what would david do?

A while back, I bought a book at a dollar store that was design specifically for my web addresses, usernames and passwords which I found very useful - for a while.

Essentially all it is, is an address/telephone book with a different cover but instead of saying name/phone it says url/username/password. Neat huh? No. What if Im in Starbucks (like there’s no other kind of coffee shop) and I come across a site which I need to register for, what do you think the chances are of me remembering to enter that information in my book at a later date? Clearly, if I had a memory that good I wouldn’t need a book in the first place.

Then theres the issue of where the book is from one day to the next. I know you are way more organized, right? You may even be one of those smart enough to use the same password for everything just so you dont forget it. Do I really need to go into why that is not such a smart idea?

Well recently I came across a program that promises to solve the issue of security and memory for all the websites that require usernames and passwords. Take a moment to tally up how many sites you use that need these super secret details:

flickr, myspace, facebook, napp, usps, apple, adobe, forums, blogs,  your bank, my bank, this club, that club, yahoo, msn, amazon, barnes+noble, b and h, every online store, etc., etc.

The list is phenomenal. Granted, some are more important than others, until you cant remember the one you need RIGHT NOW!, then they are all important.

More to the point, some of them need to be more secure than others. Your bank will tell you that “flopsy” - the name of your first pet rabbit - is not secure because it requires some numbers. So you come up with “flopsy123″ or wait, “f10psy”. Now you’ve fooled the hacks right? Realize this, hackers may be nerds but they are very smart nerds and f10psy just aint gonna cut it.
Enter the realm of 1Password by Agile Web Solutions

1Password - your key to online password security

1Password is really a quite simple interface but in case you get stuck, the online help is extremely useful and setup is a breeze. Essentially what it will do is attach a shortcut to your web browsers - all of them, which will allow you to save the username and password of the places you visit.

That takes care of the little book, but wait, theres more. When you register at a new site, it will ask you if you want to save the login data in 1Password, even if 1Password is not running! Heck, you dont even have to think of a password, it will generate one for you and it will have nothing to do with your favorite pet or your birthday. Now that saves you time right there but you want to save more, so next time you know you are logging into fatbusters.com to record your latest losses simply select the preset from 1P on your browser and it will take care of going to the site, finding the login page and even presses the button for you. Sweet.

1Password is a Mac Only app and requires Tiger or Leopard and works with most modern browsers. I have no problems with it running on Safari 4 or Firefox 3. Get a 30 day trial of 1Password or just pony up $40. For more information check out the  video on this page.

A Commercial currently airing in the UK. Insightful

Honda Insight - Let It Shine from Honda on Vimeo.

View it on the Vimeo site and watch the pretty amazing interaction with your web browser.

Also checkout how it was done

Safari 4 Beta was released to the masses in the middle of last week and some have hypothesized that it holds some clue as to what we will see in the next Mac OSX (Snow Leopard) later this year. Well I dont know about that but after downloading the Beta version I am quite pleased with a couple of the improvements they have made to the browser.

First on the list is the change to tabs. Previously the tabs would appear below the address bar and toolbar favorites. The drawback of this was precious space taken from the actual viewing area. Then when you return to just one single tab things would tend to jump visually. A small thing, but an improvement. I wonder if we’ll see tabs in the Finder window soon.

Tabs now appear on top of the browser window

The second improvement takes a bigger stage. Its “Top Sites”. A visual selection of your most frequented sites. You can choose to show 6, 12 or 24 of your sites and can also lock them to prevent them from being replaced by frequent visits to other sites.

Top Sites view

Bay far the most useful change is the way you can browse your history just like you view your albums in iTunes. The same functionality ( coverflow ) is also available in the regular bookmarks view too. There are many ties when I can see the site in my mind but cannot recall the name. This visual listing of webpage snapshots is sure to help.

Coverflow your history

Oh, and some people say its a faster browsing experience too. I have read some experiences of mail problems after downloading the beta safari 4 but if you want it, go get it.

If you are looking for a great resource site for deign related materials then you must check out the Designers Toolbox

Its loaded with a ton of useful stuff like:

• Envelope Sizes - with downloadable .eps Die Lines
• DVD/CD Covers and Labels - with downloadable .eps Die Lines
• Binding Styles
• Paper Sizes
• Web Browser Elements - downloadable PSD files
• Web Banner sample sizes
• Fonts on the Web
• Conversion Charts

and much more. Not to mention a turbo charged Lorem Ipsum generator.

At a time when the government is really, I mean really making a huge push to make sure we dont miss the worst television programming in the western hemisphere its good to know that the box in the corner or the panel on the wall is not necessarily the only option and is not likely to be in the foreseeable future.

Networks have realized the power of the internet and since broadband is fast becoming the only option for subscribers, in the sense that once you’ve tried it you will never tolerate dial up ever again, streaming video is not only viable but quite critical to their markets.

Hulu.com is NBC’s library on the web where you can find clips and full episodes of their dramas an comedies. Saturday night live is often best viewed in small doses anyway but not only can you see the current shows there are dozens of clips from way back when.

One of my current favs is House:

Whats the price for this content? Well nothing really, I mean if you already have a high speed internet connection then youre set to go. Full length movies have some commercials interspersed but at 30 seconds max. they are but a blip in the flow of a movie. Not enough time to get up and put the kettle on and certainly not enough to lose the plot. Tolerable commercials I call them averaging 3-4 mins for the entire movie! not every break. And good riddance to the annoying announcements of whats coming next (week).

Viewable in 360p and 480p the difference is noticeable between the two and perfectly acceptable on a 15in laptop but then Im not really a HD freak and compared with rabbit ears its a visual delight. The ability to embed the video to websites and blogs is not new but this takes a step up with the ability to edit a portion of the movie or show right there on the site. Making distribution a lot more convenient.

Exhibit A:

The movies on offer aren’t current releases but there may be a few you didn’t see first time around anyway.