week 5
How Dark Patterns Trick You Online - video
It’s a basic tool that with a single click alters the functionality of your viewed web-page, such as changing text, colors, searching a highlighted word online, or translating a page. It is designed to customize and alter the current experience.
They are essentially small lines of Javascript (or jQuery) that alter a page’s HTML or CSS.
In 2018 the New York Times featured the article The Simple, Serendipitous Joy of Browser Extensions. Days earlier the Times had printed an article that referenced the Time of Shedding and Cold Rocks.
As the name implies, a browser extension is a plug-in that you add to a web browser to extend its functionality. In my browser I currently have ad-block extensions, a color picker, and an extension to make it easier to navigate via keyboard instead of the mouse. They are created with standard website creation tools HTML, CSS and Javascript. Browser extensions can make certain tasks simpler, like the ability to easily tweet a link to the current page you’re browsing, but they can also be a source of malware or spying.
Airhorn by Todd Anderson
Hitchhiker by Todd Anderson
Yung Jake - Embedded
Discernment Music Video - extension by Dina Kelberman
Watch Lee’s Intro to bookmarklets
For additional info, watch The Coding Train:
Use Chrome! Each browser works differently, but it will be easier for us if we use the same browser. Once you get it to work, feel free to try another browser.
Make a simple bookmarklet to funkify the web. Your bookmarklet, when you click on it, should add CSS, change placement of things, alter words or otherwise affect the page a viewer is looking at.
For inspiration, check out my class site for heavy CSS hacking, or make your own easy-to-read-hack, or alternative-dark-mode or remove-adds on a website you frequent.
Bookmarklets Maker - click to turn on jQuery mode!
10 year old article about Making your own Bookmarklets with jQuery - still has some good ideas in it
Add a unicorn to Any page bookmarklet