The Tool Desk
Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →A Smattering of Selenium #77 was a short community link roundup by Adam Goucher, published January 31, 2012—not a Selenium release announcement or a current news guide. Its links touched on Selenium test diagnostics, browser performance data, Python tooling, and deployment software.
When was A Smattering of Selenium #77 published?
Adam Goucher published “A Smattering of Selenium #77” on Tuesday, January 31, 2012. He framed it as part of an effort to publish a Smattering each day that week and clear his queue of collected links: “No. Really. A Smattering every day this week and I’ll have the link queue cleared.”
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
The Selenium site’s Smattering archive places #77 among the series’ recurring collections of Selenium and software-automation links.
What links did the roundup mention?
The post was a set of brief pointers, not a single tutorial. Its selected topics ranged beyond Selenium itself:
#1 Best Overall
- Performance data: A post about collecting web-performance data with BrowserMob Proxy and Selenium.
- Python HTTP tooling: A suggestion to use Python’s Requests module and the Envoy library instead of lower-level alternatives discussed in the linked post.
- Failure screenshots: A link about capturing screenshots when Selenium tests fail, described as using JUnit.
- Deployment software: A note that Rackspace had open-sourced Dreadnot and its relationship to Deployinator.
- A humorous aside: A Twitter link about repetitive tasks.
How should developers read these references today?
As historical pointers from 2012. The roundup records what its links discussed at the time; it does not establish whether BrowserMob Proxy, Envoy, Dreadnot, Deployinator, or the referenced techniques are currently maintained, compatible with present-day Selenium, or available. Check each project’s current documentation before relying on it in a new workflow.
The post is useful as a snapshot of the concerns circulating in Selenium and automation communities then: gathering performance data, diagnosing failed tests, choosing HTTP tooling, and sharing deployment projects. It should not be mistaken for a current Selenium update or a present-day recommendation.
Rank #2
Capture a screenshot without setting up a browser
For developers who need a screenshot in an automated workflow today, ScreenshotNeo is a website screenshot API and MCP server. A single GET request can return a PNG, JPEG, WebP, or PDF. Its documented options include full-page capture, CSS-selector element capture, device and viewport settings, custom CSS and JavaScript, and PDF settings. See the ScreenshotNeo API documentation for parameters and response details.
One-call example
Replace YOUR_API_KEY with your key and change the target URL as needed:
Rank #3
curl -G "https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot" -d access_key=YOUR_API_KEY --data-urlencode url=https://stripe.com -o shot.webp
ScreenshotNeo removes cookie and consent banners, newsletter popups, and chat widgets before capture by default; each cleanup step can be turned off. Bot checks and CAPTCHAs, blank pages, timeouts, failed loads, and cache hits are not billed as clean shots, with response headers indicating the page verdict and billing status. Its MCP server provides take_screenshot, get_page_info, and capture_pdf tools for AI agents and MCP clients.
The free plan includes 1,000 screenshots a month with no card required; paid plans start at $5 for 3,000 shots. Sign up for ScreenshotNeo free.
Quick Recap
Best Value
Rank #4
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.

