100 Days of Code... Just Got a Boost!

Well, for anyone who started off following this line of blogs, it's no secret that I was unable to keep up with the 100 Days of Code, Round 2.  I just had (have) too much code that I needed to write for my business clients.  Although, I have learned stuff along the way.  Most of the coding I do for them is stuff I'm well grounded in - PHP, HTML/CSS, Javascript and MySQL.  (I did have a nice desktop project that I decided to do in Python - lots of learning there).  Every time I sat down to learn/write something new, I had this nagging in the back of my mind that I should be spending the time on client work.  So, I made very little progress in my attempt to learn something new every day.

But, today my learning process just got a boost... or maybe a kick in the pants, that will definitely push me to learn a little something new every day.  Today I was notified that I am the recipient of a Google Developer Challenge Scholarship to Udacity!

So, today starts a new journey!  I will be starting an official Android development course today! 

I am excited!  I have been developing hybrid apps for the Android platform for some years now.  I like the hybrid method.  I use both the Ionic/Cordova/Angular framework and the Expo/React-Native framework.  But, I've wanted to learn how to develop natively for Android for years... and now I get to!  Thank you Google and Udacity!

But, then there's the whole 100 days thing... the course with Udacity is only 90 days.  I'll have to find something fun to fill up those last 10 days - and beyond!

I will document the journey in this blog thread.

How to Disable "This connection is not secure" Message in Firefox

Do you find that "This connection is not secure" message in Firefox annoying?

If you are like me, you login to several sites a day that do not store sensitive information.  I am very aware that these sites are not protected by SSL/TLS Certificates.  So, while I appreciate their concern for my safety, I don't need the message.

Fortunately, there is a way to disable the message and it's not hard at all.

(1)

Open a new browser tab in Firefox.  In the location bar, enter "about:config" and hit enter or click the 'go' arrow (at the right of the location bar).  See image below.

(2)

You will get a message about 'voiding your warranty.' Click the "I accept the risk!" button to continue.

(3)

Enter "insec" in the search field.  You should see a list of Preference Names that include the letters, insec.  Find the item, "security.insecure_field_warning.contentual.enabled" and double-click to change the value from "true" to "false."

Now simply close the browser tab.  You will no longer see the 'connection not secure' message.  You can follow these instructions to re-enable the message - just make sure the value ends up "true."

Also note that when the browser upgrades, you may need to do this all again.