Download the new ADBOWL® app today and vote on your favorite SuperBowl ads.

Remember, if your favorite ad doesn’t win, it’s not like it’s the end of the world. (Probably.)

Only the strong will survive the Adpocalypse!

Source: KnuckleHeads

Just got a new RSS Update from the Facebook Developer Blog. Seems like they’re rolling out the new changes that I’ve been seeing here and there.

And since I’m not at a place where I can load all of this…. Here’s the breakdown, courtesy of TechCrunch.

Source: TechCrunch

Facebook has partnered up with sixty different partners to add their “stories” to Facebook Timeline, apps that span different verticals from Food, Fashion to Travel. Already apps like Foodspotting, Foodily, Ticketmaster, Pinterest,Rotten Tomatoes, Pose, Kobo, Gogobot, and TripAdvisor have signed on to share their stories. “When we say anything we really mean anything,” Carl Sjogreen said as he took the stage and announced that verbs like “knitting,” “read” and “shared” are now a part of Timeline story options.
The apps are basically an expansion of stories apps like Spotify and the Washington Post app, and use verbs beyond “listen”, like “watching” and “reading” like “bought,””want” and love.
“What we tried to build with Timeline apps was that each app should pick the actions verbs and nouns that best defines their usecases,” says Facebook engineer Mike Vernal.

Per Vernal – Facebook won’t limit apps to which verbs the can use, and each app will have anywhere 2-10 verbs.

Congress is about to pass internet censorship, even though the vast majority of Americans are opposed. We need to kill the bill – PIPA in the Senate and SOPA in the House – to protect our rights to free speech, privacy, and prosperity.

This internet censorship will be implemented in the same way that China and other countries are blocking websites, through DNS blocking.

In an attempt to appeal to all styles of readership, I’ve included some information on SOPA in image/graphic form, video form, and in nerdy “who said it” form.

SOPA Hard Copy

You can read about SOPA on the following sites:

• AmericanCensorship.org
• Fightforthefuture.org
• EngineAdvocacy – My favorite STOP SOPA site.

Images about SOPA

Access the Stop SOPA Infographic here.

And make sure that you like and tweet the page.

Videos about SOPA

Quotes about SOPA

“The main “enforcement” mechanism in these bills is to put liability on third party service providers coming from the tech industry, undermining the safe harbors of the DMCA and the legal framework that has allowed tons of important internet platforms to evolve.”

- Mike Masnick (TechDirt)

“When ideas are blocked, information deleted, conversations stifled and people constrained in their choices, the Internet is diminished for all of us.. There isn’t an economic Internet and a social Internet and a political Internet. There’s just the Internet.”

- Hillary Clinton (United States Secretary of State)

I’ll add a few more as the days progress…

Help Stop SOPA by Using Your WordPress Site

It’s actually pretty easy…

You can write a blog post like I have to create some awareness, and / or you can install one of these Stop SOPA plugins on your WordPress site.

I’ve checked them out, and they’re pretty cool. 

• Stop SOPA Ribbon - Appears in the upper right hand corner of this site – great for businesses
• Stop SOPA Widget - The SOPA popup will only be displayed on January 18th from 8am–8pm EST (1300–0100 UTC) by default, but if you’re javascript savvy feel free to change that.

And if you don’t like these, here is a full list of SOPA Blackout Plugins.

It wasn’t what I was expecting.

I mean, Want! looked great in the App Store, so I thought I’d try it on for size.

Want! was launched early last year, and cited as a “Window Shopping” application that allows users to “like” the things that they Want! in real life. Not only that, but it allows the user to create categories and walls of images – to organize their wants.

The Huge Process of Registering and Logging In.

1. I wasn’t able to register to actually use the app through the offered Social Media Accounts: Facebook or Twitter. The app kept crashing each time I selected to register with Facebook or Twitter.
2. I thought it was my phone, so I rebooted.
3. I attempted registering with my Facebook and Twitter accounts once more before I gave up.
4. I had to register directly with Want.com through the app which meant that I had to enter all of my details by hand instead of having them pre-populated with Facebook or Twitter.
5. Once I hit the final “Register” button, the app hung and crashed.
6. The only reason I knew that the registration went through was because I received three welcome emails. THREE.
7. Once I logged in, it crashed again.
8. The second time I logged in, I was able to get as far as clicking around to view a few other “Want” items from other users. But the second I hit “Add Want”, the app crashed again.
9. In a last stitch attempt, I logged in to see if I could at least look around a little more…
10. And then I realized that all of the location listed were in New York.

The app was made primarily for those people who live…in New York.

Fail.

There’s Hope for a Great Concept.

I mean, “Window Shopping” is a great concept.

Want! is similar to another “window shopping” app that I downloaded last year. But, I ended up deleting that app for the same reason. It was primarily for those users in Los Angeles. I’ll update when I remember the name.

You can create category-specific “Walls” to organize and display your wants.

You can add wants from other users to your “want walls”.

Want! allows you to click and visit the actual online store for the item.

If they really wanted to, they could figure out a way to leverage the redirect, and score some affiliate points.

Wish I could offer more of a review, but the registration and login process was a beast and I kind of lost interest.

The First Lady Michelle Obama (@michelleobama) joined President Obama (@BarackObama) on Twitter Today.

While her account will be managed by campaign staff, any tweets from the First Lady herself will be signed “-mo.”

The First Lady’s first tweet was:

Hi, everyone, and thanks for the warm welcome. Look forward to staying in touch with you here. -mo

No doubt, David Axelrod and Jim Messina are hoping that Michelle Obama’s tweets will help to add a feminine touch to Barack Obama’s 2012 Presidential Campaign.

It actually makes a lot of sense.

Since joining twitter, @michelleobama has just under 136,000 followers. She’ll be able to promoter her Let’s Move campaign for child obesity more effectively on twitter.

Below you’ll find a list of must-have apps (Cydia Packages) for your new Jailbreak 5.0.1. These apps are some of the most used apps, and will have your iPhone functioning as it should have been under iOS 5.0.1. – screenshots coming.

UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE (1/07/2012)

NoLock prevented my iPhone from dimming after lighting up on a lockscreen alert. This decreased battery life tremendously. Fail.

KillBackground

KillBackground has been my favorite app (outside of MailEnhancer) to-date. It allowed me to create an Activator event that kills all apps, except the music app) with a Short Hold of the Home button. Score.

A Little Background

Yes, I “have a little fun” with Blackberrys, and Blackberry Themes. Yes, I enjoy building iPhone Web based apps, and iPhone/iPad ready websites. Two years ago, I purchased the iPhone and was using it mainly for business purposes, but never setup my Exchange mail accounts because I didn’t like having to type out different signatures for the different Exchange accounts every time I wanted to send an email. I have 7 different email accounts on my iPhone and 10 different email accounts total. This is an integral feature that Apple’s iPhone needs in order to establish itself as a business phone. Another feature the iPhone needs is text replacement. Rim’s Blackberry will continue to win as it offers these two features as default with its operating systems.

It wasn’t until about a year after I purchased the iPhone that I found MailEnhancer and went ahead with untethered Jailbreak 4.3.1. MailEnhancer is the only reason that I do not upgrade my iPhone when new iOSs are released. I refuse to be without it. And I refuse to upgrade the iOS until a jailbreak is released that will allow me to continue using MailEnhancer.

Now on to the goods…

The Jailbreak 5.0.1 Process & How-To

I installed Jailbreak 5.0.1 on my iPhone on Wednesday following the process found here: Jailbreak 5.0.1 Untethered (iOS 5) – iPhone 4, 3GS, iPad, iPod Touch 4G, 3G

The process wasn’t too difficult to follow. However, I had jailbreak 4.3.1 installed, so I had to backup and do a clean install of iOS 5.0.1 with iTunes prior to running the jailbreak software provided at the link above.

Of the apps that I had installed previously, I am only using about 4.
I used AptBackup (BigBoss & Chris Featherstone) to run a backup list of the apps I had installed prior to wiping the iPhone. AptBackup doesn’t backup the actual apps, it simply creates a list for you to restore those apps. Once you reinstall Cydia, you open AptBackup, hit “Restore” and it will find and restore the apps for you.

Unfortunately for me, a few apps that I used under Jailbreak 4.3.1 weren’t working under Jailbreak 5.0.1. But fortunately for you, that meant I spent a good 9.75 hours scouring Cydia finding the apps that would work, and didn’t cause Springboard to crash. hello.

The following is the list I generated of the Must-Have apps for Jailbreak 5.0.1. Enjoy!

AdBlocker

This is great for blocking the ads that appear in iPhone apps like Angry Birds, and Safari.

AnyLockApp

Change the lockscreen camera button to a different app.

biteSMS

Great for using QuickReply and QuickCompose

BlackBadge (non-retina)

I didn’t like having a red notification count above my icons. Black looks better.

BytaFont

I like to change the standard iOS font. I’m using Tuffy font this time.

CameraLocker

This make sure that your lockscreen always shows the camera shortcut. And I use “AnyLockApp” above to replace the camera shortcut with Twitter or Facebook – depending on the week.

Infiniboard

iPhone limits you to 12 apps per page. Inifiboard allows you to have an infinite number of apps on each page. I prefer to have one long page that I can swipe up and down – like my Blackberry, of course. (wink)

Infinidock

iPhone limits the number of apps that you have in your dock.

Infinifolders

iPhone limits each folder to 12 apps per folder. Infinifolders allows you to have an infinite number of apps in each folder you create. I have quite a few social apps, so I had to move some apps into an alternate folder. This eliminates my having to do that.

Invisible Folder

iPhone folder apps have a white/greyish border which doesn’t look too great on dark backgrounds. This makes the background invisible.

Lockinfo

This allows me to display notifications on my lockscreen.

MailEnhancer

This app allows you to have multiple signatures for your email.

This is the reason I installed the jailbreak on my iPhone in the first place. And this was the reason that I would not install iOS 5.0.1 until there was a jailbreak for it.

NoLock

iPhone dims the background image on the lockscreen. This removes that.

QuickLock 2

This app creates a “lock” app on your iphone – like the Blackberry.

I actually spent about 2 hours trying to determine what was crashing Springboard. I had installed QuickLock (1) instead of QuickLock 2. QuickLock (1) was apparently for the previous jailbreak version. But the notes aren’t really indicitive of that. And I didn’t notice that there was a QuickLock 2 until I was looking for an app to replace the app that I thought was causing the crash. hello.

Shrink

This allows me to make my app icons smaller. In coordination with Infiniboards, this app allows me to fit more apps on the screen and scroll less.

SmartFolders for Mail

This app allows you to filter your email.

A follow-up to my October 2008 post:

Brain Overload. IE6 must die.

If you know anything about me, you know that I hate Internet Explorer.

As a web developer, Internet Explorer is the one browser that happens to be a serious headache. And the more coding I do, the more I hate it.

If a client calls and they want us to code their site for IE 6 compliance, we usually just simply say “No” and try to explain why. But it’s a constant struggle not to say “Hell No!” Most often than not, they’re at work in a government office, which is still utilizing Windows XP for networking.

Our government is so up-to-date and awesome, isn’t it? - I hope you caught the sarcasm.

I Knew It Wasn’t Just Me.

Across the internet, developers like myself have been calling for IE6 to die (October 2008).

In fact, almost a year after my article, many companies – including Mashable,  jumped on board to support the IE6 No More campaign.

And in November of last year, the Atlantic called for an “Upgrade Your Parent’s Browsers” Day.

Google Chrome Became Most Popular Browser in December 2011.

No doubt concerned about having lost their #1 spot in the browser war to Google Chrome, Microsoft developed a website called IE6 Countdown to encourage users of IE6 to upgrade to newer versions.

As if the Heavens opened up and said, “Get your life together”, this month (January 2011), Microsoft has started forcing Internet Explorer browser upgrades. They’ve started in Australia and Brazil, and will slowly work their way around the world until all those old rickety browsers are upgraded through Windows Updates.

And from now on, Internet Explorer will quietly update itself just as Windows does.

It’s about time! I knew this was going to be a great week.

I know you’ve seen it.

The glaring yellow “WordPress 3.3 is available! Please update now.” notice at the top of your WordPress administration control panel.

Whether you like to keep things simple and hit the “Please update now.” for a quick automated update, or you’re like me and you like to do a clean wipe using FTP to ensure changes and rouge issues, you must be advised that you could encounter issues using the new Javascript (flyout) features such as Menus, drag and drop widgets, and Media Uploader.

Being that we installed this for a few clients, we actually had to back track and install the HotFix plugin for WordPress. Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough. We had to edit the hotfix.php file to include the 3.3 update for WordPress. We implemented the hotfix-patch found here.

So when you put it all together…

your hotfix.php file should read something like this:

/*
Plugin Name: Hotfix
Description: Provides "hotfixes" for selected WordPress bugs, so you don't have to wait for the next WordPress core release. Keep the plugin updated!
Version: 0.7 (updated)
Author: Mark Jaquith
Author URI: http://coveredwebservices.com/
*/

// This bootstraps everything
WP_Hotfix_Controller::init();

class WP_Hotfix_Controller {
function init() {
add_action( 'init', 'wp_hotfix_init' );
register_activation_hook( __FILE__, array( __CLASS__, 'activate' ) );
register_deactivation_hook( __FILE__, array( __CLASS__, 'deactivate' ) );
}
function activate() {
add_option( 'hotfix_version', '1' );
register_uninstall_hook( __FILE__, array( __CLASS__, 'uninstall' ) );
}
function deactivate() {
delete_option( 'hotfix_version' );
}
function uninstall() {
self::deactivate(); // The same, for now
}
}

function wp_hotfix_init() {
global $wp_version;

$hotfixes = array();

switch ( $wp_version ) {
case '3.3' :
if ( !defined( 'CONCATENATE_SCRIPTS' ) )
define( 'CONCATENATE_SCRIPTS', false );
break;
case '3.1.3' :
$hotfixes = array( '313_post_status_query_string' );
break;
case '3.1' :
$hotfixes = array( '310_parsed_tax_query' );
break;
case '3.0.5' :
$hotfixes = array( '305_comment_text_kses' );
break;
}

$hotfixes = apply_filters( 'wp_hotfixes', $hotfixes );

foreach ( (array) $hotfixes as $hotfix ) {
call_user_func( 'wp_hotfix_' . $hotfix );
}
}

/* And now, the hotfixes */

function wp_hotfix_305_comment_text_kses() {
remove_filter( 'comment_text', 'wp_kses_data' );
if ( is_admin() )
add_filter( 'comment_text', 'wp_kses_post' );
}

function wp_hotfix_310_parsed_tax_query() {
add_filter( 'pre_get_posts', 'wp_hotfix_310_parsed_tax_query_pre_get_posts' );
}

function wp_hotfix_310_parsed_tax_query_pre_get_posts( $q ) {
@$q->parsed_tax_query = false; // Force it to be re-parsed.
return $q;
}

function wp_hotfix_313_post_status_query_string() {
add_filter( 'request', 'wp_hotfix_313_post_status_query_string_request' );
}

function wp_hotfix_313_post_status_query_string_request( $qvs ) {
if ( isset( $qvs['post_status'] ) && is_array( $qvs['post_status'] ) )
$qvs['post_status'] = implode( ',', $qvs['post_status'] );
return $qvs;
}

if ( ! function_exists( 'json_encode' ) ) {
function json_encode( $string ) {
global $wp_hotfix_json;

if ( ! is_a( $wp_hotfix_json, 'Services_JSON' ) ) {
require_once( dirname( __FILE__ ) . '/inc/class-json.php' );
$wp_hotfix_json = new Services_JSON();
}

return $wp_hotfix_json->encodeUnsafe( $string );
}
}

if ( ! function_exists( 'json_decode' ) && ! function_exists( '_json_decode_object_helper' ) ) {
function json_decode( $string, $assoc_array = false ) {
global $wp_hotfix_json;

if ( ! is_a( $wp_hotfix_json, 'Services_JSON' ) ) {
require_once( dirname( __FILE__ ) . '/inc/class-json.php' );
$wp_hotfix_json = new Services_JSON();
}

$res = $wp_hotfix_json->decode( $string );
if ( $assoc_array )
$res = _json_decode_object_helper( $res );
return $res;
}
function _json_decode_object_helper($data) {
if ( is_object($data) )
$data = get_object_vars($data);
return is_array($data) ? array_map(__FUNCTION__, $data) : $data;
}
}

Fix your WordPress 3.3 Javascript Menus and Widgets Panel:

1. Download WordPress HotFix Plugin
2. Replace the hotfix.php file with the above code, or with the code found here: Hotfix.php file (23)

Loving the #Flipboard for iPhone app. I wish it had landscape mode, but beggars can’t be choosers…just yet.

It’s a great day to be a social media networking geek.
No. REALLY.
Flipboard AND Twitter? In one day?
#comeonson

Flipboard for iPad has been around since 2010, but today they announced an update for iPhone and iPod Touch. So – if you have both the iPhone AND the iPad, you’ll be able to sync your devices using your Flipboard account.

Pardon me while I gush over Flipboard for iPad.

I feel welcomed, #Flipboard.

What? And I can mute users on my Flipboard too?
This is like pure visual sex for your iPad.
This is just too much.
Give me just a moment while I get my thoughts together.