the switch provided in the script. Enjoy!
This morning there wasn’t much to do at work so I tried to make my only Userscript — Tweak Gametrailers — even better. This script tries to make browsing Gametrailers.com a little more pleasant. It removes the age verification and prevents Flash based videos from playing automatically. I implemented the latter feature today and I hope that I can make it even better. Right now, it looks a little like Flashblock. A user suggested to start playing videos in full screen mode. I’ve looked into it today and it sure looks like I’m going to implement this with the next release.
Funny. I started out with a little script to make browsing Gametrailers.com more pleasant and now I’m thinking about features I don’t really need. Well, that’s the way it is
Unbelievable! I almost missed this one, can you imagine? Anyway, first things first. I already wrote about FarScape a while back. The execs from SciFi canned the show and left the fans hanging in the air with a major cliffhanger. Even though it had good ratings. And now they’re gonna bring it back? At least sort of, we’re talking webisodes here. Well, that’s a mystery to me but who am I to judge. Any FarScape is way better than no FarScape. And that’s it, as far as I’m concerned.
Still, let’s take a closer look. Over at Gateworld.net I found the first piece of information which sent me into the depths of the internet, looking for more information I could get my hands on. So, SciFi announced that there will be 10 webisodes of FarScape, set to be released on SCIFI.com. At Comic Con 07 Brian Henson himself told the audience that there will be »at least 10 webisodes of Next Generation Farscape«. In addition, they were talking spin-offs or movies but there has only been some development as far as the webisodes are concerned. Finally, SciFi has whipped up a site where you can »be first to get news about the web series«.
Sounds good? Well, take it with a grain of salt: Each episode is anticipated to run for 3 to 6 minutes. »The characters, creatures, passions, conflicts and barely contained lunacy of the ›Farscape‹ universe have never stopped. We just haven’t had a window into that universe lately to see what’s currently happening there. Well now we do. And it ain’t calm, and it ain’t pretty, and it ain’t like anything anyone is going to expect. But it is totally ›Farscape,‹« promised O’Bannon, executive producer. According to his words, the webisodes should stay true to the original and be different on the same time!
I don’t know what to think. The people in the SciFi forums are quite excited about all this. Even though I feel quite enthusiastic about the »comeback« it sounds a little shallow to me. And who knows what they mean when they talk about it not being »like anything anyone is going to expect«? To my mind, SciFi is trying to see where the new trend of webisodes is going. Change isn’t going to slow down and you has to explore the possibilities of digital distribution, digital content, and, of course, new marketing vehicles. Let’s hope they don’t screw it up.
Jakob Nielsen provides yet another valuable insight for your homepage design. He writes that the usability of a homepage was compromised because of fancy formatting and fancy words. Users ignored a key area because it resembled a promotion. They looked at the right parts of the page but they didn’t see the essential information.
It’s interesting how people ignore things they don’t want to see. I too mostly ignore advertisements, mainly because I’m not interested in it. Since most sites try too hard selling you something it’s not wonder, I guess. Obviously, less definitely is more. In order to get the most out of your online presence you should check out Nielsen’s Top Ten Guidelines for Homepage Design. Even though these guidelines are clearly aimed at companies they are quite useful for the average Joe.
What do we have here? A war of some sort? Not quite likely but according to Danah Boyd there is a rift. American teenagers are flocking to MySpace and Facebook and according to her essay, which go where have something to do with socio-economic class. Danah has been trying to figure out how to put this division into some kinda formula. Since she hasn’t succeeded yet we can enjoy her observations over at her blog. I have to admit, there’s a certain truth to be found in this paper.
In short, Miss Boyd has observed that hegemonic American teens are all on or switching to Facebook. Non-hegemonic teens are drawn to MySpace. She thinks that a class division has emerged which is underlined by advertising or policy decisions, for example. Well, considering the origin of each site, I find myself agreeing to her line of thought. But I have to ask myself why anybody should even bother? It’s all just a matter of presentation and news. Both social networking sites embrace different policies, encourage different actions. Is it really safe to assume that MS and FB are the prime indicators of class division?