blogger working to support firefox

Blogger has revamped their post editor, which now has a WYSIWYG mode as well as a raw HTML editing mode. Of note is that they’re testing their product on Mozilla and Firefox. It’s great to see large service providers starting to test their products on Gecko based browsers. Even as little as a year ago, … Continue reading “blogger working to support firefox”

Blogger has revamped their post editor, which now has a WYSIWYG mode as well as a raw HTML editing mode. Of note is that they’re testing their product on Mozilla and Firefox. It’s great to see large service providers starting to test their products on Gecko based browsers. Even as little as a year ago, Gecko based browsers weren’t even on most web developers’ radars. We’ve come a long way in the last year, and things are only going to get better! That Google is explicitly supporting Firefox on all their products (including Gmail as well) just shows that we have a product that developers can no longer ignore.

As Firefox gets more and more press attention, we’ll gain more users and mindshare, and it’ll be even more difficult for web developers to ignore us. I encourage you all to support the latest marketing initiative, which calls for users to talk back to the press. It’s important not only that we get press, but that the press we get is accurate and objective. I think it’s an excellent idea to develop a team of people who watch the press, and support writers who give us good press, and work with authors who write sensationalist or inaccurate stories about us and educate them so they can objectively write about us in the future.

infoworld plugs firefox; misleads on mozilla

Infoworld, a magazine that has a decidedly more upscale readership (CIOs and the like) than most PC magazines has posted a very favourable review of Firefox (thanks to yusufg for the heads up). One of their writers downloaded Firefox after reading about it in an MSN Slate article (of all places!) and is hooked on … Continue reading “infoworld plugs firefox; misleads on mozilla”

Infoworld, a magazine that has a decidedly more upscale readership (CIOs and the like) than most PC magazines has posted a very favourable review of Firefox (thanks to yusufg for the heads up). One of their writers downloaded Firefox after reading about it in an MSN Slate article (of all places!) and is hooked on Firefox! That’s great news, especially since hopefully some PHBs will be reading it. 🙂

But it’s not all good news. They’ve also published an article titled Microsoft products also vulnerable to Mozilla flaw, which is probably just about the most misleading headline that anyone could have conceived. While the article itself is not bad, anyone reading just the headline is certainly going to walk away with the wrong impression.

should gay marriage be unconstitutional?

Usually when I’m browing Yahoo! News, it’s more for the sensationalist, people-pleasing, and often humourous headlines that they offer. Today, to my surprise, I came across a very well written piece on gay marriage. The piece talks about the difference between Dick and Lynne Cheney’s views on gay marriage, and more importantly the difference between … Continue reading “should gay marriage be unconstitutional?”

Usually when I’m browing Yahoo! News, it’s more for the sensationalist, people-pleasing, and often humourous headlines that they offer. Today, to my surprise, I came across a very well written piece on gay marriage. The piece talks about the difference between Dick and Lynne Cheney’s views on gay marriage, and more importantly the difference between the Republican and the Democratic candidates’ views on gay marriage and whether or not it should be constitutional.

The article makes it pretty clear that both presidential and both vice-presidential candidates are against gay marriage as an institution. However, the difference between the Republicans and the Democrats is that Kerry and Edwards, although they are personally against gay marriage, support the rights of gay couples to share the same benefits as those men and women who marry the opposite sex. I think this speaks volumes about the relative importance that both parties place on the separation of church and state.

I really believe the Democrats have it right here. Although I’m personally against gay marriage, I believe that the state has no place telling people whom they can and cannot marry. Although I believe that the definition of marriage is necessarily dependent on the union of a man and a woman, there is no reason why those who do not share my beliefs should not be able to derive the same legal protections and benefits that opposite-sex married couples currently enjoy. And that’s why, even though I believe marriage is an institution of which gay couples cannot be a part, declaring gay marriage unconstitutional would be wrong and dangerous. Otherwise, where is the real separation between church and state? What real ‘freedom’ would America offer?

thoughts on astroturfing

I’ve been following with some trepidation the efforts (see here and here) to get 1000 reviews of Firefox on C|Net’s download.com. Why do I say trepidation rather than excitement? There are various reasons… First of all, I don’t think that review-spamming is a legitimate method of promoting Firefox. The idea that “we don’t provide boilierplate … Continue reading “thoughts on astroturfing”

I’ve been following with some trepidation the efforts (see here and here) to get 1000 reviews of Firefox on C|Net’s download.com. Why do I say trepidation rather than excitement? There are various reasons…

First of all, I don’t think that review-spamming is a legitimate method of promoting Firefox. The idea that “we don’t provide boilierplate text, and want people to give fair reviews” looks good on paper, but there is an inherent bias. People reading Asa and Blake’s blogs are unlikely to give Firefox bad reviews, no matter what.

It just strikes me that mozilla.org is encouraging astroturfing, which I tend to think is dishonest. It’s sort of like going to the Democratic National Convention and asking Kerry who Americans should vote for. No matter how much you insist that you want his honest opinion, you already know what its going to be beforehand, because of the person to whom you’ve intentionally directed the question.

I think there are various other legitimate ways to increase mindshare. Some of them we’ve been pursuing for some time, others we haven’t yet started, and others we haven’t even yet conceived. But asking people to increase mindshare this way I think is a step backwards from the kind of organisation I’d like to see mozilla.org become. So far I’ve been happy and supportive of all of mozilla.org’s marketing initiatives for Firefox. I can’t say I’m going to get behind this one, though.

Don’t get me wrong. I love Firefox, and sincerely think it’s the best browser out there. I have no plans to stop devoting time to what I think is an amazing project. I’m just a little saddened to see mozilla.org encouraging this kind of behaviour.

the israeli wall & thoughts on peace

The World Court ruled today that Israel’s unilateral construction of a wall separating Israel and Palestine is illegal, and that the wall should be dismantled. Of course, this means nothing. Why? Let’s look at some choice quotes from the usual suspects: “The only decision that matters for the government is the verdict of the [Israeli] … Continue reading “the israeli wall & thoughts on peace”

The World Court ruled today that Israel’s unilateral construction of a wall separating Israel and Palestine is illegal, and that the wall should be dismantled.

Of course, this means nothing. Why? Let’s look at some choice quotes from the usual suspects:

“The only decision that matters for the government is the verdict of the [Israeli] supreme court”.
Israeli Justice Minister Tommy Lapid

“This is going to go to the UN General Assembly. They can decide anything there. They can say that the earth is flat. It won’t make it legal, it won’t make it true and it won’t make it just.”
Israeli Finance Minister Binyamin Netanyahu

“We do not believe that that’s the appropriate forum to resolve what is a political issue. This is an issue that should be resolved through the process that has been put in place, specifically the road map.”
US President George Bush’s spokesman

“We have underlined that the wall not only results in confiscation of Palestinian land and causes untold humanitarian and economic hardship, but also could prejudge future negotiations and hinder a just political solution to the conflict.”
EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana

Once again, the United States stands firm in its irrational stance of pandering to the Israelis while ignoring the humanitarian crises that the rest of the world sees, including the EU.

Israel’s strength is the United States, without which it is nothing. As long as Bush (and American politicians in general) continue their Judeo-Christian crusade, Palestinians will continue to suffer. Years later, when people reflect on our times, I have no doubt that the unqualified American backing of Israel will be considered as one of the largest injustices of our time. This unqualified backing has caused far more damage and suffering to an entire population far more severe than Americans can even begin to contemplate. The 9/11 attacks don’t even come close (though many behave as if they were the most tragic events known to humankind).

As for a peaceful resolution, I think the road ahead is difficult. I don’t have a magic solution. But going ahead, what would I like to see? I’d like to see a peace which is respectful of the Israelis and Palestinians both, equally, with shared control of Jerusalem. A peace where neither side needs to live in fear of persecution by the other. A peace that is wanted, appreciated and respected by both sides. I don’t know how to get there, but I hope we do.

The reason I’m upset about the situation now is that Bush, the one man who really has the ability to influence and to set the tone with both sides has shirked his responsibility to do so. Instead of pushing for a peace of the type I described, he has wholeheartedly backed the efforts of Ariel Sharon to create a “peace” where the Israelis are “safe” from the Palestinians, but doesn’t address any grievances that the Palestinians have. This kind of “peace” is meaningless, and certainly not viable.

ebrahim.org now at Gandi

My migration away from Network Solutions is now 100% complete. I’ve transferred my ebrahim.org domain away from them and moved it to Gandi SARL, located in France. One of the cool things about Gandi is their contract (fr), which states: 1. The Client owns the Domain Name registered. Gandi simply acts on the Client’s behalf. … Continue reading “ebrahim.org now at Gandi”

My migration away from Network Solutions is now 100% complete. I’ve transferred my ebrahim.org domain away from them and moved it to Gandi SARL, located in France.

One of the cool things about Gandi is their contract (fr), which states:

1.
The Client owns the Domain Name registered. Gandi simply acts on the Client's behalf. Client acknowledges that Gandi services consist only of including in the shared Domain Names database, the Domain Name choosen by the Client, for the duration of the present contract and without prejudice, notably, that the Domain Name is available and that the Client respects terms and conditions of the present contract.

I have yet to find another registrar that states in such unequivocal terms that the registrant owns the domain. No longer am I a subject of the evil (and ridiculously expensive) empire of Network Solutions.

internet explorer team chat

I attended an Internet Explorer Team Chat earlier today, which was mildly interesting. I’ve posted a somewhat sanitised log of the chat on my blog, so you can read for yourself and see what they said. In short, I wasn’t very impressed with their responses. They weren’t committing to anything, and most of the hard … Continue reading “internet explorer team chat”

I attended an Internet Explorer Team Chat earlier today, which was mildly interesting. I’ve posted a somewhat sanitised log of the chat on my blog, so you can read for yourself and see what they said. In short, I wasn’t very impressed with their responses. They weren’t committing to anything, and most of the hard questions were tackled with “we’re constantly evaluating feedback” type of answers. After spending an hour in the chat room, I didn’t come out of there feeling any more enlightened about Internet Explorer than before I went in. Apparently they’re going to be doing this once a month now, so if you missed it this time, you can mark your calendars for the next time. Or something to that effect. Yeah.

UPDATE: Looks like Neowin.net has caught wind of this. Thanks to hao2lian for pointing that out.

musings on theology

Gerv recently posted an update after his recovery from appendicitis (and we’re glad you’re back!). Many well wishers left comments on his blog, and while he thanked them for their sentiment, he went on to say that most of them were wasting their time, which I thought was more than slightly distasteful (and probably incorrect … Continue reading “musings on theology”

Gerv recently posted an update after his recovery from appendicitis (and we’re glad you’re back!). Many well wishers left comments on his blog, and while he thanked them for their sentiment, he went on to say that most of them were wasting their time, which I thought was more than slightly distasteful (and probably incorrect from a Christian standpoint as well). After all, the God of Jews, Christians and Muslims is the same God. The differences exist only in how the respective religions are practiced.

jesus_X of MozillaNews has posted a somewhat lengthy but insightful blog entry in response to Gerv’s post. While I don’t agree with everything jesus_X says, I think its worth reading, because he raises some interesting and valid points.

please help me edit this xchat python script

The XChat script below catches instances of “bug 20000” (for example) and replaces them with “http://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=20000”. __module_name__ = “bugzilla” __module_version__ = “0.1” __module_description__ = “Bugzilla Url Converter” __module_author__ = “Marc Liddell” BUGZILLA_URL = lambda num: “http://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=” + num.group(1) import xchat, re def echoBug(word, word_eol, userdata):   subs = re.sub( ‘[Bb][Uu][Gg]\s*([0-9]+)’, BUGZILLA_URL, word[1] )   if subs != … Continue reading “please help me edit this xchat python script”

The XChat script below catches instances of “bug 20000” (for example) and replaces them with “http://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=20000”.

__module_name__ = "bugzilla"
__module_version__ = "0.1"
__module_description__ = "Bugzilla Url Converter"
__module_author__ = "Marc Liddell"

BUGZILLA_URL = lambda num: "http://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=" + num.group(1)

import xchat, re

def echoBug(word, word_eol, userdata):
  subs = re.sub( '[Bb][Uu][Gg]\s*([0-9]+)', BUGZILLA_URL, word[1] )

  if subs != word[1]:
    xchat.emit_print(userdata[0], word[0], subs )
    return xchat.EAT_XCHAT

  else:
    return xchat.EAT_NONE

EVENTS = [
  ("Channel Action", 1),
  ("Channel Action Hilight", 1),
  ("Channel Message", 1),
  ("Channel Msg Hilight", 1)
]

for event in EVENTS:
  xchat.hook_print( event[0], echoBug, event)

I’d really like it to display “bug 20000 (http://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=20000)” instead. Can anyone help me out here? I’ve tried to change the BUGZILLA_URL line to

BUGZILLA_URL = lambda num: "bug " + num.group(1) + " (http://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=" + num.group(1) + ")"

and many, many other variations, but all are a no-go. Can someone help me make this script do what I want? 🙂 I’ve tried Googling for answers with no success. I’m sure its a minor detail I’m missing, but I’ve spent a long time on it now and can’t figure it out.

Any help would be sincerely appreciated.

UPDATE: I’ve posted a fixed, updated script here (see also the comments section). Note that it requires a working Python plugin for XChat.

explaining the blocking-aviary1.0RC1 flag

I haven’t seen this flag documented publically anywhere, so I’m going to document it here: As I mentioned in my previous blog entry (based on Asa’s blog entry), Firefox 1.0 Beta will be replaced by Firefox 1.0 RC1, and there will be an RC2 and RC3 as well before Firefox 1.0 ships. The blocking-aviary1.0RC1 flag … Continue reading “explaining the blocking-aviary1.0RC1 flag”

I haven’t seen this flag documented publically anywhere, so I’m going to document it here:

As I mentioned in my previous blog entry (based on Asa’s blog entry), Firefox 1.0 Beta will be replaced by Firefox 1.0 RC1, and there will be an RC2 and RC3 as well before Firefox 1.0 ships.

The blocking-aviary1.0RC1 flag is used to nominate bugs that block the RC1 release (of Firefox and/or Thunderbird). Bugs that meet any of these criteria are candidates for blocking-aviary1.0RC1:

– Bugs with complex fixes.
– Bugs with high risk fixes.
– Anything that has a localisation (l10n) impact.
These bugs are usually already marked as blocking-aviary1.0+.

The blocking-aviary* flags are available for bugs in the Browser, MailNews and Thunderbird products as well as Firefox, which is indicative of the fact that some backend bugs could potentially block the 1.0 releases of Aviary products. The flags are also shared between Firefox and Thunderbird, which means that bugs which are blocking-aviary1.0RC1+ or blocking-aviary1.0+ may block either Firefox or Thunderbird, but not necessarily both (though some may indeed block both).

As a friendly reminder, when setting blocking flags, please only set ‘?’ flags and not ‘+’ or ‘-‘ flags. This applies to almost everyone. If you have to ask if it applies to you then it does.