Vista Gadget

Features

• Connect to any ICal file.
• Interface with multiple users. Perfect for small business or groups.
• Mark items as Complete, Urgent, or remove them from the list entirely.
• Click on the item name for a flyout with more details about the event.

Netvibes/iGoogle Widget

Same features as the Vista gadget, but within your favorite startup page. Interfaces with the same back end so it doesn’t matter which method you use to update your todo list. Utilizes the Universal Widget API, making the widget available across multiple platforms. Check it out now!

Proxies

The simplest and most common way to get around school blocks is to use a proxy service. Since schools know about this problem, most proxy services are blocked. However, in most cases, they cannot block secured connections (proxies that use SSL, eg https://). Here is a list of good proxies that utilize SSL.

Good Proxies

• vTunnel — I use this one the most. It is practically built to help people access YouTube.
• bTunnel — If vTunnel is blocked, use this one, it is the same as vTunnel.
• proxy listing — If all those proxies are blocked, here is a list of more than 3,000 proxies, look for one that uses SSL, or just one that isn’t blocked.

How to use a proxy

Proxies are really easy to use, you go to the proxy website and then you put in the URL of the website you want to go to (e.g. http://youtube.com).

Virtual Private Network

A virtual private network, also known as a VPN is a way to connect to a network outside of your own. Generally this is used to gain access to a network, but in this case we will be using it to escape our filtered network. This is more complex than a proxy, but is guaranteed to work. One great open VPN is Tor. I’ll show you how to get and setup Tor, if you want to setup your own VPN, I suggest you use google.

Setting up Tor

1. Download Tor — This will probably be blocked, so use a proxy service listed above to access the download, or download it here for the pc, or here for the mac.
2. Install Tor — The installation process is pretty straight forward, just install it. Once it is installed, it is ready to go and will automatically start each time you start your computer (don’t worry, it won’t make your computer slow).
3. Make your browser use Tor — Depending on your browser this varies, I recommend using Firefox, since its the easiest.
   • Firefox
     1. Install Torbutton — This allows you to turn the use of Tor on and off with the click of a button.
     2. Restart Firefox
     3. Click the thing that says “tor is disabled” in the bottom right of your Firefox window.
     4. Tor is now enabled, enjoy the freedom. Yes it is kinda slow so only use it when you need it.
   • Internet Explorer
     1. Its not very easy to use Tor with Internet Explorer, I suggest that you get Firefox if you want your life to be easier.
     2. Click Tools->Internet Options
     3. Click the Connections tab
     4. Click LAN settings
     5. Check the box that says “Use a proxy server for your LAN”
     6. In the Address box, type localhost then in the port box type 8118
     7. Check the box that says “Bypass proxy server for local addresses”
     8. Click OK, and then click OK again.
     9. Restart Internet Explorer
     10. You will now be using the Tor network to access the internet. Its slow, so you are probably going to need to turn the proxy settings that we set on and off so that you can just use Tor when you really need to.

Tor is not speedy. You are going to want to use it only when you need it.

Use the IP Address

Not often, but sometimes, a block is only applied to just the name of the website and not the actual address of the website. This doesn’t work very often.

Connecting to the IP

1. Find the website’s IP Address — Just put in the website’s URL (e.g. http://youtube.com).
2. Put the IP Address (e.g. 208.65.153.253) into the address bar and try it out.

Wrap Up

So there you have it, three decent ways to connect to the content that is blocked from getting to you. If anyone out there has found something that works good for them, feel free to leave a comment and let the rest of us in on the goods.

Here is a quick update on the projects I have complete or am currently working on.

Current Projects

• A bracket system website — For my IT210 class.
• Microsoft Office UI Design Guidelines website — A small downloads site for Microsoft Office 2007.
• A project that is a little secret at the moment.

Recently Completed Projects

• Microsoft CustomerSource Tour — An Adobe Flash interface/website (I built it to go on a DVD) for Microsoft CustomerSource.
• A variety of graphics projects — A bunch of graphics work including some stamps/logos for Microsoft Office OpenXML partners.

So there you have it. I’m sure I’m missing some, but I think thats enough to give you an idea of the work I have been doing lately.

As I was walking around the section of the museum devoted to playing/learning musical instruments looking for an open booth, I found a keyboard that wasn’t in use. As I approached what seemed to be a fun time, I was surprised (or not surprised, it is Seattle…) to find the wonderful blue screen of death. I had a little chuckle and did my best to take a picture of the scene.

Be sure to check out his great new instrumental album, and keep an eye on Amie St for the albums public release. In the mean time, check out one of my favorite songs on the album, Progressive Self Portraits.

update:I just found out the album has been leaked onto the internet, check the usual torrent sources…

Having recently purchased a new laptop with Vista preinstalled, I decided I should just keep it on there because it would be annoying to have to reinstall all the drivers if I formated and went back to XP… Anyway, to take advantage of Vista, I have began to use sidebar gadgets. At first they seemed annoying, but now they are very handy.

So while I was looking for gadgets, I thought it would be nice to have a gadget that would grab a new LDS scripture
daily, so I found a feed that was updated daily and began to create a gadget. To my surprise, making gadgets is really easy if you know web development. So after a few hours of work, I present the Daily Scripture gadget.

Download it Here!

End Goal

The end goal with this project is to make a tool that allows users to easily design pages with decent looking code/semantics, that can then be downloaded for use around the web, shared with friends, and even applied to Myspace pages. Essentially it is a replacement of Myspace 2.0ize

To Do/Goals

• Drag in Flash Elements
• Import Photos from places around the web. (facebook, flickr)
• Drag in Objects

wasn’t too bad, but definitely needed some sprucing up.

At the end of march, I began redesigning the Bella Gowns website. The original site, wasn’t too bad, but definitely needed some sprucing up. After a few mock-ups, I finally decided a design.

Features/Functionality on Bella Gowns

• Data Driven - The site uses xml databases to make updates/editing easy.
• Mootools - The amazing little javascript framework. I couldn’t live without it!
• Thumbnail Viewer - A little flickr like thumbnail viewer, thanks to Casual/Lynt
• Image Rotator - On the homepage, I made a mootools powered image slideshow.
• Ajaxified - The whole site is ajaxified (in IE7, FF2, and Opera. Had Issues with IE6 for some reason). Tracks history, and all that good stuff.

Digg which is supposed to be a democratic news source, is falling to the laws, and forced to censor the key codes. I find it rather depressing that Digg users are rioting the censorship, and getting mad at Digg and its founders. Now, in protest of the censorship, all a user can find is a story of the HDDVD key.

To all you Digg users out there supporting this activity, get a life. Digg is just another company that is forced to bow to the laws of the society we live in. We would all like to believe that the internet should be lawless, but it’s not, so get over it.