Bots Registering on Your WordPress or bbPress Site? Here is a Small Tip To Reduce It

I added a bbpress forum to my blog chromestory.com recently. Since bbpress is being maintained as a wordpress plugin instead of a separate software, installing and setting up the forum was simple and easy.

and then I started figuring out ways to stop spammers and bots.

After lots of tweaking and breaking, I got the forum ready to block spam posts. But, I started noticing some user sign ups with suspicious mail IDs. These definitely were bots or spammers. But how are they finding my new forum?

This entry in the search engine terms of blog stats gave me the answer. intext:powered by wordpress inurl:regist

This was one of the search engine keywords bringing traffic to the forum. Clearly, spammers were using Google to find out wordpress powered websites with registration pages.

Removing the text “powered by wordpress” was not a good option. I could change the second criteria of their search keyword. I changed the slug (url) of the sign up page on my forum, and that has reduced the number of spammers registering on my forum.

So, there, a small thing I learned while getting a forum ready. I am sure this will come handy if you have a blog or forum with option for users to sign up.

Samsung, You Must Hire Designers Who Made That Sony Tablet

Seriously. Sony designed an awesome tablet, but they couldn’t put together a nice tablet on top of that great design. Samsung does great tablets, but they really need to refine their tablet design so that everyone will stop complaining about their resemblance to iPad.

I loved the design of this Sony tablet. They proved that tablets can look different than the iPad and still be stylish. But when I read some reviews, I got to know that there were a lot of drawbacks for their first Android tablet attempt (they released more tablets after that, and I am sure they have fixed all that)

Sony Android Tablet

Sony Android Tablet

Samsung, you hear me? Get those designers!

Why Touch Screen for Desktop Computers Doesn’t Make Much Sense

Okay, I used “doesn’t make much sense” because, I know there are some use cases where you will find the touchscreen a good option for desktop, but most users, this will be just a fancy show off item.

Don’t believe me? Okay, lets get started.

If you are reading this on a desktop, stop and just observe the distance between you and your screen. You have your keyboard and mouse right in front of you, but the monitor is little away from you.

Now, look around (works well if you are reading at work!) and observe how others are using their desktop PCs right now. Aren’t they all a little away from their screens?

Here is another test, do an image search on Google for  man in front of desktop pc or something similar and see how they all use dekstop computers :-)

I dont have a clear answer as to why we all do this, but may be because the size of the screen or this extra piece of keyboard and mouse that stays always between a desktop monitor and us. We tend to stay closer to laptop screens and tablet screens, but not the desktop screen.

How many of you will be comfortable spreading your hand once in a while to reach for the  monitor and use the touch control? Not may I think and that is why I said, for a normal user, it won’t make much sense to have a touch screen desktop computer.

Where It Works

That being said, there may be a few use cases where you will find the touch screen a good option. I can already think of a few. When a computer is used just for display, say information or entertainment etc, to let users interact or perform a search or any other action.

Touchscreen PC will be a good option for kids too. They will love to use touch screen controls instead of keyboard and mouse. But anyways, they will prefer your smartphone or tablet to the PC, don’t you think?

So, that’s what I think of touch screen desktop computers. Do let me know your thoughts!

ps: and again, I am back with a tech post on my personal blog.. turns out, I can talk only about technology these days…!!!

paperland

The Best Android Live Wallpaper I’ve Ever Used

I change wallpaper on my Android phone quite often. I keep looking for new ones from many sources including the Google Play Store, XDA developers and many other sources.

and then I found Paperland

Paperland is a live wallpaper for Android and it is totally cool! There is a free version and a paid version available. Paid version gives you more customization options.

Here is how it looks like, by default.

But that’s not all. You can go to settings > randomize to get a different mix of colors, and all the other elements you see there. You can control speed as well.

Paperland can sync with your clock and display the wallpaper according to the time of the day. So for me, during day, I have cars, clouds, birds and the sun. When its night, the sun will be replaced by moon. The cars you see there, they all will have their headlight turned on.

I can go on and on about this live wallpaper, but to get the actual feel, you need to try it out!

Get it from here.

ps: I sometimes spend sometime just looking at this cute wallpaper!! :-)

Flipboard for Android Is Here!!

Flipboard and Android were seen together first at the Galaxy S3 launch ceremony. The app was planning a debut on Android with S3 and later to be made available for all other Android devices.  But, an unofficial apk file has been leaked now.

You can now download the .apk file from the location shared here at XDA. Enjoy!

Flipboard on Galaxy Note

Flipboard is an app which I really really wanted on my Galaxy Note. I love Flipboard and I feel it will be a good combination with the huge screen of the Note.

I got what I wanted today.

I am going to try this out and if everything is smooth, I will probably remove Feedly apps for reading and have all in Flipboard.

Flipboard on Android

Flipboard on Android

Feedly is an app that transforms your Google Reader stream in to a magazine styled UI, giving you a pleasant reading experience. I use it every day on Chrome, but not always on my phone, it takes a while to get my content loaded there, not sure if it is because my connection is slow. But, if Flipboard does this job better, I will move in there!

 

5 Lesser Known Galaxy Note Tips

I’ve been using Galaxy Note for about 3 months now. Here are some useful tips I collected while getting to know my new phone (tablet?).

1. Cover the Screen With Your Palm to Pause Music

This is a cool thing that you can show off in front of your friends. While playing music, cover the screen with your palm (at least half of the screen from above) to pause playing. Music resumes when you take your palm off the screen. Here is a video demo.

2. Touch And Twist

Did that title tell you something? If not, here is a little more detail. Go to Gallery on your Galaxy Note and open up any image. Touch and hold the image with one finger and then twist it towards right, the image rotates to the side you moved your finger. Still confused? here is your video

3. Take Screenshot with Your Palm/Hand

You might have taken screenshots on your galaxy note with the S Pen. Now, here is another cool trick. Keep your palm in vertical position and slide from left to right, a screenshot will be captured.

It is not easy to master this trick, but its good to know, and is cool enough to show your friends!

4. Disable All Controls While Watching Videos

When you are watching videos on your Galaxy Note (which I must say is a pleasant experience on Galaxy Note’s biiggg screen) there are chances that you touch the screen, or press the home button or menu button and it interrupts your video. What if you can disable everything while watching videos?

  • Touch Screen
  • Menu Button
  • Home Button
  • Back Button

Yes, it is possible, and also easy to do. Just press the power button once and you will see a lock icon on the screen for few seconds. Now try touching the screen or key. They all are disable.

To enable them again, just press the power button one more time.

 5. Control Brightness from Notification Bar

When you have “Automatic Brightness” disabled, you can control brightness of the screen by sliding left or right on the notification bar. Slide your finger to the left to reduce brightness and towards right to increase it.

Hope you learned something new here today. Please share if you liked them!!

Samsung Galaxy S3 vs Samsung Galaxy Note Video

Galaxy S3 was announced the other day. First thing I looked for after getting back from work today was a video comparing Galaxy S3 and Galaxy Note. So, here it is.

One thing I will really miss is the Flipboard app. It will be packed with the S3, exclusively for now. We all will have to wait until it shows up on Galaxy note and other Android phones and tablets.

I hope someone rips the .apk file off from the Galaxy S3 and posts online. I will definitely try it as soon as someone posts the download link online.

“Read It Later” Is Now “Pocket” And It is Awesome!

I got a nice little surprise today from Android Market update. An app named “pocket – formerly read it later” showed up in my list with this cute icon. It took two or three seconds for me to realize its my favorite app Read It Later.

Read It Later is now Pocket. Vow, what a change buddy!!

Read It Later is my all time favorite. It is the only paid app on my phone as of now. Well, that too when there is a free version available for download. It was worth paying couple of dollars for this great app.

Read It Later is no longer “reading only”. It is getting ready to become your collection of favorite online content – articles, images, and videos ( and may be more stuff in future, who knows!) I guess that is why they wanted to rename the app. But, they did not just stop with a new name and icon. They redesigned the complete UI of the app. It is a new experience all together.

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