Month: September 2013

The Pressgram Buzz

John Saddington must be very excited. His community-backed Pressgram project is well underway. The app has been released and it's creating some buzz. The app has also caught the attention of professional photographers like Scott Wyden Kivowitz, who backed the Kickstarter project at one of the higher levels. Scott has used the alpha and beta versions of the app.

For Pressgram I backed a little more than I usually do because of what the project represents, the fact that it is a combination of both of my passions (photography and WordPress) and I really believe in the created and the product.Scott Wyden
I think what's driving the passionate buzz behind this app is the idea of freedom. Freedom from the ever-changing terms of service (TOS) from various social media network in an ever-increasing grab for giving themselves full copyright control over uploaded images. It's what got me excited about the project.

https://twitter.com/shotbyjenn/status/375673993174716416

Scott already has some ideas of what he's like to see in the app. One is a Custom Post Feature1 and the other is what Scott is calling "Party Mode".

Party Mode would be a fun feature. The idea is that an event organizer can create an event inside of Pressgram and give event attendees access to post to the event blog post. As they take pictures at the event, the organizer will get notified and has the ability to approve or deny photographs from being posted to the blog article. At the end of the event, the one event blog article could have a few or many photographs from various Pressgram users at the event. Think Google Plus Party Mode (Android users have this) but for a WordPress website. Cool, right?

I love that idea! Most of my friends and family are iPhone users. My wife's family lives close by and most weekends we are together celebrating something2. This summer we spent a week in a rental home in the Virginia Beach area. We took a lot of photos on the drive down and during our stay which we later uploaded to Shutterfly. We didn't upload many to Facebook because of concerns of who might see mostly candid family photos.

Imagine how much more fun it would be to update a web site in real-time with iPhone snapshots during our trip and keep complete control over who could view or download those photos? That's the promise of Pressgram. That's the possibility that the community has rallied around. I can't wait to start "pressgramming".

Like Scott mentioned Instagrate Pro is a WordPress plugin that allows for cross-posting images posted to Instagram to a self-hosted WordPress blog. I used it for a bit with my iPhoneography but found it lacking. I love big images and wide uncluttered blog pages. Instagram only allows a 612x612 export of images. All the photos posted with Instagrate Pro were limited to 612 square. That meant that on the 960 grid layout that I used on my blog the Instagram images looked out-of-place. I eventually deleted the plug-in. I'm hoping Pressgram will support larger images sizes.

  1. The "Press" part of Pressgrams comes from WordPress, the default posting service supported in the app. ↩
  2. Including my kids, there are 10 kids in the family. ↩

Easy steps to a more secure Mac.

You’ve just purchased a shiny new Mac and can’t wait to start creating great things. You’ve heard that Mac are immune to computer viruses. Macs have a reputation for being easy to use and secure, so why not dive right in?
Well... STOP! The truth is no computer system, including your shiny new Mac, is immune from attack. While there are no true viruses for OS X, that doesn't mean Macs are impenetrable. They're still vulnerable to malware, spyware, spam, trojans and user error.

Security threats are becoming more relevant as Macs continue to grow in the marketplace. In the week of August 1st to August 6th, 2012, security software firm Sophos found 4,900 different pieces of OS X malware floating around Mac computers. It’s worth noting that some pieces of OS X malware are cross-platform threats as the programs infect computers via Java and Adobe Flash.
However, with just a few easy steps, your new (or old) Mac can be more secure.

Requirements

These tips are based on OS X ( the X is Roman numeral for 10 ) 10.8 Mountain Lion. If you are running an earlier version of OS the tips are still useful but you may have to look in different applications and system settings.
The internet is where most of the bad stuff is located, so connecting to the internet can expose the Mac to attacks and malware. When setting up a Mac it is a good idea not to connect to the internet until the Mac is secure.

Initial Setup

Administrator

By default the OS X Setup Assistant configures the first account on the Mac as an administrator account. This account can do anything to the computer and I’s a bad idea to use this regularly for day to day tasks. Apple recommends that Administrator accounts should only be used for administration. Users should use standard user accounts for day-to-day computer use. Simple names like “Administrator” or “Admin” are easy to guess, and give an attacker some information needed to break into a system. Use a difficult-to-guess name for accounts with administration privileges to the Mac. If you are a fan of the Lord of the Rings then a name like “Gandalf” might be appropriate.

Standard accounts

For daily usage create a standard account. A standard account can run apps, save documents etc. but can’t make system changes or install software. A non-administrator should not need administrator privileges on the Mac, so create a standard (or managed, if using Mac OS X Server or Parental Controls) account for these users. Standard users have reduced rights which may affect their ability to alter things on the computer. Standard users cannot install software in the /Applications folder and cannot change various System Preferences, including creation and modification of network settings

Parental Controls

Parental Controls are great for managing how your kids use the Mac. This account can be made more restrictive that the Standard account. Parents can allow use of specific apps, printers, web sites etc.

Guest

The account allows access to the computer and the applications but does not allow the user to install software or change system settings. All the information about the account, including any saved files, is deleted when the guest user logs out. This account is the one Apple uses in it’s stores to allow customers to try the Macs.
I generally don’t allow other people to use my personal computers or other devices. I recommend disabling the account.
The Guest account allows a guest to log in to a Mac and use all of its services. When the guest logs out, the Mac clears most of whatever the guest did on the Mac. This allows one person to let another borrow the computer for a short period, and still protect information in other accounts on the Mac.The usage of a Guest account may give the Mac owner a false sense of security. If the guest has physical access to the Mac and the owner is not present, the guest could gain full access to the Mac. That said, use of the Guest account allows for quick and moderately safe computer sharing.

Password

Passwords are the primary protection against unauthorized access. Accounts with administrative privileges are the most important to protect. Therefore, using a complex password for these accounts is very important.
Apple provides a Password Assistant in the dialogs used to set password. When setting a password, click on the key icon to the right of the New Password field to display the assistant. Make sure the password for the administrator account shows a quality of green. Make sure the quality meter is about halfway across or more.

Disable automatic login

Having a computer automatically log in bypasses a major security feature (the login) and can allow a casual user access to sensitive data in that user’s home directory and keychain.

  • Privacy
  • Firewalls
  • Staying Safe Online
  • Staying Updated

Disable Bluetooth

Bluetooth is a very useful technology, but it also can expose a Mac to certain risks, if Bluetooth is not allowed in your environment use these settings. Bluetooth can be disabled via System Settings.

Runny eggs, blood sausage and porridge

I'm Scottish! Yes, really. As Scottish as any American who doesn't speak Scottish Gaelic has no close family in Scotland and can't tell you where Hibredres Island are.

My mother's family can trace its roots back to the coasts of Scotland and France. According to my mother, my great-grandfather Francis McLaren, from whom I received my middle name, was a bag-pipe-playing Scot who wore a kilt. I guess it's no coincidence that my mother's family settled in the hilly areas of the Grenadines. A 23andme.com DNA test shows I am 43.9% Western European — mainly British (Scottish, Irish and Welsh), French, and Iberian. Yes, my family tree twists and turns in directions that my physical appearance won't reveal.

While my grandfather's family is primarily French, my grandmother's family is Scottish with some "native" American. I feel that when US Americans think about the phrase Native American, they think only of North America, but I'm being more inclusive here. My great-grandfather married her and begat (I'm getting all biblical ) a daughter who married my grandfather. They begat my mother, who married my predominantly African father (who has a bit of Dutch ) and begat me.

Holly’s Whole Grain Oatmeal
Holly’s Whole Grain Oatmeal

But this blog post isn't about genealogy. It's about breakfast, a Full Scottish or Full English breakfast. While researching my ancestry, I learned much about Scotland, especially Scottish breakfast. I spent a bit of time with my maternal grandparents when I was a child. My grandmother always insisted on eating a hearty breakfast, perhaps because of her heritage. For my grandmother, breakfast was fried fish, fried ",fungi", fresh-baked bread with a slathering of salted butter, and a large enamel mug of hot cocoa1 or café au lait2.

Full Irish Breakfast
Full Irish Breakfast

Sometimes we had fried black pudding. What's black pudding? The ingredients sound revolting: pigs' blood, fat, oats, barley, and spices, all stuffed in a length of intestine. The island version will have rice instead of oats and barley. I loved black pudding growing up. Sweet, crunchy and fried. Oh yeah!

Anyway, a few years ago, I felt nostalgic for the homeland and started to look for places that served black pudding. My search led me to The Blue Rooster in Cranbury, where I've had a Father's Day breakfast every year for the last three years. The Blue Rooster has a Full Irish Breakfast on the menu. Full is a word used to convey completeness, but a Full Irish Breakfast also makes the diner feel full. The Rooster's version is black pudding, white pudding, sausage ( banger in the vernacular of the UK ), tomato, baked beans, ham, toast, sautéed mushrooms, and two eggs over easy. Wow!

Full Irish Breakfast

It's a hearty breakfast, but since I limit myself to the once-a-year trip for Father's Day, I'm not worried. Much!

According to my research a Full Scottish Breakfast is:

  • Half a tomato, broiled with cheese on top
  • A rasher of bacon, which in the UK is more like thinly sliced ham
  • Potato, or tattie, scone (rhymes with gone)
  • Link sausage or banger
  • Sautéed mushrooms
  • Baked beans (yes, for breakfast)
  • One egg, fixed any way you like
  • Black pudding (which is anything but a dark chocolate dessert)
  • A bowl of porridge (oatmeal)
  • Toast

For lunch today3 I added some elements of a full Scottish breakfast (scones and oatmeal) to the Rooster's Full Irish Breakfast. I didn't have access to a tattie, so I settled for an American scone.

Scones with butter
Scones with butter

According to my research, porridge is different from the oatmeal eaten in the USA:

Scottish oatmeal is smoother than your typical Quaker Oats. Start with a pat of butter and a splash of milk, then toss in some golden currants (like raisins, but not) and a generous spoonful of light brown Demerara sugar, and you're ready to begin the day the way Scots have for centuries.

I settled for a tiny cup of Holly's Whole Grain Oatmeal from the menu. When I explained what I was trying to do to our server, she served my oatmeal with brown sugar and blueberries on the side. I added a scone and was ready for my adventure.

Brown sugar and blue berries.
Brown sugar and blue berries.

I took a swig from my mug of French Press coffee and dug in. Slowly but surely, I ate everything on my plate, just like my grandmother had taught me. As I said before, by "full", the Scots mean "complete," but full is what I felt when you finished the last bite of that scone. After completing the meal, I was sure I no longer wanted dinner. I wanted two Lipitor and a nap. I skipped the Lipitor4 but around 2 PM I dozed off watching the kids play on the Nintendo. I can't wait for next Father's Day.

  1. Not to be confused with that disgusting sweet shit Americans call hot chocolate. Yuck! ↩
  2. My grandmother always used hot milk and brewed her coffee on the stove. Strong stuff. ↩
  3. We've had some problems scheduling Father's Day breakfast this year. ↩
  4. I have high cholesterol but take my Lipitor in the morning with breakfast. ↩