While working on today's hints, I noticed a problem with the user database -- basically, whenever one user changed their "remember me for how long" setting (in the Account Information screen), Geeklog would apply that setting to all users in the system! Whoops!
After some digging, I figured out what was going on. It wasn't a security hole of any sort, just a missing where clause on a database call that would limit the update to just one user. I hadn't noticed the problem before because it only occurs when you're using a custom registration screen (as we're now doing with the captcha to shut down the comment spambots -- over 100 spam accounts were denied yesterday alone). Apparently this bug was fixed in the Geeklog CVS, but never in the release version.
I fixed the code, but if you have an account here, you should visit the above Account Information screen (the link above should work) and re-select your desired "remember me for how long" setting. Sorry for the inconvenience!
With all the interest in iTunes 7 (don't worry, we're not All iTunes Hints now; it's just the hot topic at the moment), I thought it'd be interesting to find out what folks are thinking about the new iTunes 7 features -- so take a minute to vote in the new poll for your favorite feature.
There will be more iTunes 7 hints coming, but there are also a good number of upcoming non-music-related hints as well. Things will slowly return to normal over the next week or two as the initial surge of interest in iTunes 7 levels off.
And now, the winners of the Best Hint contest for August. Of the 132 hints published last month, the list was narrowed to about 15 semi-finalists in one round of voting. To pick the winners, all semi-finalists were then rated as shown in the "How to Win" section of the rules. After the dust settled and the scores were averaged, the results were:
Congratulations to all the August winners, and best of luck to everyone for September -- just three more iPods to go, and I have a feeling that some of today's iTunes 7 tips will be amongst our finalists at month end!
Monday is Labor Day in the states, which means, of course, that we won't be laboring. So new hints will return as usual on Tuesday morning.
Also, I have taken steps to hopefully stem the tide of "this is my new idea" comment spam: There's now a captcha on the new user registration screen. This isn't necessarily a perfect solution, but with the volume of spam we were seeing from spambots signing up for accounts here, it was necessary -- like all of you, I was quite tired of the RSS feed being filled with noting but spammy comments. Even though I quickly delete them, I would much prefer to prevent them in the first place. We'll see how this goes...
Have a great long weekend (or a great regular weekend!), and we'll be back on Tuesday.
I noticed today that the previous poll had been online for quite a while ... so hot on the heels of WWDC, I thought it'd be interesting to find out how much interest there is in the new Mac Pro machines. Hence the new poll asking about your Mac Pro purchase plans.
During WWDC last week, the Macworld editorial team took some time to review the July hints and pick three winners for the month. We started with something like 105 eligible hints, and narrowed that list to about 15 semi-finalists in one round of voting. To pick the winners, all semi-finalists were then rated as shown in the "How to Win" section of the rules. After the dust settled and the scores were averaged, the results were:
The first month of our summer's Best Hints contest has now closed. For the record, there were 111 hints published during the month, all of which are now being reviewed by the Macworld editorial staff to pick the three winners. The winners will be announced on Monday, August 14th!
OS X offers a number of ways, both via built-in tools and third-party apps, to switch between active applications. Today's poll asks which method you use most often when switching apps. Personally, I used to rely on LiteSwitch X, and I still use Witch relatively often, or a window click when I can see it ... but the simple Command-Tab switcher is my most-used method.
I'm interested in seeing how many of you are using a third party tool as your primary switcher...
I've had a handful of "enable phone XYZ in iSync" hints in the system for a while now -- I was waiting on the release of 10.4.7 to see which devices were officially added before I ran them. Now that 10.4.7 is out, and the iSync devices page has been updated, I went through the list and published any hint for a non-listed phone.
I know these aren't of interest to all users, so if you're not a phone user, feel free to skip the next five hints! And if you've got an account here, you can use the settings section to disable the Phones category entirely if you never want to see any more such hints.
Today and tomorrow are holidays at Macworld, so (other than the Pick of the Week), there won't be any new hints here on either day. If you're in the USA, have a great day off with family and friends on Tuedsay, and enjoythefireworks!