Remove Experts Exchange from Google Search Results
About once I week I do a google search, usually regarding the vagueries of C++ destructors or something, that produces a raft of hits from experts-exhange.com and the top of the results. Since experts-exchange.com hooking you with questions, then hitting you up for cash before it actually gives you the information you're looking for, these bogus results are a distraction from the task at hand.
Usually I just hold my nose and scroll by these results, but then a tweet reminded me of the Three Virtues. Why the hell isn't the computer doing this work for me?
So after teaching myself a little javascript and a little xpath (again), I rolled a greasemonkey user script to remove these pesky obstacles to real information.
The script can be found here. You will need to install greasemonkey (and firefox) before you can use it.
Todo:
- UI for adding domains to remove from the searches.
- Support other search engines.
Comments: 5
Atalib Fix
As I mentioned, I recently had to change Atalib to track changes to the search result page at WorldCat. The updated version is now available: atalib.user.js
Comments: 0
Userscripts vs. CVSweb
As mentioned before, I want to improve the way I was serving source files. An obvious improvement is to link together version control with distribution, and the obvious alternative was cvs and CVSweb. Because of recent changes, atalib, the greasemonkey script for adding WorldCat search results to Amazon pages, was an ideal candidate to try on the new arrangement.
Unfortunately, CVSweb is not well-suited to serving userscripts, and/or greasemonkey does not play well with CVSWeb. See, CVSweb serves up pages for URLs that end with the filename of the version controlled file, but the resource addressed by the URL is not actually the file, but a presentation of metadata for the file, version histories, branches, that sort of thing.
As a more concrete example http://cvs.ninthorder.com/cvs/atalib.user.js does not address the atalib userscript, itself, but the revision history as seen below.
Here's where it starts to get rocky: greasemonkey believes that when
a URL that ends with user.js
is loaded, greasemonkey should
intercept it and try to install it as a greasemonkey script. While
greasemonkey is enabled, you can't even load the page that has the link
to the actual greasemonkey script.
Which brings me to the next issue: The link to the actual script
does not end in user.js
, it ends in a revision number,
so it will never be intercepted by greasemonkey to be installed.
I'm working on rules for mod_rewrite
that will allow a URL of the form .../atalib.user.js
to address a
revision via CVSweb. That part really isn't that hard. Unfortunately, if
you want to browse the CVS repository for a greasemonkey script, you're
going to have to disable greasemonkey while you do it.
UPDATE: Jeff suggests that no one really wants to browse the revision history of my files. That might be true, in which case all I need is to expose a cvs checkout to the web. It's a thought I had last night, too, and it's worth further consideration.
UPDATE: Further, Jeff wondered why I was using 20th century
technology for revision control. The answer was, I'm reasonably familiar
with cvs and CVSweb. He says I should be using git because he and Linus both like it. I
decided to scrap cvs for now and try bazaar for version control, because it
provides many of the same features as git, and the Canonical people at
PyCon 2007 gave me a
bazaar t-shirt. (Commit. Push. Merge.
)
Comments: 0
Atalib Update
The format of WorldCat search results pages has changed, and it broke Atalib. I've fixed the bug, but haven't worked out how to provide the updated source in my new, improved blogotube information architecture.
The corrected version should be available soon.
Comments: 0
Battle Already Lost?
Experts, like security guru Bruce Schneier, are telling us the DRM systems included in Windows Vista is harmful to users. It consumes system resources, causing slowdowns, and destabilizes the system, causing, one assumes, crashes and hangs.
This software exists for one reason: to let someone else control what you can and can't do with your own computer. To some extent all software does this, but DRM software is unique in that it's purpose is to reduce the functionality of the system.
Regardless of what you might think of the motivation for this, who do you think ought to be able to control what is shown on your monitor, or what sounds come from your speakers, or what data is moved from one disk to another? Do you think they will get it right, and you'll never have a problem, or wrong, and you'll find yourself unable to make a copy of some file? What do you think the collateral damage will be? Does it bother you that some corporations have decided you're untrustworthy?
If an automobile had a system installed that let the automaker disable the steering by remote control, would you buy it?
Schneier suggests consumers not upgrade to Vista
.
Unfortunately, I find that an unlikely scenario, and offer as
evidence people paying more than $200/month for
unsatisfactory service, and writing comments on the newspaper website,
rather than making a meaningful change. Soon, all OEMs will be shipping
only machines with Vista installed, and in general we'll take it lying
down because the latest version of MSWord, won't run without it. Or new
displays won't. Or speakers won't.
We'll let Microsoft use us as pawns in a game to control the delivery of content, forcing on us an OS which limits our control of our own systems, and forcing their proprietary formats on the providers. (The providers don't actually care that much about format, I suspect, as long as you pay your $0.99 per track for your music, and can only access it from one device. They'll deliver it in the format that will net them the most ninety-nine centses.) Like a commodity, we'll be sold to the entertainment industry. It's not because we're lazy or stupid; it's just that many of us don't even realize we have a choice.
But we do. There are several concrete steps that would make those that want to take control of our computers and networks from us sit up and take notice.
-
This is the easiest step to take, and aside from openness and keeping your computer your own, there are good reasons to make the change.
Break the reliance on MSOffice. Try something free, as in Freedom.
OpenOffice is full-featured, and has an open file format so your documents aren't locked away by a software vendor, forcing unwanted upgrades on you. It provides compatibility to make the transition easier.
Finally, take back your system completely with a free operating system.
Ubuntu comes with both Firefox and OpenOffice ready to go, as well as just about everything you might want your computer to do. Photo editing? Chat? Media player? Simple software updates? Community and professional support? It's all in there.
Ubuntu's Live CD lets you try it all with no risk or commitment.
Update: Support free and open software by joining the Free Software Foundation. Support free networks and digital rights by joining Electronic Frontier Foundation.
Don't take it lying down.
Comments: 0