Category Archives: General

How To Make TinyMCE fonts bigger

The following instructions will show you how to make the fonts on your TinyMCE editor a little bigger than the default 10px. If your eyes are not as good mine, then you may need to increase the fonts to something a little bit more legible. Font sizes bigger than 12px would do.

If you are not familiar with TinyMCE, it’s a popular web-based text editor used by many web applications, CMS and blogging software. WordPress uses TinyMCE editor as well, which is the blogging software for this blog. Now, if you need to increase the size of the text in the textarea, then you will need to edit the several themes that came with TinyMCE.

I ended up editing several themes anyway because I didn’t clear the cache at first, and I kept trying different themes without seeing any changes. You will need to clear the cache in your browser to really see the desired results.

There are a total of 4 different themes in the TinyMCE folder. They are located at: tiny_mce/themes/advanced or tiny_mce/themes/simple folders. Change the font size for the textarea of the theme you are using. I found the CSS at the top of each file.

Clear your cache and reboot. You should see a much bigger font size of 12px.

Twenty Twelve Theme

I recently changed themes from a custom made one, that I’ve used for a long time, to a theme called Twenty Twelve, the current WordPress default theme. I made one slight change though which alters the entire look of the theme. I changed font from the default ‘Open Sans’ to ‘Lato’ which is available from Google. To facilitate the change, I’m using my Webfonts plugin and this CSS code: #page {font-family:’Lato’, sans-serif;}.

How To Setup Client Bridge

I have an old Linksys WRT54GL router flashed with an open-source firmware DD-WRT. One of the nice things you can do with DD-WRT is configure it as a client bridge. You can then use the client bridge to connect a computer with no wireless network interface to the network. This article was written to help me remember in the future how to setup a client bridge on a Linksys WRT54GL flashed with DD-WRT. The configuration details pertains more to me and may not necessarily work out for your setup. If you want a more complete instruction, check out the client bridge documentation available from DD-WRT’s website.

  1. Reset the router. Login. Set username and password.
  2. Go to Wireless > Wireless Security. Set security mode and key to match your AP.
  3. Go to Wireless > Basic. Set wireless mode to Client Bridge.
  4. The wireless mode and SSID should be the same as your AP.
  5. Go to Setup > Basic setup and manually set IP address.
  6. Set IP address to 10.10.10.12. Leave local DNS blank. Main router is 10.10.10.11.
  7. Go to Security > Firewall and disable SPI firewall and only multicast checked.
  8. Go to Setup > Advanced Routing. Change mode from gateway to router.

Netflix Is Down

Tonight is one of those nights lots of families are staying home. Watching Netflix might be one of those favorite past times in between all the festive activities. The timing couldn’t have been worse for Netflix to go down tonight. Blame it all on AWS, Amazon Web Services, for the spotty web service, stemming from the its Northern Virginia data center. This is the third time AWS has gone down this year.

iPad Magic

Here’s some iPad magic by Simon Pierro, courtesy of Mashable. Here is Simon’s Youtube channel if you’re interested in seeing all his magic tricks. He is a decent magician, and he has put on a ton of work with the iPad. It’s refreshing to see a magician use and embrace technology, and incorporate it with something as old as magic.

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Skewing Prices Based On Location

Gizmodo just ran a piece how some websites would skew their online prices depending on where you live. Of course, this is entirely possible based on info they already have about you, when you log in with your account info. Wireless providers have been doing this for years, presenting different types of phones and services based on the zip code provided. Shipping rates have also varied based on location. That’s understandable, but online prices being different based on where you live is bit discriminatory. I wonder if you can fool the system by logging into different web proxy servers with IP addresses that are registered in different parts of the country. Anyhow, interesting stuff.

SMS Text Messaging Turns 20

I can’t believe it. SMS text messaging is 20 years old. Although, it has been around for 20 years, a few people have not use it, or use it sparingly. A few have become billionaires because of SMS, wireless, and telecommunications in general. If you’re curious what the first text message ever was? Here’s an excerpt from CNN’s report.

The first-ever text message was sent December 3, 1992, by software engineer Neil Papworth, to Vodafone director Richard Jarvis, who received the message on his husky Orbitel 901 cell phone. It read simply, “Happy Christmas.”

Six billion SMS (short message service) messages are sent every day in the United States, according to Forrester Research, and over 2.2 trillion are sent a year. Globally, 8.6 trillion text messages are sent each year, according to Portio Research.

SMS messaging is expected to be a $150 billion-a-year industry in 2013, with carriers charging set monthly fees for unlimited texting, or as much as 20 cents per text. The actual cost to carriers for sending a text message is about 0.03 cents.

Marvell 8864 Gigabit Wireless

Marvell, the maker of wireless chips, plans to release the 8864 chip for the wireless 802.11ac Wi-Fi standard, which is capable of up reaching gigabit speeds. The release is scheduled for some time next year. Excerpt from Computerworld:

The Marvell 8864 chipset increases performance by using four antennas to receive and four to send data, a configuration which is referred to as simply 4×4. Sending and receiving data using multiple antennas is possible thanks to a technology called MIMO (Multiple-Input Multiple-Output), which is already used in both Wi-Fi and LTE networks.

In addition to MIMO, Marvell’s chipset also uses a technology called beamforming, which improves performance by aiming the signal at the receiver. The way Marvell has implemented beamforming means smartphones, tablets and laptops don’t have to proactively support it to get the advantages.

The combination of multiple antennas with beamforming results in higher speeds, as well improved range and reliability. For users the improvements also mean longer battery life, because devices such as smartphones can “get on and off the air” faster, Giordano said.

To take full advantage of the 8864 chipset’s capabilities, clients also have to have a 4×4 antenna configuration, but other clients will also see significant improvements, Giordano said.

The Marvell chipset will be used on a multitude of different products, including access points, routers, gateways, video bridges and set top boxes, the first of which will start shipping in the middle of next year.

The Most American Car Is

It’s the Toyota Avalon. If you’re American, you most likely heard others urging you to buy American products. There’s nothing absolutely wrong with that. However, with a global economy, the distinction between what is American and what is foreign is becoming blurry. The differences are not always clear cut. Consider automobiles. NPR reports that the Toyota Avalon is more American than the Ford Focus. From NPR:

According to the latest report, the most “American car” is the Toyota Avalon, which is built in Georgetown, Kentucky. Eighty-five percent of that car’s parts are sourced from the U.S and Canada — a higher percentage than for any car made by a U.S.-based manufacturer. Honda just celebrated its 30th anniversary in the U.S.

As foreign car makers have expanded in the U.S., U.S. automakers have expanded overseas. The Ford Fusion, for example, is now made in Mexico.

Read the rest of the NPR article.

RIM Stock Soaring

Remember the Blackberry? I’ve used it for years. Goldman Sachs just upgraded RIM (Research In Motion) sending stocks to soar. Of course, everything hinges on the on the new Blackberry 10 smartphone. Goldman changed RIM’s outlook from Nuetral to Buy, while changing next year’s target price from $9 to $16. Here are some highlights from Yahoo’s article.

Research In Motion rose Thursday after Goldman Sachs upgraded the phone maker’s shares, saying there’s a “30 percent chance” RIM’s much-delayed BlackBerry 10 smartphones will be a success.

Goldman Sachs analyst Simona Jankowski lifted RIM to “Buy” from “Neutral,” the latest analyst to voice a slightly more optimistic view for the troubled company. Goldman lifted its 12-monthprice target to $16 from $9.

RIM was once Canada’s most valuable company, with a market value of more than $80 billion in 2008, but shares have sunk due to ground lost to Apple Inc.’s iPhone and phones running Google Inc.’s Android system.

Shares of Research In Motion added 67 cents, or 6.4 percent, to $11.77 in midday trading on the Nasdaq. The stock is up 78 percent since late September — but it’s down 23 percent this year through Wednesday’s close, and has lost more than 90 percent from its 2008 high.