Firefox 3.6 runs very slow - Solution

[Post published by Liviu on Liviu's [Computer Science] Blog]


Problem:

I've installed some 2 days ago the Firefox 3.6 and noticed several problems:

1. GTalk: first, it took some 1-2 minutes to detach/pop-out the window when video conferencing, then when it finally did it, the conference got ended due to some error - this was extremely annoying
2. Opening pop-out pages became extremely slow, somewhere between 30 seconds and 2 minutes

Solution:

Research:
I've read a lot of googled solutions, none worked.
I've installed Firefox 3.5.8 and then 3.5.6 and the problem persisted - that was strange, since 3.5.6 surely worked.
I suspected (frightening!) problems due to interpreting JavaScript or whatever, which in turn (even more frightening!) could be because I've installed recently some cool stuff, i.e. MacPorts.
I've tested the same pages with Safari and everything worked fine.
Then finally the solution hit me...

Actual solution - short and simple:
It was because of the extensions I've installed some time ago.
Really!
I went to Tools > Add-ons > Extensions and just uninstalled all of them; all pages seem to load fine at the present time.
Therefore I'm running Firefox 3.6 with no extensions.

Now surfing life is again fast and pretty.

MacPorts, Xcode, gnuplot

[Post published by Liviu on Liviu's [Computer Science] Blog]


Problems on a Mac OS X 10.5:

P1: One needs to install on Mac OS X commands like calc, wget (although Mac offers the equivalent curl) etc.

P2: One needs to install gnuplot (wikipedia on gnuplot), but would prefer not to go through all the steps (i.e. configure, compile etc.) with the source code of gnuplot.

Solution:

First, install MacPorts. According to Wikipedia, DarwinPorts has become MacPorts - I recommend the easiest installation possible, i.e. Mac OS X Package (.pkg) Installer.

Second, get familiarized to using MacPorts, by reading that specific part of the manual describing the port command.

From now on, you should install the piece of software causing your problem:


P1: calc, wget etc.
sudo port install calc
sudo port install wget 


P2: gnuplot (It will be installed in the same way as above, but I encountered a few problems)

When I first tried to install it, I encountered an error:
On Mac OS X 10.5, gnuplot 4.2.5 requires Xcode 3.1 or later but you have Xcode 3.0.
Error: Target org.macports.extract returned: incompatible Xcode version
Error: Status 1 encountered during processing.

, so I cleaned the failed installation:
port clean --all gnuplot

Given the error, I uninstalled Xcode 3.0 (pages on uninstalling Xcode: 1, 2, 3) and installed Xcode 3.1.4 which I've downloaded from Apple.

Then I ran the selfupdate for MacPorts

sudo port selfupdate

and checked for outdated ports

port outdated

but there weren't any, so there was no need to upgrade any installed ports.

Should you find any outdated ports, just run (as it recommends when finds those outdated ports)
sudo port upgrade outdated
You can also use the other command, which tries to upgrade all installed ports
sudo port upgrade installed

Then I finally installed gnuplot

sudo port install gnuplot

in order to upgrade all your installed ports and their dependencies.

Feel free to check its man page, or type gnuplot in terminal etc.

End.

How to download embedded content in webpages

[Post published by Liviu on Liviu's [Computer Science] Blog]


Problem

Would you like to download content (audio, video) embedded in web pages? e.g. YouTube, Trilulilu etc.

RO: Cum downloadez un cantec (fisier audio) dintr-o pagina Trilulilu, sau un film (fisier video) dintr-o pagina YouTube etc.?


Solution 1

I've found a page describing how to do it, but now let me tell you the long story, i.e. my approach, because it's nice, harder and doesn't always work - indeed, CS people have a funny sense of humor.
The truth is this is the first solution I've tested:

First, install in Firefox the add-ons called FireBug and DownThemAll.

Second, open the page with the targeted content. Click on the little bug (because we use FireBug now) found at the bottom of the window, on the right side; click Net, click Enable, reload the page. Then sort the links by the downloaded size of content, i.e. click Size - now all links are displayed in descending order of the loaded content size. The first link(s) should be the one(s) you're interested in. Copy them, one at a time.

Third, Tools > DownThemAll > Manager > Add URL - insert here the links you've copied at the previous step. Download the content corresponding to each link, rename appropriately, i.e. if you've downloaded an audio file from Trilulilu then rename so the downloaded file ends in .mp3


Solutions 2, 3 (easier solutions)

Fast Video Download - good add-on for downloading videos embedded in a web page, e.g. YouTube.
Just click on the blue icon at the bottom of the window, on the right side, or in the upper right side of the window.
I recommend you disable Hover menu icon, i.e. the blue box which appears when you select some text, like this: Tools > Fast Video Download > Fast Video Download options > Settings > Search Menu Advanced > click to uncheck Hover menu icon.

FlashGot - a very good add-on.
Just click on the blue icon at the bottom of the window, on the right side - it shall download all content.
I recommend it if you desire to download audio files from Trilulilu, for example.
I also recommend you deselect Autostart downloads: Tools > FlashGot > Autostart downloads (click to deselect it, id it appears selected) or Tools > FlashGot > More options > Downloads > make sure Autostart downloads appears unchecked.


Conclusions

I recommend you use (1) FlashGot, or (2) Fast Video Download.

FiraBug could be useful for debugging or other more complicated tasks, but not for this solution.
Also, DownThemAll might prove useful in the future.

Share your Google Reader shared items to a website / blog / feed reader etc.

[Post published by Liviu on Liviu's [Computer Science] Blog]


Problem:

Have you ever wanted to share your Google Reader shared items with the world, by inserting them in a website/blog?

I have wanted that since I started sharing items: hey, if I share something, let the world know it and read all shared items, since they might find it useful!



Solutions:

Solution 1: RSS feed
At some point, I inserted on my professional website a link to my shared items' RSS feed.
The RSS feed can be found on the page with your shared items, if you made them public: Settings > Reader settings > Folders and Tags > View public page >Atom feed.
Downside: that does not make too much impact, doesn't it?

Solution 2: Add a clip with your Google Reader shared items to a website or blog
Later, I saw this cool feature in Google Reader of adding a clip with your Google Reader shared items to a website or blog and realized I wanted to display them on my personal blog. So, I created the clip - that was some 6 months ago or more.
A few days ago, a friend asked how I did that, so I searched for the feature and found the solution described in Reader's Help: How do I add a clip to my website or blog? - note that Tags in now called Folders and Tags. Afterward, configuring your clip is straightforward.

Solution 3: Send to...
This is new apparently: Settings > Reader settings > Send to. From there you can choose some predefined websites or add your own.
Each time when sharing something, on the same row with Share, Share with note etc. you also have the option Send to - last one in the right.
I tested it a bit with Facebook, but it either makes things appear unattractive/unpleasant in my profile (e.g. for Dilbert strips only a link appears) or Facebook crashes when hitting the button Share (e.g. for Academia Catavencu).
I do not recommend this feature for now: I'll further test it and recommend it once it behaves nice.

Steve Jobs, Bill Gates. Apple, Microsoft. Oh, and the iPad...

[Post published by Liviu on Liviu's [Computer Science] Blog]

A couple of days ago I've had an intense and exhausting 2 hours conversation with Andrei on the launch of the new iPad. (I recommend you watch the demo, which is short, and then the keynote, although it runs for 2 h.)

Andrei had a strong opinion on this, i.e. against the iPad, based on various comments on the web against the iPad. He later gathered all these links in a nice post against the iPad.

I've also shared with him a playlist I've compiled a long time ago, with the interview with both Steve Jobs and Bill Gates - it's a really great and inspiring interview, showing the spirit and leadership of these 2 prominent figures that have influenced the IT industry.
Andrei made several interesting comments I think are worth reading. Regarding the documentary, I've found both part 1 and part 2, but it feels like there's also a part 3 still missing.

The BBC podcast feed (interview section) that I've subscribed to presents a fresh interview with Bill Gates. Enjoy!

All in all, I think it's great we're part of the evolution of the IT industry. We should learn from people like Gates and Jobs, and from their products (be they mistakes or successes).