Splash of Style...Macs, Photography, Design, and other Passions

Ipernity

February 3, 2008 by debbie T | Art and Graphics • Digital Photography • Flickr • Internet

Due to the impending doom of a Microsoft takeover of Yahoo and Flickr, I have been checking out other online photo sharing “communities”

I just found Ipernity, and hey, this could be an interesting alternative to Flickr. I will be checking it out for a few days. We’ll see how it compares in the long run, but so far it is VERY Flickrish!

http://www.ipernity.com/

Visit my Ipernity page: http://www.ipernity.com/home/debbiet/

I have a feeling that community sites like this will become much more popular in the very near future. Flickr members are in a panic and will be diligently searching for alternatives. I really hope Microsoft doesn’t take over Yahoo!!!

UPDATE: After playing in Ipernity for a couple of hours, I can honestly say I am enjoying myself, and this could have some potential as a Flickr replacement, at least for me.

What I like:
It looks and acts A LOT like Flicker. Groups have pools, the photo pages look the same, favorites are the same, there’s even Explored photos. But there are a few bits that are even better than Flickr. For one, there is an option to add video, blog posts. I also find the interface a bit more detailed. It is easy to track who is visiting your photo stream.

As for the upload process, it isn’t as easy as uploading from iPhoto, but there is an upload downloader (based on jUploadr):
http://www.ipernity.com/tour/iperupload

Fun Greasemonkey scripts to make life at Ipernity similar to Flickr: http://www.ipernity.com/apps/gm

Some favs:

Easy Photo Post
Import Flickr photos (either in full, or one at a time)
Add Referrer into Comments
IpernityFox – photo sidebar viewer similar to flickrfox.

I have found some interesting groups, uploaded a few photos, and time will tell if I will convert fully over to Ipernity. One big thing that is missing in Ipernity, is all my Flickr friends. Who knows, maybe eventually we all will be moving over to Ipernity or another online photo community!

Microsoft Trying to Take Over Yahoo (Flickr)

February 3, 2008 by debbie T | Flickr • Internet

Microsoft is trying to take over Yahoo.

Microsoft & Flickr?? Oh no!

Whether it’s a hostile takeover or not, this is something I am not happy about. As it is, Yahoo seems to neglect proper upkeep of Flickr. If Microsoft takes over Yahoo, I don’t want to think what they will do to Flickr.

I don’t care about Yahoo Mail or Search engine, but the community at Flickr is unmatched by no other photo sharing site.

I can easily upload my photos using the iPhoto Flickr plugin. I have made so many wonderful friends at Flickr. If Microsoft makes negative changes, I will be very sad. I know it sounds a bit pathetic that I could be so addicted and affected by a website, but it really is a fun community. And unfortunately, there really is no other place to go.

I really hope the purchase doesn’t go through, but truthfully, I can’t see it NOT going through….so hold on Flickr users, it is going to be a bumpy ride!

Online Resources to Check Out:

Finding Your Way Around Paypal

December 16, 2007 by debbie T | Internet

Using Paypal is a great way to receive money online. I have been trying to push my Dad into using it for his Craig’s List sales, and he finally gave it a shot. He loves it, but he is now wondering how to get the money from Paypal into his banking account.

So, this tutorial is for him, and for any others that want to learn a little bit about their Paypal business account.

Log Into Paypal

When you log into Paypal, there will probably be some sort of advertisement on the screen. A lot of times it will be for a credit card. To skip over the ad and go to your account, click the “Go to My Account” link found at the bottom-right of the ad image.

Welcome to Paypal

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SOS – Invites & Comments for Flickr

October 11, 2007 by debbie T | Digital Photography • Firefox Browser • Flickr

The SOS – Invites & Comments for Flickr is a special Greasemonkey script for Firefox browser users. When installed, the script creates two drop down menus to post various Flickr group "invite" and "vote" html codes into photo comments.

It is based on the original SIC script, which I found it to be very helpful. Unfortunately, the script didn’t include some of my favorite group codes, and some of the existing code was out of date.

So, I decided to edit the script to fit my needs better, adding more group codes and updating the existing ones. After testing it for a few weeks, I am ready to share it with other Flickr users.

Learn more about my SOS – Invites & Comments for Flickr script.

Extending Flickr Experience With Firefox

September 29, 2007 by debbie T | Digital Photography • Firefox Browser • Flickr

I have been using Flickr for years, but just recently I have become much more active in the community. I have found a few tools that have made my experience at Flickr much more efficient.

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Where are Firefox Plugins Installed

August 21, 2007 by debbie T | Firefox Browser • Mac Software

This was driving me crazy. I couldn’t find any information or preference/setting on the plugins used in Firefox, specifically the Flash plugin. How could I tell which version was installed on my system.

After googling, I finally found this page.

To view the list of plugins and their versions, type “about:plugins” (minus the quote marks) into the address bar in Firefox.

Hmm, now I just found this article and it states that plugins are supposed to be installed in the “Internet Plug-ins” folder found in the Library. That folder is empty on my system!

Ha! I found ‘em! I was looking in my own Library! Take a look at the main Library folder (Macintosh HD) and they are all there! And in case you didn’t realize, the Internet Plugins folder is accessible to all browsers, so Safari will use these plugin files as well, and I assume Opera would too.

I Don’t Want iTunes Plus!

June 29, 2007 by debbie T | Internet • Mac Corner

I was searching on iTunes for some songs, and when adding a song to my shopping cart, iTunes informed me that this particular song was available as an iTunes Plus download – I was supposed to click the “Continue” button, but accidentally clicked the “iTunes Plus” button.

Oh no, now any song available in iTunes Plus was listed as the higher priced version. I don’t want iTunes Plus! I couldn’t find any way to back out of it, or any helpful advise online. Finally I logged into My Account, and sure enough there was an option to manage iTunes Plus.

They really didn’t make it easy this time, did they!?

Helpful Web Resources:

Upgrade to Firefox 2 – SessionSaver Extension

June 9, 2007 by debbie T | Firefox Browser • Mac Software

I finally felt confident to upgrade my Mac PowerBook to Firefox 2 (version 2.0.0.4 to be exact) and it did seem to go smoothly.

Before the upgrade, I moved my 1.5 app file into a new sub-folder in the Applications folder (Mac OS X users only) just in case I needed to revert.

After the upgrade, I found one issue (besides the funky keyboard shortcut issue with WordPress 2 – see my other article) with the SessionSaver extension. I couldn’t find my list of “SnapBack Tab” recently deleted tabs. Normally it is found under the Tools menu.

I am lost without the Snapback Tab feature, as I frequently close tabs and realize that I need to view them again. Yes, I can use the Undo Closed Tab option, but I prefer the Snapback Tab feature much more.

I tried launching Firefox 1.5 instead, and still no luck finding it. I think there might have even been a notice in Firefox 1.5 that the newly updated version of SessionSaver wouldn’t run in this older version.

I closed all instances of Firefox and found the extensions folder that was backed up prior to the upgrade. I replaced the folder in my Firefox profile folder, then re-launched Firefox 1.5. Checking the Tools menu, yep, there it was.

Okay, now close Firefox 1.5, and launch Firefox 2. Go through the process of upgrading extensions again, then view the Tools menu. Not there.

I checked SessionSaver preferences, and the checkbox next to “Allow me to reopen tabs” was checked.

The solution was to UNcheck the box, click OK, then go back into Preferences, and check it again. That worked, and my precious Snapback Tab was back in the the Tools menu!

If you haven’t used the SessionSaver extension yet, try it. I love it!

WordPress 2 Keyboard Shortcuts Using Firefox 2

June 9, 2007 by debbie T | Firefox Browser • Mac Software • WordPress

I recently upgraded to Firefox 2 on my Mac PowerBook. All seemed well, but I did keep an instance of Firefox 1.5 in my Applications folder just in case.

When posting in WordPress 2 using the simple text editor, I had been utilizing keyboard shortcuts for various html codes, such as the <a>anchor link</a> – which was Ctrl+Command+a.

Since upgrading to Firefox 2, the keyboard shortcuts did not work. They did work normally in Safari.

I searched online for answers, but no one else seemed to be having this issue. Finally, by trial and error, I realized that the keyboard shortcut was now fn+ctrl+a. I have no idea why it changed, but I am glad to have this feature again!

SSH Connection Using Mac Terminal

June 9, 2007 by debbie T | Internet • Mac Software • Web Development

I found a very helpful tutorial to set up a SSH connection to your web host using Mac Terminal.

http://www.cmu.edu/computing/documentation/terminal/terminal.html

Simple instructions to connect and save your connection. Now that I am connected, I need to dig out all my old Unix commands! :)