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Finally, Firefox 0.9 came out on June 15 and, as anticipated, it caused a massive run from Mozilla users to download the latest version of their favorite browser. Undoubtedly, the most visible and controversial change was the new Winstripe default theme that replaced Qute. Since it's a matter of taste, we'll never know for sure which one is "better", but what seems to be obvious is that it doesn't matter very much since Firefox 0.9 has proved to be a success according to reviews all around the web.
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Mozilla Links - English Edition
Issue # 20 - July 8, 2004
================================================
Finally, Firefox 0.9 came out on June 15 and, as anticipated, it
caused a massive run from Mozilla users to download the latest version
of their favorite browser.
Undoubtedly, the most visible and controversial change was the new
Winstripe default theme that replaced Qute. Since it's a matter of
taste, we'll never know for sure which one is "better", but what seems
to be obvious is that it doesn't matter very much since Firefox 0.9
has proved to be a success according to reviews all around the web.
And an article (http://slate.msn.com/id/2103152/) at Slate, a
Microsoft owned website, praising Firefox over Internet Explorer,
really means all "around the web".
New in this release, Extension Manager is a simple interface where you
can manage currently installed extensions, configure them (click on
the check icon), visit the extension home pages, check for updates in
the new Mozilla Update site or look for new extensions at the same
place.
Theme Manager is very similar, you can select and preview the
installed themes, switch between them and visit Mozilla Update
(http://update.mozilla.org) for new themes to download.
Among other improvements, Firefox presents a new Mail button, Copy
Image option in the context menu, confirmation window for closing
Firefox wiht more than one tab opened, Help with a section for
previous Internet Explorer users explaing the minor terminology
differences with Internet Explorer and corresponding hotkeys; great
profile importing capabilities from Opera, Internet Explorer, Netscape
and previous Mozilla and Firefox versions.
Get Mozilla Firefox 0.9.1 here:
http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/
We are also pleased to announce the immediate availability of Mozilla
Links, Spanish Edition. Spain, Phillipines and Latin America Mozilla
users can now get the newsletter on their own language.
Thanks for reading and please send any comments to
[e-mail:newsletter-feedback@mozilla.org] .
Percy Cabello
Mozilla Links
----------------------------------------------------------------------
In this issue:
1. BETTER MOZILLA
- IE View
- Start Firefox in Safe Mode
- Configure Update Manager
2. MOZILLA COMMUNITY
3. NEWS
4. PROJECTS
- Independent Status Reports
5. POLL
6. CONTACT INFO
1. BETTER MOZILLA
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Featured Extension: IE View
(developed by Paul Roub)
It's very likely you may need to visit one or two sites that just
don't play fair and won't display correctly in any Mozilla browser or
any other web standards based product, and so, you have to launch
Internet Explorer and navigate to the faulty site.
IE View is a nifty extension that will add an item to web pages'
context menu for opening the current misbehaving page in Internet
Explorer. Pretty simple and pretty effective.
Learn more about and download it at:
http://update.mozilla.org/extensions/moreinfo.php?application=firefox&id=35&
vid=145
----
Tip: Start Firefox In Safe Mode
(contributed by Percy Cabello)
When restarting Firefox to complete an extension installation you may
have seen a window with the message "Finishing installing extensions"
that just never goes out.
It's more likely to be due to an extension installation error (like
installing the same extension or theme twice). While this problem is
in the works (http://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=246687) you
can work around this and other similar problems related to bad
behaving extensions with Firefox "Safe Mode" start feature. On this
mode, Firefox will start with all the extensions turned off.
To do this, in Windows, click the "Start" button, select "Programs",
"Mozilla Firefox", and click on "Mozilla Firefox (Safe Mode)".
You can also start in Safe Mode from a command line. Go to the folder
where Firefox was installed and run:
firefox.exe -safe-mode
Once Firefox starts, you can go to Theme or Extension Manager and
uninstall the extension or theme you suspect may be causing the
problem. Usually it will be the last one you installed.
----
Tip: Update Manager Configuration
(contributed by Percy Cabello)
You can configure how Firefox manages update checks. In the "Tool"
menu, select "Options". Click on the "Advanced" and look for "Software
Update" item. You'll find the options enable/disable if Firefox should
check for Firefox and/or installed extensions updates and whether it
should download them automatically or just notify you for manual
download.
Press "Check now" to check for the selected updates.
Press "Allow web sites to install software" if you want to allow the
installation of extensions.
----
You can also visit http://www.mozillatips.com for more fun tips for
your favorite browser.
Have a Tip or a PowerTip? Let other users know about it by sending it
to [e-mail:newsletter-feedback@mozilla.org] .
2. MOZILLA COMMUNITY
----------------------------------------------------------------------
mozillaZine.org
On this issue, Jason Kersey, one of mozillaZine.org's administrators
gives a brief insight into one of the most relevant Mozilla related
website. Not only about news, but community, the knowledge base,
support and Mozilla staff blogs, mozillaZine is at the top of the list
when it comes to know what's going on in the Mozilla project.
Here is an excerpt of the interview:
Jason Kersey, "Mozillazine was founded late in 1998, to cover the
recently released Mozilla code from Netscape. It started as basically
a simple news and advocacy site, with one person running it, Chris
Nelson. It quickly grew over the years into one of the larger software
community sites on the net, doing millions of hits a month."
"We are 100% funded by donations currently. We've tried a variety of
different funding options, and actually stumbled upon donations when
we became too large for our current ISP's plan. It costs roughly 5
grand a year (US) for system costs. We've never figured out how much
it costs in time."
"We do upwards of 10 million hits per month, possibly more, it's
pretty hard to tell right now because of the various load balancers we
have in place. We currently have almost 40,000 members of the forums,
close to 10,000 talkback members, and almost 500,000 posts in the
forums. We do over 500GB of traffic a month, and almost all of that is
text. With the popularity of Firefox really taking off, the site also
has been quickly growing."
For the complete interview, visit:
http://newsletter.mozdev.org/interviews/interview-mozillazine.html
3. NEWS
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Firefox 0.9.1 Released
----------------------
On June 29, two weeks after Firefox 0.9 a minor upgrade has been
released. It includes several theme/extension manager bug fixes and
an updated version of Winstripe.
Thunderbird 0.7 Released
------------------------
On June 16, Thunderbird 0.7 came out, featuring a smaller Windows
Installer, new Themes and Extension Manager, Crash Analysis Tools
(Talkback), new user interface for viewing vCards, new Profile Manager
which also supports running from a USB device, color quoting for
quoted message parts and a user interface for creating multiple
identities per e-mail account.
* On June 29, Thunderbird 0.7.1. Like Firefox 0.9.1 it features
several fixes to themes and extensions manager bugs.
Mozilla 1.7 Released
--------------------
Released on June XX, the new stable version of Mozilla browser
features a new set of icons for files that are associated with Mozilla
on Windows, the Talkback crash reporting utility and support for basic
FTP upload. Mail brings improvements to Palm Sync, support for
multiple identities on the same mail account, when composing mail, you
can now use the up and down arrow keys to scroll through the To/Cc/Bcc
list. Chatzilla now supports zooming of fonts with keyboard shortcuts
(Ctrl + + and Ctrl + -) and the "/ignore" command. Mozilla 1.7 is 7%
faster at startup than 1.6, loads pages 9% faster, and is 5% smaller
in binary size.
Download Mozilla 1.7 here:
http://www.mozilla.org/products/mozilla1.x/
Camino 0.8 Released
-------------------
On June 22, Camino, the MacOS browser was released featuring a new
look and icon set, Gecko rendering engine based on Mozilla 1.7, a more
compact download manager user interface, a new bookmark system,
importing Safari, Internet Explorer, and Mozilla bookmarks, with
Rendezvous and Address Book integration and multi-level undo support,
"Top Ten" bookmark collection, based on your ten most-visited sites,
Google Search field in toolbar and a lot more including hundreds of
bug fixes.
Get Camino 0.8 here:
http://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla.org/camino/releases/Camino-0.8.dmg.gz
Read the complete Release notes, here:
http://mozilla.org/products/camino/releases/0.8.html
Nokia to Fund Minimo Project
----------------------------
Minimo, a Mozilla project to create a web browser for mobile devices,
has allegedly received funding from the Finland cell phone behemoth,
Nokia. This could mean that in a the future you may have Mozilla in
your handheld or cell phone too.
Minimo Project site:
http://www.mozilla.org/projects/minimo/
Minimo Screenshots:
http://www.mozilla.org/projects/minimo/screenshots.html
CNet coverage on the topic:
http://news.com.com/Nokia+cash+boosts+Mozilla/2100-7344_3-5236730.html
Sunbird Looking for New Theme
-----------------------------
Mozilla Sunbird, the stand-alone calendar project, has requested
proposals for a new theme for Sunbird. There has been a warm reception
to the call and there are several nice proposals already in the table,
with more expected to come.
Mozilla Sunbird project website:
http://www.mozilla.org/projects/calendar/sunbird.html
Follow the Sunbird theme development here:
http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?t=85054&postdays=0&postorder=asc
&postsperpage=15&start=0
4. PROJECTS
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Independent Status Reports
(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.
There have been many exciting recent developments in the Mozilla
Community, that affect extension authors and end-users alike.
These include:
- New Releases - Mozilla 1.7, Firefox 0.9, Thunderbird 0.7 and
Camino 0.8.
- A Web plugin alliance between Mozilla and other major technology
groups.
http://mozillazine.org/talkback.html?article=4923
- New Extension and Theme managers in Firefox and Thunderbird.
- Launch of update.mozilla.org. At mozdev.org, we feel that this will
be a valuable service that will compliment the services that we
provide for extension authors, and will provide a solid way for
users to manage their extensions and themes.
http://update.mozilla.org/
So now more than ever is the perfect time to switch to Mozilla, to
write your extension, and to invest in Mozilla technologies.
The latest report was posted on July 05, 2004 and includes:
deskCut - 0.4.0, desktop shortcuts in Linux and Windows.
For: Mozilla, Firefox
Platform: Windows, Linux
Updated installer to new API; Firefox 0.9 compatible.
http://deskcut.mozdev.org/
Launchy - v2.8.0, open links with external programs like Internet
Explorer, Opera.
For: Mozilla, Firefox, Thunderbird
Platform: Windows, Linux, Mac OSX
Notable Highlights include adding of Mozilla Firefox 0.9 installation
support and many small fixes.
http://gemal.dk/mozilla/launchy.html
DictionarySearch - v0.6, looks up words in an online dictionary.
For: Mozilla, Firefox, Thunderbird
Platform: Windows, Linux, Mac OSX
Added support for Firefox 0.9 and translations for german and french.
http://dictionarysearch.mozdev.org/
Citations - v0.1.7, tools to bookmark quotings and other.
For: Mozilla, Firefox
Platform: Windows, Linux, Mac OSX
Citations now works. It allows to select a text in a Web page and to
right-click to save it in a RDF local database together with the URL
and the author. It is like a bookmark aimed to "quotings" and special
phrases one wants to keep for future reference.
http://citations.mozdev.org/
Mnenhy - v0.6, MailNews-Enhancements and more for Mozilla, Thunderbird
and Firefox. Mnenhy returns the sidebar to MailNews!
Mnenhy now provides the ability to use folder dependent thread pane
column sets! It's now possible to e.g. see certain columns for News
only. As an alternative, the dependent storage can be limited to
accounts instead of folders.
Other features include:
- Custom mail/news header configuration for Mozilla and Thunderbird.
Yes, with clickable references!
- Text encoders and decoders like ROT-13, Unicode converters or Kenny
for Mozilla, Thunderbird and Firefox.
- Chrome Manager for Mozilla, Thunderbird and Firefox: Move,
deactivate or deinstall addons and extensions!
- Registry Viewer for Mozilla, Thunderbird and Firefox:View the
contents of Mozilla registry files like
mozver.dat or registry.dat.
http://mnenhy.mozdev.org/
Read more about each of these projects in the full report at
http://www.mozdev.org/status/2004-07-05-status.html
5. POLL
----------------------------------------------------------------------
In our last issue, we asked if you plan to switch to Mozilla
Thunderbird. Here are the results:
- I already have 61% |]]]]]]]]]]]]
- As soon as it reaches 1.0 status 8% |]]
- As soon as it includes a feature
in the roadmap 3% |]
- I am fine with Mozilla Mail and
don't plan to switch 16% |]]]
- I am fine with my non-Mozilla
e-mail client 7% |]
- I am stucked with my current
e-mail client and can't switch 3% |]
Note: Numbers may not add up to 100% due to rounding.
This issue poll: What kind of application do you use the most?
- Web browser
- E-mail client
- Word processing
- Spreadsheet
- Development tools
- Other applications
Let your voice be counted at http://newsletter.mozdev.org/home/
------------------------ ADVERTISEMENT ------------------------------
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Firefox 0.9 and Thunderbird 0.7, get it at $14.95. Mozilla CD: $5.95;
Mozilla 1.7 Guide $12.95.
Mozilla T-shirts and polo shirts from US$ 16.95 and the Firefox plush
at US$ 15.95 (yes, you can finally hug it!).
Visit: http://store.mozilla.org
****
Donate your old cell phone to the Wireless Foundation. Proceeds from
the sale of phones help fund agencies that fight domestic violence.
Other phones are refurbished and become lifelines for domestic
violence victims. Your donation (you value it) is tax deductible.
http://www.wirelessfoundation.org/CalltoProtect/index.cfm
****
Due to recent releases of several Mozilla products, traffic to
mozillaZine has skyrocketed. If you find mozillaZine valuable,
consider donating to it via Paypal, Amazon or Nochex (UK only).
Donating via Paypal is a breeze and doesn't take more than 3 minutes!
Donate to mozillaZine: http://www.mozillazine.org/donate/
****
Your ad can be here! Visit http://newsletter.mozdev.org/mlsp.html
for more details on how to reach our 6500 worldwide subscribers!
6. CONTACT INFO
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mozilla Links(TM) is a monthly electronic newsletter published by
the Mozilla Newsletter project.
SUBSCRIPTION MANAGEMENT : Visit http://newsletter.mozdev.org/home/
to subscribe, unsubscribe and set other subscription options.
YOUR PRIVACY : Only a valid e-mail address is required in order to
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than those related to this newsletter operation and administration
such as delivery, support, removal or similar.
COMMENTS : Welcome at [e-mail:newsletter-feedback@mozilla.org]
Mozilla Links is currently translated into Traditional Chinese, Czech,
German, Japanese, Polish, Spanish and Russian.
Copyright 2004 by the Mozilla Links Contributors.
The Mozilla Links Newsletter is released under the Creative Commons
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 1.0 license, available at
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/1.0/legalcode
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