I've been reading blogs though Bloglines almost since I started reading blogs, having discovered it a few months after I discovered blogs and blogging. I used it to create the blogrolls on my blogs. Even after I tried Google Reader which comes with my Google account, I stayed loyal to Bloglines, continuing to read my blogs there. Even after I added a Google Reader gadget to my iGoogle page, I read blogs through Bloglines. But no more.
I stay logged into websites on my home PC, although some log me out periodically. But Bloglines never did that. I'm lucky I remember my password for it. But I don't stay logged into sites on my work PC, so every so often, I need to log back in. Bloglines usually stays logged in although I never told it to, but lately, it's been logging me out. Which is no big deal, except logging in now requires me to answer a capcha.
I can understand doing that for starting accounts. I can understand sites doing that for commenting to prevent spam, or hold it down to a low roar. But to read blogs?!
True, someone could maliciously or accidentally delete my subscriptions, or sign me up for something nasty, but that's what the password check is for. Capchas are usually there to determine someone trying to create an account, or leave a comment is human. Do we now have to prove we're human to log into our accounts, too?
At least with Google, once I log in, I have access to all my Google services. There are some differences between Google Reader and Bloglines, but I can get used to them. Once I make sure my Reader subs are up-to-date, I'll stop using Bloglines. I might leave my account there, to maintain my blogrolls on my blogs. That, I haven't decided yet. But Bloglines... you ticked me off. More than once with this capcha crap. So, bye-bye. It's been fun.
~~~o0o~~~
Friday, June 18, 2010
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Blogger's Template Designer
Another feature has graduated from Draft Blogger: the awesome, new blog template designer. I've been using it since it was brought to Draft Blogger, redoing my templates with it. Best feature is that you can now have official 3-column templates that use Blogger's gadgets. You can easily set the widths of your columns, have columns in the footer, all sorts of things you previously had to code for yourself or get a hack to add into your template code. I don't think any free blogging platform and hosting service is as comprehensive and flexible as Blogger, and they keep adding stuff to make it better.
~~~o0o~~~
~~~o0o~~~
Wednesday, June 09, 2010
Spokeo
Spokeo is a people search site. It pulls info from all over the web about people and offers up basic info for free and more for a fee. I'm not there, but a friend's elderly mother who has never been on the internet is. This site lists addresses, phone numbers, salary, other personal details that could form an identity thief's wet dream, have spammers and telemarketers drooling, and make a stalker's day. Even photos of you and your family members could be brought front and center.
Not all the info is accurate and some is plain laughable. And this info is all online, with Spokeo just making it easier to find. But that doesn't make it a good idea. I doubt the benefits could outweigh the potential for evil, a belief backed-up by the founder's opting out of the search, according to this article in the LA Times. Talk about being a hypocrite.
Privacy is a complex issue, one for which my opinion has been evolving, but that's a longer post for another day. However, with all the furor that erupts every time Facebook makes a change in its setting, people should be aware that sites like Spokeo exist and can be far more harmful to one's privacy.
Do you know what's available about you online? A recent survey I saw asked if people Googled themselves. One person added a comment that no, he or she is not that egotistical. But it's not a matter of ego; it's a matter of prudence. Everyone should periodically search for themselves online (a common name makes this difficult, so you can try Spokeo, which breaks things down geographically), just to see what other people can find. I do. A number of years ago I found misinformation that I was able to get corrected (having my name removed from something work-related that had nothing to do with me). Forewarned is, after all, forearmed.
~~~o0o~~~
Not all the info is accurate and some is plain laughable. And this info is all online, with Spokeo just making it easier to find. But that doesn't make it a good idea. I doubt the benefits could outweigh the potential for evil, a belief backed-up by the founder's opting out of the search, according to this article in the LA Times. Talk about being a hypocrite.
Privacy is a complex issue, one for which my opinion has been evolving, but that's a longer post for another day. However, with all the furor that erupts every time Facebook makes a change in its setting, people should be aware that sites like Spokeo exist and can be far more harmful to one's privacy.
Do you know what's available about you online? A recent survey I saw asked if people Googled themselves. One person added a comment that no, he or she is not that egotistical. But it's not a matter of ego; it's a matter of prudence. Everyone should periodically search for themselves online (a common name makes this difficult, so you can try Spokeo, which breaks things down geographically), just to see what other people can find. I do. A number of years ago I found misinformation that I was able to get corrected (having my name removed from something work-related that had nothing to do with me). Forewarned is, after all, forearmed.
~~~o0o~~~
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