Remembering a different password for each site is an impossible task. If you use the same login credentials at most every site you are just asking for trouble that will eventually catch up to you. I started with a text file that had passwords that were partly obscured with a clever formula that was actually too easy to figure out. Eventually someone will steal your laptop or hack into your computer and do an automatic search across all your files to find that goldmine of passwords.

Encrypting a text file as a Word doc is a step above. Using a Google doc is an interesting option since Google docs are encrypted in the browser but still doesn’t offer many features compared to a real password manager.

A password manager is a simple concept. It is software that stores all your usernames and passwords to web sites, applications, and more in a local encrypted database. That database is protected by a single “master” password.

Enter 1Password. The Mac OS X Password Manager

Here’s the key list of features:

• Stores logins to all online accounts. Logins are available in all browsers on all your different computers (Mac and PC) and smart phones (iPhone and Android).  DropBox sync lets you  edit your data in one place and it becomes updated in all the other locations.
• Stores “secure notes” (any text information that you want to save securely)
• There are special areas to store software licenses, serial numbers and product codes.
• There is also a “Wallet” area to store credit cards and passport and other information – you can even save a scan of those kinds of documents.

This software works really well. I can’t really say if RoboForm or 1Password is better but I think 1Password is more actively maintained and provides broader support and a wider range of features. They both get the job done without having to think about them.

I learned about RoboForm years ago but they didn’t have a Mac version. My brother used it and I was really impressed. RoboForm is free for up to 10 saved logins – then you need to by a license for each PC you use. Now it’s $10/year – not alot of money but of course you have to keep paying. 1Password starts at $31.99 but that’s a one time payment and you get a regular stream of free updates that give you access to lots of new features. The team at Agile that makes 1Password is very active about staying on top of all the changes in operating systems and browsers so everything works everywhere all the time.

Make sure and search Google for the terms 1Password Coupon — you can sometimes find significant discount coupon codes (Desktop apps or bundles only, generally these are not available for iPhone/iOS apps)

I’ve had a couple clients recently who came to me with the issue of how to deal with negative reviews on Yelp. Yelp is such a powerful resource for consumers and can be a really great tool to build your business. It’s brought me alot of work and I appreciate that.

But negative reviews suck. We are are talking about small businesses—real people with real feelings who have alot of “skin” in this game.

I’ll briefly touch on 3 important points in dealing with negative reviews:

First important point is that no one trusts all positive reviews. So it’s ok to have some negative reviews in there.

Second important point to remember is that negative reviews won’t last forever. Reviews (both good and bad ones) filter on and off a Yelp business profile based on a secret formula. The formula is all about assuring  the authenticity of the reviewer and authenticity is what Yelp has built its entire business around. No one knows exactly what that formula is but here are some factors…

Yelp Filter Triggers – for removing reviews. Some of these are from my direct observations of my account (today I’m at 19 reviews with 22 filtered) and my clients accounts and other are from reading other postings

• Status of reviewer – The biggest reason a review will get filtered is if the reviewer is a new Yelp user and doesn’t have an account that has been around for a while. Related factors:
• Number of reviews (You don’t have to be an “Elite” with 1000s of reviews but that gives a sense of the scale)
• Timing of reviews (If there are 5 at once that is not as authentic as 1 per month for 5 months)
• Number of friends/followers
• Profile photo (did the reviewer upload a photo of themselves)
• Status of review — If a review is marked as “useful”, “funny” or “cool” by other authentic users it may stick around for longer.
• Time-distribution-based – If a business recently got a negative review and then starts quickly receiving positive reviews, these reviews may be filtered
• Location-based – A user’s location can trigger a filter. For example, if a business is located in San Francisco and received reviews from New York it is possible Yelp will filter this review
• Frequency – Yelp Businesses that receive small quantities of reviews and then have a quick increase in positive reviews may trigger the filter

It’s never easy to read negative things about your business on the Internet.

Third important point(s): some advice from the Official Yelp blog on how to respond when it happens:

• Step 1: Stay Calm. Give yourself a cooling down period.
• Step 2. Respond Privately If you haven’t already, unlock your business listing on Yelp.
• Optional Step 3. Respond Publicly

via Yelp Official Blog: Tactics for Responding to Online Critics.

Stop “praying” and instal this great free app that helps you get info on yhour stolen laptop (and other devices).

It will give you location info and take images with the built in camera so you have a chance to track down the thief.

It’s similar to “Hidden” but better since there is a really useful free version.

I installed it and did a test and it seems to work perfectly.

Prey lets you keep track of your phone or laptop at all times, and will help you find it if it ever gets lost or stolen. It’s lightweight, open source software, and free for anyone to use. And it just works.

via Open source anti-theft solution for Mac, PCs & Phones – Prey.

In the end, Speedball’s nontoxic water-soluble inks, though not endorsed for window applications by the manufacturer, held up well while being a more environmentally responsible choice than vinyl for the same job. Graphics applied to windows in this way are easily removed with a common scraper to get ready for new image application.

via The Living Principles | Blog | Paperless Posters.

This skin is easy to install and does a great job.

We’ve created a quick and simple custom style named “RocketTheme.SkypeChatStyle” that incorporates the following:

• Smaller font sizes
• Reduced paddings and margins
• Visible avatars and names for all members of the conversation including yourself
• Lighter borders and colors

via A Prettier More Usable Skype 5 Mac Beta.

This bug is particularly infuriating because it doesn’t seem clear to the end user what causes it. However, it does have a cause, a workaround, and it does seem to be getting some traction from the Mozilla folks.

When these browsers display a password field, they turn on secure event input so that no one, including TextExpander, can peek at your passwords. Problem is, if you use the Return key to submit a form from within its secure field, they won’t turn secure event input off. This appears to be a bug they’ve inherited from some Firefox code they use.

The workaround is to use the submit button rather than using Return in the password field. 1Password is similarly affected by this bug. The workaround there is to turn off auto-submit and just use auto-fill then press the button to submit.

THE SOLUTION: Usually when you quit the application that enabled secure input (permanently) it will be disabled and all will be back to normal.

When editing a password field on the Mac, Firefox ultimately calls EnableSecureEventInput to prevent other input managers from sniffing the user’s password. If I exit the password field by clicking in another field, or by clicking the “submit” button, then Firefox properly calls DisableSecureEventInput. However, if I exit the password field by hitting return (thereby submitting the form), then DisableSecureEventInput is not called, and other input managers on the system are permanently locked out of keyboard input.

Steps to Reproduce:

1. create a form that has an input field of type “password” and an input of type “submit”
2. use Firefox, and type in the password form
3. set a breakpoint on DisableSecureEventInput
4. exit the form by hitting return

Actual Results: DisableSecureEventInput is not called, and other input managers are locked out of keyboard input

via Bug 556873 – exiting a password field by pressing return fails to disable secure entry mode.
Feel free to vote it up….

and after I use TextExpander a while longer I will comment in more detail about how it compares. so far it seems to be faster and not stumble on replacements when I type fast.

Another innovative feature from PayPal. This is free. Deposit a check just by taking a photo of it with your iPhone camera.

I tried it and it took 7 days for the check to clear. Not exactly warp speed so I hope that will improve over time. But still feels “futuristic”.

Simple to do:

1. Launch the PayPal app, click Tools, and choose Add Money From Checks.
2. View your previous check status or click Capture New Check.
3. Take a picture of both sides—make sure all the information is clear.
4. Set the amount of your check and click Process Check.

via PayPal iPhone app now lets you add money to your account for free.

The following are suggestions for the best magazine articles in English ever.  Stars denote how many times a correspondent has suggested it.

This is a work in progress. It is a on-going list of suggestions collectively made by readers of this post. At this point the list has not been vetted or selected by me. In fact, other than the original five items I suggested, all of the articles mentioned here have been recommended by someone other than me.

via Cool Tools: The Best Magazine Articles Ever.

But when they start charging exorbitant rates that is going too far! Register.com seems to be one of the big providers out there (probably just because of their perfect domain name – a lesson in SEO for WordPress) and they always want to charge $35/year for a basic .com domain. My preferance is for godaddy.com – not because they have a good interface (and their hosting is problematic – especially for WordPress hosting) but because they don’t ever raise their prices (@$8/year) and I’m simply accustomed to their version of interface hell.

What Register.com does is force you to renew your domain for two years at $35 and if you unlock your domain and request an authorization to transfer it then they give you a coupon for @$20/year.

Then if you take the time to enter access codes back and forth they will send an even better coupon. Here’s one I got today for a client that i migrated to godaddy.com:

Register.com received notification on 10/29/2010 that you have requested a transfer of (domain) to another domain name registrar.

We are saddened to see you go and would like to offer you an exciting offer to remain a Register.com customer. Renew for only $15.95 when you use Invitation Code: RENEW77 today. Doing so will provide you with peace of mind that your domain name is safe with a company that offers free live phone support 24/7 and is here to help you build your business online.

If you still wish to proceed with this transfer, you do not need to respond to this message.

So try that coupon and let me know if it works.

Note that I have no affiliation with godaddy and I don’t like their branding anyway.

It’s a tripod for an iPhone. I have used mine for a while with my 3g and now that i can’t use the case with integrated mount i just use the stick-on mount onto a simple clear case and that slips onto the tripod when needed.

So of course it’s great for using the iPhone as a camera – for video and stills. but it’s also great for using as a laptop replacement. I use Apple’s great wireless bluetooth keyboard and use this tripod as a stand to get the screen in a more comfortable position. Also a great option when using the WordPress for iPhone mobile app when blogging “on the go”.

I have also used it as a bike handlebar mount although i have a dedicated mount for that which works a bit better. See photo below.

Finally, I often use this tripod just as a more comfortable way to hold my iPhone when using it for extended lengths of time – like reading a book via Kindle app for example. This has also been useful recently when testing out Facetime. wrapping my hand around the phone gets uncomfortable over time and this gives me a wide variety of grips to keep my hands happy.