Unlock your Run with the Android Smart Lock feature

Supported OS: Android 5.0+

Set up complexity: Easy

Instructions link: http://goo.gl/MEEP1k

Requirements: BT paired device you can run with

Tired of unlocking your phone during a run to check your stats, change music or podcasts? Setup Smart Lock with your Bluetooth (BT) heart rate monitor/BT headphones or similar device so when you pair it you're unlocked for your run.  Don't forget to turn the BT device off when you're finished so the phone's security is restored.  I use this with my BT heart rate monitor which works really well, clip it on to the chest strap and it's activated which auto-unlocks my phone, un-clip and it's deactivated and my phones security preferences return to normal (PIN lock).  Give it a go!

Creating a custom gadget to use 3rd party code in your Google Site

So you want to embed custom code in your Google Site but the security policy from Google disallows it, gives you a warning message similar to the one below:  


A Google Sites Code violation warning which it then rips out the code that makes your button special and you end up with a dinky little hyperlink at best.

In this example I'm going to use the twitter follow button code shown below (I know that there is already a Twitter gadget in the Gadget store but it was easy and people are familiar with how it's supposed to look):

<a href="https://twitter.com/shooshmonkey" class="twitter-follow-button" data-show-count="false">Follow @shooshmonkey</a>

<script>!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+'://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js';fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document, 'script', 'twitter-wjs');</script>

So creating a gadget is sometimes the only way to accomplish this, it sounds daunting but after some trial and error I have found the recipe that can be repeated easily over and over again. 

All you need is a text editor like notepad.exe, DriveNotepad or xml.edity.com and this template code: 

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
<Module>
  <ModulePrefs title="Shoosh Monkey IT Solutions CSE" />
  <Content type="html">
    <![CDATA[

************ PUT CUSTOM CODE HERE ************

 
]]></Content>
</Module>

Then go to the website for the service you want to create a button for, example Twitter is https://about.twitter.com/resources/buttons#follow 

Replace the line of text:

************** PUT CUSTOM CODE HERE ********************

with your HTML code that is needed to embed in your site and add the title of the module where it says:

<ModulePrefs title="Shoosh Monkey IT Solutions CSE" />

So the finished product should look like this (changes highlighted in orange): 

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
<Module>
  <ModulePrefs title="Twitter follow button" />
  <Content type="html">
    <![CDATA[
<a href="https://twitter.com/shooshmonkey" class="twitter-follow-button" data-show-count="false">Follow @shooshmonkey</a>
<script>!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+'://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js';fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document, 'script', 'twitter-wjs');</script> 
]]></Content>
</Module>

Save this as an .XML file format file somewhere online that is publicly accessible as you will need to give the URL for the file location to Google Sites gadget wizard.  I put it on my wiki page in a folder, then right click on the download link and select: 

Copy Link Address 

Then go to your site, in the place you want to have your gadget, click Insert > More Gadgets > Insert Gadget from URL > paste the copied file public URL into the address field. 

You will be given options for the size of the gadget so this will need a little fiddling depending on the size of your button etc, as the Gadget area will push text down the page leaving lots of negative space around it which will look silly. 

Also get rid of the display title etc. and voila!

Set your width and height and remove the title etc..

You have a proper button using a custom Gadget! 

I hope this helps. Buzz me if you need any help with this or leave a comment. Cheers.

SPAM and how to deal with it

Getting SPAM email is annoying and sometimes scary to deal with for some people as it can be targeted to you without any familiar identity or known origin. 

What is SPAM? Well to recite the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) it’s:

"the common term for electronic ‘junk mail’—unwanted messages sent to your email account or mobile phone."

I would even go to say rather than unwanted it’s unsolicited email as when you sign up to some services you are acknowledging that they will send you emails unless you explicitly advise otherwise usually with unchecking an option on signup.  It is required that the genuine commercial emails contain an unsubscribe link or method but be careful as the SPAM'ers do this too and the link is the same as dangerous link promoted elsewhere in the email.  Good rule of thumb, if you don’t recognise all of these items:

1. the sender
2. the sender address; and
3. the domain it’s from

THEN DON’T CLICK ON ANYTHING!

NOTE: The domain must match the senders email address so if the email looks like it's from your friend but the unsubscribe link is for a different domain then your friends email has been spoofed, for example:

The email is from your friend Joe and his email is joe@mysite.com.

The link will be something like http://unsubscribe.mysite.com or www.mysite.com/unsubscribe or a similar variant.  The important part is the domain which is the mysite.com, if it’s www.mysite.it.com then it could be a faked URL and NOT your friend Joes site.

But don’t fear, if you think that this is a targeted or unsolicited SPAM message you can forward this onto the Australian Communications and Media Authority spam-bot to investigate.  Just forward the email without any additions or editing to:

report@submit.spam.acma.gov.au

Then delete the message immediately. The ACMA will send you a confirmation email and if required may contact you regarding this but please be careful about any personal information that you give ANYONE that contacts you that you didn't request to do so.  More information can be found here:

http://www.acma.gov.au/Citizen/Stay-protected/My-mobile-world/Dealing-with-mobile-spam/spam-complaints-reports-and-enquiries

I hope this helps and please, if you are in doubt feel free to contact me with any questions before you do anything with it.