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Installing ScreenConnect On An Amazon AMI Micro Instance

ScreenConnect, a remote access tool, allows you to host a server that enables remote support of client computers. Many of the best features of this software relate to giving you control over deployment and hosting. This would seem like the perfect fit for Amazon’s cloud server infrastructure. If what you wanted to do is run it on a lower-cost AMI (Amazon Machine Image) free-tier micro instance, here’s how to do that.

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Comments Thor (flickr)

How We Could End Commenting Systems, And Save Blog Comments

There is a real sense that sites of all shapes and sizes are moving away from commenting systems. I’m seeing comment systems that have been reduced to identity verifiers that allow users to enter text-only when the web itself allows so much more. This had me thinking, how could we remake the entire idea of commenting on blogs (and the web in general). I have an idea of how we can save them.

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“The Expendables 3” Leak Is A Piracy Lightning Rod

You may well have heard of the third instalment of The Expendables. The movie opens in wide release on August 15, but a high-quality version was leaked to the Internet almost three weeks before the release. This kind of thing has happened in the past, but never so long before release, and never in such a completed state. Again, the debate over piracy (and associated penalties) is in the public’s consciousness.

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Facebook Comments Plugin And The Domain Problem

While working to move this site to using encryption, I have come across another painful reminder of how inadequate the Facebook comments plugin really is. When changing the url (and ultimately the domain) of this site from http://cwl.cc to https://cwl.cc Facebook doesn’t handle the change very well. What I’m left with is losing another swath of great comments and thinking of a fix.

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Google Domains Logo

First Look: Google Domains

Google’s bread and butter is search and advertising. While that will likely not change for some time, Google seems to be looking for ways to converge some of its services into a kind of super offering. One such case is Google Domains; hosting, DNS, mail and registrar services all on Google’s infrastructure. For a cost. Here’s what the service currently offers and a first look at what you can expect from this invite-only offering.