onfocus

A while back I posted that I switched to Google Calendar for managing my schedule, and I showed how I dumped a batch of dates into a calendar to get started: Add a batch of dates to Google Calendar. I've been using it every day now for two months, and it simply blows away every other online calendar I've used. I'm sharing dates and times with sk, keeping track of project milestones, birthdays, and holidays all in one space.

With all of this personal data flying around, I think it's important to use a secure connection when I connect to Google Calendar. Google offers an SSL connection, but they don't encourage it. In fact, even if you change your Google Calendar bookmark URL to https, you'll often be redirected to a plain old http connection. boo, Google! That's why I've found Mark Pilgrim's GMail Secure Greasemonkey script invaluable. It's built to force a secure connection for GMail, but the script itself is so generic that it works for other sites. Here's how to get the script working with Google Calendar:

1. Install GMail Secure
2. Choose Tools -> Manage User Scripts... from the Firefox menu
3. Highlight GMailSecure, and click Add next to Included Pages
4. Add two entries:
   
   http://google.com/calendar*
http://www.google.com/calendar*
   
   
5. Click OK to close

With this script installed, I know my connection with Google Calendar will be secure no matter how I get there. (And as a bonus, my GMail account is secured as well.) Sure, Google knows where I'll be at all times, but at least no one in the middle will.

oh hey, I'm going to be on the radio in a few minutes talking about Yahoo! Hacks. Tune into Computer Outlook if you want to listen in.

When I'm browsing photos on Flickr, I use the More Properties link quite a bit. That's the link that takes you to the Exif data associated with a photo if it's available. Embedded Exif data is how Flickr knows what type of camera took a particular photo, what the shutter speed was, aperture setting, and a bunch of other technical details about the state of the camera at the time the photo was taken. The more properties link is to the right of a photo on Flickr, and looks like this when it's there:



The first thing I look at on the More Properties page is the camera model. But unless I know a particular camera model number already, it doesn't tell me much. "Ahh yes, the EX-Z750," I tell myself. Of course I have no idea what that model number means. So if I really want to know what type of camera the photographer used, I have to copy the model number, go to Amazon or Google, paste it in, and sort through the results. I knew there had to be a better way.

So I wrote a (relatively) quick Greasemonkey script that does the work of looking up the camera model for me. It even inserts a picture of that particular model on the Flickr "More properties" page. Here's what it looks like in action.

More properties page before:



More properties page after:



And you can click the camera image to view more info about the camera at Amazon. Bonus for me: if you buy the camera through that link, I'll get a little kickback through Amazon's Associates Program.

Here's how it works. The script grabs the camera model from the Flickr page, contacts the Amazon API looking for that model in the Camera & Photo category, then grabs the image of the first result. Then the script inserts the image and a link to the product page into the page at Flickr.

It's not perfect. Sometimes Amazon doesn't carry that particular camera but has accessories that include a description with the model number. So you'll see a flash or remote shutter release instead of a camera. And sometimes the first result from Amazon isn't the correct model number—especially with older cameras. I'll keep tinkering with it to see if I can get more accurate results from Amazon.

If there's no match at all on Amazon, the script makes the model number a link to Google search results for that phrase.

The script just gives me a quick look at the type of camera that took the photo. I've been surprised to see cameras that look like video cameras taking nice still photos. Anyway, it was fun to put together and I learned a bit more about JavaScript.

If you already have Firefox with Greasemonkey installed, you can install this script for youself here: Flickr Camera Images

Thanks to the author of Monkey Match for a solid Amazon E4X parsing example, and of course Dive Into Greasemonkey. For more fun hacking around with with these applications check out Flickr Hacks and Amazon Hacks. (disclaimer: as you probably know I worked on both of these books.)

There's a nice review of Flickr Hacks over at MyMac.com: Hack Your Way Into Flickr, and the reviewer mentioned that the code for all of the hacks wasn't available online. O'Reilly has remedied the situation, and you can grab all of the code from the book in one zip file: Flickr Hacks Code. Carpal tunnels everywhere are rejoicing. (And don't forget about the color figures gallery at Flickr—another way to view parts of the book.)

yay! I'm a little late with this news, but Flickr Hacks is now available in physical book form! Is there someone you'd like to see posting their photos to Flickr but they haven't made the leap? Give the gift of Flickr Hacks. :) I think the book is a great introduction to the Flickrverse, and any reader will become a Flickr power user if they give some of the more advanced hacks a go.

It's great to see the book in its final form, especially because this one was so much fun to work on. This picture is my copy of the book, and you can keep an eye on photos tagged with flickrhacks to see others.

Brian Sawyer—Hacks Series editor and another partner in crime on Flickr Hacks—just uploaded every figure from Flickr Hacks to Flickr in a gallery appropriately titled Flickr Hacks Color Figures. (Flickr.) So as you're reading along in the book and want to see a much larger image than you find on the printed (or HTML/PDF-ized) page, you can browse to the gallery and take a look by figure number. And don't forget about the All Sizes button on the image detail page if you really want to study a figure more closely.

This image is from Hack #43, Mash Up Your Photos.

After focusing on Yahoo! and Flickr for most of 2005, I've been kicking off 2006 by poking, prodding, and generally hacking another side in the search wars: Google. I'm going to be bringing Google Hacks up to date and into its 3rd edition.

The first edition of Google Hacks was published in February, 2003 and it was a runaway success. Here's an article Tim O'Reilly wrote just months after it was released: Thoughts on the Success of Google Hacks. (The key ingredient? Having fun with technology during the darkest post-bubble days.) Google Hacks, 2nd edition was released in December, 2004 during the mad frenzy to get a gmail account. (Doesn't that seem like ancient history?) It's been over a year, and there are plenty of new topics to cover. 2005 was the year of Google Maps Mashups, and O'Reilly felt the topic deserved its own book: Google Maps Hacks. It's out now—and it rocks! (please note O'Reilly bias, but seriously. it's good.). I'll be including a few Google Maps Hacks in the new addition along with many, many more new Google features that you can tweak to your advantage.

And of course I'll be keeping a close eye on the news that Feds are after Google data. Wired News is already on the case letting people know that there are some privacy hacks you can use with Google or any other search engine. Personally, I'm happy to see Google standing up for their users' privacy.

I'm very excited to be adding to what's already a fantastic book, and I'm honored to be walking the trail that Tara and Rael blazed. Plus I get to play with all of the Google goodness at google.com and from around the Web. I'm searching for the most useful (and fun!) hacks, tips, and tricks I can find to include in the new edition. Got a Google Hack? Lay it on me.

Update: On a negative but important note, Philipp Lenssen is doing good reporting on the latest news that Google Censors Its Results in China.

I'm a guest blogger today over at the Yahoo! Search blog talking about (what else?) Yahoo! Hacks. The Good Kind....

Safari Books Online just launched a new service that gives you access to books before they're released. It's called Rough Cuts—here's a press release: Safari Books Online Launches New Rough Cuts Service. Flickr Hacks is one of the first books offered through Rough Cuts. We're not finished with the last round of editing yet, but you can get access to the full text of the book as it is now for $12.99 if you'd like: Flickr Hacks Rough Cuts. (You can pay $27.99 if you want the hard copy in addition to the online version once it's printed in a month or so. The printed book alone will be around $16.99.)

One of the most frustrating aspects of working on print books for me is the lag time between writing something and getting it out to an audience. The applications I'm writing about change quickly, so it's critical to get information out quickly. The editorial and review process is fantastic, and I love tightening text and tuning code. But it's frustrating watching your work expire while the book is in process because an application has changed. I think Rough Cuts will be a way to shorten the cycle. I also think it'll be great to get feedback from early adopters of the books so O'Reilly can tweak things before printing. Every book has errata, and with more people consuming books before they're out the door, hopefully more of that errata can be eliminated before the book is printed. (With enough eyeballs, all errata is shallow?)

So yeah, I'm excited about this new service—especially because Flickr Hacks is one of the inaugural titles. The author side of me is a bit nervous about letting people in early, but it's natural to the Web developer side of me. A few days ago I read through the entire book again as part of the editorial process and really enjoyed it. I know I'm biased, but I'm also proud of the book. (And let's face it, Flickr is fun!) And now you can read an early version too.

Update: For insights into the economics of publishing, check out Tim O'Reilly's take on Rough Cuts: The Long Snout.

Update (1/30): The Rough Cuts version of Flickr Hacks now has color figures. Check out Jim's Squared Circle mosaic in the Flickr Hacks Preface.

G'day, mate. CNET Australia has a few excerpts from Yahoo! Hacks for your consideration: DIY: Yahoo Hacks. Be sure to read the article to yourself with an Australian accent for the full effect.

Also: Insider Tips at ZDNet and CNET. (hooray for syndication!)

Flickr Hacks has a cover!



You can't tell from this tiny version, but seeing the cover is also fun because it mentions that Caterina has written/is writing the foreword—it must be true! It's great to see the book coming together. Click the cover to see a larger version at Amazon.

And we have a winner! Congrats, Ryan. Your copy of Yahoo! Hacks will be on its way later today. Thanks to everyone who played!

The answer I was looking for: February 2005. You can read more about this moment in history here, here, here (my post), or here. And if you already have Yahoo! Hacks you'll find the answer on page xiv in the Preface. This launch was a turning-point in my perception of Yahoo!, and of course that release kicked off an entire year of suprising announcements from Yahoo! including acquiring Flickr, launching Yahoo! 360, launching My Web, and acquiring upcoming and del.icio.us among many others.