a.k.a Elpie

New PC

Lynne Pope — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 13:38:45 +0000

It's taken me a long time to get back online in a way that allows me to do more than just converse on Twitter and handle emails. But I am back now, with a new PC, and will be back to publishing more posts very soon. I hadn't realised how dependent I am on my computer until it fried and I was left without one - boy, oh boy! That is not an experience I ever wish to repeat :-(

Some kind folk, whom I had never met, responded to my plea for help and made donations that have allowed me to build a new computer. I'm not quite there yet, but am close enough that you can expect to see new posts here soon.

Visualisation of Web Design with Google's Browser Size

Lynne Pope — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 04:14:50 +0000

Google Labs has released a new online tool which should prove useful to web designers and UI developers. "Browser Size" is designed to show web developers which parts of a site visitors can see without scrolling. The result is a graphic visualisation of the percentage of users who can see specific parts of a page, and at what sizes the content can be viewed.

Excluding your Plugin from WordPress Update Checks

Lynne Pope — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 14:24:11 +0000

There are several reasons why a plugin developer may wish to exclude their plugins from inclusion in the WordPress update check. Preventing leakage of private data is one reason. Avoiding name collisions with plugins in the WordPress.org repository (and the risk of clients accidentally overwriting a custom plugin during an update), is another.

This simple code snippet will exclude a plugin from the update array.

What Data Does WordPress Send Back to the Mothership

Lynne Pope — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 05:40:16 +0000

When WordPress phones home what data does it send back to the mothership? Is it a privacy concern? Most WordPress users are unaware that any personally-identifying data is sent when WordPress runs its update checks. Permission is not sought so most of us probably assume that the only data going out is the minimum needed for the update check to function. Assumptions are great things - until they cause you to inadvertantly disclose far more information than you ever intended anyone else to have.

Matt Mullenweg responded to community concerns over privacy in this comment. He has since said "it was meant as a satire to lighten up the discussion a bit, people seem to be getting a bit serious". Well, personal privacy is a serious matter so, in this post, I set out to disclose the details of the information that gets sent back to the mothership.

WordPress Phone Home & Privacy

Lynne Pope — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 02:35:35 +0000

Whether WordPress meets the definition of spyware or not the fact remains that, when anyone uses WordPress, personal and personally-identifying data is sent back to the wordpress.org servers without notice and without any options for giving consent.

Most WordPress users are unaware that data is being collected from their servers every 12 hours or so. This has serious implications for privacy.

Read on to see what data is collected and what you can do to protect your privacy.

Need Your Help

Lynne Pope — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 02:09:45 +0000

Elpie cannot replace her fried PC without help so if you value her work in open source or with this blog, or the support she gives freely, please consider making a donation towards the cost of a replacement PC.

Read on to see how to make a donation that will help enable the purchase of a replacement computer, and how Elpie intends to show her thanks in return. (Yes, there is something in it for you, apart from the satisfaction of helping out!)

All donations will be used solely towards the cost of a new desktop PC, including monitor. All donors will be acknowledged here and a full accounting of the use of the funds will be given.

Twitter Users Hand Over Keys to Their Back Doors

Lynne Pope — Mon, 25 May 2009 00:40:08 +0000

Social networking sites such as Twitter often feel like safe, friendly places and the sense of community can lull users into relaxing their guard against posting potentially dangerous information. Recently, a hashtag game was tweeted on Twitter. This was quickly re-tweeted and had hundreds of users joining in the fun.

But, was it safe to do so?

R.I.P. My PC

Lynne Pope — Wed, 20 May 2009 04:40:19 +0000

After a series of unfortunate incidents, my PC has gone into its final death throes. I sadly remember the days when I could have gone out and bought a new one, but alas, those days are no more. I haven't forgotten you, but the loss of my computer has brought about an enforced rest from blogging (replaced by huge frustration instead).

I will be back with new posts as soon as I can be - make sure you subscribe to my feed so you don't miss seeing the new articles when they go up.

This Week on Twitter: 8 May

Lynne Pope — Fri, 08 May 2009 01:52:24 +0000

This week on Twitter takes a different format to my usual "followfriday " posts. It now consists of a list of the tweets I have sent that contain links to information I thought worth sharing, along with a "followfriday" recommendation or two in the form of a "retweet " I found particularly interesting.

Enjoy!

Internet Explorer 8 Bugs

Lynne Pope — Tue, 05 May 2009 07:10:14 +0000

Internet Explorer 8 is a big improvement on earlier versions of Internet Explorer, but it has some bugs that are likely to catch site designers out.

While some of the old IE bugs are still around, IE8 has introduced new ones and the IE8 compatibility mode brings in even more issues for us to deal with when trying to make a site design cross-browser compatible.