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Archive for the ‘Web Apps’ Category

Facebook is in the process of testing a new feature which lets you subscribe to all the actions of a specific user. In other words, you can receive notifications anytime a specific user takes an action on Facebook. It also appears to be Facebook’s answer to Twitter’s follow feature. As a Facebook user who has seen the feature explained to us, “By subscribing you don’t miss any updates from people you subscribe to.”

This could also serve as a new engagement opportunity for Pages if Facebook enabled users to subscribe to their activities as well. The result would be a fan count and a “subscriber” count, which is the number of people who are guaranteed to get all of your updates. For the time being it appears to just be a test, however this would definitely change the communications flow within Facebook. It’s also the ultimate stalking tool!

While I’m not quite sure how advanced this feature will be, you could imagine a system in which you get a mobile notification every time one of your friends that you’ve subscribed to makes an update. I think that stalker aspect of the feature could also result in some backlash. Previously, it was chance if a friend’s information was displayed in your feed, however this will remove chance from the process.

As the image below illustrates, you’ll be able to subscribe to the user and then a notification (like the one pictured in the second image) will alert you whenever the person updates their status, posts a photo, or shares a link. However I’m not sure if a notification will also show up if they like things or check in places. We’ve reached out to Facebook for more information about the feature, however we’re not sure if they’ll provide any details as the product is currently in testing.

Update
Facebook gave us the following statement: “This feature is being tested with a small percent of users. It lets people subscribe to friends and pages to receive notifications whenever the person they’ve subscribed to updates their status or posts new content (photos, videos, links, or notes).”

Facebook on Thursday added a remote log-out feature that will allow users who accidentally left themselves logged in on a particular device to end those sessions from another location.

"Have you ever borrowed a friend's phone to use Facebook and then forgotten to log out before you handed it back? Maybe you logged in from a public computer, but accidentally walked away with your Facebook session still active," Facebook wrote in a blog post. "Now, you can see if you're still logged in on other devices and immediately log out on those devices from one central control in your account."

The "Account Security" section of your Account Settings page will now include a menu that displays "Most Recent Activity," as well as "Also Active," if your account is signed active in two or more locations.

Facebook will show log-in time, approximate location based on IP address, and browser and operating system. It will also show device name if you have enabled Facebook's log-in notifications feature.

If you notice a location that is unauthorized or you know that the listed location is your friend's cell phone or a public computer from which you forgot to log out, you can click the "end activity" link to the right of the listing to end that session.

"Control isn't just about deciding what you share and with whom you share it; it's also about being able to keep your Facebook login secure," Facebook said.

Facebook said the service is now rolling out gradually to all of its 500 million members.

Google has had a similar remote log-out feature enabled in Gmail since 2008. Earlier this year, Google introduced a feature in Gmail that alerts you at sign-on if Google believes your account has been compromised.

Call 678PC for a free estimate regarding the security of your personal information.

Since
we don’t store a lot of business numbers in our phones, it can be a
pain to figure out which unnamed number in your log is the right one.
You can use Google Maps, however, to do reverse phone number lookups.

If
you don’t do regular business with someone, you’re not going to store
their number in your phone for just a few days, though you may need to
follow up on something. Reader Lord_Cathbad writes in with a solution using a Google Maps feature we didn’t know about:

I just made a whole bunch of calls to different businesses and ended
up with their numbers in my GV memory, but couldn’t remember which one
is which. By searching the numbers in Google Maps, I could find the
names of their business.

This is also useful if a business calls you and you don’t know who
it is. Thankfully, this doesn’t apply to residential numbers—so your
privacy is not at stake—but it’s still a super handy way to get a
businesses’ name and location with just their phone number.

For help improve business processes at your company please call 678PC today at (678)404-1001 for a free estimate – located in Lawrenceville, Ga – Serving Metro Atlanta, Gwinnett County, and surrounding areas.

Create HTML Signatures in Gmail with Images and Logos – Create HTML Signatures Right Inside Gmail

This tip describes how you can create sleek and professional looking HTML signatures for your outgoing Gmail messages right inside Gmail itself without requiring any extensions or add-ons.

HTML Signatures for your Google Email

Gmail does support email signatures but the problem is that it limits you to plain text – you can’t add graphics (like your company’s logo) to the signature and there’s absolutely no support for HTML so you can’t use different font styles or colors for the signature text.

There are workarounds. For instance, you can create an email signature in Outlook or some HTML editor and then copy-paste the whole thing to your Gmail message. Or you can get one of these browser add-ons to create rich HTML signatures directly on the Gmail /Google Apps website.

There’s a third-option as well – it’s easy, it’s fun and doesn’t require extensions. Best of all, you can create multiple signatures for the same Gmail account and use them depending on who you are corresponding with.

Gmail Signatures Step-by-Step

Step 1: Go to Gmail Settings –> Labs and enable “Canned Responses” as well as “Inserting Images.”

Step 2: Compose a new message in Gmail and create a signature just like you would compose any other email message. Be creative!

You can either upload logos and icons from the computer or use ones that are already on the web. I suggest the former style as that will permanently embed the image into your email signature.

Step 3: Once your happy with the formatting and layout of your new “HTML signature,” go to the Canned Response menu and Save – give some logical name like “Personal” for a signature that you want to attach to your personal emails.

Now whenever you are composing a new message in Gmail or replying to an existing message, just select the relevant signature from the Canned Responses drop-down and it will be inserted inline as in this screenshot.

See this page for additional Gmail tips & tricks.

How to Add HTML Signatures to your Google Email – Video Tutorial

Droopy Creates Instant Servers for Large File TradingWindows/Mac/Linux: Droopy is a Python script that creates a miniature, one-shot web server that lets anyone upload files through a web page straight to your computer, no matter the size.

Instead of using traditional file-sharing methods like FTP or even Dropbox (which requires an account), Droopy lets people upload large files without hassle through their web browser. The file is saved directly onto your machine in a chosen folder. Unlike other web-based file-sharing services, like YouSendIt, it does not require the additional step of downloading the file.

Python needs to be installed before you can run the script, and you’ll need to run it with a bit of command-line knowledge know how. (Instructions are provided on the web site, but we’ve provided instructions for Windows below.) Droopy is a one-way web app running on port 8000, and only allows uploads to your machine, so your privacy is kept intact. It’s still up to you to be smart and secure in what you allow, and run, on your system, but for quick file-swapping setups, it’s a nifty tool. Here’s a quick how-to for Windows users:

Save the Droopy file as “droopy.py.” Run the file, and open up http://localhost:8000 in your browser. Click on “Discover the address of this page,” and that’s the address you will use to send to your friends.

Droopy is a free download for Windows, Mac, and Linux systems. Python must be installed.
Droopy