Categories
Mozilla

Good idea for Thunderbird Plugin

Props to whomever can implement this:

I miss being able to open links in emails in tabs. Props to whomever can restore the “Open in New Tab” menu item to Thunderbird, and have it open in a new tab in Firebird.

That right now is my biggest Thunderbird regression. I miss my tabs.

Other than that, so far I’m rather satisfied. More details on my feelings on Thunderbird as my default email client later. I’ll also give a brutally honest review of Firebird as my daily browser. Illustrating what I like, what I love, and what I hate.

Overall, I’m doing pretty good in the new SW. I got my profile transfered (despite no import utility present). And I’m giving it a go. I know already I’m not going back. But that doesn’t mean SeaMonkey wasn’t good.

More info later.

Categories
Mozilla

Transitioning to Mozilla Thunderbird

Last night, I felt it was finally time to move to Mozilla Thunderbird. I decided to take a moment, and document the move, and show exactly where the strengths and weaknesses are.

Note, these are all my own personal opinions and thoughts. Everyone else’s millage I’m sure will vary. These are things that I noted and felt were worthy to note:

UI inconsistent for Address Book’s IM and Write Buttons (Bug 231218)

Account Wizard Focus Issue (Bug 231216)

Wants and desires:

Minimize to System Tray, just like AIM and Winamp can. It’s nice not having the clutter, since I have it open the all day long. (Bug 208923)

Ability to use my own PKCS#11 Module for securing the password manager (Bug 184947)

Lockout with master Password Authentication (Bug 23161)

General Reflections:

UI is a bit more zippy. It’s also a bit more fluent. The menu bars are much more logical. The extensions are much nicer. The theme is yummy. Having it separate from the browser is a definite advantage. It just feels more appropriate than integrated.

I’m glad to be a bit more modern ;-). Firebird has been growing on my since the summer, so now I get to play with it more.

Etc.

Temporary patch for AIM icons not showing status (and most likely never will). I’ll enhance that to squash a few bugs when I get to it.

Categories
Mozilla

Using Spamassassin and Mozilla

I’ve seen this asked a few times here and there. So here it is.

Categories
Mozilla

Calendar in Thunderbird

I’ve been an advocate of making Calendar an Extension for Thunderbird. I think Calendar extension is important in a Mail client, as most business users are accustomed to this (Microsoft Outlook). As a result, it makes sense for Mozilla to offer such functionality.

Besides matching, it’s also quite convenient. What 2 Apps do most people keep open? Email, and a Calendar. Secondly, Calendar can integrate quite well with email (Appointment notification, etc.)

This really is a giant step in bringing Mozilla closer to the workplace.

Categories
Mozilla

Firebird 0.7 is amazing, Palm Sync Again

First of all Firebird 0.7 is amazing. If you haven’t downloaded it already. Download NOW!. A great product. Much more polish since last release. Fine tuned, clean. More stable. Me likes. Thunderbird 0.3 is getting close as well.

Palm Sync is still in the works. Can’t get it working. Although there seems to be some drive behind getting it working. So perhaps next weekend, if I can get a few minutes of downtime, I shall try some more to get it working. It’s the missing feature before I switch to Thunderbird/Firebird as my Mail/Web product of choice.

Categories
Mozilla

The big debate

Time to make a little statement regarding Firebird vs. Seamonkey, and End User vs. Developer.

End User vs. Developer

I’ll start with this first.

Moving from a Developer/Development focus to an End user focus is a much better choice. The only mistake made in the past was not doing this since the early Milestones. Now the question you ask is why?

Every product needs an audience. If it doesn’t have an audience. It’s worthless. Mozilla is a solid application. The result of endless hours of coding on behalf of many excellent programmers. Someone should take advantage of this work they did. End Users are the ones who can benefit. End Users can use this beast that was created.

But what about the Developers you may ask? Who says they have to be ignored? Are they working on a moving target? Right now yes. But will it eventually become more stable? Of course. I have no doubt things will become more stable, and innovation will still continue.

The end user should be the focus. The end user should have always been the true focus. That doesn’t mean you can’t pay attention to the developers. And even help them out (documentation!). But the End user should be the ultimate goal. Help the developers help the end users. Help Mozilla help the end user. The end user should be in every sentence. If it isn’t… then what’s the point?

That’s not to say innovation, and “for the love of standards” is out the window. In fact it’s more relevant than ever. But it’s done with the hopes that the end result will be good enough “for the end user”. That amazing new feature that will revolutionize computing… for the end user.

Developers are important. They are what makes the Mozilla community what it is. But without a target audience (end user). What is this community serving? What is it bring to the Internet at large? A ton of code. What’s a ton of code that’s revolutionary, and able to benefit millions. A ton of good stuff.

End users should be Mozilla Foundations target. The Developers should be targeting End Users as well.

Mozilla Foundation should be helping Developers make this their target through better documentation

Firebird vs. Seamonkey

Firebird vs. Seamonkey is also quite a debate. Personally I’m all for Firebird. But here is my personal vision (not this is personal):

When I refer to “component(s)” I am referring to each product (Firebird, Thunderbird, Sunbird, etc.)

Downloads

Downloads should be available as separate installers for each app, or one “super installer” (capable of installing all with a “download n’ install” method).

Updates

GRE should include auto-update functionality. As Mozilla evolves quickly, end users should have it as easy as possible. Ideally it should check each component and see if it’s been updated. Even extensions.

Integration

Just because the conjoined twins are separated doesn’t mean they can’t still be siblings. For example if Firebird sees Sunbird installed, it should be able to integrate itself so that you can have outlook like functionality (calendar and mail integration). If not found, it should look as if there is nothing missing.

The app suite has the advantage of integration. But just because the apps are separate doesn’t mean they can’t work together. They just need the ability to work on their own. Because not everyone is at liberty to change email clients (those whose companies use Outlook Exchange). But they still want to be saved from the hells of Internet Explorer.

I’m for integration with separation. Firebird is great. But it would be nice to see all the new Apps be aware of each other, and work together. To make me. the end user. happy.

So I’m for moving forward. There are two types of programs. Ones under development and dead ones. Mozilla is under development. Changing and evolving. Every Lizard needs to go through puberty before it can become a mature adult. Puberty is an awkward stage. But it will pass.

Categories
Mozilla

More on Palm Sync

I need Palm Sync! Seriously.

Here’s the bug. And a nice long thread on the issue.

I wish it would be working, and whomever gets it working will be my new friend 😉

Palm Sync makes life so nice and easy. Enter someone’s email in my Palm, and it’s in my email addressbook. And vice versa. 1 place to do it all. So simple, and quick.

A great feature I hope to see implemented, and perhaps improved upon when the addressbook gets an overhaul.

Categories
Mozilla

I could use some Palm Support in Thunderbird

The one thing keeping me from using Thunderbird as my default mail client (and allowing Firebird to be my Browser) is the lack of Palm Sync Support.

I wish someone would build it as an extension or something.

As soon as I get it… I’m in. Testing full time, on a database containing thousands of emails.

I wish someone with the know-how to fix it would do so. Getting it going would really be a plus.

Categories
Mozilla

Should I switch to Firebird/Thunderbird

Asa recently has been blogging a ton of opinions from others on Firebird, and Thunderbird. One particular post struck me. He suggests switching to Thunderbird.

I’m getting somewhat close, but I need a few things first:

  1. Stability/Reliability – it hasn’t even gone 0.1 yet!
  2. Spell Checker addon (if not built in).
  3. Minimize to tray (so I don’t have window clutter).
  4. Better notification (perhaps in the system tray for windows, dock for Mac).

So I’m leaning towards sticking with Mozilla 1.4 (hopefully released tomorrow). But not quite sure.

Categories
Mozilla

Mozilla… did I know what was coming or what?

Well… I figured it out (or ironically ended up on Mozillazine during the brief moment the story was prematurely published). I think Mozilla splitting up into multiple apps is a good thing. Read on to see my hopes for the new Mozilla, and check out Asa’s Blog for some more info.