Tech Tips for Catholic Teens

Ever get one of those disastrously long URL’s to copy and paste into your browser? Something like this:

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SavingandDebt/SaveMoney/SaveMoneyDyn.aspx?cp-documentid=9298194&GT1=33007

There’s a really easy simple way to give your friends small short URL’s so that they don’t have to type them in, or worry about getting them cut off in an email or twitter message.

The TinyURL service lets you put in the URL above and get this as an output:

http://tinyurl.com/6lmuzl

TinyURL has been around for a long time and is a reliable service. If you use Firefox, you can download the plugin which lets you right-click a URL and get the tiny version in your clipboard. Very useful for twitter messages.

Like Chris, I have not had a lot of time to play around with Mozilla Firefox 3, but here are just some of the new features:

• Improved Performance
  View Web pages faster, using less of your computer’s memory.
• Instant Web Site ID
  Avoid online scams, unsafe transactions and forgeries with simple site identity.
• One-Click Bookmarking
  Bookmark, search and organize Web sites quickly and easily.
• Password Manager
  Remember site passwords without ever seeing a pop-up.
• Full Zoom
  See any part of a Web page, up close and readable, in seconds.
• Smart Location Bar (Far from it! This is the most annoying feature eva!) Find the sites you love in seconds—enter a term for instant matches that make sense.
• Platform-Native Look & Feel
  Browse with a Firefox that’s integrated into your computer’s operating system.

I’m sure there will be some of these features that I will be disabling.  I am one who doesn’t like change, unless it is something really useful.  I have already seen one thing that I find annoying about Firefox 3 and I’m sure there will be plenty more, but I’ll save them for another post.  In the mean time, Check out Mozilla’s Tips & Tricks page here.

Below are some other related Tips for Mozilla Firefox 3 newbies:

• How to disable the “Smart Location Bar” in Firefox 3
• Firefox 3 Released!
  

This is just a short, no-frills, no hidden message post to declare that Firefox version 3 has officially been released!

I haven’t had much time to play with it as of yet but, it is supposed to be much faster for those who love lots of tabs and multitasking.  They also overhauled the graphical interface a bit, added a favorites star right into the address bar and also made it so if it seems like you are typing one of your favorites, it will display the option to click on it below the address bar as well.

These are the things I have discovered in 2-3 minutes playing with it.  That, and 1 negative, some of your extensions may not work.  This is simply because the people who make the extensions need to re-make them for firefox 3.

Check it out at: http://www.firefox.com

God Bless,

Chris

For the past few weeks, I’ve been experimenting with various blog plugins, including the Flock blog editor and ScribeFire. I have to say that after a week of using ScribeFire, I’m really enjoying it. I’m still learning to use it to it’s full capacity to tweak images and categorize my posts, but it’s been really great for blogging on the fly. Much more convenient than logging into Typepad and Blogger, and potentially losing my train of thought. I have yet to figure out how to post an entry to two blogs at the same time, and ScribeFire doesn’t appear to recognize all of my blogger categories, but for the most part I’m lovin’ it!

What’s your favorite blog editor or blogging plugin?

This post is courtesy of the Productivity @ Home Blog.

A while back I wanted to randomize my homepage so that when I open my web-browser (I personally like Mozilla Firefox) a different website appears. The following is what I came up with.

Step 1: Open a new page in your preferred html editor (I just used notepad or WordPad).

Step 2: Copy and Paste the following code, between JavaScript tags, into your newly blank page.

var aMyLink = new Array();
var nIndex;
aMyLink.push(’http://www.yourfavoritesite1.com’);
aMyLink.push(’http://www.yourfavoritesite2.com’);
aMyLink.push(’http://www.yourfavoritesite3.com’);
nIndex = 0 + Math.floor(Math.random()*aMyLink.length);
window.location=aMyLink[nIndex];

Step 3: Fill in the websites you want to load (the order doesn’t matter, because they will load randomly). You may add more than just three pages by adding more lines.

Step 4: Once you have added your preferred homepages, save the file as: startup_page.htm (or whatever other name you may like better).

Step 5: Open your web-browser. Go into the Options menu and find where you can set the homepage (in Mozilla Firefox this is under “Startup” in the Main Options tab). Now this is where it can get a little tricky. You need to know the file location where you have saved the startup_page.htm file (for instance mine is in the “My Documents” folder. So the file location is: C:\Documents and Settings\Owner\My Documents\startup_page.htm). The easiest way to find the directory is to right-click on the file, go to “Properties”, and copy the file location. Now just paste it into the Homepage Options. Click OK.

When you open your browser the next time or go to your homepage, you should get one of your random pages. If you do not, then something is wrong with your scripting and you’ll need to go back into your editor and make sure everything looks correct.

Tip: If you would like to use my random hompages you can Copy the Link Location by right-clicking Here and going to “Copy Link Location”. Then paste that into the Homepage Options. Or you can right-click and “Save Link As” to your computer and then either modify it or use it as is.

If you have any problems or it isn’t working properly, feel free to post a comment or contact us.

This tip is for the MySpace People. MySpace is a great way to hear new music and find friends thru other friends (social networking). But do you wish that you could limit the number of ads? In particular the ads of the half naked women, which could lead to temptation? (Matthew 18:9)

Overview:

• Mozilla Firefox web browser

• AdBlock Plus (add-on)

How to block annoying ads:
Start by clicking the AdBlock Plus link above (assuming you already have Mozilla Firefox installed on your computer). AdBlock is a great add-on which blocks most ads on not only myspace, but on other sites as well. This works well, because you subscribe to a list (free) which is constantly updating itself.

Okay, so you have clicked on the link above and should see a logo that looks like a stop sign with the letters “ABP” inside of it (if you do not see anything about AdBlock Plus then just do a search for it). Click the “Add to Firefox” button and follow the instructions. You should come to a page where it asks you to subscribe to one of the databases; just choose the United States one and you should be good.

Now once you have installed the add-on you should see that stop sign logo at the top right of your browser. Right click on it and scroll down to “Options”. My personal preferences are the following: Check “Show in status bar”, Uncheck “Show in toolbar”, Uncheck “Show tabs on Flash and Java”, and Check “Collapse blocked elements”. Again these are my personal preferences, but you can set your own preferences as you like.

Simple as that!

Now I want to let those who don’t already know that there are alternatives to MySpace! I’m sure most, if not all of you, have heard of Facebook. Facebook is a little different from MySpace in several ways. The security is way, way better on Facebook, but with security comes limitations. MyChurch.org is very similar to MySpace, but is more secure at the same time! I know what you are thinking, “But my friends aren’t on MyChurch.org or even perhaps Facebook.” One option would be to invite them.

What does your social networking profile say about you?
I’ve noticed that some news stations are using these social network sites in their reporting on certain individuals in the news. I have also heard of employers/colleges doing research on current or potential employees/students. So what does your profile say about you? The key is to live out our Christian faith, not just on Sundays, but always. You may never know how God may use you online or offline and who’s life may be changed in Christ through you.

“Now you are the Body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it” (1 Corinthians 12:27)

Let us know if you found this tutorial helpful. If you have any questions about this tutorial feel free to contact us. God Bless : )