11th Sep2013

Ubuntu Flash Player Plugin Update

by Gyro

Today YouTube and Facebook kept telling me that my flash player plugin is out of date and that I need to update.

However, when following the link in the warning, all I got offered was of some .rpm file I could download.

As I rarely need to use an .rpm file in Ubuntu, I figured I missed something. So I searched a bit more, and more, and more… and bingo, there is actually a package I can install via apt-get!

This is not really a ubuntu flash player plugin update, but rather an installation of the flash player plugin. It's a bit weird as this stuff used to come with the browser (Chromium) and I never had to update the flash player itself, nor install it. Seems that something has changed, and there is a package on launchpad called “adobe-flashplugin” package in Ubuntu: https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/adobe-flashplugin

Since it is there, you don't need to download anything, just open your terminal and type:
# sudo apt-get install adobe-flashplugin
And you are done!

You will have the latest flash player installed, and it works perfectly fine (for me) with Firefox and Chrome. I am guessing it will update just like any other package… time will tell.

Enjoy! ;)

1421

31st Jul2013

This video is currently unavailable – YouTube bug using Chrome

by Gyro

The last couple of weeks I noticed that more and more YouTube videos would not play in Chrome with a message saying "This video is currently unavailable".

There is a link to a help page, but none of the tips solved the issue for me. I checked the flash player version, cleared the browser cache, all with no change.

Testing in Firefox, all videos played perfectly fine. In fact, I have started using Firefox for YouTube, because I was too lazy to find out how to fix this problem in Chrome, after the help page didn't help…

Today, I found the solutions… more or less by accident, and the solution is VERY weird.

As of recently, this may not work. If it doesn't, please read the UPDATE at the bottom of this post…

  1. Go to: http://www.youtube.com/html5
  2. If you haven't already joined the HTML5 trial, you have to join it now! Also, try loading the video again… it probably won't, but to follow my steps 100%, you have to do it ;)
    join
  3. If you have already joined the HTML5 trial, simply Leave the HTML5 Trial.
    leave

Once you have (joined and) left the HTML5 trial all videos that used to say "This video is currently unavailable" should play fine.

Very strange bug… I stumbled upon the solution because someone recommended to leave the HTML5 trial. That was the only thing I haven't tried, as I didn't even know a HTML5 trial existed. So, after going through loads of tips and messing around with my chrome plugins and whatnot, I thought this may lead me to something. Of course, I had not joined the trial, so I joined the trial and checked one of the videos, it still showed me this annoying ""This video is currently unavailable"" message. So, I left the HTML 5 trial again, and tada -- now the videos play -- no more "This video is currently unavailable", however weird it is that this worked, I am happy it did ;)

Enjoy!

UPDATE:

This work around seems to have stopped working as of recently, some reported that using the HTML5 player now works, but it doesn't for me.

I found a new way to get these videos to play, which is also a weird work around. Simply change the URL to an embed link in the address bar.
 
For example:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_DQKQ-7J7E

change to:

http://www.youtube.com/embed/O_DQKQ-7J7E

And… it get’s even stranger at this point!
I have to click Play, wait for the spinning wheel to disappear, and then click on the video again (as if I want to pause it) to make it play.
 
And as a side note…at this time I recommend just using Firefox for YouTube. While changing the URL to an embed URL works for me, it destroys the user experience of YouTube.
 
It’s a bit sad, to say the least, that two Google products wont work together, especially since this problem is ongoing for so many months. All I can say is "Shame on you Google", and "Thanks Google, for making my post a top search result for your bug" :crazy:

229288

18th Jul2013

Setup Protocol Handlers in Chrome for webcal or mailto links

by Gyro

I searching a bit for this, studying the Google Calendar Settings, and the Chrome Settings intesively, thinking I must have missed something.

After a small search Odysee, I finally found the simple solution below!

This page gave me the idea to focus on protocol handling, instead of a plugin or extension:
http://googlesystem.blogspot.com/2011/10/open-webcal-links-using-google-calendar.html

Found this on the Google Support:
https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/1382847?hl=en

Which brought me to the list of Protocol Handlers that are currently setup in Chrome, but that didn't help me much, as the list of protocol handlers was empty, and there is no button to create a new protocol handle anywhere.
Chrome Protocol Handlers, copy+paste this in your address bar: chrome://settings/handlers

I found this page with someone stating the problem: Unable to register protocol handlers in Chrome on Windows 8
https://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=116452

It turns our that this was a bug, so I suspect that this bug still exist for Chrome on Linux or Ubuntu 12.04 to be exact.

I found an easy way to add protocl handlers for any protocol using Chromium on Ubuntu, or any other Google Chrome or Chromium version.

You have to create the protocol handlers by manually typing a line in your address bar, providing the correct values.

Here are two examples:

Make Google Calendar the default application for webcal:// links

javascript:navigator.registerProtocolHandler("webcal","https://www.google.com/calendar/render?cid=%s","Google Calendar")

Make Gmail the default email application for mailto:// links

javascript:navigator.registerProtocolHandler("mailto","https://mail.google.com/mail/?extsrc=mailto&url=%s","Gmail")

If you want to copy paste these lines, make sure the link still has javascript: at the front after you pasted in in your browser's address bar. It may start with "navigator.registerP…" in which case you have to write javascript: infront of it. I think it is browser dependent and some automatically remove it for security purposes.

After you entered one of those lines and pressed "Enter", you will see a bar at the top of the browser that asks you if you want to add the protocol hander (similar to the bar that asks if you want to save the login details for a website), just click "Use Gmail" or "Use Google Calendar". If you did something wrong, you can modify or delete the newly created Protocol Handler ,copy+paste this in your address bar: chrome://settings/handlers>.

Searches I did while looking for the solution where: chrome calendar protocol handler list, chrome empty protocol handler list, chrome webcal google calendar extension, chrome webcal calendar extension, chrome webcal extension, chrome webcal plugin, and chrome webcal url google calendar -- but in reversed order :)

10534

31st Jan2013

Who is hosting WebDesignBlog.asia?

by Gyro

Webdesignblog.asia is being hosted on a Shared Hosting account from ServerPilot, which includes a Free Domain and loads of other goodies!

ServerPilot offers everything from 99ct hosting to high end dedicated servers for incredibly low prices. The shared hosting servers are running CloudLinux, providing a stable and fast performance for all hosting accounts sharing the server.

Wondering why my websites loads so fast? Do a "dig www.webdesignblog.com", and you will see that this website is actually being served from the CloudFlare CDN, which is integrated into the ServerPilot.com cPanel and FREE!

Be my neighboor, move to ServerPilot! :enjoy:

1056

17th Jan2013

Automatic eBay bidding with JBidWatcher

by Gyro

I found a neat little program, with which you can monitor eBay auctions and make a last minute bid, or actually even last second bid :)

It is called JBidWatcher, and is available for Windows, Linux, and MacOS.

I have installed it on Ubuntu, using the help provided in this thread over at the Ubuntu Forums.

This is an updated version of that post:

Requirements: you must have the Sun version of Java installed.

1. Download the latest version of JBidWatcher (2.5.3pre3) here, but you may  want to have a look on the official website to see if a new version has been released int he meantime… If there is a newer version available please leave a comment to let me know.

2. You can install JBidWatcher anywhere, I created a directory /usr/local/share/java and copied it there.

# sudo mkdir /usr/local/share/java
# sudo cp JBidWatcher-0.9.9.jar /usr/local/share/java

3. Make a bash script to run it.
# sudo gedit /usr/local/bin/jbidwatcher
and paste the following:

#!/bin/sh
java -jar /usr/local/share/java/JBidWatcher-0.9.9.jar

Make the script executable:
# sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/jbidwatcher
You are almost set. Just run from command line
# jbidwatcher
and enter your ebay user name and password.

4. You can make a .desktop file for JBidWatcher to have it in your menu:
# sudo gedit /usr/local/share/applications/jbidwatcher.desktop
and insert the following text:

[Desktop Entry]
Encoding=UTF-8
Name=JBidWatcher
Comment=Ebay watching and bidding tool
Exec=jbidwatcher
Icon=jbidwatch.xpm
Terminal=false
Type=Application
Categories=Utility
GenericName=JBidWatcher

It is up to you where to store jar file, the author suggests your home dir.

The site has a Quick Start Guide, available here

Enjoy! :enjoy:

2621

08th Nov2012

Problems uploading files to ownCloud

by Gyro

I've installed ownCloud a while back and finally got around to test it today.

As ownCloud has a "Music" section, I figured I start by uploading some of my music. I first tried uploading an MP3 file via the web interface, but the spinning wheel would never go away, and an eventual refresh showed no new file. I then tried it with a few small files, and realized that anything over 1MB file size will result in the file not being uploaded, and the original gets deleted by the owncloud sync tool when it was used to upload/sync the file.

(more…)

5330

20th Sep2012

An error occurred while loading the page android facebook newsfeed 2012

by Gyro

First time I opened the Facebook app on our new android tablet, it said: An error occurred while loading the page.

So the android facebook newsfeed not showing was a real bummer, and finding out why I cannot see anything when opening the Android Facebook app, except a small turning circle and a short message saying: "An error occurred while loading the page.", became a priority.

After some searching, the solution was simple:

(more…)

6179

06th Aug2012

DuckDuckGo – The Google Alternative?

by Gyro

I recently found out about DuckDuckGo, it is a new search engine that doesn't spy on you like Google does, and it actually returns search results better than yahoo or bing. DuckDuckGo could be the google alternative you have been waiting for! :shock:

For most, DuckDuckGo will return search results that are equally good (but not necessarily the same) as those from big G. For me, Google is still the winner when searching for technical stuff, as the google alternative DuckDuckGo seems to have problems with email lists, forums, and other "discussion media". However, I have permanently changed my default search provider to DuckDuckGo thanks to their !bang idea, which gives you no reason to use DuckDuckGo as your google alternative -- at least as your browser's default search provider. ;)

(more…)

1369

23rd Jul2012

Install JDownloader for Ubuntu – DLC Download Container App

by Gyro

Install JDownloader, the DLC Download Container App for Ubuntu.

JDownloader is an open source software, written completely in Java and platform independent. Download files from One-Click-Hosters like Rapidshare.com, Share-Online, BitShare, FreakShare, or CloudNator.com — it works for users who don't pay, and users with a premium account can enter their account details to download with Full Speed. JDownloader can open DLC files and download multiple files at the same time, it has captcha recognition, and even extracts archives automatical once all files have been downloaded. JDownloader is absolutely free to use, as you would expect from Open Source software.

(more…)

4210

15th Jun2012

Download MP3s from GrooveShark™

by Gyro

I have long been a fan of GrooveShark. When I am not listening to Coast2Coast or other Talk Radio, GrooveShark is usually my choice for audio entertainment. Looking back, it's amazing how many new musicians I only know because of GrooveShark, and it almost hurts thinking about all the awesome music that I would have never had the opportunity to listen to otherwise.

While listening to some tunes, I though how awesome it would be to listen to them in the car… but how to I download music from GrooveShark?

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5159

14th Jun2012

Browser Wars: Chrome vs Firefox vs IE vs Opera

by Gyro

LifeHacker.com has released awesome Browser Speed Tests for Chrome 19, Firefox 13, Internet Explorer 9, and Opera 11.64.

(more…)

1141