I was alerted yesterday to the fact that the newest version of Googlebar Lite had a few locale issues. I have corrected these, and a new version is now available. If you spot any more problems of this nature, let me know.

A new release of Googlebar Lite is now available. Here’s the change log for this release:

• Improved the customizability of the search box keyboard shortcut.
• Changed the default search box focus key from ‘S’ to ‘O’ (to avoid a conflict with the new developer bar).
• Improved the use of the nsITransferable interface, to be compatible with the upcoming changes to private browsing.
• Bumped the maxVersion to 25.*.
• Bug Fix: A new tab is no longer opened if the user has the “Open search results in a new tab” option checked, and the current tab is on “about:newtab”.

A new build of CoLT is now available. Here’s what’s new:

• Added a Catalan (ca) localization
• Updated the Arabic (ar) localization
• Bug Fix: Once again altered the insertafter attribute of the Copy Page Title and Location menu. It should no longer appear above the Copy menu item when text is selected.
• Bug Fix: Corrected the changes to the nsITransferable interface made in the previous version (the initial recommendation from Mozilla was incorrect)

Last month, I visited the North Carolina zoo. I took along a new 50mm prime lens with me, and took a few photos. This small photo series is the result. I still have a great deal to learn about using the 50mm lens, so bear with me as I learn.

I have a Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus running the Ice Cream Sandwich version (4.0.4) of Android. For some unexplained reason, the location services feature stopped working a few months ago, but only for what seemed like a few applications. Google Plus no longer knew my location, Radar Now no longer knew it, and the stock web browser was also clueless. Google Maps, on the other hand, knew right where I was. Since I use the tablet in the house, GPS isn’t much help. I frustratingly was unable to fix things, until today, when I stumbled on a solution. Here’s how I did it:

1. I opened up Settings » Location services and unchecked the Location and Google search option
2. I rebooted my device
3. Back in Settings » Location services, I rechecked the Location and Google search option
4. I then toggled the Use wireless networks option, and answered a prompt that appeared about using my network location in third-party apps (or something similar; I don’t have the exact message in front of me).
5. Success!

Using GPS to lock in on my position worked outside, but that alone didn’t seem to set things right. Disabling the above option, rebooting, and then re-enabling it seemed to do the trick. Hopefully this will help anyone else who might have a similar problem.

I went looking for how to install iTunes recently without the bloat (because I remember seeing an article about doing just that a while back), and though I found the article, it had apparently moved from its original location. As such, I’m going to note down the steps here in case said article ever disappears. The following is intended for use on a Windows 7 64-bit system, but I think these steps should work in general. It’s also intended for using an iPod classic, which is the only Apple device I care to use (though these instructions also work with the nano, mini, and shuffle variants).

1. Download the iTunes installer
2. Unpack the installer using something like IZArc
3. Run the installers, using the given commands, in the following order:
   • AppleApplicationSupport.msi /passive
   • Quicktime.msi /passive (if this installer is present)
   • iTunes64.msi /passive

A new build of CoLT is now available. Here’s what has changed with this release:

• Improved the use of the nsITransferable interface in preparation for upcoming private browsing changes in Firefox
• Changed the maxVersion to 25.*
• Bug Fix: Changed the insertafter attribute for the “Copy Page Title and Location” menu items, to move them higher in the context menu for Firefox 16

Back in 2009, I reviewed the original Torchlight. Now that the sequel is out, I thought I’d post a few brief thoughts on it as well. Note that I’ve only played the single-player aspect of this game so far (oddly enough, that’s the kind of gaming I prefer). In short, not only does this game blow the original out of the water, it comes close (in my opinion) to doing the same to Diablo 2, which is my favorite action-RPG of all time.

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At the end of last month, my girlfriend and I traveled to Fort Macon state park, one of the oldest parks in the state. Located on the Atlantic coast, it’s also one of the most visited parks in North Carolina. As usual, I took my camera along on the visit. If you’re in the Beaufort or Morehead City areas, I highly recommend visiting this historic site. Also, make sure to take a guided tour; you will learn a lot about life at this fort during the Civil War.

Even though the site aggravated me at first, I still occasionally troll Stack Overflow. One of the leading problems I see in questions pertaining to PHP & MySQL, is people’s use of the MySQL extension in PHP. This extension, it turns out, is being deprecated. But does the documentation reflect this fact? Yes and no.

Certain function pages, such as mysql_real_escape_string, have big red boxes at the top indicating that the extension is being deprecated. “Don’t use this”, they seem to shout. Other function pages, however, such as the mysql_result page, don’t have these warnings. Likewise, the top-level MySQL Drivers and Plugins page lists the MySQL extension first, with no indication whatsoever that the extension is being deprecated.

At the very least, every single documentation page that deals with the MySQL extension in any form or fashion, needs to include information about its intended deprecation. Otherwise, thousands upon thousands of programmers will write code using a plugin that is quickly nearing it’s end-of-life. Which, based on what I see at Stack Overflow, already seems to be the case.