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I turned my caps key into an extra control key, one of the best things I've ever done to my computer.

http://johnhaller.com/jh/useful_stuff/disable_caps_lock/

The GPL has failed. It has created software that is LESS, not more, free.

and yet it has created more software. Perhaps the GPL has not failed.

The two successful consumer OSes? Windows and OSX (derived from FreeBSD).

Android is rapidly gaining ground; it's not threatening either of those operating systems yet but it has the potential to do so because of the candy coating. And while it's not mostly GPL, it's still built on a GPL base. That's actually the most important part, because if you can get the Linux kernel running on the hardware, the hardest part has been done for you — by definition you're going to be able to get enough information about the hardware to boot the kernel, in the form of source code, which is a great basis for reverse-engineering of the rest of the system.

The GPL removes the financial incentives, and that's why we've never had a year of the linux desktop, and never will.

Desktops are going away more and more rapidly. Less and less people are interested in owning one. As more people begin to carry around dual- and quad-core cellphones with video outputs, they're going to want to use those more of the time, and as most people spend most of their time consuming rather than producing media, it's turning out that tablets are rather popular and applicable after all now that the interface technology is satisfactory, unlike the days of tethered pens. And of the contenders in mobile computing, the field is being divided between the camps of BSD, GPL (kernel anyway) and closed source just as everything else has.

I've been using this Windows hack to turn my Caps Lock key into a regular old Shift key for about a year now. I hardly noticed, except I don't have sentences tHAT LOOK LIKE THIS ANYMORE.

Don't you look at what your typing on the screen, while your typing it? I don't understand how people can write whole pages in all caps and not notice it. Hunt and Peck typing? Jamie

You're welcome ;-)

I've been using this Windows hack to turn my Caps Lock key into a regular old Shift key for about a year now. I hardly noticed, except I don't have sentences tHAT LOOK LIKE THIS ANYMORE.

Rebind it to CTRL and learn to love the CAPS key

http://johnhaller.com/jh/useful_stuff/disable_caps_lock/

I love the caps key now, I rebound it and turned it into an additional CTRL key. It's much easier to access now, it does cause so drawbacks when I use a different computer though.

http://johnhaller.com/jh/useful_stuff/disable_caps_lock/

Microsoft distributed .NET updates over Windows Update when you already have it installed, but doesn't automatically install it, so most users don't have it since most users only do automatic (aka critical) updates. If you have manually installed .NET 2.0, it won't auto-install .NET 3.0 either... just security updates for .NET 2.0.

I have a breakdown of what .NET versions are pre-installed and available for download for each version of Windows here:
http://johnhaller.com/jh/useful_stuff/dotnet_portable_apps/

You can make Firefox look like Internet Explorer.

While I was working for SiemensVDO, we had to use IE6 too, so I have installed firefox portable (had to rename the executable to iexplore.exe too), downloaded a IE6-like skin and made a few quircks to make it look even more like IE (like got rid of yellow addressbar for https). Here are the instructions: http://johnhaller.com/jh/mozilla/firefox_internet_explorer/
It works very well, even the colleagues who have used it didn't spot the difference. So I could use all the benefits of firefox and pretend I was using IE6.

The Hivelogic Enkoder keeps the email address clickable.
(The website for Automatic Corporation (automaticlabs.com), home to the Enkoder, is currently down.)

John Haller's Obfuscate Mailto 1.01 email address not clickable but remains visible if JavaScript disabled.

Would this help? http://johnhaller.com/jh/mozilla/portable_firefox/

Disable Caps Lock in Windows, or remap it to act like Shift or Ctrl:
the site, the mirror.

I have some simple registry files up that allow you to easily disable caps lock, turn it into a control key or swap it with the left control key (for some old school keyboarding goodness). Just head to Disable Caps Lock.

I have registry files up on my site that allow you to easily disable one or both Windows keys.

There are lots of people in the world that are still using Windows 95/98/Me. More than Mac, Linux and UNIX combined. Many have older machines that don't support Windows 2000. Most have no idea how to upgrade an operating system. Some only get a new operating system when they buy a new PC. Many can't afford either a new PC or a new OS. None have a clue what Linux is or how to use it.

But, many of these people can, with a little help from a webpage or a techie friend, install a new browser. One that can protect them from online nasties. One that doesn't let people install random bits of code. One that lets them explore new areas online. This is far easier than an OS upgrade. Or a new PC. And it's free.

Firefox officially dropped Windows 95 support quite a while back, but it does still run fine on Windows 95. I keep instructions on how to Run Firefox on Windows 95 on my website for just this reason. It gets a couple thousand page views a month. And I still get emails from people thanking me for compiling it.

Windows 98, on the other hand, has been officially supported this entire time. And lots of people are running it. While we may not have a solid source for stats (and, no, W3 Schools is not a solid source for stats... it's geek-centric and not reflective of the overall web), something like TheCounter.com provides some global OS stats that are a bit more indicative of the net at large... at least in terms of those visiting smaller sites.

So, basically, dropping Windows 9x support would be a disservice to lots of folks around the world. Now, if Firefox 2.0 is going to keep support for it AND have security patches issues for quite a while after FF3 is released, that wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing. But having an actively-maintained, secure browser for these older Windows users is important.

The major problem that I have with one of the on-line calendars is that your information is stored on someone else's server. Although it is unlikely that anyone would use this information, the potential is there. Not that I'm worried if someone finds out that I'm going to a baseball game next week, but the principal of the thing; I don't want anyone... not some hacker, and not the government... having access to my schedule.

Instead, I am using Portable Sunbird (Portable Sunbird) on a UBS Drive that goes everywhere I do. I plug the drive into any UBS port, and have instant access to my calendar (not to mention Email and Browser Bookmarks using Portable Thunderbird and Portable Firefox)... all without leaving my personal information on the computer I am using at the time.

Get a cheap 32M or so USB Flash drive, a copy of Portable Firefox and there you go, all your cookies, passwords and sekrets are yours to keep.

I posted a few possible solutions at AOL Email Tax - Proposed Solutions earlier this week. Basically, I recommend people begin charging AOL users $1 to sign up for otherwise free email newsletters... allowing you money for the actual fee, the credit card fee, and compensation for the extra work to setup an AOL-only list. This should be clearly labeled as an AOL Email Tax with an explanation of why it is charged and a suggestion to contact AOL if they don't like it. For systems where charging isn't feasible... blocking AOL users or warning them they may not receive the newsletter are viable options as well.

Netscape 4's browser share is probably in the single decimal digits at this point

Netscape 4.x usage is currently at about 0.07% from a statistics summary compiled from three major sources.

w3schools.com is directed towards a technical audience that is more likely to use minority browsers.

For example, this page shows 85% IE, 10% Firefox, and 5% everything else. And, Web browser statistics are unreliable.

In the real world, design the site on Firefox, debug the site on IE6, and make sure there aren't any glaring incompatibilities in Safari and Opera. Minor unfixable incompatibilities (such as Opera's and Safari's problem with jumping centered content based on whether there is a scrollbar) with non IE/Firefox can be ignored.

Working linkt to a whole bunch of portable apps:
http://johnhaller.com/jh/useful_stuff/portable_app s_suite/

I use portableThunderbird (thunderbird that runs from a USB drive) and it's great.

when I go to conferences and they present you with a laptop to load your slides onto, they WILL NOT let you install software (ie - install OO.o)

Hell even if you could make a build of all of OO.o into a single executable that didn't need an install procedure that would be just fine.

this is for you:
FirefoxIE7 (via Make Firefox Look Like Internet Explorer )

Some of us aren't "most people", and would like more/faster thumb drives. Personally, I run Portable Thunderbird off of one of mine, and I wouldn't mind a bit faster transfer speeds...especially when I have to backup 100+megs of email. Not to mention that opening a large pdf file off of a thumb drive can be a slow process.

Just because you use your thumb drive one way, don't assume everyone else uses theirs the same way.

What about doing something like this:

http://johnhaller.com/jh/mozilla/firefox_internet_ explorer/

• Portable Firefox
• Portable Thunderbird
• Portable NVU
• Portable SunBird
• Portable Gaim
• Portable OpenOffice

• Portable Firefox
• Portable Thunderbird
• Portable NVU
• Portable SunBird
• Portable Gaim
• Portable OpenOffice

• Portable Firefox
• Portable Thunderbird
• Portable NVU
• Portable SunBird
• Portable Gaim
• Portable OpenOffice

• Portable Firefox
• Portable Thunderbird
• Portable NVU
• Portable SunBird
• Portable Gaim
• Portable OpenOffice

• Portable Firefox
• Portable Thunderbird
• Portable NVU
• Portable SunBird
• Portable Gaim
• Portable OpenOffice

• Portable Firefox
• Portable Thunderbird
• Portable NVU
• Portable SunBird
• Portable Gaim
• Portable OpenOffice

Despite what the parent says, you DO NOT NEED TO PUT THIS ON A THUMBDRIVE! All it really equates to is a fully preconfigured and compartimentalized "install" of OOo. Need to update it? No worries, roll out a new version (or a diff) of the changed files. Everything is housed under the one directory.

I use the portable version of FireFox and Thunderbird for myself and the inlaws because you can always guarentee that you've got all of the config files and user data (bookmarks and emails in their cases) under the one folder, so backups and updates are 100x easier (least for me). YMMV, but it's worht a look!!

I use portable open office; buy everyone a USB pen (which will be a fractional cost compared to 65K), download once, install on each pen.

http://johnhaller.com/jh/useful_stuff/portable_ope noffice/

Only drawback I see is that you're trusting the users to not lose these pens.

you can use http://johnhaller.com/jh/useful_stuff/portable_ope noffice/ to implement the portablity, and the price of USB drives are fairly cheap, at a cost of $90 for 1 GB not bad...

I like the idea of taking along a full OS on a portable drive. They should consider adding a virtual machine that runs under Windows and can boot it. Then, you can use it in locations where rebooting would be an issue (internet cafes, at work, on mom's PC).

Until something like that comes along... and doesn't have a 5 minute startup timeframe... I'll stick to Portable Apps.

(Full disclosure: Yes, that's my website.)

Portable Firefox has been updated to the 1.5 RC2 release. For the unfamiliar, Portable Firefox allows you to carry your whole web browser along with all your bookmarks and extensions with you on a USB thumbdrive, iPod, portable hard drive or any other portable media. You can plug it right into any Windows computer and use it just like you would on your own. It is a repackaged version of Firefox designed with portability in mind, so it has all the same great features, but there's nothing to install.

Portable Firefox 1.5 RC2

And if you're a fan of the portable apps, Portable Gaim 1.5 Beta was released to day, as was Portable Apps Suite, a preconfigured suite of portable applications including Firefox, Thunderbird, Sunbird, NVU, OpenOffice.org, AbiWord, FileZilla and Gaim.

Portable Firefox has been updated to the 1.5 RC2 release. For the unfamiliar, Portable Firefox allows you to carry your whole web browser along with all your bookmarks and extensions with you on a USB thumbdrive, iPod, portable hard drive or any other portable media. You can plug it right into any Windows computer and use it just like you would on your own. It is a repackaged version of Firefox designed with portability in mind, so it has all the same great features, but there's nothing to install.

Portable Firefox 1.5 RC2

And if you're a fan of the portable apps, Portable Gaim 1.5 Beta was released to day, as was Portable Apps Suite, a preconfigured suite of portable applications including Firefox, Thunderbird, Sunbird, NVU, OpenOffice.org, AbiWord, FileZilla and Gaim.

Portable Firefox has been updated to the 1.5 RC2 release. For the unfamiliar, Portable Firefox allows you to carry your whole web browser along with all your bookmarks and extensions with you on a USB thumbdrive, iPod, portable hard drive or any other portable media. You can plug it right into any Windows computer and use it just like you would on your own. It is a repackaged version of Firefox designed with portability in mind, so it has all the same great features, but there's nothing to install.

Portable Firefox 1.5 RC2

And if you're a fan of the portable apps, Portable Gaim 1.5 Beta was released to day, as was Portable Apps Suite, a preconfigured suite of portable applications including Firefox, Thunderbird, Sunbird, NVU, OpenOffice.org, AbiWord, FileZilla and Gaim.

Out of curiosity, what's the relationship between Mobility Email and Portable Thunderbird. From the description, the two sound identical. Are they actually the same thing (same code)? Do they share code? Are there any differences?

Btw, I use Portable Thunderbird on a network so that I can access my email client from any computer on the lan. The one thing missing from Portable Thunderbird (and it seems that Mobility Email is the same) is to be OS portable also. There are tricks that I've used to get my Thunderbird profile to load on both Windows and Linux, but the ideal would be if the application were designed to run seamlessly regardless of what OS you tried to run it on (Windows, Mac, Linux)...

Here is the solution for that - Portable Firefox. It doesn't require installing.

I've also released a test version of Portable Firefox based on the new release for anyone that would like it portable... or anyone that wants to try it out without messing with their local profile or Profile Manager.

Portable Firefox: Deer Park 1.5 RC1:
http://johnhaller.com/jh/mozilla/portable_firefox/ deer_park/

For the unfamiliar, Portable Firefox allows you to carry your whole web browser along with all your bookmarks and extensions with you on an iPod, USB thumbdrive, portable hard drive or any other portable media. You can plug it right into any Windows computer and use it just like you would on your own. It is a repackaged version of the popular Mozilla Firefox browser designed with portability in mind, so it has all the same great features of Firefox, but there's nothing to install.

http://johnhaller.com/jh/useful_stuff/portable_ope noffice/

You got to love free software, if you don't like it the way it is now. Addapt it to your own needs, or have someone else to addapt it

Unfortunately, to install it on Windows, you still need admin rights.

An alternative is Portable OpenOffice.org, although the version currently listed is 2.0 Beta.

http://johnhaller.com/jh/useful_stuff/portable_ope noffice/

Yeah, my Firefox is kinda slow to start, say 30 seconds to about 1 minute to load, but of course that's because I'm using Portable Firefox on an USB drive. Occasionally I'll have issues with FF crashing on me when I've been running it for a while, but of course I've enabled caching on the USB drive (against recommendations) and only have 5 meg free on the drive. And Sometimes it drops the internet connection altogether when it's idle for about 3 minutes when I'm using it on my Treo via win-hand anywhere, but it comes right back up when I turn the treo back on (so weird - why does this happen?). So I guess you've convinced me, FIREFOX SUCKS!! I'm going back to IE.

I could not see any polite nods to the original Portable Thunderbird project by John Haller: http://johnhaller.com/jh/mozilla/portable_thunderb ird/

Or to John Urbanek who originally put together Portable Thunderbird with Enigmail/GPG ages ago: http://dev.weavervsworld.com/projects/ptbirdeniggp g/

Is this a complete rip-off or what?

I've been using Portable Thunderbird for over a year

Now, if it could only be released in a "Portable" version. While I certainly love the current concept, to me, having an option of installing these apps as "portable" versions simply rocks. Yes, many users want Firefox and Thunderbird to be installed so that they become the "default" apps, but having it available in a completely transportable format has been invaluable to me.

Specific to Firefox, one thing I would love to see developed is some sort of "web-syncable profile". I simply love the current implementation of the Bookmark Synchronizer extension, and I would like to see a similar concept developed that would let me sync my profile (less the cache) with an FTP site. Build this concept into the Firefox core (that would securely sync, manage, and clean up after itself), and you would have a reasonably secure, truely portable "Web Workspace" wherever you are. I have several PC's located at both work and home, and synchronizing everything is often a pain. I end up just moving around with a Portable Firefox installation. having an online profile sync would be wonderful!