What’s my password?

January 31, 2010 by ·

Have you ever spent 10 minutes trying to login to a website.  You know your user name and password but are repeatedly denied?  You may verbally share your strong feelings with your computer, which is not likely to help or you can try these simple steps:

  1. Close all browser windows and then re-open and return to the login page.
  2. Clear your temporary files.  Tools > Internet/Options > clear temporary files/cookies (depending on the browser you’re using).
  3. Then restart your computer
    • go to the login page and try again.
    • Still no luck
  4. Turn your chair 180 degrees away from your computer and ignore for 1-2 hours, at which time you may give it another chance.

You may think that step #4 would never work but it might.  In order to prevent spammers or bots from accessing password protected areas programs will often lock-out users who have had a number of unsuccessful login attempts.

I love my computer and believe it feels similarly about me.  The method I use to maintain this close relationship and to  avoid that whole ugly scenario is RoboForm.  It’s a tiny little application that keeps all my passwords safe & sound behind a complex password itself.  It’s a great little tool.  Once installed, it suggests username/passwords for previously saved ones and can even generate random passwords to encourage you to STOP using your child’s or dog’s name or date of birth as a password…  What, you didn’t think I knew :-)

Filed Under: Technology · Tagged With: ,

Real world uses for virtual platforms

January 21, 2010 by ·

The other day I received an email from a contact asking what I thought the main benefits were for using another social platform, specifically: Plaxo.

I’ve been on Plaxo for some time and while I don’t think it’s on par with Linkedin yet, it may get there.  Rather than being a follower, I am a card-carrying early adopter :-) earlyadopter

Key advantage: Plaxo pulls in feeds from other locations make it function more as a hub rather than Linkedin‘s approach.  As you may have noted, until recently Linkedin has not played nice with any other platforms.  Now they allow Twitter integration, although, it’s minimally useful but better than nothing.  Pulling in feeds from other platforms makes it possible to better connect with people by getting a clearer picture of who they are, based on the activities they share like cycling or the people they associate themselves with …

I don’t think Plaxo is a “killer app”. I don’t think, in the near future that there will be one.  I believe that the platforms that aggregate will do better in the long run.  Ultimately, some people will like Plaxo the best while  others will swear by Facebook, Linkedin or Twitter.  I don’t check Plaxo daily, I’m more likely to use Linkedin, at least for now.

Plaxo helps me to do one function that I’ve made my goal for 2010, which is to make people smile.  Plaxo sends email birthday reminders in order to entice users to buy their ecard products, which I don’t do but I do take the info and send along e-cards from elsewhere  to everyone I’m connected with.card

It gives me the opportunity to send a positive message to each of them for no other reason but to share something positive.  So, if you decide to join Plaxo and included your birth month and day, you can expect a beautiful card wishing you a wonderful day on your birthday from me.

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Continuously amazed

January 16, 2010 by ·

So, I thought, maybe I’ll do a blog just for me.  Of course, then I thought who’d want to read it and what do I have to say.  I suppose nothing and everything.  What would other people think if they found out that here it am, on a Saturday night clicking around reading geeky posts and  finding really neat little do-hickys, plugins & widgets.  After reading Sandra Wendel’s post on looking back and looking forward, I began thinking way back into the mid 80 and my Commodore 64 computer.  Isn’t it funny that still finding something new that does something really neat is so gratifying.  I know you’re laughing and rolling your eyes.  I’m going to hit publish now and step away from the computer before I decide to hit delete to keep my geeky secret all to myself.

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