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User Agent Switcher Firefox Extension

Published on January 25th, 2007
Category: Extensions/Plugins, Hacks, Internet, User Interface
7 Comments

Last week, I wrote about ShortShip, a Firefox extension that sorts eBay search results by the actual price with shipping included. In the past couple of months eBay has been switching its user interface so that it will look more “Web 2.0ish.” That’s nice and everything but this redesign hinders the functionality of the ShortShip extension. ShortShip was programmed to work with the old user interface. I contacted eBay customer service asking for some information on how to change the way eBay displays its search results so that I can view the old interface. But alas, they said it was not possible! What’s more, the creator of ShortShip does not have any plans soon to tweak the extension so that it will be compatible with the new UI!
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ShortShip – Sort eBay Listings by ACTUAL Price!

Published on January 11th, 2007
Category: Extensions/Plugins, Internet
2 Comments

It’s a typical scenario. You’re scouring eBay for a good deal on some computer equipment and you think you find the perfect one for the perfect price. But alas, shipping and handling is $20. Is this some kind of sick joke?! Sadly, it isn’t. They are serious. The seller is either located in Hong Kong (that’s why the item so cheap) and shipping is really that expensive. Or, the seller just wants to bait, switch and, price gouge making a hefty profit on the shipping without incurring any eBay fees on the profit. Usually, it is the latter. How do innocent, hard-working, good-meaning, God-fearing buyers avoid these lecherous merchants? There are two things you can do.
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WebMail – Access Proprietary Web-based Email Addresses in Open-source Thunderbird Software

Published on January 10th, 2007
Category: Extensions/Plugins, Internet
6 Comments

People who know me are well aware that I am very paranoid. I’m paranoid of identity thieves, stalkers, gangsters, criminals, etc. I mean, I’m paranoid of being left alone on the passenger side with the car running and the doors unlocked (remember Oprah?).

I’m also paranoid of being “pwned” by a company. I don’t like the idea of any part of my existence to depend on anything (except of course God). If something in my life is compromised, I don’t want to be greatly affected. I want to be independent. For example, if the prices at American Eagle get too expensive (and they already are) or if they close shop, I can switch to another comparable brand like Gap, Old Navy, or Buckle. I don’t want to depend wholly on the American Eagle brand. The same thing applies to computers. I switched to the WordPress blogging platform because it was open source; I will never be charged. You wouldn’t believe how long it took to serve my RSS feeds with the Feedburner because that would mean chaining myself to their domain name. I finally gave in when Feedburner provided the service that let me use my own domain name instead of theirs.

I don’t even want to be at the mercy of any email company. Really, the primary reason why I bought internet domain names was because I did not want to continue using any Yahoo, Hotmail, or Gmail domain name. What if they started to charge me for usage? So now, all of my email addresses either end in @art-app.com or @barizo.com.
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