CircleCount helps you better understand Google+

2013-05-24 16:12:21 (3 comments, 2 reshares, 7 +1s)

That was fast. Google Maps now shows I-5 in Mt Vernon as "(Planned)" and ghosted out as a non-road. No kidding about the "Planned" part, though; this is probably going to be a many-months-to-year replacement project.

2013-05-23 02:03:53 (25 comments, 4 reshares, 19 +1s)

Yeah, I'm staying away from G+, for the most part, until the UI is sane again. This is just too much, and it's driving me to headaches and potential migraine repeatedly. I'll stick to the notifybox on Gmail and casually browsing stuff at night before bed on my phone.

I'm now in full agreement with some other users; the web UI is simply unusable.

#scrollolol   #lowcontrast   #readmore   #memoryhog   #fucktextonlyposts   #pinterestclone   #toomuchanimation  

2013-05-21 23:09:29 (11 comments, 5 reshares, 18 +1s)

I mean, really.
It makes it so fun to chase a comment box.

2013-05-21 23:03:58 (18 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

I mean, really.
It makes it so fun to chase a comment box.

2013-05-21 01:46:03 (22 comments, 0 reshares, 8 +1s)

Yahoo's Big Tumble Into Big Porn, Big Sleaze, and Perhaps, Big Trouble

http://lauren.vortex.com/archive/001032.html

By now you've likely heard that Tumblr is selling itself to Yahoo for just over a billion bucks in cash.  Oh wait, excuse me, that's Tumblr. -- officially, there's a period after Tumblr, a flourish added to the current vogue of purpsly drpping leters frm yor nme.

Yahoo wants to be "cool" again -- young, hip, bad, fresh, sick, tight -- or whatever your favorite current euphemism for youth monetization might be.

In furtherance of this worthy end, Yahoo will be providing Tumblr's (insert the periods yourself if you must) 26-year-old, high school dropout founder with a payday of something on the order of a quarter of a billion dollars -- and each Tumblr employee something like a paltry six meg each.  
more »

2013-05-17 20:58:01 (7 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

One-shot #googleplusupdate  simplification hack for Chrome users! Of course, YMMV and this could stop working at any time.

I have User-Agent Switcher for Chrome installed. If I enter a "permanent spoof" for domain plus.google.com, and set the User-Agent to "Android 4.1 - Nexus 7", I get a more streamlined interface. It uses the black bar with the integrated settings/notification buttons (I rather like this because it's so compact!), and no exploding-on-scroll-up top bar. It still uses the Roboto font, but the previous font hack that I posted can alter that if needed. What's missing is the search box, but the rest of the interface seems to work fine.

IMPORTANT: I had to go explicitly to https://plus.google.com/u/0/ to make this work. If I use https://plus.google.com/ (no /u/N/), I get the interstitial page pushing the Android app, and continuingt... more »

2013-05-16 21:37:01 (6 comments, 2 reshares, 8 +1s)

What you need to know from I/O

Google I/O kicked off with a handful of announcements for business, government and education customers. We’ve collected a few must-read points covering launches, updates and tools that will help you simplify the way you work and better connect and collaborate with your own teams and customers: http://goo.gl/95lRY

Google I/O continues through the end of tomorrow. Tune in to live sessions at google.com/io. #io13

2013-05-16 19:06:03 (24 comments, 4 reshares, 16 +1s)

HUHWUT?

"With Hangouts, Singhal says Google had to make the difficult decision to drop the very "open" XMPP standard that it helped pioneer."

To say I'm "furious" would be an understatement. This is a huge step backwards, and it explains why the "Hangouts" sidebar in G+ (and the Hangouts app for Android, which replaces Talk -- fortunately I still use a third-party Android client) is basically useless to me.

If this change hits +Gmail's chat app, then Google, I'm gone. We've had a good run, but I depend on my plaintext chat too much for this crap. There's a reason I have SRV records in my domain's DNS, you know!

2013-05-16 16:35:19 (28 comments, 1 reshares, 21 +1s)

OK, taking a break from G+ for the day. The further de-emphasis on text has made it near-impossible for me to find content I actually want to read. I may respond to comments on my threads via mobile, but the web UI is just not working for me.

2013-05-16 14:56:13 (6 comments, 0 reshares, 7 +1s)

So, here are my braindump notes on the #googleplusupdate web UI redesign; it's not comprehensive, but I'm putting the points into words so I won't forget the specifics. I'm limiting each category to my main four points.

Note that if you have input that would be constructive to the G+ UI, there is now a Community for discussing these things, which you may request to join: https://plus.google.com/communities/110885611422659946321

===

The Good

* If it weren't for the rendering issues, the new font is pretty and reasonably easy on the eyes (though necessary to zoom in for some people who had no problem previously; perhaps the default point-size is a hair too small).

* The embedded scrollbars on posts do help to constrain the tall nature of long comment threads. They don't work in all contexts (see The Ugly), but in the Home... more »

2013-05-16 14:52:05 (16 comments, 7 reshares, 19 +1s)

So, here are my braindump notes on the #googleplusupdate web UI redesign; it's not comprehensive, but I'm putting the points into words so I won't forget the specifics. I'm limiting each category to my main four points.

Note that if you have input that would be constructive to the G+ UI, there is now a Community for discussing these things, which you may request to join: https://plus.google.com/communities/110885611422659946321

===

The Good

* If it weren't for the rendering issues, the new font is pretty and reasonably easy on the eyes (though necessary to zoom in for some people who had no problem previously; perhaps the default point-size is a hair too small).

* The embedded scrollbars on posts do help to constrain the tall nature of long comment threads. They don't work in all contexts (see The Ugly), but in the Home... more »

2013-05-16 04:11:15 (14 comments, 1 reshares, 6 +1s)

High Contrast Theme Experiment for Google+

On the heels of my last post about changing the Google+ font¹, I made a Stylish script for the current generation of the Google+ interface that does the following (it's similar to what the Readability extension did for the previous layout, plus one more tweak):

* change text color to pure black
* lighten the page / inter-post background color to a lighter gray (but not pure white)

This scheme is not for everyone -- extreme high contrast is known to cause visual problems for some people -- and may actually make the new font worse on displays affected by rendering issues. This is just an experiment, seeking comment on the changes.

To use it, simply install it from the link into the Stylish extension (Firefox or Chrome), Greasemonkey (Firefox), or Tampermonkey (Chrome).

___more »

2013-05-16 00:29:47 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 8 +1s)

Hm. The embedded scrollbars do help out the main stream a little, but they're missing a visual cue that additional comments are available below and/or above the current in-div scroll point.

The embedded scrollbars in the notification popup are a bit less useful, as they clash with the notification popup's own scrollbars when the screen isn't large enough to show a whole post at once.

#googleplusupdate   #scrollolol  

2013-05-15 23:33:36 (6 comments, 4 reshares, 14 +1s)

Hey folks, new hack to get single column everywhere!!

Open your left fly-out, and choose Settings.  Check the "Accessibility" box - the one that says, basically, make this work better with screen readers.

Presto, single-column everywhere!

#singlecolumn  

2013-05-15 23:20:15 (63 comments, 112 reshares, 104 +1s)

Not liking the new Google+ font? Is it hard on your eyes?

There are some known issues with the new webfont in use (Roboto), with kerning and rendering on some configurations. Other users have reported general visual problems with the new font, which kerning fixes probably won't address.

Before going further, if you are actually having visual problems reading the new font, hover over the "Home" arrow on the left to get the drop-down menu, then choose "Send feedback" near the bottom to express your concerns. This information is used to help quantify the extent of user [dis]satisfaction with the UI.

So, if you would like to force Google+ to render in Arial (or failing that, your system's "sans-serif" font which is likely an Arial/Helvetica lookalike) by default, install this Stylish script with either the Stylish extension... more »

2013-05-15 21:39:03 (34 comments, 1 reshares, 10 +1s)

Oh dear. New G+ stream. It's as I feared: information overload by using space vertically. This is going to increase the amount of scrolling quite a lot... now scrolling in both directions all the time. I have to wonder if any of the G+ UI designers have ever looked at the site on a true widescreen device.

EDIT NOTE: Yes, there's a way to get single-column mode back. Choose "More", then select the layout that looks like a stack of pancakes at the bottom.

And I've had to zoom in on the page for the first time since the site launch. I would so rather be able to make the columns wider so that more information from individual posts could fit on the screen!

2013-05-15 19:45:46 (10 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

I love the smell of crashing Android app updates in the morning.

2013-05-14 20:05:32 (5 comments, 1 reshares, 3 +1s)

If you don't know to what this refers, where have you been for the past few days? If you do, feel free to laugh.

#KitchenNightmares

2013-05-13 15:21:01 (6 comments, 1 reshares, 6 +1s)

[+] Ground Control to Commander Hadfield [+] 

I think I love +Chris Hadfield right now... 

You know you're an amazing person when you're singing David Bowie's Space Oddity from the International Space Station. I don't have any words to express how amazing this is. 

Edited to Add: Oh and a HUGE Tip of the hat to +Liz Krane, for her stream is where I first saw this. Thanks Liz!

#ISSserenade   #ScienceSunday   #Space  

2013-05-12 16:45:35 (15 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

This is the most dramatic and unbelievable episode of Gordon Ramsey Kitchen Nightmares I have ever seen, it belongs on Ripley's Believe it or not because the things that happen in this restaurant makes it unbelievable that this business is still running. How can a couple this psychotic and abusive still be alive and functioning out there in the real world? Every other episode pales in comparison as this restaurant is a hell-pit of an establishment.

This episode was recorded at a Scottsdale, Arizona restaurant, is there any laws regarding withholding tips from servers in Arizona that they are breaking? It is ludicrous the owners have to take tips away from servers in order to keep their sham of a restaurant open.

Here's part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=3z9OABLQ5u4

And part 3: Kitchen Nightmares S06 E16 - Amy's Baking... more »

2013-05-09 02:35:07 (16 comments, 0 reshares, 13 +1s)

As if my migraine onset tonight wasn't bad enough, apparently I didn't notice that Foursquare now supports posting to G+.

My standard disclaimer from Twitter applies: 4sq posts = instant unfollow (uncircle).

No, I don't need to know what taxi you used or what you needed to get at which grocery store, thank you. But I'm sure there are stalkers out there who would more than love to have that information!

#FourStalker  

2013-05-04 16:23:46 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

you with be Forth the May .

#ForthTheMay  

2013-05-02 18:06:50 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

My Chrome app/extension posts are on hold for a little bit; have some things I need to take care of at home. They will continue soon.

In the meantime, please feel free to suggest any web/Chrome apps/extensions you'd like me to review on this thread. I'm always open to new suggestions, especially for "packaged apps" (ones that run entirely locally, whether in JavaScript or Native Client).

#ChromeApps   #Chromebook  

2013-05-02 17:30:04 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Chrome/Web App: Google Play Books

And to be fair to Google, here's their version of an e-book reader with offline reading support: Google Play Books.

Like the Kindle Cloud Reader, this too supports DRM-encumbered book purchases, and has several options for changing the on-screen looks to suit your eyes. It's backed by the same website interface as http://books.google.com/ but with the app, it's possible to download and sync books for offline reading.

#ChromeApps #Chromebook

(This is part of a series of posts to showcase some of the best things that can be done entirely within a browser, as with a Chromebook. This series includes Chrome apps and extensions, as well as plain Web apps, which make living within a browser much more productive and useful.)

Previous posts in this series:
* Amazon Cloud Reader: http://goo.gl/iqpNamore »

2013-05-02 14:30:04 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Chrome/Web App: Kindle Cloud Reader

E-books are all the rage now, and there's several vendors out there. This won't be the only theme of today's posts, but for those who haven't seen them, there are e-book readers available with offline support.

The first to profile today is Amazon's Kindle Cloud Reader. It's both an online and offline reading app, and can be particularly useful if you're, say, taking a Chromebook traveling and don't want to bring a physical Kindle too. It has several options for font size and text formatting to let you choose what's easiest on your eyes.

Amazon Cloud Reader connects to your Amazon account and renders your purchased books in the browser (including ones protected by Amazon DRM). You don't have to own a Kindle to use it; it works with any Amazon account. Once the app is installed, to download a... more »

2013-05-01 18:30:03 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

Chrome Extension: Google Search By Image

One more to round out today's theme of image manipulation, this is a great extension to help you find the "original" source of an image, or an un-memeified version of it.

Search By Image is very easy to use; it adds a "Search Google with this image" to the context menu. Just hover over a picture, right-click, and choose that option. A new tab will pop up with matching images in different resolutions, as well as similar images that have either a partial match or a color-similar match to the image you clicked.

And that's it! There's not much more to describe here; it's a simple and clean extension that is a great addition to anyone's browser toolbox.

#ChromeApps #Chromebook

(This is part of a series of posts to showcase some of the best things that can be done... more »

2013-05-01 17:00:01 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 1 +1s)

Chrome Extension: Hover Zoom

There are userscripts and extensions with features that allow you to zoom in on photos without clicking through to a remote site, but they tend to be website-specific. This extension is meant to run on a great many sites, and has a lot of customizability.

The basic functionality will pop up a full-size (or at least, sized to your browser window) version of an image when you hover over a thumbnail or reduced-size version. Among other places, this works on Google+, Facebook, Google Image Search, and many more. There are also configurable hotkeys that can be used to open the expanded image in a new tab or popup window, or save it directly to disk.

The extension doesn't create a button in the Chrome toolbar, so you'll need to go to Tools -> Extensions in the Chrome menu to get to the options page for the extension. I highly... more »

2013-05-01 16:37:55 (5 comments, 1 reshares, 2 +1s)

Chrome Extension: Google Screen Capture

It wouldn't be fair to mention Pixlr (in my previous post) without also mentioning this extension. This is a screencap extension for Chrome which can capture parts of the current tab (including sections that could normally only be seen by scrolling) and save the capture as an image file.

Like the Pixlr Grabber extension, this only works on the area inside the browser frame; it won't capture the entire screen. This is still very good for creating snapshots of Web activity that might... "disappear"... later, or for capturing errors to send back to a website's administrator.

Simple and easy to use; just click the extension button, and select what part of the screen you want to capture. Then save the result as a PNG.

EDIT NOTE: +Jason Kennedy and +Nate Behary have noted that this extensiond... more »

2013-05-01 14:30:03 (4 comments, 1 reshares, 4 +1s)

Flash App: Pixlr

Adobe Photoshop! It's something everyone needs, right? Well, not so easy if you don't have a bundle of cash and Windows or OS X handy.

While not the absolutely most featureful of image editing apps, Pixlr provides all the basics plus some useful visual effects, all bundled into a rather compact Flash app that does its work locally. The link shared here is for the Chrome app (just a URL link); it is also available for any other compatible browser with Flash by going to: http://pixlr.com/editor/

Built-in to the app are connectors to Picasa (Google+ Photos), Flickr, and Facebook. It offers login with username/password or Google authentication to secure these connections. Google Drive integration is also available. To use it, go into Drive, under the gear icon -> Manage apps -> Connect more apps and search for Pixlr. You can then openi... more »

2013-04-30 19:00:04 (5 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

Chrome Extension: User-Agent Switcher

Still running into websites that think your Chrome browser isn't a modern, standards-compliant browser? Thanks to recent improvements in the Chrome extension APIs, there's now an extension availble to spoof the User-Agent on your web browsing.

Make Chrome impersonate Firefox, Opera, Safari, IE (just the identification, not the quirky rendering), iOS, and Android, or use your own custom User-Agent. The iPad or Android settings are great when connected to a low-bandwidth connection, as it will usually trigger display of mobile-optimized versions of many websites.

A default User-Agent is selectable for all requests, and specific domains can be set to their own custom settings if desired.

Some people have reported that this extension makes it possible to browse via a mobile-tethered connection on networks that would... more »

2013-04-30 17:30:03 (6 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

Chrome Extension: Tampermonkey

And continuing with today's series of posts related to Web development, programming, and similar things, here's a must-have extension for anyone who likes to fiddle with userscripts: snippets of JavaScript that can modify a website in ways not necessarily intended by the site's author.

Many Firefox users are familiar with Greasemonkey, the original incarnation of this concept. Chrome itself actually has some native support for userscripts, but it's not as flexible as Greasemonkey, requiring script authors to do tedious backflips in their code to make their scripts usable natively in Chrome.

Tampermonkey avoids these issues by managing userscripts itself. It provides some userscript APIs not provided by the native Chrome support, and has its own script manager inside the extension that keeps them all in one place, rather... more »

2013-04-30 15:30:03 (10 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

Web/Chrome App: ShiftEdit

One of the big drawbacks to a Chromebook is the lack of a traditional environment to edit and run code. Software developers/engineers know how important this is, and sometimes a plain ol' SSH window just won't cut it. In the last couple years, quite a few options for "coding in the cloud" have appeared. Some of the more notable ones are Cloud9, Codenvy, Aardvark, and CoffeeScript Web IDE, all of which have Chrome app web-links visible in this list (with more to choose from):

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/search-apps/ide

If you're in the market for in-browser coding, I recommend trying out several of these to see what suits your taste. In general, these services are commercially sold, so if you want to work on a decently sized, non-public project, you will likely have to subscribe to the service. Some of them do... more »

2013-04-30 14:18:38 (7 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Meet Gwen?

The Windows Phone* ad campaign featuring Gwen Stefani includes things like billboards simply saying "Meet Gwen", like this one: http://goo.gl/Ryzz2

However, I can't help but think of the following, instead of Ms Stefani, when I see those billboards. Warning: possibly NFSW language. The relevant bit starts at 0:50 (click that to jump to it directly).

(* Interesting. Several fan-made Pages exist on Google+, but no official one that I could have plussed-in here.)

2013-04-30 14:00:01 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Web App: Cloud Internet Explorer

IE, for all its recent improvements in compatibility, has long been the bane of Web designers everywhere. Testing websites in IE usually means keeping a Windows-based system around just for that purpose, even if all regular work is done in OS X or Linux.

This webapp is from Ericom, the same company that created the AccessToGo RDP client app that I previously profiled. Likely as a publicity scheme, Ericom offers browser-based access to remote Internet Explorer 9 (as of this writing) instances that can be used completely within any HTML5 browser.

The link shared here is for the Chrome app (just a URL link); it is also available for any other compatible browser by going to: http://app.cloudinternetexplorer.com/

This application does have its quirks. It looks like sometimes, a user will be reconnected to someone else's... more »

2013-04-30 02:10:44 (7 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

I commented on this thread (it's a memegraphic with text; click through to see it): "This ramble is the foundation of the followers of Rand. Unfortunately for her writings, "it takes a village" is not just in our imaginations; people do not live in isolation from society or vice-versa."

+Lori Friedrich says:

"What is it with people these days that they have this false sense of entitlement. They assume that the golden rule no longer applies to them, as their point of view is so superior it overrides it."

Since comments are disabled there, I'll put my follow-up here:

Entitlement is not the same thing as community. We do depend on each other as communities, whether we want to hide that reality behind personal responsibility (which is critical to being a mature adult) or terms that constantly change meaning,... more »

2013-04-30 00:00:43 (7 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

My latest: " The message to young Americans, even in the midst of the strides of the gay marriage movement, has been clear: Gays may be out on television, in schools and even in our families, but if they know what's best for them, they'd better stay cowering in the closet in the world of sports."


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michelangelo-signorile/jason-collins-gay_b_3179224.html?utm_hp_ref=gay-voices

2013-04-29 18:33:02 (6 comments, 1 reshares, 3 +1s)

Chrome App: Chrome Remote Desktop

To finish up today's set of posts focusing on remote system access, last, but certainly not least, is Chrome Remote Desktop. This Google-provided app allows two systems running Chrome (any supported OS on either side, including Chromebook!) to share screen access without installing any more than just this app. It uses native plugins to access the remote OS's GUI in the same way that VNC works on Windows, OS X, and Linux.

This app does use a Google server as a remote-access proxy to work around common NAT configurations, but communications are encrypted end-to-end. Access is granted by launching the app on the remote system, which generates a one-time access code. The other person enters that access code, and gets access to the remote system.

In newer versions, it's also possible to register remote computers to your Google... more »

2013-04-29 18:08:05 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Afternoon Interlude

You've heard this song before -- I almost guarantee it -- but perhaps not quite like this.

Post inspired by +Jooles C and someone else who shall not be named (to make it more compelling to click & listen rather than cheat-search on G+ ;)

2013-04-29 17:30:03 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

Chrome App: AccessToGo (RDP client)

And to round out the remote-access theme of today's posts, here's a Native Client based RDP client application that runs entirely within Chrome, providing access to Windows Remote Desktop and Terminal Services. As with other remote-access apps, this works best in "Open in Window" mode, as it will pass through all Ctrl-character sequences without being intercepted by the browser.

AccessToGo is free and provided by Ericom, a company specializing in Windows remote access products. It has support for both x86/x86-64 and ARM, so it should work on all Chromebooks available today. Unlike other Windows remote access applications available on the Chrome Web Store, this app speaks native RDP protocol right from Chrome, and doesn't require a third-party proxy to connect to the target host.

The app includes standard RDP... more »

2013-04-29 16:41:09 (7 comments, 0 reshares, 7 +1s)

Chrome App: VNC Viewer

Continuing with today's remote access theme: There are several VNC and remote desktop applications in the Chrome Web Store, but this is the real deal. It's based on the RealVNC C source code and runs via Native Client. The result is a VNC viewer that works completely in the browser, using no third-party proxies to get to the target host. Works best in "Open in Window" mode, as it will pass through all Ctrl-character sequences without being intercepted by the browser.

Encryption support is available for those using RealVNC's Personal or Enterprise paid server product, but this app will connect using the legacy VNC 3 protocol (unencrypted) to just about any standard VNC server. To find out more about RealVNC's paid server license options, see: http://www.realvnc.com/

As of this writing, this app only works on x86 and... more »

2013-04-29 14:52:23 (16 comments, 0 reshares, 8 +1s)

Why You Shouldn't (Yet) Code For Android 4.0+ Only

Want a broader market for your Android apps? Code for Gingerbread (2.3.3, API level 10), or Froyo (2.2, API level 8) if you can handle the restrictions. 40% of Android devices currently in use are running Android versions 2.3-3.x, and an additional 4% are still using 2.2.

Only use the Android 4.0 SDK if you absolutely must (for newer APIs). Otherwise you'll miss out on almost half of the Android user base today.

(We're looking at you, +Google Chrome. ;)

See the full report here:
https://developer.android.com/about/dashboards/index.html

#Android   #SDK #UnplannedObsolescence

2013-04-29 16:41:26 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 7 +1s)

Chrome App: Secure Shell

An app by Google that is well-known to Chromebook users (based on the terminal emulator "hterm"), but usable on all Chrome browsers, this is a SSH client completely embedded in Chrome. Works best in "Open in Window" mode, as it will pass through all Ctrl-character sequences without being intercepted by the browser. This app is great in a pinch when visiting relatives who use a Windows system, without having to install any native SSH client application.

It supports asymmetric-key authentication based on locally stored keyfiles. Does not support port forwarding at this time, and doesn't have a sftp/scp file transfer client.

hterm is written in JavaScript, but the SSH core is based on Native Client C code, which runs on all x86 and x86-64 systems with decent performance. ARM Chromebook support is in the current version,... more »

2013-04-29 13:52:37 (9 comments, 1 reshares, 7 +1s)

The Other Computing History

Since +ThinkGeek decided to depress me this morning by reminding me of Commodore's bankruptcy 19 years ago (for shame!), here's a great book detailing some of the brightest innovative minds in home computing, and the corporate machinations that eventually doomed their company. Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction.

This is the second edition with expanded interviews. A follow-up, Commodore: The Amiga Years is scheduled for release on July 1.

2013-04-29 01:07:24 (16 comments, 0 reshares, 9 +1s)

Chrome App: CIRC

With the arrival of plain TCP sockets in Chrome, it's now possible to have in-browser apps that do a lot more than traditional AJAX applications. CIRC is one of them; it's an IRC client entirely implemented in JavaScript.

Still a little primitive, but it has the basics. If you're interested in helping with development, it's on Github: https://github.com/flackr/circ/wiki

I highly recommend right-clicking on it on the New Tab page and choosing "Open in Window". This gives it a real application feel.

NOTE, SSL connections are not supported because these are not available in Chrome sockets yet. Star this bug to show your interest in this feature: http://crbug.com/132896

(I'm profiling some Chrome apps and extensions over the next several days to showcase what new and novel things can be done withC... more »

2013-04-28 23:31:05 (9 comments, 1 reshares, 13 +1s)

NO, I WILL NOT RESHARE A PICTURE OF +Robert Scoble IN THE SHOWER.

This is your #PublicServiceAnnouncement  for the day.

2013-04-28 20:37:53 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 12 +1s)

Sundays are so quiet and peaceful on the Internet. Perfect for procrastinating and posting weird shit that I find sublime.

2013-04-24 15:08:04 (20 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

Lazyplus hivemind:

What's your favorite way to make public G+ posts auto-propagate to Facebook and/or Twitter? There seem to be several services out there, so I'd like opinions on what you find most useful.

In particular, I'd like Facebook reposts to include a link back to the G+ post, to encourage people to come here to comment as well. If there's a way (via, perhaps, special hashtags) to pick-and-choose which end up on the remote service, that's even better.

2013-04-24 03:36:34 (13 comments, 2 reshares, 9 +1s)

HIV is still out there

Tonight, I lost a friend, who was an extremely close friend to my partner; they knew each other for more then twenty years. While he did not buy into all the denialism cult mentality, he also made the conscious decision not to go onto antiretroviral therapy. That was his decision to make, but I still feel that we lost someone who had a whole lot still to offer the world.

Please protect yourself. Unless you're in a (verifiably) monogamous, committed relationship, practice safer sex. Always. There's never an excuse not to, and HIV isn't the only risk out there. Treat your body, and the bodies of your sexual partners, with respect.

My partner has said that he didn't want me to go into detail about who we lost right now, but that opinion may change. If so, we'll have to start thinking about how to put together his Quilt... more »

2013-04-21 02:28:37 (2 comments, 3 reshares, 22 +1s)

Get Over It

Bioware developer lays the law on an entitled straight male gamer who thinks women only play "The Sims and stuff."

Laugh Out Loud.

2013-04-20 18:37:34 (11 comments, 0 reshares, 9 +1s)

Oy. Sometimes I wish #Caturday  would stop being a hashtag and people would funnel those posts into a community.

Oh, wait, there is such a community. Actually, more than one; in addition to the one here, which is the most populous, there is this alternate:

https://plus.google.com/communities/106061296677529472713

#PassiveAggressivePlussing