Half A Click

Focus On Thy Users

2012-01-24T00:02:00.000-08:00

There was a bookmarklet that received a lot of attention in the past few days. The bookmarlet was addressing to fact that Google Search now includes results from Google+ right into the interface - a privilege that is not given to Facebook, Twitter and MySpace pages. Now given that at least Facebook and Twitter have refused to let Google parse their pages, this seems a little tricky for me to argue against but the argument of the engineers who developed the extension was that by adding results Google is degrading their own core product and focusing on revenues not users.

Now while there are also reports like this where the extension probably isn't behaving correctly, there are also people who open-heartedly welcome such an extension. I have nothing against them in fact having Facebook and Twitter statistics in search would be awesome, but I am not so enthused by the idea that this is publicized not just a bunch of people coming together to make something that they like but very clearly as engineers from competing products taking shots at a competitor and asking them to Focus On The User while they themselves don't! My experiments:

1. Kim Sherrell - No Google+ Link on FB Search
Among the very active Google+ users that I follow.

Web Search Results on Facebook

Web Search Results on Bing

2. Trey Ratcliff - No Google+ Link on FB
Very active on Google+

Search Results on Bing

Web Search Results on Facebook

3. Ashton Kutcher - Missing Twitter Link
He is supposed to one of the most followed celebs on Twitter but Facebook probably doesn't want to acknowledge that.

4. Some not-celeb people active on Google+

My Stance
Sure, you have every right to reduce seepage to competitor when you are providing a service to them. That is what I would have done, that is something everyone does, and even if you do not agree with it you have no right to force your morality on others. This is different case though; here Facebook seems to be providing (through Bing) web search results that do not match with those provided by Bing on Bing; one should be a little more open to interpretations.

And oh, Google+ results on Google Search do benefit me. If they do not benefit you, may be yours friends/peers are not active on Facebook yet - give it some time.

9GAG Repost

2011-12-28T18:02:00.001-08:00

This extension takes the comments on a 9GAG post and counts the comments that have the word "repost" in it and the number of likes they have received. It then, shows this with number of comments and likes received. Hope this makes the experience better!
PS: Will update the post with github repo and other such details soon.

Download the extension here:

Alternative link, as suggested in a comment:

Alonso VegaDec 30, 2011 07:23 AM

https://github.com/mayanksinghal/9GAG-Repost/blob/master/9gagrepost.crx Click "View Raw"

The Story behind it:

HackerNews Plus

2011-12-25T17:04:00.000-08:00

My third Chrome Extension and a small attempt to make HN a little more comfortable to browse for those who are a little more comfortable with keyboard shortcuts than mouse. Again, I do not have a chrome developer license so cannot put it up on Chrome Web Store.
The code on the other hand is available on: https://github.com/mayanksinghal/HackerNews-Plus
If someone wants to fork it or wants to download, unpack, verify and use it; they are most welcome. I will continue to push to code to github so that those who use that way can continue utilizing the extension without much hassle. Here is the link to the extension: http://home.iitb.ac.in/~mayank.singhal/chrome/hnplus/hnplus.crx

PS: Will add Open Comments tomorrow afternoon - it is quite early in the morning here and I should sleep.

v0.1.0 [06:34 26/12/2011]
Keyboard shortcuts:

k - Previous Story
j - Next Story
Home - First Story
End - Last Story (or More)
m - Open Story in Current Window
n - Open Story in New Window
Return - Open Story in Current Window
Shift + Return - Open Story in New Window

I am moving back

2011-11-18T07:00:00.001-08:00

to Ubuntu 10.10. I give up. Ubuntu 11.04 (Natty Narwhal) was a disappointment and so was Ubuntu 11.10 (Oneiric Ocelot).

Not that I didn't like the new simpler desktop management tools they offered through Unity - It's just not stable. I cannot afford 2 days every fortnight to figure out how to make it work again. If it's a one time thing - I am proud enough to suck it up and do it. If it happens again and again - I am not sysad enough to handle it. And oh the other issues! It eats up about 40W all the time! My battery life drops to a quarter of what windows gives me. My productivity(in terms of time I spend working and not hobby-ishly trying to defend Ubuntu) drops by half.

I have spent enough time trying to defend Unity to my friends - I can't anymore. It's undefendable. It's so extremely buggy that I would consider popularizing it and making it a default only if I was actually working for, say, Microsoft. Sweet Lord! They removed proxy settings' Ignore-Proxy option! I also couldn't figure out a way to increase workspaces. Want more? Well, if you want to make some changes to how the Unity behaves - install Compiz-Settings-Manager. And when you do it - it will result in gnome being fubar.

Only good thing about it all: I am using Wubi, and I keep all my code - all my files, outside the Ubuntu installation. Best decision I have made in this respect. Now I can simply remove Ubuntu from Windows and move back to Ubuntu 10.10.

Probably I am not good enough for Ubuntu 11.10, say "Aye!" if you aren't as well.

Chrome Extension: IIT Placements

2011-10-15T05:55:00.000-07:00

Greasemonkey scripts don't work very well in Chrome and I wanted more than just a "not eligible" filter, so here it is:

(Links to the Extension)

Oh yes, I don't have a Chrome Developer account, so cannot upload it on the WebStore - so you will have to trust me and ignore the warning.

There of course, will be more stuff updates coming in future.

v1.2.1 (Date: 19-11-11)

[F] Hide Closed JAFs Button.

v1.2.0

[F] Better CSS for JAF View page

v1.1.1

[B] Hide Signed Button actually works.

v1.1.0

[F] Auto Hide Not Eligible JAFs
[F] Option to Hide Signed JAFs
[F] AutoUpdate Feature added - no more, manual updating and clearing cache and similar BS
[B] Works on other versions of All JAFs page (After you sign, after you unsign)

v1.0 Features

Sorts JAFs on all parameters: (Best is the Sort on Sign Date)
Changes the color scheme a little bit

HN Dynamics - I just do not understand!

2011-08-28T14:36:00.000-07:00

I am really new at HN; it is an interesting source of information. I have grown to like the discussions even more than the actual links. Unfortunately while at technical topics, discussions are nearly always awesome and a good learning experience; open topics like this one suffer the same fate as most discussions on the internet: circular discussions and abuse of downvoting.

Circular discussions are in a way unavoidable and are often faced in out-of-the-screen debates as well. So there is not much we can do but constraint ourselves to repeat the same logic in a more verbose fashion and probably just refer to an earlier comment.

For the case of downvoting, I am pissed and confused. I am new, so probably I suffer from this even more because people don't trust my opinion; but I had hoped that in a learned circle when you disagree, you make your point clear. I am not a spammer, I try to be as logical and polite as I can; there of course are some biases - some cultural differences. And I expect explanations, if I am downvoted. Yes, I have checked FAQs; I don't think I am abusing the facility. So, I still don't understand when does the HN community downvote?

Youtube, Why?

2011-08-11T20:57:00.000-07:00

It feels so awesome to do something that I like after so many months!

So after reading this thread about Youtube country based restrictions, I thought may be I should put on a night out to build it. It's my first chrome extension.

Unfortunately, I cannot release it on Chrome Web Store as it requires me to register as a developer and I don't have a Credit Card to pay for that registration. It's not so finished anyway.

Here is the link

Points:

Works with Cosmic Panda. Didn't try on normal youtube.
After installation, right click the icon and set the 2 character country code.
Suggestions and search results on youtube that are of videos that are not accessible in your country are now marked in dark grey.
If you load more suggestions, just click the icon again. It will retry everything.

@Channel - Free SMS Channel Service

2010-09-25T01:59:00.000-07:00

As soon as TxtWeb announced that they will support PUSH, I got this idea. But I thought that this time I should do it, the way it should be done. So here it is:

http://brotherboard.com/channel/

What is it?
It is like mailing lists. You create a channel, people subscribe to it. You send updates/notifications/reminders and all the subscribers, they get them as SMS for free. It's unidirectional communication at the moment, but give me a free, calm weekend I will make it a conversation tool.

How do you use it?

You create a channel by registering on the page.
You then publicize the channel and ask people to send
@channel subscribe YourChannelName to +91 92433 42000
You send a message to all the subscribers from the site (or automate it using the API provided already).

Where can you use it?

Department Placements: DPNs can create channels where junta can receive reminders about the PPTs, talks and workshops
Clubs: Tell people to come to the meeting, participate in an event or send them results of the last.
Hostels: Wing channels, create one and notify when there is a new chick in the wing. Who would not want to increase the volume of music when there are 'guests' around! ;)
Blog/Website Owners: Create a channel for your readers, notify them about the updates of your blog.
Daily Services: Create services like Daily News, Daily Jokes, Daily questions, Daily Vocab Building exercises and more! All you need to do is create a CRON job and use the developer API.
And the list can go on and on and on!

What's coming?

Search option for public channels
2-way communication
Better statistics for the channel owners!
Or anything else you want, just leave a comment!

English Vocabulary Preparation App - TxtWeb

2010-09-03T19:36:00.000-07:00

We all have a pretty bad vocabulary, and that's a major issue when we are aiming for CAT, GRE, GMAT and other examinations. This application will help you with that...

I created a database of good-important english words, meanings taken from Wiktionary. Then I am randomly picking 5 words and their meanings and displaying it to the end users. Simple ain't it?

On yeah, for word insertion I created an AJAX admin page, where I give a long list of comma-separated words as input, it first looks for the meaning on net and then inserts it. Response of each such request either tells that insertion was successful or gives the reason it failed. This was necessary because if I have a list of say 5K words, I cannot just run a PHP loop to get the meanings and insert them into database, that would just timeout and abort. Hence the effort. This was I guess the coolest part of it :)

TxtWeb - Intuit

2010-09-03T05:31:00.000-07:00

TxtWeb - it's a new platform through which we(developers, designers, marketers) can communicate with end users, even those who don't have access to a computer or an advanced cellphone.

The idea is simple: TxtWeb takes data from your site and texts it to the users; and how does it know what data to pick? That's based on what users send to TxtWeb servers through an SMS. There are no special charges for the request. This is not a SMS-YourName-to-know-the-first-letter-of-your-love-for-free* (* Rs.3 per SMS) service. And it has infinite potential, as far as my understanding goes.

So, I am participating in this competition where we have to make innovative applications. You can check them at the TxtWeb website.

The number you need to send SMS to, is +91 92433 42000. It's a Bangalore number, so most of us will be charged for an STD SMS. But believe me, some of the application that they have developed are so awesome that you won't mind paying the nominal costs. Also they have an emulator if you just want to test an app online.

So, do register on the site, try some apps, rate them, put reviews and suggestions and help developers to improve their applications!

A Blogger's Nightmare...

2010-04-05T22:50:00.000-07:00

That You might not understand....

One Manga Repaging

2010-03-14T09:03:00.000-07:00

What it does?
While reading Manga on One Manga, one has to click the image repeatedly to read the next page. This is time consuming and irritating. This script will solve the problem by listing all the posts together!

How does it work?
It checks the link of the current image, and the addresses of the other images from the drop down menu on the top, and lists them for you!

How to Install?
(0) Install Greasemonkey Firefox Addon from here.
(1) Install The script from here.

Any suggestions and comments are welcome.

The Lighnas Virus

2010-01-18T06:43:00.000-08:00

I hate computer viruses. They slow your comp down, eat up hard disk, show random messages or just make your desktop unresponsive.

The Lighnas Virus spreads due to human interaction and notorious nature. If you had fallen for this virus, you will make others fall for it too... The argument is like I rag because I was ragged.

So here is how it works:
0) Find a friend with a sense of humour and a computer; wait for him/her to leave the room.
1) Minimize all windows
2) Minimize sidebars too
3) Take a print screen
4) Save it using MS Paint, Photoshop or anything else
5) Set it as desktop wallpaper
6) Right Click on Desktop, Go to View and uncheck "Show Desktop Icons"
7) Sit back and enjoy.

Example of such a screenshot

Where to disable icons from...

I already have 2 people who fell for the trick. One moved back to Ubuntu, the second restarted his comp - ran a full computer virus scan - shouted "AVG sucks" and more. If you have any stories or tips... please comment!

My New Year Resolutions

2009-12-31T23:48:00.000-08:00

Get the hang of MVC frameworks and create a working platform using CakePHP.
Move to my own domain.
Create a firefox addon
Create chrome extension.
Design a logo, a letterhead and VCs.

You can also work on them. They are quite generaal resolutions. :)

Variable Height Iframes

2009-12-03T14:36:00.000-08:00

I know Iframes suck! And they must be avoided as much as possible... but the fact is that they are sometimes the easiest and/or the only possible way.(GMail is all iframes). One thing that sucks about Iframes is that it's height is constant, independent of the content it is holding. And hence either there is some extra whitespace or a very irritating scroll bar.

Here is a script that will help you make a scrollbar free iframe:



 function setHeight(ele) {

 saveele = ele;

 var oDoc = (ele.contentWindow || ele.contentDocument);

 if (oDoc.document) oDoc = oDoc.document;

 

 var D = oDoc;

 h = Math.max(

        Math.max(D.body.scrollHeight, D.documentElement.scrollHeight),

        Math.max(D.body.offsetHeight, D.documentElement.offsetHeight),

        Math.max(D.body.clientHeight, D.documentElement.clientHeight)

    );

 var is_chrome = navigator.userAgent.toLowerCase().indexOf('chrome') > -1;

 if(is_chrome) {

  h = oDoc.height;

 }

 ele.height = h;

 }

Here is a working example.

I hope it helps :)

Google Search with Text Commands

2009-12-03T12:23:00.000-08:00

What it does?

Gives you an option to search images, videos, youtube and wikipedia right from google homepage WITHOUT any additional clicks

Format of various queries:

Search Type	Prefix/Command	Example	Destination Domain
Normal Search	Nothing	Hello	google.com
Image Search	;i	;i Hello	images.google.com
Video Search	;v	;v Hello	videos.google.com
Youtube Search	;y	;y Hello	youtube.com
Wikipedia Search	;w	;w Hello	wikipedia.org

How does it work?

It redirects the page to mentioned locations after appending queries if the query text is preceded by ;i or ;v or ;w or ;y

How to Install it?

Step 0: Install Greasemonkey (It's a Firefox Addon)
Step 1: Install My Script

I hope it will help. If you think there are more options that are needed for faster searches, do leave a message.

Search Tip

Well, we all search for definitions now and then. What we do is we go to answers.com or wikipedia or i-am-too-lazy-to-list-them-all.
Easy way:
Google this
define:WHATEVER_YOU_WANT

P.S.: Greasemonkey is awesome

Fish Wrangler Auto Add Crew/Neighbours

2009-11-18T04:23:00.000-08:00

What it does?

Open the Neighbors Tab... And leave the Tab open. If there are any users with "Add X as Neighbor" option, this will add him/her.

How does it work?

Simple, Fist list down all the friends. Find one with words "Not in crew" but not with "Request Sent" Find the input button whose class is "inputbutton request_form_submit" and click on it. Then weight for the confirmation box to appear, and click on "Send"

How to Install?

(0) Install Greasemonkey Firefox Addon from here.

(1) Install The script from here.

Any suggestions and comments are welcome.

YoVille Auto Add Neighbours

2009-11-18T03:08:00.000-08:00

What it does?

Open the Neighbors Tab... And leave the Tab open. If there are any users with "Add X as Neighbor" option, this will add him/her.

How does it work?

Simple, Find the input button whose value start with "Add" and click on it. Then weight for the confirmation box to appear, and click on "Send"

How to Install?

(0) Install Greasemonkey Firefox Addon from here.

(1) Install The script from here.

Any suggestions and comments are welcome.

Café World Auto Add Neighbours

2009-11-11T02:24:00.000-08:00

What it does?

Open the Neighbors Tab... And leave the Tab open. If there are any users with "Add X as Neighbor" option, this will add him/her.

How does it work?

Simple, Find the input button whose value start with "Add" and click on it. Then weight for the confirmation box to appear, and click on "Send"

How to Install?

(0) Install Greasemonkey Firefox Addon from here.

(1) Install The script from here.

Any suggestions and comments are welcome.

Impact

2009-11-10T02:22:00.000-08:00

I like impact. It's compact and clear and crisp and awesome.

PS:
I am not supposed to waste time on wallpapers, but I think it's my basic instinct.

FarmVille Auto Add Neighbors

2009-10-27T22:14:00.000-07:00

Another Facebook Greasemonkey script. It's fun to code with greasemonkey, you don't have worry about the looks etc, just specify the things, and greasemonkey will handle it for you.

What it does?
Open the Neighbors Tab... And leave the Tab open. If there are any users with "Add X as Neighbor" option, this will add him/her.

How does it work?
Simple, Find the input button whose value start with "Add" and click on it. Then weight for the confirmation box to appear, and click on "Send"

How to Install?
(0) Install Greasemonkey Firefox Addon from here.
(1) Install The script from here.

Any suggestions and comments are welcome.

'Select All' for Facebook

2009-09-18T05:20:00.000-07:00

What does this script do?

Whenever you want to suggest a page to your friends, you have to click them one by one. This script will add a "Click Them" button at the end of the dialog box. You can also select the range of friends to select but that's optional.

Known Issues

Requires a page refresh if the script is already used once.

Screenshots

Installation

Requires GreaseMonkey Firefox Addon

Install It from here

Last Update:

September 9, 2010. Status: Working.

GMail Left Aligned Chat Boxes

2009-09-13T05:55:00.000-07:00

Long Name Na!
That's because this script is for a very specific purpose:

Left Aligned Chat Boxes

Thanks to Ishan Srivastav for the idea... There was no google labs feature so i wrote a simple greasemonkey script.

To install it: VISIT THIS URL

NoClick Greasemonkey Script

2009-09-07T07:45:00.001-07:00

I just tweeked the original script because it was not working on FF3.5
I thought of making changes in the original script that's here but i couldnot find the link to upload it
so I made a new page for it... There is a one click installer on that page.

What is it supposed to do?

Nothing much! It just Automatically clicks the link if you hover on it for a long time...

What might suck?

So the thing is that i removed the onclick functionality so as to make it work...
+ What if there are large images/links.... this will redirect you page if you forget to move your mouse away...
The link color changes to blue.... if the background is blue, link will no longer be visible.

What can you do?

Keep changing it to make it appropriate for your speeds...

The change can be done on line number 19

colortimer = setTimeout(fade, 200, elem);

Increase speed by decreasing that number (200)

Decrease speed by increasing that number

BTW I have also hosted it on my homepages...

@Antariksh

Thanks :P

Know your Mojo!

2009-08-15T15:05:00.001-07:00

I don't exactly know when did Yahoo! launch this site but it's very new and very beautiful.

Know your Mojo! takes a twitter username and finds what type of twitter user you are...
The transitions are really very pleasant...

Each type or mojo has it's own avatar: a beautiful bird illustration.

You can also check out all the mojo's...

I am a matchmaker...

To know what it means and to know your own mojo...

Try this link: Yahoo! Know Your Mojo

P.S1: I think I am starting to like Y(ah)oo!

P.S2: Yahoo! has a new homepage too. Minimalistic (according to yahoo standards) is good. Colour Switcher works smoothly. Only if they used a very light 1px separater between the various news items in news feed....

P.S.3: It's all Javascript and AJAX... Feel Good Factor for me }:)

P.S.4: It seems like the Mojo Logo is giving us a finger!!! :D