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Mozilla Foundation Seeking Switch Success Stories
maggeth writes "mozillaZine has a story about how the Mozilla Foundation is looking to know if any organizations have switched to Mozilla products. Is your organization among them?" Can anyone point out an example of a library system switching? Lots of public libraries use PCs set up as kiosks running a web interface to their catalogs, and they all seem to use IE -- so, no tabbed browsing.
For a site running Active Directory, IE can be locked down completely through group policies. Does anyone know if it is possible to do similar thing with Mozilla (ie. Default start page, proxy setttings, etc)?
Having just been looking into setting up one of those library kiosks, I can tell you that's it's because all the easy-install products are built with IE. There are lots of websites about how to set Mozilla up in a kiosk mode, but they invariably involve hacking JavaScript and messing with lots of configs. That takes too much time for anyone but the largest library systems. It's much easier to buy a $30 product like Fortres or Cybrary.
We need an easy download and install kiosk Mozilla, preferably also with an OS lock-down tool to make the catalog PCs as maintainence-free as possible.
Each time you convert someone you're bringing Firefox one step closer to being the dominant browser. Then what?
At my school library, I work as a semi-admin (well, I know all the passwords and help out a lot). Most of the stuff I end up doing is removing spyware. I installed Firefox on every box, but nobody was using it, and the spyware continued to pile up daily. As a last result, I replaced the firefox icon with the IE icon, and renamed it to "Internet Explorer." Everyone started using it, and I heard no complaints.
This is probably an evil way of doing things, but people are set in their ways, once they switch they like it, but getting them to not just use their same old browser is difficult.
Hook them on the popup-blocking and tabs, then sheer numbers will force web designers to shift to supporting standards.
Point and click is point and click. Most people don't do anything else with a web browser at all. Anyone who can point and click in IE can definitely do the same in mozilla/firefox/opera/whatever the hell lets you click on a url.
I also reply below your current threshold.
Each time you convert someone you're bringing Firefox one step closer to being the dominant browser. Then what?
Then I can finally design sites with proper CSS and transparent PNGs, without hacks/workarounds.
Heh, perhaps, but it's not like using Firefox is any more complicated than using IE -- casual users may not use the extra features such as tabbed browsing (hey, most of them might not even notice that it's not IE), but the advantages of using Firefox will still be there (security, the extra features for those who knows the software, and most importantly, freedom. Libraries just seem like the most natural home for free software. Conversely, libraries dependent on proprietary software just seems...wrong, somehow).
Additionally, the majority of catalog lookups are single-item queries--I'm not convinced that throwing a better browser at them would significantly enhance their library experience.
Sure, but some people also use libraries as their only net connection (particularly for e-mail, I'd imagine). These people deserve a proper browser too.
I second that. Integrate Mozilla and Firefox with Active Directory and you'll start seeing large deployments on Windows networks. Currently I can easily change IE security settings on all computers on my network with a couple mouse clicks. And somewhat related, I can also install programs that provide Windows Installer (MSI) packages with a couple mouse clicks. Luckily MSI support is listed in Firefox's Bugzilla (and was almost made blocking for 1.0), so hopefully it'll be soon when an official Firefox MSI is released.
It's actually pretty easy to create an MSI yourself if you have Visual Studio.NET (and maybe WiX, but I haven't tried), but some administrative rollout tools would be nice to augment MSIs. What'd be really great is MSI transforms that install additional plugins, so I can for example install Firefox on every computer in a Windows network and install Adblock.
Then the more actively developed browser (Firefox) will still be better than IE, which has been left to languish except for the most critical bugfixes.
You've obviously never tried to show Anything-But-Microsoft to a typical management type. I once had a boss tell me she wanted to use a "normal computer" when I offered to let her use my browser... which was Netscape.
Honey, I shrunk the Cygwin
with a 256 color skin? If there isn't one already, it shouldn't be too hard to make. The MSI installer shouldn't be too hard to write either. Installing Firefox is basically just extracting the files and adding a few short cuts. Isn't the MSI api designed to make stuff like that easy?
Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
But seriously, if your girlfriend won't let you look at porn you need to make a choice, her or porn and give up the other.
I love my SO very much, and would rather not loose her. Especially not over something as trivial as my browsing habits. That said I consider my browsing as something personal. My SO rarely touches any of my computers, and when she does she has her own login, which kind of eliminates all cache/history/privacy issues. I also maintain a diary in my home directory which I'd rather not have her read. With all these privacy issues out of the way I could browse all the porn I'd like to without her ever knowing about it.
It seems to me that we are still individual creatures even though we share a relationship. There are things which are mine alone, and things which are hers alone. Neither of us see any reason to try and change that. While we share a lot of things, some things are still private. That is the way it should be. Let me have my porn in peace. While my porn needs dwindled conciderably when I met my SO they are still mine, and I would like to keep them among the things she does not interfere with. Browsing habits, personal diary, are among the things I'd like to keep personal, YMMV.
But seriously, if my girlfriend sets up any kind of ultimatum where she asks me to choose between her and something (anything) whe better be prepared to loose me. She is basically saying that our relationship isn't more important than my [browsing habits, nose picking, whatever]. If she thinks so little of our relationship that she is willing to compare it to [browsing habits, nose picking, whatever] then the relationship is going downhill fast anyway.
I have also heard of people running mozilla from a USB key!. I am going to try that one myself
Make sure you don't put the cache folder on the USB key, or it will dramatically shorten its life (since it's flash technology with limited erase/write cycles).