Superior Ad Blocking on OS X
I love surfing the web. I have DSL and I get pretty good download speeds (compared to 56K modems, insane download speeds). Even though I have a good connection, I still hate downloading obtrusive ads. You know those huge “skyscraper” ads, or those pesky Flash ads that seem to take forever to download? Even more annoying are the pop-up ads that show up on a surprising amount of sites considering everyone hates them with a passion (except evil marketing types). I’m about to show you how to block almost all of the aforementioned ads in ANY browser in OS X. If you don’t want to be bothered with pop-ups use a program or browser that disables them. My method only stops the ads from loading, not the window from popping. Chimera has a killer pop-up blocker installed by default (haven’t seen one so far).
Some people may say that it isn’t right to block ads… That’s how sites stay free. That’s true, and that’s exactly why I’m only giving directions to block the big boys that have no concern at all for your privacy (can we say doubleclick?). This will not block ads on MacMerc, MacMinute, MacUpdate or any other well run site. My goal by blocking ads is to speed up surfing. Only graphical ads are blocked… Text ads are let through. If you really like a site and you’re afraid that they will lose income when you block its ads, look around on that site and most likely there are other ways you can support it. Most webmasters would rather all their visitors gave $10 a year than have to run ads. I know MacMerc would 
. If you can’t find anything just email someone there and ask where you can send a donation. It will be appreciated.
The following is a list of the “Big Boys” in the adserving market that many sites use to outsource ads:
doubleclick.net
linkexchange.com
adsmart.net
admonitor.net
msn.com (not an outsource service but gobs of ads come out of ads.msn.com)
smartclicks.com
focalink.com
bravenet.com
bfast.com
sextracker.com (You’d be surprised)
hitbox.com
valueclick.com
fastclick.net
realmedia.com (these ads are hugely huge)
And there are several more. If you do a lot of “source hunting” you’ll soon notice that 90% of ads come from less than 100 locations.. Should be easy to block right? Well, in OS X it’s a piece of cake.
Open the terminal by going to /Applications/Utilities/ and opening Terminal. You may not have ever used the Terminal before but do not worry, this won’t be hard. Type:
sudo pico /private/etc/hosts
When prompted, enter in your administrator password (if you’re the only user of your computer, it’s just your regular password). When you type nothing will appear on screen (not even *’s). This is a security mechanism. When you finish your password just press enter. You’ll be taken to a screen that should look something like below:
Pico is a simple text editor for Unix. It’s commands are a little funny for Mac users since it uses control instead of command, but it’s otherwise really easy to learn. The ^ key signifies control for any interested souls out there . What this file does is associate hosts. The first line means when a request for localhost comes in send it to 127.0.0.1 (almost the universal address for the local-computer). What we’re going to do is insert some well known ad servers into the right hand column, and send them to 127.0.0.1 in the left hand column. For extra points we’re going to set up a custom 404 error page to keep blocked ads looking pretty. Here is a list I compiled of the most popular/annoying ad servers along with the 127.0.0.1 forwarding address. Copy and paste this list into pico (select the text and press Control-C, in pico use the arrow keys to highlight an area below the last line with text on it and press command-v). Once you successfully copied the addresses press Control-o and hit enter once you see the message asking for a file name. Then hit Control-x. Keep the terminal open for the 404 message step (not a real message that shows in the Terminal, but you need to keep it open for the step that prevents nasty errors to be shown).
Now you need to turn on your personal web server. If you don’t, you’ll have to click through warning messages about every 2 seconds for most every page you visit. To do so just open up the System Preferences by going to the Apple Menu and choosing “System Prefrences…”. Once the preference pane opens, choose Sharing. In the sharing pane, check the persona web sharing box. The pane should look like this before you click the check box:
If you were to restart your computer now, and started browsing the web, you’d notice a lot fewer ads. But, you’d also notice really weird looking error messages. Here’s a picture I took of my browser at Tucows.com:
I think having the ads in place might look better… But the load times without them are much nicer. To fix this, we’re going to make a custom error message. All that text means is that the ads can’t be found on your computer… Of course they can’t… We’re trying to get rid of them! Get back in the Terminal and type:
sudo pico /etc/httpd/httpd.conf
You’ll be greeted with the now familiar Pico interface but now with a lot more text. No worries, this is a down and dirty task. Press Control-w and type (or paste):
ErrorDocument
Look for the following text:
# ErrorDocument 404 /missing.html
Move your cursor with the arrow keys until it’s one character to the right of the #. Hit delete. This “un-comments” the line. We’re telling Apache that when there is a missing page, use missing.html instead of the error message. If you run a web server (like I do) you can get more tricky and throw it to a script that dynamically decides if you’re trying to block an ad or if someone found a broken link on your web server (I’ll save that for part 2). To save this file hit control-o and then control-X. You can close the Terminal. Now just download this file and place it in /Library/Webserver/Documents/.
Go ahead and restart your computer. When you next start your web browser, head over to a large site like CNN or TuCows and notice the difference. I’d suggest using Chimera to get the best effect… no pop windows and no large sive ads. If you go back to TuCows you’ll see a nice ad free version like this:
If you find this saves you time, please consider supporting MacMerc by donating through PayPal below or by purchasing through our MacMerc.com Store. By offering you this tutorial we are effectively removing this site’s only source of income. We love every aspect of this site except the hosting bill.
Don’t forget to support the sites you like if you block their ads!
UPDATE (10/23/08 – 19:02 PT): Thanks to a MacMerc.com reader who submitted this tip to update this tutorial for Mac OS X 10.5:
Just wanted to let you guys know that I recently figured out how to get the Superior Ad Blocking walkthru to work in 10.5. Instead of editting the /private/etc/hosts file (which actually changes the correct one in 10.5) it’s easier to change the /etc/hosts as it will also apply to other users on the computer. Second the httpd.conf has moved from /etc/httpd/httpd.conf to /etc/apache2/httpd.conf. Just trying to help out! Cheers and Good Luck!
Our readers are the best!
–Rick
Enhancing your Screen Effects
While we tend to focus on what our Macs are up to while we are using them, it’s worth taking time out to be sure your Mac sees some quality recreation time when idle.
This Jaguar-Compatible menu extra toggles your desktop background to your screen-saver. Be warned that this is fairly taxing on your system. While there are several free solutions that do this, BackLight is the only I found with a handy menu extra.
This dynamic duo of screen-saver makers give you a hand in customizing your screen effects. xbMovieSaver allows you to select a QuickTime movie as a screen-saver. Even better, xbMovieMaker turns QuickTime movies and Flash animations into self-contained screen-saver modules. The possibilities are endless…
In a completely different vein, PackTrack lets you monitor UPS and FedEx packages from your desktop. Plug-in structure leaves the door open to add tracking services. Very handy for tracking multiple packages.
That wraps up this week’s Freeloader. I hope you’ve found this week’s free software useful. If there’s a type of software you’d like me to feature, drop me a line.
Cash Count
Make every dollar count, after all that’s a tune we’re talking about. What am I talking about? Two spiffy free apps that will help you manage your finances and one that will transform your music library.
Tame your accounts with this easy-to-manage digital register. Record transfers, credits and payments while you track your balance. Simple and to-the-point
Project your future cash flow with this expense and income manager. CashForecaster supports repeating expenses and credits and includes a calendar. Chart your growing (or shrinking) wealth with the graph feature.
Have an MP3 player that doesn’t support encrypted AAC’s? (if yours isn’t an iPod, raise your hand) Use this handy utility to export protected AAC format songs (like those purchased from the iTunes Music Store) to AIFF.
You can then pop right back into iTunes and encode your AIFF into an MP3 that will play in anything. What’s more, this AppleScript can be triggered from inside iTunes using iTunes’ own script menu. Nice? Very. Now you can buy your music from Apple and play it on whatever you like.
Downloads provided by MacUpdate
Invisible People Photoshop tutorial
I already showed you how to make semi-transparent people using Photoshop in my Dead Jedi Effect tutorial. In this one I’ll show you how to make people invisible. My inspiration comes from one of my all time favorite movie trivia sites, FilmWise.com. The site was started in 1999 and has a wide variety of creative movie quizes. The one that inspired this tutorial is called the Invisibles Quiz and tests your movie knowledge by showing you a still shot from a film with all the people removed leaving just their clothes behind:
The steps to producing this effect are few, but the difficulty is dependant on the image at hand. The hardest part is adding the parts of the background that are currently hidden by the person’s body. The more complicated the background, the more work you will need to do to make it convincing.
I’m going to use a fairly easy image–this picture of Leo Laporte interviewing Jeff "Dr. Tiki" MacPherson–and I’m just going to show you how to "disappear" Dr. Tiki… Leo can stay.
Step 1: Get rid of what needs to get gone
I have titled this step thusly because it is less a matter of cloning out all the "Jeff" that is showing and determining what needs to be replaced with background and what needs to be replaced with, in this case, "shirt." In this screenshot I show what parts I’m going to hide and the edge I’m going to preserve.
Here is where your cloning skills come into play. All the areas that I’ve scribbled on need to be replaced with whatever is behind them: the head needs to be replaced with more shelving and nick-nacks and the hands need to be replaced with demin.
To do this, create a new layer where you will keep all your cloning. I’ll start with cloning out Jeff’s left hand: set your Clone tool to Sample "Current & Below" and uncheck "Aligned" if it is check. Next set you sample point by Alt-clicking on a PC or Option-clicking on a Mac in an area where you can sample a lot of the demin texture. Now simply click around and hide Jeff’s hand. It going to be messy, but we’ll fix that next. See what mine looks like?
Now use the Healing Brush tool and sample an area of even demin texture by Alt-clicking on a PC or Option-clicking on a Mac. Now click around and soften the hard brush edges you created with the Clone tool–avoid the edge of the demin where the Healing Brush tool will try to blend it into the floor behind Jeff’s leg. Here’s what I’ve got now:
Do likewise with the other hand on the other leg.
In order to show the shelf behind Jeff’s head, we have to get creative. I could scour The Lab’s Flickr stream and find a shot that shows the rest of what’s on that shelf, but that’s the easy way out. We need to clone shelf over Jeff’s face using the currently exposed shelving. Try not to clone anything that catches the eye–like that "Electric Playground" mic flag–that will scream "look at me!!" I’ve chosen repeat the Tuneview box…it’s not ideal, but at least it doesn’t attract attention:
Step 2: Add inner-clothing texture
Create another new layer to hold your inner-clothing textures. I actually create a separate layer for each place on the photo where I put in inner-clothing texture, but it’s up to you.
Working on the original image layer, select an are of Jeff’s shirt that you can use to fill in the area that is still showing Jeff’s chin and neck. Copy (Ctrl-C on PC, Command-C on Mac) the area, click to your new inner-clothing layer in the Layers pallete and Paste (Ctrl-V on PC, Command-V on Mac). Move the pasted texture so that it covers a bit of Jeff’s chin. It likely won’t cover over the whole area we want to hide, so Select All (Ctrl-A on PC, Command-A on Mac) and then use the Move tool while holding down the Aly key on the PC or the Option key on the Mac and drag a duplicate of your texture to a new position to cover more. Repeat this procedure until Jeff’s neck and chin are covered.
Remember how we blended the hard brush lines when we made the denim texture? Use the Healing Brush tool to sample an area of Jeff’s shirt and blend out these harsh square edges too (make sure you deselect first).
Next we’re going to mask out the parts of the inner-clothing texture we don’t need. I’m going to teach you a little masking power move to do this.
First, add a layer mask to this inner-clothing texture layer. With the layer’s mask highlighted in the Layers palette, go Ctrl-I on a PC or Command-I on a Mac. The shirt texture should have gone away–that’s perfect!
Take the brush tool an paint on top of Jeff’s shirt around his neckline, but don’t cross the line onto his skin. Reveal all of the shirt texture in the areas where you don’t want it. I’m totally serious–this way is easier than erasing away the parts where you don’t want it.
When you are done, go Ctrl-I on a PC or Command-I on a Mac again.
Repeat this procedure for the texture inside the shirt’s cuffs and we’re almost there.
Step 3: Shading and details
This is my favorite part.
Grab the Burn tool and highlight the image thumbnail of your inner-clothing texture layer in the Layers palette. With a largish soft brush, set the Burn tool’s Range to "Midtones" and its Exposure to "50%" and start shading the inner-clothing texture. Imagine where the light in the photo would cast shadows on the inside of the shirt and use the existing shading as a guide. Generally, the outer edge of the texture layer should be darker than the inside.
Next, grab the Dodge tool and set its Range to "Shadows" and its Exposure to "50%" Use it with a fine soft brush to paint in highlights where there would be creases in the fabric that catch light or maybe even stitching.
Now, for bonus points, I’ll add a little white tag with a shadow to the inside of Jeff’s shirt on its own layer. Repeat the shading with the other inner-clothing textures and you’ll be done:
I hope you enjoy playing with this technique.
Tune in to internet radio stations from your iPhone or iPod touch
Rogue Amoeba has announced its newest app, Radioshift Touch, available exclusively on the iPhone and iPod devices. Radioshift Touch allows you to tune in to thousands of internet radio stations from pretty much anywhere as long as there is available wifi, EDGE, or 3G signals (iPhone only on those last 2 obviously). Rogue Amoeba has made it simple to find the internet stream for local AM/FM stations, check out what’s popular, browse by genre, or even just search for a favorite station.
Radioshift Touch sells for USD$9.99.
Radioshift Touch is great if you’re interested in a wide range of internet radio programming from all around the globe, but if you only have ears for Leo Laporte, you’ll want to check out TWiT.am. It’s a FREE iPhone/iPod touch app that puts the live audio stream from Leo Laporte’s TWiT.tv netcasts in the palm of you hand. You can browse the content schedule or even make a quick call (iPhone only…but you knew that) to Leo on his weekend Tech Guy radio broadcast to ask him a tech question–TWiT.am puts Leo Laporte on your Speed Dial!
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Love it or hate it, the PowerMac G4 Cube is about to become officially obsolete
Apple can’t keep replacement parts on hand for every old Mac model out there. Nor can they expect their technicians to stay up on the latest technologies while also being skilled in fixing the decrepit ones. That’s whay, every so often, Apple has to clean house and decide what products it is going to continue to support and repair and to which ones it must say a tearful goodbye. The list below represents those products. On September 16, 2008, they will be classified as “vintage” or “obsolete”:
Products to be designated as vintage in the U.S. and obsolete everywhere else:
- Macintosh Server G4 (Mirrored Drive Doors)
- PowerBook G4 (1GHz/867MHz)
- PowerMac G4 (Mirrored Drive Doors)
Products to be designated as obsolete:
- Apple Studio Display
- iMac (Early 2001)
- PowerMac G4 Cube
What’s the difference between “vintage” and “obsolete”? It’s kind of a legal thing. Service parts for vintage products are only available to repair older Apple products purchased in the state of California, as required by statute. There is no difference between vintage and obsolete products anywhere else.
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Touchscreen iMac a reality with user-installed device (VIDEO)
The SlipCOVER by Troll Touch is a user-installable touchscreen newly available in sizes designed specifically for the current Apple 20 and 24 inch aluminum iMacs.
Both sizes feature a high resolution, analog resistive touchscreen technology which supports user input via fingertip, gloved hand or stylus. The products consist of a touch sensitive overlay that replaces the iMac’s display glass and connects via a custom designed USB cable. Once the SlipCOVER is installed, the iMac does not appear to have been modified. Unfortunately, there appears to be no support for “multi-touch” using the SlipCOVER–that’s something we will have to look for from Apple.
The 20 inch aluminum iMac SlipCOVER Touchscreen System sells for USD$699, while the 24 inch aluminum iMac SlipCOVER Touchscreen System goes for USD$899. Troll Touch also provides touch interface solutions for 20, 23 and 30 inch Apple Cinema displays, MacBooks, all previous iMac generations, the eMac, and both the 12 and 14 inch iBook models.
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DockDoctor, DeskLickr, DockLock… say that 10 times fast
As a break from all the CES iPod gadgetry overload you may be feeling, I thought I’d post a few simple apps that might brighten your day.
The first is DockDoctor. I’ve recommended this before but it’s even better now. DockDoctor allows you to change your Leopard Dock dimensions, colors and whether it is 2D or 3D. If you like, you can even “theme” your Dock. It’s still Free (donations accepted), as is the widget version that is also available.
Next, DeskLickr, is a Menu Bar item that grabs Desktop images from Flickr profiles or tags of your choice. There is also a DeskLickr group with hand selected Desktop images. DeskLickr is also Free (donations accepted).
Lastly, we have DockLock–another Free one (donations accepted)–this one is for dolts like me who keep dragging icons out of their Dock accidentally. It locks down your Dock to protect you from yourself.
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Gear Live ”Leaked iPod Nano” pic has a weird background
While I think the style of iPod nano depicted in the image posted at Gear Live is not out of the realm of possibility, the odd shape cut into the background of the image has me curious.
It’s kind of like that scene in The Princess Bride where Wallace Shawn as Vizzini tries to decide which goblet has been poisoned. On the one hand, Apple would never take a product shot that had such a hacked up background. But, on the other hand, no one who was trying to fake an Apple image would have stepped back from this image and said, “I am finished–this is a masterpiece.”
It does look as though the background above the top of the alleged nano has a cutout that approximates the size of the current nano when added to the unit in the picture. For that matter, why isn’t the top of the picture cropped a little tighter? There’s nothing but space where a regular old iPod nano used to be. Bad Photoshopping? I’m betting “yes”…but who knows?
I guess we’ll just have to wait until Wednesday when Steve announces whatever he has planned to announce and we’ll find out who is right… and who is dead…uhr…less right.
Note:How could something so wrong be so right?
Blambot’s FREE font for June– Ashcan
Blambot fontographer, Nate Piekos, attributes his latest FREE font offering, Ashcan, to the times he spent in his early days of self-publishing his comics…
Back before there was a Blambot, I can’t tell you how many nights I spent photocopying my own home-made comics at the local Kinkos. Enough nights to actually look back on it fondly, I suppose. And this font is a tribute to those toner-stained days of innocence. It’s a sloppy, but endearing hand lettered style in regular and bold.
…Ah, the memories…
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