Orangeinks

Control C: Copy Paste Social Networking Site

Control C is a combination of a web- app and a social networking site that makes copying and archiving and sharing web content easier. All you have to do is install the software (which takes only a few seconds), login to the Control C program, and everything that you copy/cut will be stored in your Control C online account.

The service is so simple that makes you think about its usefulness. Simple it may be, Control C can prove to be a very useful web tool for everyone (unless you have lots of super secret documents). If bookmarking is not enough for you and you only want a portion of the article then all you have to do is highlight that portion and press away Ctrl-C. You don’t even have to open a document application to save your copied content. It’s like having an extra clipboard in your computer that lets you access all those cut and copied text. Control C can also double up as a bookmarking site, saving a URL is just a Ctrl-C away.

What is also great about the site is it is open source. It is expected to see other developers to make variations and improvements to the service.

Since Control C is not only limited to copying content on web pages and browsers (Control C works on any application e.g. Word, notepad, etc), security might be a concern for people who do a lot confidential work on their computers. In regards with the security issues, Control C’s main focus is the security of the data. The every time a copy is initiated, it will have the mark of private and will only be readable to you, the user have the option if he/she wants to show it to the public.

How many times have we copied personal information like credit card numbers and passwords to be pasted on other documents or forms? The company said that they spent almost half of the development time that went into Control C was to make sure that under no circumstance can private data ever be exposed, via SQL injections, XSS, or even someone breaking into the datacenter and stealing the servers with the data on them.

What we do is we 2 way encrypt all private data with a unique key, per user- that’s based off of their plain text password (which we do not store anywhere, only a md5) – Because we do not store this variable (and you enter it when you want to view sensitive items) even if a attacker was able to ‘hack’ a server, the data would be safe. I suppose most startups wouldn’t bother acknowledging that its possible a website can be hacked, as it would make them feel ‘amateur’ but it definitely feels important enough to put out there how we secure data.

Control C is still in private Beta and is available only by invites. If you want to check out the site, I have five invites and don’t mind sharing them with you. Just post it in the comments if you want one.

Tags: clipboard, control c, copy, networking, paste, site, social

Today Is International Delete Your Myspace Account Day

I just found this post on Mixx from xrrg and it got me curious on what is it all about. When I read the post all it says are these directions:

1. Goto MySpace.com and login.
2. Click the Home link.
3. Click Account Settings link.
4. Under Change Account Settings, click the -Cancel Account- link.
5. Click the Cancel My Account button to confirm removal.

When I searched Google to find out what it is all about, I discovered that this viral campaign was started by Simon of Bloggasm who declared this day (January 30) as International Delete Your MySpace Account Day.

That’s it, I’ve had it. After months of only visiting my MySpace profile in order to delete spam friend requests from half-nude women, I’ve reached the end of the line.

It seemed that Simon and an enormous amount of people have had it with MySpace that they are willing to support his movement. I personally never liked MySpace (I have an account but never used it). I am more of a Facebook fan, and other social networking sites that have actually some use other than bringing you Spam messages from half naked girls and birthday reminders that you don’t really need. People are concerned with a lot of things MySpace related (privacy issues, terrible page layouts, redundant clicks for simple tasks and so on). According so Bloggasm, a MySpace representative responded to this campaign.

One blogger has declared January 30th “International Delete Your MySpace Account Day”.

But MySpace doubts that this will have a great impact on their network.

“This Delete-Your-MySpace day is just about being controversial,” Ms Horne said.

“MySpace is still the biggest social networking site in the world.”

In the words of BBC comedian Catherine Tate, MySpace does not look bothered.

Are you going to delete your Myspace account? If yes, then just follow the instructions above. Happy International Delete Your MySpace Account Day to you all.

Tags: account, day, delete, Myspace

You Suck At Photoshop Video 2

This is funny lesson two from Donnie Hoyle of You Suck at Photoshop. He will teach us how to fix mistakes.

Tags: fix, lesson, mistakes, Photoshop

Microsoft: Windows 7 Still In Planning Stage

I just want to make a short update regarding the rumored early release of Windows 7 OS from Microsoft. WinVistaClub contacted Microsoft and asked them about the Windows 7 issue. It seemed that we will not be seeing Windows 7 anytime soon.  Here is a portion of WinVistaClub’s interview with Microsoft clarifying the issue:

Q. What is the expected timeline for the availability of Windows 7?

A. We are currently in the planning stages for Windows 7 and expect it will take approximately 3 years to develop. The specific release date will be determined once the company meets its quality bar for release.

I guess we’ll all be stuck with Vista (or XP) for another few years. Microsoft better come up with a Service Pack that will fix problems and not cause more.

Tags: microsoft, windows 7

Fix a Defective Pixel on your LCD monitor

The Liquid Crystal Display [LCD] technology in a monitor uses a liquid crystal solution between two sheets of polarizing material, which align the crystals when an electric current is passed. Pixels are the vertical and horizontal dots that form the images displayed on an LCD monitor. Each pixel is further divided into three sub-pixels for red, green and blue light. A 1280 x1024 resolution LCD monitor typically has approximately 3.9 million sub-pixels.

Now, there are three different types of defective pixels.

1. Hot pixels: is a permanently lit (white) pixel. This type of defective pixel is best seen in dark background.

2. Dead Pixel: is the opposite of a Hot Pixel. This type remains unlit and is best seen In a white background.

3. Stuck Pixel: is usually visible against a black background. It will appear red, green, blue, cyan, magenta, or yellow although stuck red, green, or blue pixels are most common. As mentioned above, each pixel is composed of three subpixels, one red, one green, and one blue, which produce the visible color of the pixel by their relative brightness. A stuck pixel results from a manufacturing defect, which leaves one or more of these sub-pixels permanently turned on or off.

How to fix:

I found a couple of tools that you can use and might help you fix these stuck or defective pixels. One is from JScreen Fix which runs a java applet that helps fix stuck pixels and image persistence on LCD screens and reduces burn-in on plasma screens. It randomly turns on and off each pixel at up to 60 times a second to fix stuck pixels. Another is from Killdeadpixel that will try to fix the defective pixels by using this graphic.

The graphic will try to massage the dead pixel back alive again by getting it to change rapidly.
It has been reported to work many times.
But it doesn’t work for all dead pixels… Still it’s a good try.
If after 1 hour it doesn’t work, please use the full screen version below and try for about 12hours.

These tools may not always work, but before sending your LCD Monitor back to the manufacturer, you might want to give them a try.

Tags: dead, fix, hot, LCD, pixel, stuck

You Suck At Photoshop Video 1

Here’s a funny Photoshop tutorial video. This is video tutorial number one for Distort, Warp and Layer Effect.

Tags: distort, layer, Photoshop, tutorial, warp