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Forget the NSA, Flash is spying on you!

2006/01/26 / / 0 Comments

Secret Cookie Stash in Adobe Flash Plug-In

I recently tidied up my "Documents and Settings" folder and came across some unusual files (*.sol).

It turns out that these are cookies placed by Flash movies which have run through the plug-in in a browser or through the stand alone player. This only happens in the newest version (v8) of the plug-in.

The nasty thing about these cookies is that I never realised that they were there!

Being an over-conscious web user, I occasionally check my browser cookies and delete the cookies I deem not welcome on my computer (cookies used for advertising, web-tracking, etc). But now it seems that Flash unobtrusively places cookies outside of the browser without letting you know!

Read on to see how you can take control of the situation.

Clean up

So how do you get rid of those nasty cookie crumbs?

You have a couple of options:

  1. Delete every *.sol file you find under your %HOMEDRIVE%%HOMEPATH%Application DataMacromediaFlash Player folder (Windows only).
  2. Set up the Flash plug-in to globally deny the storing of cookies on your PC: [Link to Global Shared Object settings]
  3. Set up the Flash plug-in to specifically deny the storing of cookies by a particular site: [Link to Site-Specific Shared Object settings]
  4. Use the Flash Player settings manager to delete all cookies and shared objects from all the sites you have visited: [Link to Site-Specific Shared Object settings]

Normally I don’t mind too much: but with all those Flash banner ads on websites these days, I can’t help but wonder if some ad agency is tracking my surfing behaviour without my consent.

Seeing as I have no control over what happens to this data, and that it may contain material that could cause problems for me in the future (yes, I’m sometimes naughty on the interwebs); I’d rather block out these cookies than be harassed later on!

DVD to CD conversion made easy

2006/01/24 / / 0 Comments

This weekend, my Dad handed me some music DVD’s he’d recently bought.

He asked me if I could convert them to music CD’s so that he could also listen to them in the car on his commute.

I accepted the challenge: looking forward to trying out new tools and such.

First I thought I might have to use a gamut of tools: dvdDecrypter for ripping; a VOB demuxer and a converter for AC3 to wav.

But to my surprise I found a great tool for the PC that does all the work for me!

It’s called Xilisoft DVD Audio Ripper.

The fabulous people over Xilisoft have released quite a fewexcellent multimedia conversion tools and they have been gainingpopularity in the DVD scene over the last couple of months.

The software has a very clean interface and is so easy to use that even a n00b like my Dad can use it.

Nine Easy Steps

To make an audio CD from a music DVD you only need follow these easy steps:

  1. download your copy of DVD Audio Ripper from the Xilisoft website. [cost: $29]
    (note that the shareware version only rips the first 5 minutes!)
  2. Put the DVD in the PC and start up the programme
  3. Goto the File menu item and select the DVD from the file explorer. Theripper will scan the DVD and show the various title groups on theDVD.
  4. Ifyou want to have the CD split up into different tracks, you can select the tracks you want by selecting them individually from the list of chapters.You’ll probably select all the chapters from the title group with the longest playingtime).
    Otherwise tick the box next to the name of the title group andthe audio will be ripped as a whole (usefull for continuous music suchas DJ sets)
  5. Next, you need to select the audio channel you want to rip:you can select this from the Audio selectbox at the top of the screen. (Iwould advise you to find the English 2-channel stream for best results).
  6. Now for setting the output: at the bottom of the screen you’ll find a selectbox titled Format. Scroll through it and select the "WAV (*.wav)" format.
  7. The lastbut certainly not least important setting: you need to make sure that the tracks are saved entirely. Check to see if the Split selectbox is set to "Chapters".
  8. We’re ready to rip!
    Make a note of the folder set up in the Destination box at the bottom of the screen. You’ll need this to find the WAV files at the end of the rip.
    Just press the red button to start the ripping.
    (It will take aprox. 10 to 40 minutes, depending on the speed of your PC).
  9. Having ripped the DVD, the files have been copied into a new sub folder of the destination folder.
    The last and final step involves copying the WAV files to your CD burner of choice (Nero, Ferio, EasyCDCreator, etc) and making a music CD out of the WAV files.

Et voila!

You have your very own music CD from a DVD!

Enjoy your commute. ;P

The Daily Show is back

2005/09/07 / / 0 Comments

I always love to watch Comedy Central’s "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart".
They recently had a one week break and were back on the air last night.

The show was funny and sharp as hell, I especially liked the recap of George Bush’s total lack of leadership and denial of responsability.

And then correspondent Ed Helms layed it on… (wmv)

He discussed Bush’s list of failures so far. "As you know, administration fiascos are named alphabetically…"
Major Disasters of Bush Administration
By way of the list he hasn’t made thà t many faults, now has he? 😉

Another great snippet of Ed Helms’ piece:
Ed Helms: "And here’s the thing Jon, while everybody else is busy setting up commissions and finding fault through the President’s leadership, he’ll end up building a billion dollar dam in Arkansas."
Jon Stewart: "Why would he build a dam in Arkansas?"
Ed Helms: "His plan will be to fight the water there so we don’t have to fight it here in New Orleans."

The Daily Show is one of my favourite shows of all time.
Stay tuned for more reviews of this fantastic programme.

On a Tangent -> Wikipedia Adventure

2005/08/31 / / 0 Comments

Whilst listening to a comedy radio station (LaughTraxx on Radio@Netscape) i caught the name Betty Ford.

I was curious how her name was linked to the infamous Betty Ford Center, the alcohol and drug rehabilition centre.I wanted to know what the link between the centre and the first lady was, so I used Wikipedia to do some research.

Having read the article about Betty Ford, I found out that she struggled with a dependancy on both alcohol and pain killers.

Then the hyperlink adventure began:

As a non-americain and 79-baby, i knew very little about Mr Ford, President Gerald Ford, Jr. Naturally I looked him up and discovered that he was born as Leslie Lynch King, Jr., but had his name changed after his mother remarried. That in itself was curious. But I read on…

It turned out that President Ford escaped two assasination attempts: one by Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, the other by Sara Jane Moore. The latter was a lost soul by account of the wikipedia-entry. She was a nursing school student, an army recruit and an accountant but had five husbands and four children before she got revolutionary. In her forties, she attempted the assasination in an effort to prove her worth to her radical friends. Groan..

The former assasin was a different case altogether and all the more exiting to read about. It turned out that she was connected to the famous psychopath criminal Charles Manson. Lynette suffered a terrible childhood that would ruin her life. Finding herself destitute and living on the streets, she was a perfect prey for Manson. The Wikipedia article suprised me in its depth, chronicling Fromme’s career in the penal system. I was most suprised to read that she would be released soon: september 5th 2005! I hope she’s complete rehabilitated.

Then came the anti-hero Charles Manson. That was a real adventure in history; the crazy idea of an imminent race war that was so imminent that he and his followers had to tempt fate by framing the Black Panthers for their indiscriminate murders of white Beverly Hills elitists. The Manson article intimately described Manson’s horrid childhood; i see a pattern here ;).

Amoungst other things, his single, alcoholic prostitute mother no longer wanted him and sent him to a boarding school. He soon escaped and went back to his mother, but his mother rejected him, forcing him on the street.

The even more detailed description of his penal career, even including excerpts of the prison reports written about him. He was quite a character: always looking for attention, abusing the trust of others and eventually raping at razor point and even pimping his fellow inmates! Downright gone.

Nonetheless Manson was let out on probation and managed to do "good" outside too. He married twice, his first child Charles M. Manson, Jr. (d. 1993; suicide at age 38) was born to Manson’s first wife (married at 17!), who left him for a truck driver after Manson got himself in jail again.

The rollercoaster continued with tangents into Scientology, The Beatles and even the good Ol’ Beach Boys!

Just amazing stuff to read.

Wikipedia is truely a treasure trove of information.
I love it!

Welcome!

2005/08/02 / / 0 Comments

Welcome to the very first post of my blog.

I am a junior developer at Tam Tam, a Dutch internet development company. Starting in November of 2004, I’ve been learning about .NET and other Microsoft technologies on the job.

This blog is my way of sharing the knowledge I continue to gather as I get more involved in the world of the Microsoft .NET platform.

Budget Traveller’s Guide to Sleeping in Airports

2005/05/04 / / 0 Comments

Ever get stuck at an airport and all the (cheap) hotels are booked?
Find out where the best places to sleep are!

With tonnes of recommendation and reviews this site is both informative and fun to read!

An example of a review of Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport by "Jimmerwoo":

"I notice this site talks alot about seats and comfy chairs but there is a better place than all of these and its free! But it can only be used at night time….when the kids are asleep/not there.
The Kiddies Play Pen on the upper floor near McDonalds and the Internet Cafe!! Its like a big bath of plastic balls and cushions! It was packed full of sleeping Australian adults when I found it, but just enough room for me. In the event of a delay, dont even bother trying to find a hotel. Just head straight for this place…Its Ace!’"

What’s On?

2005/05/04 / / 0 Comments

Another great link:

I always enjoy reading the what’s on sections of magazines: but they give you too little time to plan.
Here’s the solution:

whatsonwhen.com “is dedicated to providing high-quality travel and entertainment content solutions.”

It even includes video impressions of recurring events such as festivals and helps you to plan your activities through a personalized calendar.

Great stuff!
Tip for Dutch readers: Nationaal Museum Weekend (10+11 april)