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On November 9th, the highly anticipated Firefox 1.0 arrived. If you'd been using Firefox Preview Release or a Release Candidate there was no news at all feature-wise, since most changes were related to bug fixes or under the hood improvements.
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Mozilla Links - English Edition
Issue # 25 - January 24, 2005
_______________________________________
On November 9th, the highly anticipated Firefox 1.0 arrived. If you'd been using Firefox
Preview Release or a Release Candidate there was no news at all feature-wise, since most
changes were related to bug fixes or under the hood improvements.
And, on December 6th after a fast cycle of releases and release candidates, Thunderbird
1.0 saw the light and joined the wild success that Firefox started about a month
earlier. By December 17th it achieved its first million downloads. Now Firefox proudly
counts around 19 million downloads.
So, what's next? For Firefox, some days ago Ben Goodger, Firefox lead engineer,
announced (http://www.bengoodger.com/software/mb/options/prefwindowv/prefs.html) some
modifications coming to the Options window and also Kevin Gerich, member of the Mozilla
Visual Design Team announced (http://kmgerich.com/archive/000083.html) some work in
progress on the same Options window. Firefox 1.1 is targeted for March 2005 and should
bring mainly internal enhancements. The roadmap was also updated recently
(http://www.mozilla.org/projects/firefox/roadmap.html).
For Thunderbird, mozillaZine reported
(http://www.mozillazine.org/talkback.html?article=5922) that the Thunderbird crew is
testing inline spell checking. With this feature, Thunderbird will check your spelling
in your preferred language while you are composing an e-mail. A screenshot is available
at https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/attachment.cgi?id=171212
Thanks for reading. Please send any comments via http://newsletter.mozdev.org/contact.php .
Percy Cabello
Mozilla Links
__________________________________
In this issue:
1. BETTER MOZILLA
- Review: fireFTP
- PowerTip: Customize Find As You Type Sound
- PowerTip: Hide the Favicons
2. NEWS
- Mozilla 1.7.5 Released
- Nvu 0.70 Released
- Adobe Reader Updated
- Mozilla Update Updated
- E-mail Based Support For Mozilla Products Now Available
- Netscape New Proposal: Hybrid
3. MOZILLA PROJECTS
4. POLL
5. CONTACT INFO
________________________________
1. BETTER MOZILLA
________________________________
Review: fireFTP 0.86.1
______________________
Developed by Mime Cuvalo
fireFTP (http://fireftp.mozdev.org/) is a useful and powerful extension that brings full
FTP (File Transfer Protocol) support to Firefox. FTP is an efficient and widely
supported protocol for moving files across the Internet. By default, Firefox support for
FTP is limited to downloading files from FTP servers (addresses that start with ftp://
in the location bar). fireFTP allows you to log on to an FTP server and browse local and
remote folders. Then you can select a file in either location and drag it to the target
to upload or download. You can also set permissions for files on the remote server
(Unix-like Read, Write, Execute for owner, group and world users).
You can start fireFTP on a new window or tab and among its advanced features are support
for proxy servers, custom FTP ports, auto reconnect and auto refresh of remote folders.
Future versions are expected to automatically handle FTP links in web pages, add a
toolbar button, allow drag and drop from desktop, show upload progress and other
enhancements. fireFTP works on Windows, Mac OS and Linux, and is available for free as a
small 55 KB download in about 10 languages.
PowerTip: Customize Find As You Type Sound
__________________________________________
Contributed by Percy Cabello
When you are looking for text in a web page using Firefox's Find as You Type feature, it
will play a sound when the text entered can't be found. To deactivate this, enter
about:config in the location bar. A list of all preferences will be shown. Look for
preference "accessibility.typeaheadfind.enablesound". You can find it faster by typing a
few characters in the Filter text box, for example "sound". Double click on the
preference and its value will change to "false".
To customize the sound, again in the about:config preferences tab, look for the
preference "accessibility.typeaheadfind.soundURL", double click on the preference and
enter the path for the sound file you want to play. For example, if "the file is located
at "c:mybeep.wav", you would enter "file:///c:/mybeep.wav".
For either change you will need to restart Firefox to make it effective.
PowerTip: Hide the Favicons
___________________________
Contributed by Percy Cabello
Favicons are those small icons that identify websites in tabs and bookmarks. If you want
to avoid using them for cleaner, less colorful look, enter "about:config" in the
Location Bar. A list of all preferences will be shown. Look for the preference
"browser.chrome.favicons". Double click on the preference and its value will change to
"false". From now on tabs and bookmarks will not display the favicon of the site.
________________________________
2. NEWS
________________________________
Mozilla 1.7.5 Released
______________________
The Mozilla Application Suite was updated on December 18th to the most recent version of
the Gecko rendering engine, which means it now supports more web pages written for IE
and the new Netscape Plugin API Extensions, developed by a group of browser and plugin
developers and vendors such as Opera, Adobe, Apple, Macromedia, Sun Microsystems and the
Mozilla Foundation.
Get the most recent version here: http://www.mozilla.org/products/mozilla1.x/
Nvu 0.70 Released
_________________
Based on Firefox 1.0 code, on January 6th, Disruptive Innovations and Linspire, Inc.
released Nvu 0.70, a Mozilla-based web page editor, featuring improved horizontal and
vertical rules, Site Manager now supporting more than one site at a time, better drag
and drop support of external files in Linux, better support for PHP applications and
some several other enhancements.
Download Nvu 0.70: http://www.nvu.com/download.html
Adobe Reader Updated
____________________
Adobe has released Adobe Reader 7.0, an update of its ultra popular electronic document
reader application. Mozilla Foundation's Asa Dotzler has a nice brief on this version
improvements and tips for speeding it up here:
http://weblogs.mozillazine.org/asa/archives/007183.html
Adobe Reader download: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html
Mozilla Update Updated
______________________
Mozilla Update has been updated with a better look and a clearer organization of
content, making it easier to find the desired extension, theme or, just added, plugin
you may need.
Mozilla Update: http://update.mozilla.org
E-mail Based Support For Mozilla Products Now Available
_______________________________________________________
MozSource, the operator of the Mozilla Store announced the immediate availability of
e-mail support for Firefox 1.0, Thunderbird 0.9, Mozilla Application Suite 1.7.x and
Camino 0.8 on their respective minimum system requirements. Extensions, themes and
plugins are beyond MozSource scope. As stated in their Terms of Service, a resolution is
not guaranteed and limited to the specific application capabilities and function. During
the initial beta period, there will be a low US$ 4.99 per incident, with a 48 hour reply
guarantee.
MozSource Support: http://support.mozsource.com/
Netscape New Proposal: Hybrid
_____________________________
On November 30th, Netscape unveiled a prototype of what should become the next iteration
of Netscape Navigator. Days before the announcement, rumors about it being based on
Firefox ran around the Internet. The major surprise was that it not only is based on
Firefox but also on Microsoft Internet Explorer. So users who need to access some sites
written for IE will now have a chance to switch within the same interface to IE's
rendering engine. On January 17th, an updated prototype was released featuring a new
interface and based on the same Firefox 1.0 code.
Netscape prototype screenshots: http://www.mozillazine.org/articles/article5691.html
________________________________
3. MOZILLA PROJECTS
________________________________
Contributed by Brian King
The independent status reports include news and updates from Mozilla application and
extension projects hosted on mozdev.org and elsewhere in the Mozilla community.
The end of year is upon us again and as always it is a time for reflection - a time to
assess the hits and the misses in the Mozilla community. It was a year when the
standalone browser and email clients, Firefox and Thunderbird, matured and released top
quality 1.0 versions. It was a year when other Mozilla projects, such as Sunbird[1],
Camino[2] and Nvu[3] really came into their own. It was a year when Mozilla was becoming
more recognised as a commercial application platform[4]. Yet we must not rest on our
laurels. The Mozilla Foundation and wider community must adapt to meet the challenges
ahead. One exciting new project to herald this new era is Minimo[5], Mozilla browser for
mobiles. Happy Holidays from the mozdev.org team!
[1] http://www.mozilla.org/projects/calendar/sunbird.html
[2] http://www.mozilla.org/projects/camino/
[3] http://www.nvu.com
[4] http://news.com.com/Firefox+fortune+hunters/2100-1032_3-5455173.html?tag=st.num
[5] http://news.com.com/Mozilla+aims+for+mobile+browser+market/2100-1032_3-5483683.html
HTTP serverpost - 0.6, Merging the capabilities of HTML forms and XUL interfaces.
For: Mozilla, Firefox, custom XUL applications
Platform: All
Version 0.6 has just been launched. The widget itself is fairly stable, but largely
unreviewed by the community at large. Any suggestions visitors have at this point will
be considered.
http://serverpost.mozdev.org/
Add N Edit Cookie - v0.2, Add and edit session only and saved cookies.
For: Firefox 0.9.x-1.0, Mozilla 1.7.x/1.8a4
Platform: Windows, Linux, Mac OS X
Version 0.2 has every promised feature and a very easy to use date/time picker for
expiration date editing.
Notable Highlights:
- Adds cookies
- Edits cookies values, expiration dates
- Easy to use date/time picker for expiration dates
- Filter feature for locating right cookies
http://addneditcookies.mozdev.org/
HONcode Status v1.5 - HONlookup v1.4, Collection of Mozilla / Netscape plugins for HON.
For: Firefox
Platform: Windows, Linux, Mac OS X
Extensions have been updated to be compatible with Firefox 1.0.
http://hon.mozdev.org/
Launchy - v3.6.0, Increase your link powers with external applications.
For: Mozilla, Firefox, Thunderbird, Camino
Platform: All
Notable Highlights:
- Fixed viewing source of URL with # or ?. More info
at http://bugzilla.mozdev.org/show_bug.cgi?id=7766
- Fixed bug when right-clicking on image that is a link.
More info at http://bugzilla.mozdev.org/show_bug.cgi?id=7803
- Updated JSLib to latest
- Added IrfanView
- Added options item to toolbar
- Fixed locale with app type
- Added Polish locale
- Added launchy.xml generator (http://gemal.dk/mozilla/launchy-xmlfile.html)
http://gemal.dk/mozilla/launchy.html
Calendar Help - 0.1, Help documentation for Calendar and Sunbird.
For: Mozilla Suite, Firefox, Thunderbird, Sunbird
Platform: Windows, Linux, Mac OSX
New version released December 6 documents most of Calendar/Sunbird's user interface, and
works in Sunbird, Firefox, Thunderbird and Mozilla Suite. This is a complete first draft
of the English help, with twelve chapters and three appendixes.
Notable Highlights:
- Active links from Calendar/Sunbird's user interface to the appropriate help topics
- Table of contents, index and glossary
- Keyboard, menu and toolbar reference information
http://calendarhelp.mozdev.org/
Habari Xenu - v0.9.3, A Cool XUL News Aggregator
For: Mozilla, Firefox
Platform: Windows, Linux
Several improvements to the aggregator including better parsing, OPML support, Firefox
support.
Notable Highlights:
- OPML Import/Export
- Easy Subscription to feeds
- Impoved feed parsing
- Custom Stylesheets through userContent.css
- Update All and Catchup Support
- Improved stability
http://habarixenu.mozdev.org/
MAF - 0.4.3, Mozilla Archive Format.
For: Mozilla, Firefox
Platform: Windows, Linux
Fixed a few bugs and added additional locales.
Notable Highlights:
- Now has vbs scripts for windows filetype associations
- Added Russian and Polish locale
- Added ability to save selected tabs
http://maf.mozdev.org/
jsLib - v0.1.235, Mozilla JavaScript Library.
For: Mozilla, Firefox, Thunderbird
Platform: All
Tweaked install code for solid installation both w/ EM and XPInstall. Lot's of library
updates, additions to the jslib protocol (type jslib:help for more details), updates to
documentation, addition of jsliblive chrome folder for easier testing and execution of
XUL files, added jsLib top level DOM object, I am also working on an article to help new
moz app developers get up and running quickly w/ jsLib.
Notable Highlights:
- Library Cleanup
- Protocol enhancements
- DOM top level jslib object for easier initialization
- Worked on potential global namespace collision declarations
- fixed lot's of bugs
http://jslib.mozdev.org/
purgecontrol - 0.2c, Protect important emails from being accidentally deleted.
For: Thunderbird
Platform: independent
Updated to work with Thunderbird 1.0.
http://purgecontrol.mozdev.org/
cuneAform - 0.3.1, The Community Built Editor that Anyone Can Use.
For: Mozilla 1.4 and up, Firefox 0.4 and up
Platform: Any platform
cuneAform 0.3.1 now works with Firefox 1.0! Some internal issues were also resolved. If
you have used or are using 0.3 please upgrade to this new version. cuneAform 0.3 had a
serious error with the installer.
New Features in 0.3.1:
- Fixed bug in xpi archive that prevented the installation (silent update)
- Improved About Box
- Added Nightly Support
- Updated .rdf's
- Should be ready for 1.0
http://cuneaform.mozdev.org/
View Background Plus - v0.9, Opens all kinds of background images, not only those in
BODY-tag.
For: Mozilla, Firefox
Platform: Windows, Linux, Mac OSX
Main features work as they should, but CSS definitions are only recognized if embedded
inline in HTML element.
Notable Highlights:
- Go to IMDB and try to save any of the gallery
images. If that annoys you, you need View Background Plus ;)
- Quicksaving of background and normal images (slightly experimental)
http://viewbgplus.mozdev.org/
ThunderFilter - v0.1, Utility to insert OO, RTF and Word files into mail.
For: Thunderbird
Platform: Linu
An extension to insert OpenOffice/StarOffice/RTF/Microsoft Word files into mail composer
(Thunderbird). ThunderFilter do not attach files. This is the first release.
http://thunderfilter.mozdev.org/
Mnenhy - v0.7, Mozilla enhancements with special focus upon Mail & News.
For: Mozilla, Thunderbird and even Firefox
Platform: all
Mnenhy now displays X-Faces! The folder-dependent storage now stores preferences! What's
Mnenhy? Mnenhy provides several tools and enhancements for use with Mozilla, Thunderbird
and even Firefox:
- Custom header display for mail and news
- Folderstorage for storing threadpane layouts and preferences folder-dependently
- Text codecs, e.g. ROT-13, Kenny, Base64 and many more
- Mozilla sidebar in MailNews
- Chrome Manager, a tool for manipulating the application's chrome registry
- Registry Viewer, a viewer for Mozilla's registry.dat file format
- Junk Tools with junk filter statistics and display of the 'undecided' junk state
http://mnenhy.mozdev.org/
QuoteCollapse - v0.4, Collapse Quotes.
For: Mozilla, Thunderbird
Platform: All
QuoteCollapse collapses quotes (you guessed it!). This makes newsgroups with complete
top quoting readable again, as well as those replies from people who don't know you do
fcc...
Version 0.4 adds support for Thunderbird 1.0 and Mozilla 1.8a5.
Notable Highlights:
- Works with TB 1.0 and Mozilla 1.8a5
- Completely customizable
- Collapse/expand individual quotes, all subquotes, or by quote level
http://quotecollapse.mozdev.org/
AboutConfig - v0.4, about:config for TB.
For: Mozilla Thunderbird
Platform: All
The AboutConfig extension implements for Mozilla Thunderbird what about:config is for
Mozilla Firefox and Suite. You can use it to change all preferences. Make sure you know
what you are doing! If you don't know about:config you probably don't want to use
AboutConfig. Updated for Thunderbird 1.0.
Notable Highlights:
Same interface as Firefox's about config.
Lean and mean preferences parsing.
Picks up localization from Thunderbird.
http://aboutconfig.mozdev.org/
Read more about each of these projects in the full report at
http://www.mozdev.org/status/2004-12-20-status.html
________________________________
4. POLL
________________________________
In our last issue, we asked if you would like to receive new releases, security alerts
and new marketing campaigns announcements. Here are the results:
Sure thing, make they come 47%
Yes, but limit them to no 44%
more than once a week
No way 9%
This issue poll: Now that Firefox 1.0 is out what should be the next step?
Focus on spreading the word and grab more market share
Improve Live Bookmarks/RSS support
Improve tab browsing
Improve current theme
Get under the hood and make it as slim and fast as possible
Improve it. Period.
I'm in net nirvana. Don't touch it.
Make your vote count at http://newsletter.mozdev.org
________________________________
ADVERTISEMENT
________________________________
Get a copy of the Firefox ad in the New York Times. 21 x 26 inch posters now available
at the Mozilla Store for only $6.95.
Visit: http://www.mozillastore.com/
****
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http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/iwpList2/Help_the_ICRC?OpenDocument
****
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Then, check the OpenOffice.org newsletter available at
http://www.openoffice.org/editorial/spotlightindex.html Open source just gets better!
****
Your ad can be here! Visit http://newsletter.mozdev.org/mlsp.html for more details on
how to reach our 8000+ worldwide subscribers!
________________________________
5. CONTACT INFO
________________________________
Mozilla Links(TM) is a monthly electronic newsletter published by the Mozilla Newsletter
project.
Visit http://newsletter.mozdev.org/ to subscribe, unsubscribe and set other subscription
options.
YOUR PRIVACY : Only a valid e-mail address is required to receive this newsletter.
Addresses will not be used for any purpose other than operation and administration of
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COMMENTS AND COLLABORATIONS : http://newsletter.mozdev.org/contact.php
Mozilla Links is currently translated into Traditional Chinese, Czech, German, Italian,
Japanese, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish.
Copyright 2005 by the Mozilla Links Contributors. The Mozilla Links Newsletter is
released under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 license,
available at
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/
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