A Comment about Government Cookie Policy Change

14 Aug 2009 In: Life

A lot of people are heated over the government changing their policy on cookie usage. Most notably the ACLU. I’d like to try and clear this up for all the conspiracy theorists and paranoid people out there.

The reason they are using the “tracking” cookies and why they want to change the policy is important. Government websites are notoriously out of date and the reason they can’t take advantage of newer technologies is the policy against using persistent cookies. Now that the policy is possibly going to be changed the government plans on overhauling all the government websites to use the latest web technologies to better serve the public (you). This isn’t a big brother scheme to control your life. The only things these cookies tell the web servers are:

  • your IP address
  • any information YOU supply to the site (name, email, phone number)
  • when you visited and how long

This practice is no different than Google, Facebook, Twitter, or even this site. You can call it tearing down freedoms but it’s just a fact of modern web technology. These cookies are essential to how the web works and they enhance user experience.

I can’t wait for this to come out. Looks like I’ll have to upgrade my rig. Doom 3 was groundbreaking when it came out I can’t imagine what games are going to look like in five, even three years.

Check it out here.

Three Keyboard Cat Moon

17 Jul 2009 In: Life

The combination of two hilarious memes:

Three Keyboard Cat Moon - Threadless T-shirts, Nude No More

Above and Beyond is probably the hottest trance act on the scene right now. Every week they mix trance from all around the world, hence the name. I’ve pointed out this session in particular because it’s got a great mix of Dirty Vegas’ song Tonight. Check it out below. If you don’t want to download the whole set you can watch the YouTube video below too.

Trance Around The World with Above & Beyond #274 playlist.

Stealth Torrents at hid.im

14 Jul 2009 In: Computers

This is the ultimate way to stealthily share your most sacred torrents. It’s a pretty ingenious design too. The service converts your torrents into png files then you can decode them and download them later!

You save the png yourself. You can post it anywhere. People can decode it, but it can’t be searched for… it won’t turn up in searches for those torrents, unless you provide text that matches.

hid.im.

Came across this great writeup on the way web pages will be made in the future. Great for any web guru looking to stay current.

HTML 5 and CSS 3: The Techniques You’ll Soon Be Using – Nettuts+.

New Laws in Virginia and Maryland

1 Jul 2009 In: Life

Sorry guys no more texting while driving. It also looks like Dec 1. there will be no more smoking.

“The biggest change — a ban on smoking in most restaurants and bars in the state — will not take effect until Dec. 1.”

The Washington Post article explains everything else in detail.

Va., Md. Start to Implement Several New Laws Today – washingtonpost.com.

Browser Playhouse: IE6 Breaks All Our Toys!

19 Jun 2009 In: Computers, Fun

This is probably the funniest comic detailing the wretchedness of IE6 I’ve ever seen. As you know IE6 is the bane of every web designer and developer. Some people have just flat out stopped supporting it. And, it’s about time they did too. It’s 8 years old!! As a web community we need to start supporting HTML 5 and cSS 3 and look towards the future instead of supporting the past. If you’re still using IE6 at home you have no excuse. Please upgrade to IE8 or at least IE7.

Browser Playhouse

Flickr Photo Download: IE6 denial message for Momentile.com.

This Guy Figured out Tethering for ATT

18 Jun 2009 In: Computers

This will most likely void your warranty but it’s pretty cool that it’s possible. Check out the link below:

I have Tethering and MMS on my iPhone — and Yes, I’m on AT&T – Aaron Krill.

Alek Vacura Professional 3D Reel

17 Jun 2009 In: Computers, Design

Alek has done some amazing work since graduating from Pratt. Here’s his latest reel showing off his work:

Alek Vacura Professional 3D Reel from Alek Vacura on Vimeo.

About this blog

Hi I’m a Web Developer living and working in Washington, D.C. You can visit my portfolio at dangautsch(dot)com. This blog is a culmination of my musings about life, computers, and design. Please leave comments about my postings are you can contact me through the site's contact page.


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