I use Privoxy to filter ads and other assorted nasty stuff. It runs as a proxy HTTP server, so I set up my computer so that all my HTTP traffic is channeled through it rather than going directly to the web. The Leopard version is a little different from the Tiger version and it took a while to figure out how to make it work.

First I download Privoxy. There are two pieces, the utility and the application itself. I go to the download page and under the Mac OS X section selected Privoxy 3.0.8 Universal and the PrivoxyUtility.

Then, having unpacked them I instal Privoxy and run the utility to start Privoxy running. In the system preferences I go to Network, selected my Ethernet port and click on Advanced.... to set up the Proxy tab like this:

Now all accesses by applications that use the system proxy settings will go through IP address 127.0.0.1 (my local machine) at port 8118 where Privoxy is listening. I also set up HTTPS the same way. This setting does not affect Firefox because Firefox ignores the system and has its own proxy settings.

Done. Privoxy is now filtering ads.

But sometimes I want to turn it off, or make certain sites bypass the filtering. Configuration changes are done through a web browser. By going to a special URL (http://config.privoxy.org/) I can change the way Privoxy runs. The problem I found is that by default the Leopard version does not allow configurations to be changed this way: configuration change options are missing from the page.

From the available information, it is not obvious where the global configuration file for Privoxy is located. I had to look at the installer code to learn that it is in /usr/local/etc/privoxy. I use the Finder's Go menu and selected Go to Location... to open that folder and then drag the file config onto TextWrangler. I set the string enable-remote-toggle to 1. That allows Privoxy to be turned on and off via the http://config.privoxy.org/ address. I also set enable-edit-actions to 1 so I can reconfigure the filters.

To make the configuration file change have any effect I stop and then start Privoxy via the Privoxy Utility:

Now I get the option to toggle Privoxy on and off:

The first line gives me the ability to add web sites that I want to block or allow:

In the user.action file I can add lines to allow content through. The web interface shown above just makes it a little easier than editing raw text files.

Editing the raw files involves adding and changing lines like these:

# Allow all cookies from these sites
{ allow-all-cookies }
.smugmug.com

# Turn off filtering for these sites
{-filter }
.smugmug.com
.bagelturf.com

# Allow advertising through on these sites
{ allow-ads }
.slashdot.com
.dpreview.com

#No access to these sites
{+block}
.maxim.com

It's not difficult, but takes a little while to find out how to do some basic things because the terminology is not standard and there are a lot of macros to deal with. There is a lot more documentation on the Privoxy site.

Tags: Leopard, Privoxy, Advertising, Filtering

In three weeks, my position as Program Manager with one of the world's largest corporations, along with all the others in my building in Silicon Valley will come to an end.

I've been with my current employer for twelve years and working continuously since even before university, so the idea that my services are no longer needed comes as a shock. But this is Silicon Valley, California, and it's continuously in flux. I can finally bury years of legacy knowledge and look only to the future. I'm very valuable to the right employer, but the tricky part is arranging the marriage.

I see three ways forward. The first is to keep doing what I have been doing in the real-time and embedded computer field: product management/program management/technical marketing kind of thing. These are all good, wholesome, stressful, and well-paying roles. I've been in this line of business for a very long time: I started with electronics when I was ten years old and was programming at thirteen, eventually turning both skills into full-time employment. Silicon Valley is packed with companies creating the next big thing in security, networking, storage, mobility, etc. and they all need this kind of help.

The second is to go work for Apple. This seems like a natural fit, but the company is notoriously difficult to get into. And what would I do there? Apple doesn't make any real-time embedded computer products, so that's hardly a good... Wait! Yes they do! iPhones and iPods and Airports are real-time embedded computers. And laptops and desktops better be as real-time as they can be or users will be pissed cough -- Vista -- cough. I've already talked to one group at Apple and they like me very much. But they don't have an open position and have been unable to create one for me. So I'm going to continue leveraging the contacts I have and running down leads.

The third way is to do the Indie thing. I'll sit in my home office and write. I'll write articles, code, books, applications, utilities, reviews, plug-ins, whatever pays the bills. I'll do training, sell my brain by the hour, bludgeon slow payers with caustic wit, maybe even have some time off now and again. And I'll take photos. It's an attractive option -- I ran my own consulting company for seven years, so I know how it's done -- but it's also a lonely and risky one. Success depends on building long-term relationships with clients and I have no long-term clients. Or even short-term ones. Do I really want to start from scratch again?

Whatever I do, it has to be interesting and I have to be working with other smart, successful people, preferably as part of a focused team. The best position would provide a creative outlet and involve understanding new complex material. My skills for analyzing, simplifying, communicating, and educating (see my Aperture articles for example) make me particularly valuable where problems are badly-defined and even the right questions are hard to come by. It's fun to be immersed in confusion if the resources are there to create something new from it.

I've added a Hire Me page that gives more information, so take a look and get in touch if you think you have a match. And my business card really does look like the one above.

Tags: Employment, Advertising, Disruption, Silicon Valley, WTF, Apple, Writing

If you have a regular Mac, you can filter out the ads, either by using Firefox with AdBlock, or by using Safari and running a proxy such as privoxy. But how about the iPhone? It's closed, at least for now, and so there will be no way to filter content. Annoying Flash ads may be impossible to banish if it runs Flash. Even when it is more open there may be no relief.

This, combined with the possibly huge number of users, and the personal nature of the product makes it very attractive to advertisers. So maybe AT&T is going to be able to tap advertising revenue from this product? Apple provides the hardware and the appeal, Google provides the ad content and specificity, and AT&T the airtime.

... special deals, ads, and offers ... on your phone.

Tags: iPhone, Advertising, AT&T, Google