There are multiple ways to handle cookies, but here is just one quick solution. If you use Firefox, you can still have the postive aspects of cookies, but have them deleted each time you close the browser — so, it’s like starting fresh each time with the website.   You can control your cookies in Firefox by going to Tools, Options, Privacy (in Mac it’s File, Preferences, Privacy), and “Keep Cookies Until I Close Firefox”.

So, you think you are free of cookies then, right?!   Not really.   You may be still being tracked using “Flash cookies” — cookies that Adobe’s Flash program uses.   Flash is what makes the videos on YouTube work, and are also some of the MOST ANNOYING ADS on the Internet.

How do you manage those Flash cookies?  Well, it’s a bit more complicated, since to do it easily you have to visit Adobe’s website to see what’s on your computer.   (The cookies are on YOUR computer, but to see them easily, you need to visit their website.)   Once there, you should see the list of all the Flash cookies stored on your computer.  You may be surprised, as I was, at the number of sites storing these cookies.

Prevent ALL Flash Cookies

You can “Delete All” the cookies, thereby starting from scratch with each site for their cookies.   You can also choose to NOT allow third-party websites to store cookies by unchecking the option.   As mentioned above, blocking cookies can make some sites not function correctly.   For me, this includes one of my favorite sites, www.pandora.com’s streaming radio. 

Some other ways to help eliminate Flash cookies — besides not allowing them completely — is to use some Firefox extensions:

• Adblock Plus:  a WONDERFUL extension that helps eliminate LOTS of unwanted advertising.  Install it, sign up for a free “subscription” (to keep it up to date), and enjoy the web again! (Some have complained that this add-on “steals” from website owners who use advertising to support their site.  I would say that if your site only relies on easily-blockable, web-based ads to support it, then you’ve got a weak business model.)
• NoScript:  will load websites with Javascript and plug-ins (like Flash) turned OFF automatically.   You can then choose which elements YOU want to add in.   This is a little more complicated to use, but just as excellent!  You can eliminate lots of nasties on websites you aren’t familiar with, simply by installing this.  Once you are sure of the website, add it to the “whitelist” and you’ll get the full functionality again.

Those two add-ons mean that you are limiting your exposure to Flash cookies to the site you DO want, not as it is currently, allowing any website to add Flash cookies to your computer.

Hope that helps!

Additional Information:

• Adobe
• imasuper.com
• Privacy Lost: How Technology Is Endangering Your Privacy

Podcamp Registration

Today was the opening day for the two-day Podcamp Hawaii.   It was a lot of great information, great variety of sessions, and plenty of wonderful people.   Here’s just a few of my notes from the day:

Opening blessings by Haunani and ‘Illima Kauka.  Followed by two lovely hula songs, danced by Kanoe Miller, and performed by The Casey Olson Trio.

Podcamp Blessing

Chris Heuer (www.chrisheuer.com) - Social media principles: tip — Be human, be personal.  Check out:  Filtrbox.com

Rob Farrow - Managing Online Identity: tip — chi.mp

Kristie Wells -Building Your Community: tip — socialmediaclub.org

Podcamp swag

Rob Halper - Johnson and Johnson health channel on YouTube: “equity marketing, not a hard ROI”

Dave Erdman - Podcasting Hawaii to Japan: tip — use lots of different media (YouTube, Podcasts, and “theme” web sites) to help Search Engine ranking

Overall, very interesting! I can’t make tomorrow’s session, even though there are some really good ones, including: Matt Mullenweg and Neil Abercrombie.  Try to make it if you can: PodcampHawaii.

My previous mouse was the Kensington Slimblade Presenter Mouse.   It’s a small, compact bluetooth mouse that looks good and works fine.   However, it seems to eat through batteries like there’s no tomorrow.  

The Targus mouse feels more like a bar of soap in your hand — longer and taller than the Kensington.   Getting it paired up with my Macbook Pro was effortless.  However, the disc that came with it — to make use of the extra two side buttons — was unreadable.   I had to use a Windows machine to grab the .dmg installation file.

Extra options

After installation into the System Preferences, you have to reboot.  Then you can set those buttons to a variety of options; the default being forward and back in Safari, but you could set up AppleScripts to be triggered, or launch a specific application.

One of the biggest pluses for me was the “quick scroll” that is available in the four-way “touch scroll” button.  It makes scrolling through long web pages a breeze!    That “touch scroll” works well if you can get over the fact it’s more like a touch-pad than the standard scroll wheel on most mice.

Overall this seems like a good mouse for someone wanting to make use of bluetooth on their Mac, while getting extra functionality from the additional buttons and touch scroll.   And, it has something the Kensington needed, an OFF switch!

Update 10/25/08: The scrolling on this mouse is sometimes a bit too much; it scrolls too fast, too far at times.   Perhaps there’s a setting or button to help this.   Also, the mouse is very particular as to WHERE you click on it.   So, for me, when I type, then go to click with the mouse, I don’t always reposition myself in the correct position, ending up with some unexpected results, such as ending up with a right-click when I tried a standard left-click, or a side button when I was just trying to move it.   I’m not sure if it’s a design problem or a (new) user problem yet.