Slashdot Mirror
Mozilla 0.9.3 Released
nexex writes: "Shamelessly ripped from Mozilla.org, "Talkback data shows that recent 0.9.2 branch builds are more stable than Netscape 4.78 and we expect even better results for 0.9.3. Now is the time to try Mozilla again if you've been waiting for stability to improve." Translation: Mozilla is better than ever. Get your copy here."
text sizing:
CTRL+
Or
CTRL-
to enlarge text or make it smaller. great feature
Keywords:
edit bookmarks, pick a bookmark and pick properties, add a keyword. say 'sd' for slashdot.org. then type in the location box (ctrl L gets you focused on the location box) type sd and hit enter, you'll be whisked away to slashdot.org.
SideBar Tabs:
A great way to have quick acces to web tools like mapquest or an online dictionary. see the sidebar directory at:http://dmoz.org/Netscape/Sidebar/
"The Most Fun Possible on 4 wheels" is at SunBuggy in Las Vegas
Don't know about other platforms, but on Linux, you can just download the jdk (jre might work too). It contains a plugin directory. Inside the plugin/i386 directory, there are two directories: ns4 and ns600. Each contain a java plugin. Just make a link to the ns600 plugin to your mozilla/plugins directory. Works for me.
Je ne parle pas francais.
I happen to like the download-on-demand installer, where you pick the components you want to download and install. The odd thing about this is that it's completely tied to the version available when you click "download installer." The Mozilla installer for build 2000073108 looks and works exactly like the one for build 2000073109, but each one has the version number pre-written in the .ini file. Can't there be an option "download latest version" instead? That way, instead of downloading and untar'ing a new installer every day, I can just run it every day and let the installer I already have do the work.
For more information, click here.
Its just you ;)
Seriously, they have a detailed Roadmap outlining their plans. Their dates have slipped some but they've been holding pretty well to teh schedule. Currently plans call for Mozilla to go 1.0 with what WOULD be 0.9.5 if it is deemed ready . They are just using a differnet scheme for release, vs the beta to release candidate to release. Its all in teh naming. So if all goes well (and it sure seem to be finally) I'd bet they'll make v1.0 in the beginning of the fourth quarter. But even if they don't make it till 0.9.7 which is December timeframe it'll still be a huge accomplishment.
Top Most Bizarre/Disturbing Error Messages
On days like this when the server is busy, this network installer crap is useless. Where's the 9MB installer download, eh? I've had to run setup 15 times because it keeps timing out on the download of individual packages. I've basically run the installer once or more for each individual package. The setup program doesn't remember my settings from the last run, so I have to go through modifying every screen of the wizard every time. And after all that, I've still got to manage the downloaded files which aren't where I want them so that I can install on other machines easily.
I got around it by blowing away the existing Mozilla folder and then unpacking the new one fresh.
rm
Sci-Fi Storm
Bugzilla 44787 has been marked as a Won't Fix. It was originally entered as a bug (as in Bugzilla) and has been established as a minimum requirement. "The linux builds are built on RedHat 6.0 systems which use glibc 2.1. Therefore, the minimum required version of glibc is 2.1. Builds have been known to work (occassionally) when built under glibc 2.0.7 but they aren't officially built nor supported (due to known race problems with the 2.0 dynamic loader). "
But the most awesome feature is definitely Mozilla's ability to use multiple profiles, either IMAP, POP or local folders. When you used to be stuck in one single profile with NS4.xx, this is definitely a blast!
I used to run the Mozilla nightlies, but 2 months ago I decided to stick to the Netscape 6.1 branch because the Netscape 6.1 mailer comes with a spell check. Very comfortable feature, especially when English is not your mother tongue or when your religion forbids you to use the MSOffice suite.
The only two things that I treally miss in the Mozilla/Netscape6.1 mailer are:
Mozilla doesn't currently have spellchecking (it used to be that you could install Netscape 6's spellchecking into Mozilla, but that no longer works). So, if you're interested in spellchecking, please vote for bug 56301 (of course, you'll need a free Bugzilla account to vote).
Alex Bischoff
HTML/CSS coder for hire
Cons:
The slower-bit is offset if you use Galeon as a frontend. Which buys you a lot of speed, and somewhat better desktop-integration, on the expense of portability and library-count.
Both Mozilla and Konqueror are good browsers, but Mozilla is more technologically advanced, and the portability issue means a lot for it's acceptance and possible market-share.
Because they use Bugzilla to track all issues with Mozilla. Since people complain daily about the symptoms that turn out to be glibc problems, it's best to include the info in the bug report and just point people there.
That's also the place to debate the issue.
There are plenty of "bugs" that aren't, including feature-requests, user error, bad HTML/websites (e.g. the TLS mess), et cetera.
One simple rule for its versus it's
The only real thing stopping me from using Mozilla as a primary browser is its lack of support for secure connections. It simply won't connect to some bank and credit card sites.
I'll give it some credit. It now works (more or less) with my my two most frequently accessed accounts. But still, one of my primary bank accounts won't let me log in
What annoyed me most was reading the comments on the related bugs. Developers saying that ABC Webserver doesn't support the exact SSL specification here or there. That's life! Slight incompatibilities exist all over the internet. You have to work around them. Emailing the webmaster and having them upgrade their software is NOT the bug fix. Patch, kludge and work around the problem, please! Then, I can start using Mozilla instead of dumbass NS 4.78746372...
The question is, why is this called a bug? It seems that requiring glibc 2.1 is fairly common in other programs. Library dependencies are normal, as later versions have APIs that earlier ones lacked, and expected. (Also, annoying if you are not warned, but here we are)
So, why is a dependency a bug?
Best Slashdot Co
I like it. It doesn't crash. It renders pages quickly and correctly. In Windows I can use the "-turbo" command line switch to get IE like startup speed (I hope this makes it to the Linux builds too). But the biggest improvement over 0.9.2 is in my opinion that a window that is done loading doesn't steal my focus any longer! Previously you couldn't really have a lot of browser windows open because they constantly kept stealing the focus from each other.
I also like that you can open a link in a new window with the middle button. It's always worked like that on Linux, but it now also works in Windows. It's definitely ready for daily use IMHO.
That isn't saying much. It is my experience that nitroglycerin is more stable than any version of Netscape 4.xx.
--
"Open source is good." - Steve Jobs
"Open source is evil." - Microsoft
That would be bug 46029 ("[RFE] Multiple user_agent prefs like in Opera."). Feel free to vote for the bug if that issue is important to you.
Alex Bischoff
HTML/CSS coder for hire