A Quick Update to Simple Twitter
A lot of people use my Simple Twitter Feed written in JavaScript (for some reason). Well, today I pushed out a quick update that should fix all the woes users have given me in the past.
The code should now be valid XHTML strict, and I know longer use innerHTML for each list element. Instead, I’ve moved from adding the list elements via innerHTML to DOM Manipulation (appendChild). I’m not sure exactly what the benefits of this are, but I’m sure they exist.
As the previous HTML code seems to have been broken, this may cause some rendering errors for a few websites, but all in all it should work better than it has previously.
I’m not writing out a whole changelog, I’m just going ahead and saying that some changes were made – and hopefully Simple Twitter should work a lot easier for everyone using it.
Webkit JavaScript Notifications API
Something I learned about recently by following the updates being issued to Chrome, is that with today’s release they also pushed out the Webkit Notifications API to Chrome Stable (v4). Surprisingly, this is actually the first I’ve heard of it’s existence. I took a look and played around with it a bit, and it is qué cool.
Visit my Sandbox to see the code in action, or continue reading for some code excerpts.
The Mysterious 50500
Last Night I was working on a job site, and I had checked into it using Foursquare (twice, the first time a typo). I was wondering if there was a way to undo a check-in, or something similar. So, of course, I texted “help” to 50500 (the US Shortcode for Foursquare) and I got back the following message:
2 Vicinite alerts/wk, tones/video clips: $0.49-$9.99/mth+ msg&data rates may aply. Visit vicinite.com/index2.html or 8666443345. STOP 2quit.
Wait, what? That has nothing to do with Foursquare at all. What is going on here? So, I decided to google the shortcode for more information, and found out its ALSO used for Contxts, another service I used. Just to make sure, I texted “David” to 50500 and what do I know? His business card was texted right back to me, with the sender labeled as “Foursquare” due to me having set the number as Foursquare’s in my address book.
This is kind of fishy, in my opinion. How, and Why do these three services share the same shortcode number? They seem to have nothing to do with each other, either.
So then… how do they pull it off?
Another Blog?
Well, congratulations me. I think? I guess? Saa. Either way, I’m now going to be a contributor for MacDavid Pro (which will be renamed, just nobody knows to what yet.)
Which is all well and good, except I don’t write much of anything ever, and the few times I do I have trouble including media and pictures and formatting it the way I want to. Bleh.
Well, lets hope I do better as a contributor to that blog than I have been doing for this one, eh?
More Windows 7 Steam Goodness
This is just a small update to the whole Steam on Windows 7 thing. Looks like they’re embracing more Windows 7 features than I saw previously. Discovered this while downloading Zero Gear today:
Never Again (External JavaScript in the Body)
This is probably simply a personal taste, but I hate putting External JavaScript tags in the body of a web page. It feels and looks very unsightly to me. But as I learn more and more JavaScript, and really start to get a feel for the small language, I’ve realized that I don’t have to. That it’d be just as easy to place them directly into the header after the page is ready, by manipulating the DOM. Here is an excerpt from the beta turled website.
$(document).ready(function() { // Google Analytics var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl." : "http://www."); var script = document.createElement("script"); script.src = gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js"; script.type = "text/javascript"; document.getElementsByTagName("head")[0].appendChild(script); try { var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("CENSORED"); pageTracker._trackPageview(); } catch(err) { /* Do Nothing. */ } // Facebook Share var script = document.createElement("script"); script.src = "http://static.ak.fbcdn.net/connect.php/js/FB.Share"; script.type = "text/javascript"; document.getElementsByTagName("head")[0].appendChild(script); });
As you can see, I wait until the document is loaded using jQuery’s ready method, and then create elements for both Google Analytics and Facebook Share, before appending them directly to the <head> of the website. Keeping the code clean, reducing bandwidth usage for non-JavaScript users, and even making Google’s code cleaner. (By changing Google Analytic’s default code from document.write to DOM Manipulation.
So, Never again will I feel the need to insert external script tags at the bottom of the <body> just so that the rest of the page loads before them.
Note: If you’re not using jQuery, document.onload = function() { /* Code */ } works just as well, I promise.
How Google Could Change The Industry (And Take Over Your Life)
So, the one thing that you’ll find on any and all news websites who are of any quality at all would be the brand new Google Phone, the Nexus One – the one device that’s making me cringe and go “WHY DIDNT I CREATE A YOUTUBE SHOW BEFORE NOW?” Since, you know, just about every single YouTube partner has gotten a free Nexus One. FEEL MY ENVY, YOUTUBERS.
But, there is definitely one thing that could be different. One thing that they could change the entire industry with. And all they’d have to do is partner up with cell phone providers, and convince them to let you get an account without a phone number.
What? What’s that Navarr? You’re absolutely INSANE! You can’t get a cell phone without a cell phone number? Why would you want to? What possible use could that be? What would you do??
Well, if you really are asking all those questions, than shut the hell up and think for a moment. What two things does Google own that would allow them to do something so spectacularly crazy?
Google Voice, and Gizmo5. Gizmo5 would only be necessary if they decided to do Voice over Data, which I personally am not sure the cell phone backend is ready for – but could you imagine purchasing a Nexus One, signing in with your Google (apps?) Account, and then if you already have Google Voice it simply works? And if you don’t it gets you started on creating an account, including choosing your own phone number (for life, although changeable).
Google would store your basic account numbers and information, and if you ever wanted a new android phone, you would simply log in. It’d automatically use your phone number and all your other details, too.
Maybe though, just maybe Google could do this – and make actual cellular calling free, with the only thing you’re paying for being data.
Why Steam on Windows 7 Disappoints Me
This actually isn’t a post against Windows 7. In fact, you will find very few of those among this blog, if any at all. This is actually a post voicing my disappointment with the very popular Social Network Gaming Software, Steam.
One of the first things quickly and easily noticed is that it uses its own Window customization. This really isn’t such a big deal for me. Sure, it’d be nice if it could do the whole aero thing and fall back on this, but this looks pretty cool, so I’m not really going to fault them for this.
Next is actually mostly a good thing. Steam has this very nice jumplist for Windows 7, something not a lot of other programs have really taken the time to integrate just yet. You can see video games I have recently (attempted to anyway) launched from Steam, their own quick links to important parts of their client, and an optional (disabled by default) ability to change your current status from the jumplist.
The one problem I have with this jump list is that the tasks have no icons. You could easily find some sort of icon for each of their little tasks. A shopping cart for Store, a generic user-like figure for community, etc etc but there is nothing there.
Then of course, there is my ultimate pickle with Steam. As I’m sure you can tell from the above screenshot – Steam has NO PRESENCE in the Windows Games Explorer. This is awful! The Games Explorer has been around since Vista, and yet Steam has yet to embrace it.
There could (and should) be (at the very least) a high resolution steam icon under Game Providers. It’s not very difficult to make, and the “News” feed you see from Games for Windows LIVE is a simple RSS feed. They could either populate this with the news from their site, or just a list of new releases, creating a steam:// URI (if it doesn’t already exist) to open up links in their own client. Instead, they don’t even touch this.
As for games, I don’t know if they show up in the Explorer or not. I don’t have any spare cash lying around, so I haven’t been able to check for myself – but somehow I doubt that the games appear there (though, I could be wrong – can anyone vouch for this?).
Hopefully, these issues will be addressed in a future version of Steam, and embraced by Rival companies. (I’m looking at you On Live. Yes, I expect this from you as well).
What are your thoughts on the matter, anyway?