Seamonkey 1.1 Released

stuuf writes "Version 1.1 of the Seamonkey Internet Application Suite is now available, with quite a few improvements over the 1.0 series. Some of the new features include spell checking in form text areas, a new tagging system to classify email, a better indicator for secure web sites and preview images for browser tabs. This release also includes many of the updates that have gone into the Firefox 2 and Thunderbird 2 branches. Check out the release notes and download page for more."

Comments

Competitors

[WiseMuse]

Who are the major players in the web application suite area?

Re:Competitors

[free space]

I'd say Opera, they have web, email and integrated clients for all sorts of stuff in one package.

Also, IE+outlook express (yuck!)+msn messenger aren't really a suite, but they come from the same company :)

Re:Competitors

[bunratty]

There's been some talk of packaging Firefox, Thunderbird, and Sunbird together as a sort of Internet suite.

Re:Competitors

[0racle]

Thats a great idea, they could call it Sea Monkey.

Re:Competitors

[Ididerus]

Um, it doesn't use Firefox, it uses the less-than-clean UI of Mozilla. It looks similar to Netscape ver.5 Which is soooo 1995

I'm sure that it is a great browser, but Mozilla needs to give us the option of which browser to use with the Seamonkey pack. Then I might consider getting rid of my Firefox/Gmail.com/mIRC/Notepad combo, which I can tell you is a lot more compact than Seamonkey.

Re:Competitors

[bunratty]

No, SeaMonkey is a monolithic application. The package of Firefox and Thunderbird would exist as a single download and install, but the applications would remain separate. It's just like OpenOffice is one download and install, but is six separate applications. As Mitchell Baker, Chief Lizard Wrangler, explains:

...it may well be the case that one option for delivering Mozilla products is to have a combined Firefox, Thunderbird, maybe a calendar, who knows. Some combination of products that the user gets and installs only once and gets a set. That may well be the case. We're not sure yet; some people want it, many people seem to be happy currently with getting the browser separately. The goal of Firefox and Thunderbird is a new architecture which allows those products to be built separately, to remain separate products. But that is separate from the packaging and delivery mechanism. So we do have in mind that it might make sense at some point to package these and deliver them together.

Re:Competitors

[Randle_Revar]

Um, it doesn't use Firefox, it uses the less-than-clean UI of Mozilla. It looks similar to Netscape ver.5 Which is soooo 1995

It does default to the "Classic" theme, but it also comes with the "Modern" theme, which is much nicer. And you can download many other themes from addons.mozilla.org.

I'm sure that it is a great browser, but Mozilla needs to give us the option of which browser to use with the Seamonkey pack.

There is no way to do that and keep the integration, because SeaMonkey is a single executable. You could run Firefox as your browser. and run SeaMonkey for mail, irc and composer, but that would not be any more integrated than Firefox + Thunderbird + Nvu + the Chatzilla extension.

The other option would be to see if there is a theme for SeaMonkey that looks like Firefox, but a theme could not do things like add a separate search box next to the url field.

On a side note, it is probably not really correct to say "Mozilla needs to" in reference to SeaMonkey. Mozilla is providing CVS, bug tracking, etc. for SeaMonkey, but since the name change, SeaMonkey is no longer an official Mozilla product. Like Camino, SeaMonkey is produced and maintained by a separate community (although there is a fair amount of membership overlap).

Re:Competitors

[evilneko]

Right. It uses the more-complete UI of Mozilla. ;) And it's anything but clunky. Maybe I'm biased as a Netscape fan from back when, but I rather like the UI. Interface aside, Seamonkey uses the same engine as Firefox, and at times uses a newer version. Mozilla/Seamonkey was on Gecko 1.8 long before Firefox got it.

Re:Competitors

[Ididerus]

Come out of the past man! Netscape is passé like compuserve. Really what I miss is what Randle_Revar pointed out, the search box beside the URL field.

I am going to load it back up and try out this "Modern" Skin. Anyone know if there is a pluging for my beloved search box?

Re:Competitors

[bunratty]

No matter what theme you use, the user interfaces of SeaMonkey and Firefox are quite different. SeaMonkey's interface remains close to that Mozilla, Netscape 6, and Netscape 4. Firefox's interface is simplified and streamlined. As one small example, SeaMonkey's Tools menu contains ten items, six of which have menus of their own! Firefox's Tools menu has eight items, none of which has its own submenu.

Re:Competitors

[green1]

>> Really what I miss is what Randle_Revar pointed out, the search box beside the URL field.

And that's the part I DESPISE every time I have to use firefox, in seamonkey it's easy, there's only one field, if you want to go to a url you press enter, if you want to search for a term you press the down arrow and then enter, all the functionality, but only one box. in firefox I always find I'm in the wrong box for whatever I want to do, in seamonkey it's just so much easier.

Re:Competitors

[WiseMuse]

It seems that the concept of a web application suite will become increasingly important, especially for up and coming browsers. I mean, for many people, Firefox came out of nowhere and offered a great alternative to IE. If another browser decided to make a marketshare grab, a hansome web application suite -- or at least the promise of such a suite -- could be a boon. Wouldn't you agree?

Re:Competitors

[evilneko]

What they should've done was include both. I think this is one reason Opera, which lacks some of the UI elements that I complain are missing from Firefox, doesn't drive me crazy like Firefox does. In Opera you can add a Google/Ask/whatever search box, you can type 'g query' in the address bar, or you can do as I do in Seamonkey: type your search query in the address bar, hit down arrow, hit enter. Do that in Firefox, and it'll treat your query as a URL. Do that in Opera, it'll assume you want to send it to your default search engine.

memory leak fud ..

[rs232]

Wanna bet someone will post a 'I like Seamonkey except for the memory leak problem ..

Re:memory leak fud ..

[HeroreV]

I've never experienced problems with Firefox or SeaMonkey leaking memory, but SeaMonkey's preferences has been extremely buggy for me. Enabling or disabling quick launch seemed to have about a 50% chance of succeeding.

Re:memory leak fud ..

[cascadingstylesheet]

>Wanna bet someone will post a 'I like Seamonkey
>except for the memory leak problem ..

It ain't FUD, bud. Firefox does have memory leak
problems. It's still my favorite and primary browser,
but the problems are real.

Re:memory leak fud ..

[bunratty]

Yes, Firefox does have memory leaks. But no, it typically doesn't cause any visible problems for most users. I'm sure all browsers have memory leaks, as do most moderately complex software packages. But generally leaks are a relatively benign problem that will not cause symptoms until after many days or weeks of use.

Re:memory leak fud ..

[cascadingstylesheet]

>But generally leaks are a relatively benign problem
>that will not cause symptoms until after many days
>or weeks of use.

Hey, I'm pragmatic about it. Like I said, Firefox
is my primary browser. But it's irritating to be
constantly told that we're imagining it.

Re:memory leak fud ..

[bunratty]

I think the FUD that the OP was referring to was not that Firefox and SeaMonkey do have some leaks, but that some people try to make "the memory leak" seem like a huge, obvious problem that is going unfixed. I've seen several posts lately saying something to the effect that "the memory leak" is not being addressed. The reality is that the leaks are being fixed. I also don't see any evidence that Firefox or SeaMonkey leak any more than other browsers. So there is FUD, and also you are not just imagining memory leaks.

Re:memory leak fud ..

[bunratty]

...they really need to fix the memory leaks.

There we go with the FUD again. 68 core memory leak bugs have been fixed in the past year. Core bugs are bugs that are common to all Gecko products such as SeaMonkey and Firefox. Yes, there are memory leaks, but they are being fixed. There's no need to keep complaining.

Re:memory leak fud ..

[nine-times]

I like Seamonkey except for its out-dated UI and the fact that it bundles a bunch of applications together when I really only want a web browser. ;-)

Re:memory leak fud ..

[arunprasannan]

You can choose to download/install only the components you desire, in the installer.

Re:memory leak fud ..

[mauriatm]

Yes, there are memory leaks, but they are being fixed. There's no need to keep complaining.

The nature of Mozilla development in the past has induced regressions. Correct me if I am wrong but I don't think much has changed, so I don't see why future memory leaks (new features, etc) cannot pop up.

And I disagree, unless users complain about something it typically will not get attention. Many bugs in software are there because there are acceptable work arounds. And after a while, known bugs, become "features". The workaround I've been told, and I quote: "buy more memory, memory is cheap".

So complain, just be reasonable in your expectations and try to be helpful. "The squeaky well gets the grease"

Re:memory leak fud ..

[pe1chl]

I still consider it a very unfortunate decision that the Mozilla suite was split in Firefox and Thunderbird (dropping the composer).
It was always possible to install only the browser, and the result of the split is that configuration information required for both programs is now fragmented, and that shared components like Gecko are no longer shared.

Unfortunately it does not look like Seamonkey will ever take over from Firefox and Thunderbird again, and we will have to live with this.

Re:memory leak fud ..

[bunratty]

The nature of Mozilla development in the past has induced regressions. Correct me if I am wrong but I don't think much has changed, so I don't see why future memory leaks (new features, etc) cannot pop up.

That's the nature of any software development. New versions of software have new features as well as new bugs ("regressions"). Why would Mozilla software be any different? If there are any new memory leaks, report them as bugs and they will be fixed.

And I disagree, unless users complain about something it typically will not get attention.

What I've noticed is that users complaining about vague problems ("fix the memory leak") is generally useless. What's much more effective is filing a bug report ("when I go to this URL, the leak-gauge.pl script reports a leak"). By all means complain, but complain by giving specifics of the problems to the developers by submitting bug reports. If you can't figure out the specifics of a problem, discuss it in the MozillaZine forums. Making statements such as "they should fix the memory leak" are utterly unhelpful and do nothing to help get the problems fixed.

Many bugs in software are there because there are acceptable work arounds. And after a while, known bugs, become "features". The workaround I've been told, and I quote: "buy more memory, memory is cheap".

However, I've just demonstrated that Mozilla developers have been fixing memory leaks instead of recommending workarounds. I'm sure no developer responded to a memory leak bug report by suggesting that you buy more memory. That's pure FUD again.

Re:memory leak fud ..

[Anonymous Coward]

But it is a huge obvious problem that is going unfixed. My seamonkey trunk nightly builds take up > 600MB memory on a bad day and my machine thrashes like crazy.

Re:memory leak fud ..

[edwdig]

The quick launch pref has been buggy since the Mozilla days. Generally, if SeaMonkey/Mozilla crashes with quick launch on, it won't go into quick launch mode the next time you start it. If you go into preferences, uncheck quick launch and then check it again, quick launch will turn on. Quick launch works fine though when starting up at login or after a clean shutdown.

I'm guessing a flag is stored on disk somewhere when quicklaunch starts which doesn't get cleared on a crash.

Re:memory leak fud ..

[RealGrouchy]

My seamonkey trunk nightly builds take up > 600MB memory on a bad day and my machine thrashes like crazy.

Umm...maybe then you should be using the "last stable version" instead of the nightly builds?!?

- RG>

Re:memory leak fud ..

[binarybum]

and you can switch the UI theme too. the modern theme that comes packaged with it is quite slick. I'm a fan of the home button plugin too.

Re:memory leak fud ..

[mauriatm]

I have to disagree with your generalizations, not all software induces so many regressions. I'm not saying Mozilla is the worst, but by no means are they the best. ... My comment regarding the regressions was based on watching the early development of Mozilla from circa 2000 to about 2004 or so, as of late I do not know if they have taken better step to catch their regressions.

As for bug reports, I do agree detailed problems are better for developers, but I just don't understand how an average user could manage to write bug reports. Someone might realize after some browsing their browser gets slow. After a while they just find that the memory consumption is unbearable. I had an IE user switch to FF circa 1.0 days. He said that after leaving the browser open for 3 straight days, it had some 200MB+ taken. IE in the same browsing did not exhibit that behaviour. Tell me how does that guy file a bug report??? He concluded that FF takes up too much memory and that his fair assessment. I don't consider that "FUD" or whatever.

I'm sure no developer responded to a memory leak bug report by suggesting that you buy more memory. That's pure FUD again.

I never said developer, but its the truth evangelists, advocates, whatever have countered with the "buy more memory" recommendation. Not just on Mozilla but other OSS projects as well. Sadly even on devel mailing lists. Oh well. Now that I can afford it, that's what I do. I just feel bad for those who can't.

Even if I accepted there were no memory leaks, then I would have to accept that Mozilla products just take up way too much memory.

Email Tagging

[elcid73]

I'm unable to install to review- can someone give me a "more than one sentence" description of the email tagging? How robust is it? How are the tags used? How are the tags arranged in the UI? How easy is it to tag? Can you "auto-tag" on meta data? Can you setup a "rule" like auto-tag? etc... I've been interested in this for awhile.

Re:Email Tagging

[Pretzalzz]

You can tag e-mails as belonging to one or more user-defined categories by either using the numbers 1-9(0 clears all tags) or using the menu. Each tag has a color associated with it, and the e-mail in your inbox assumes the color of the first tag making it easily identifiable. You can also tag e-mails based on a filter action, and search for tags, etc. Tags are essentially a reimplementation of 'labels' except tags allow more than one per e-mail. In the past I've lost my labels if my .msf got corrupted, but I've yet to have any problems with tags.

Spell Checker

[jmagar.com]

It's about time that the spell check feature become standard in all browsers. It boggles the mind that this has for a very long time been the main reason to get the Google toolbar, and the browser folks have not responded by including it in their package. With all this web 2.0 hype, and you being the person of the year, why is there no spell checker in the tool we use to create all that damned content?

Well done Seamonkey!

Re:Spell Checker

[Timesprout]

why is there no spell checker in the tool we use to create all that damned content

Probably because most of us dont use browsers to create content, only to view it. Creators tend to use tooling with spellcheckers included.

Re:Spell Checker

[garcia]

Seamonkey is a Web-browser, advanced e-mail and newsgroup client, IRC chat client, and HTML editing made simple -- all your Internet needs in one application.

I'm not quite sure why I need a browser, e-mail/news reader, IRC client, and HTML editor together in one package. To me (other than the e-mail and news readers) these are very separate functions that have no business being packaged together. Then again I'm very particular about my IRC client and e-mail and I would much prefer to use a regular text editor for HTML and e-mail. YMMV.

As far as spell check goes -- amen! I *love* in-browser spell checking and can't stand life without it on my mobile device. Not that I'm a bad speller, I'm just a poor typer while driving.

Re:Spell Checker

[Anonymous Coward]

I would say that spell checking should be a service the OS provides. Then I can configure it one place and not in multiple applications. Right now I have different dictionaries to download for Abiword, for OpenOffice and for Firefox and Thunderbird. It is rather sub-optimal. Windows XP does not do it, Vista, KDE, GNOME and MacOS X not sure.

Re:Spell Checker

[Anonymous Coward]

Let me correct your sentence for you:
It's about time that the spell check feature become standard in all OSs.

I think almost anyone who uses OS X will agree - spell-check is a service that is better done at the OS level. The idea of every application in the world having to include code-bloat to include a spell-check, all of which I have to add my last name to, is insane.

This is one reason I much prefer Camino to Firefox on OS X, as well.

Re:Spell Checker

[Anonymous Coward]

Not that I'm a bad speller, I'm just a poor typer while driving.

Then do us all a favour and PULL OVER!

Re:Spell Checker

[bradkittenbrink]

Probably because most of us dont use browsers to create content, only to view it. Creators tend to use tooling with spellcheckers included.

... he says as creating "content" from within a browser.

Re:Spell Checker

[spootle]

Web browsers are used to create a lot of content on the internet, your post for example.

Re:Spell Checker

[PygmySurfer]

MacOS X DOES provide an inline spell checker, though I believe it only works for Cocoa apps, not Carbon, and I think they leave it up to developers whether to implement it or not (it's an option for certain types of controls, like text fields). There's also a spell checker on the Services menu, though its more for checking the spelling of individual words.

Re:Spell Checker

[drinkypoo]

I'm not quite sure why I need a browser, e-mail/news reader, IRC client, and HTML editor together in one package.

Well then don't download it and STFU. What a waste of bytes. Guess what? I don't need a mammogram. Maybe they should take those breast cancer awareness commercials off the TV!

Re:Spell Checker

[value_added]

It's about time that the spell check feature become standard in all browsers. It boggles the mind that this has for a very long time been the main reason to get the...

What boggles my mind is the degree to which people have come to rely on their browsers and are convinced that every feature normally associated with a different program should be built into their browser of choice.

Don't mean to sound overly critical, but for me, a browser is (ignoring the few extra bits) something that renders web pages. I don't want it to do anything more. Put another way, a browser with yet-another-feature-X is like a dog walking on its hind legs -- you don't see it too often, and when you do, it's not done very well.

Then, again, I'm still scratching my head wondering why it is people need two spell czech they're work. Your reading, writing and typing skills will never improve (and may get worse), and for the lazy, it's a poor substitute for proof reading.

Re:Spell Checker

[OriginalArlen]

Hey, with the automated nightly builds I've been enjoying inline spellchecking, post-crash session recovery and a few other nice features for a while, and only had to clean out my profile, nuke the whole thing and revert to a released version a couple of times.

But I wish they would fix printing. I print stuff all the time, I much prefer the higher res, higher contrast and massive convenience factor of paper over screen - and it's still ignoring the "shrink to fit" checkbox and trimming the top / bottom lines on each page -- bloody annoying. Someone once pointed me at the bug and it's dependencies, and when the deps are fixed there'll be a whole nice domino effect of commits that will improve a lot of stuff. Come on devs, pitch in & help out, I'm happy to test the nightlies & file the odd bug if only someone would SR those patches!! :)

Re:Spell Checker

[maxwell demon]

How do you know? He might have written that text anywhere and then copied it to his browser. Or used mozex to edit the text elsewhere and have it automatically inserted into the textarea.

Re:Spell Checker

[green menace]

Umm, I didn't say I was a poor driver while typing. And obviously, you need to pull over as you can't spell favor ;) ;) ;) 1. favour = british spelling of favor - duh

2. I am sure you think you are an excellent driver while typing, assuming this AC is actually the parent poster. I hope you don't kill someone finding out otherwise.

Re:Spell Checker

[AntsInMyPants]

What I would rather have is a facility that can spell check any text in any application. That way I can have a single dictionary, instead of every application having its own (with its own code base, causing its own bugs and its own maintenance headaches, etc).

Something like what these guys are doing.

Re:Spell Checker

[99BottlesOfBeerInMyF]

MacOS X DOES provide an inline spell checker, though I believe it only works for Cocoa apps, not Carbon, and I think they leave it up to developers whether to implement it or not...

This is not quite correct. The OS X spellchecking service, like all the other services, works automatically in Cocoa apps without any work on the part of the developer (as I understand) and functions inline. Developers can integrate it in additional ways as well and it can be included in Carbon applications, but the developers have to do it specifically. For example, Firefox3 alpha 1 includes the native OS X spellchecking with the same dictionary as all the other applicatons, despite not being a cocoa application.

There's also a spell checker on the Services menu, though its more for checking the spelling of individual words.

This is the same spell checker and uses the same dictionary. It is just a different interface for getting to that function.

Re:Spell Checker

[nine-times]

In web browsers? How about throughout the entire operating system? Considering how unobtrusive that little red underline is, it seems to me you should have spell-checking available in every text box that appears on your computer, regardless of the application. And from the same dictionary, too.

Re:Spell Checker

[ZOMFF]

write! the spell cheque inn firefox is help full. Know wonder pea poll speak sew hi lee of it. Eye am surprised its knot inn this knew see monkey soft where.

Re:Spell Checker

[99BottlesOfBeerInMyF]

What I would rather have is a facility that can spell check any text in any application.

This is already built into OS X, along with a dictionary/thesaurus option. Better yet, OS X includes a services framework that allows the addition/customization of arbitrary functions like this, called services. I regularly use one for grammar checking (included with leopard), language translations, bibliography reference formatting, collated online dictionary lookups, removing windows line endings, statistical info, and a slew of other functions I'm not thinking of right now. It is, in my opinion, one of the most under appreciated features of OS X. KDE, by the way, has implemented something called "Kparts" that lets developers of KDE apps embed spellchecking making it more common and universal, but since developers have to explicitly include the feature, it is much less useful.

Re:Spell Checker

[99BottlesOfBeerInMyF]

What boggles my mind is the degree to which people have come to rely on their browsers and are convinced that every feature normally associated with a different program should be built into their browser of choice. Don't mean to sound overly critical, but for me, a browser is (ignoring the few extra bits) something that renders web pages. I don't want it to do anything more.

Different people have different needs and wants both in their browser and in other programs. Many, many people want spell checking for their Web mail, for example. I agree that this should not be added to browsers though. Spellchecking and the like are more appropriate to add/enable/disabable at the OS level. I mean if you already have this running in your word processor, why not share that functionality for your Web browser, e-mail client, chat client, text editor, terminals, calendar, etc., etc. This also provides the advantage of sharing one dictionary so you need only train it once.

Then, again, I'm still scratching my head wondering why it is people need two spell czech they're work. Your reading, writing and typing skills will never improve (and may get worse), and for the lazy, it's a poor substitute for proof reading.

Spell checking is not a substitute for proof reading, but it is beneficial in many cases. When I'm casually writing I often do not notice misspellings and having many of them highlighted for me makes my writings much more readable. Better yet, spellcheckers train people to spell some words correctly. How many times have you seen the word "rediculous" here on Slashdot? Don't you think that after five of six times of noticing it is highlighted in red and then fixing it those people would learn how to spell it?

As a side note, OS X already provides a global spelling checker as I describe that you can enable or disable globally, preventing a lot of code duplication and saving a lot resources for those who do use it.

Re:Spell Checker

[99BottlesOfBeerInMyF]

This is one reason I much prefer Camino to Firefox on OS X, as well.

Firefox 3 alpha 1 on OS X is pretty stable for me and includes cocoa widget support so the spell checking service and all the other services work just fine in it. You might want to check it out as it is more up-to-date than Camino which tends to lag Firefox quite a bit. It's not for everyone, but you do have a choice between trailing edge or bleeding edge if that is the feature you need.

Re:Spell Checker

[LandruBek]

. . . and have it automatically inserted into the textarea.

What textarea? Oh, right, the textarea of his browser!!

Re:Spell Checker

[Abcd1234]

Probably because most of us dont use browsers to create content, only to view it.

Tell that to someone who authors stuff on a wiki (such as Wikipedia). Or posts content to discussion forums (like, say, Slashdot). Or uses a webmail client.

Re:Spell Checker

[Jessta]

's don't need spell checking. What browsers need is a way to lauch an external text edit for editing form fields.

Re:Spell Checker

[just_another_sean]

How do you know? He might have written that text anywhere and then copied it to his browser.

Witch is exectley wat I hvae to do wenevr I pst to /. And it s a PITA!

Re:Spell Checker

[Lacota]

"I'm just a poor typer while driving." Most terrifying thing ever. Keep your eyes on the road man! They've banned cellphones in cars for a reason (at least where I live). Think of the children! (no really :P)

Re:Spell Checker

[sootman]

Couldn't agree more. I've been using Safari's for ages and it's great. (Edit -> Spelling -> Check spelling as you type.) It works in HTML textareas (like Slashdot's 'Comment' box) but not text boxes (like the 'Subject' box.) Still, for all the webmail I use and forum posting I do, it's great. What's best about it is it goes into the systemwide dictionary (~/Library/Spelling/en) so if I add a word in, say, TextEdit, the next time I'm writing about it in a browser it doesn't get flagged.

Too bad MS Office uses its own dictionary.

Re:Spell Checker

[jasonditz]

I don't need a mammogram. Maybe they should take those breast cancer awareness commercials off the TV!

You make a persuasive argument.

Re:Spell Checker

[antdude]

I just upgraded my SeaMonkey and I didn't like this feature. I am usually a good speller, and I noticed the speed was slower with this real-time feature enabled.

Re:Spell Checker

[kv9]

What browsers need is a way to lauch an external text edit for editing form fields.

MOFO has extensions that allow this.

Re:Spell Checker

[phaaq]

are you sure you don't need a mammogram? http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/male-breast-cance r/DS00661/DSECTION=6

Re:Spell Checker

[green menace]

Nah, I am a hick from America. I may have missed the humour in it I guess, probably because I get blinded by rage ever since some whore in a Mercedes talkin' on her cellphone while driving hit me on my bike, then drove off without checking to see if I was ok. The image of her head turning around to look back, cellphone clutched at her ear is burned into my brain. The thought of a douche texting away was more than I could take. My apologies.

Portable apps version?

[Weaselmancer]

This would be fantastic if there were a portable apps version of it. Currently I run portable Firefox and Thunderbird off my USB drive from work, and they're great. Having all that extra functionality bundled in, as well as only having one program running would rock.

Re:Portable apps version?

[Paulrothrock]

If you use portable Firefox a lot you might want to look into Google Browser Sync. It keeps all your stuff synced across multiple browsers.

Re:SeaMonkey vs Firefox / Thunderbird

[zer0halo]

Actually Thunderbird has built in NewsReader as well. Firefox has a couple of excellent newsreader extensions, and an HTML extension as well.

I also don't see the advantage of SeaMonkey over Firefox+Thunderbird, though perhaps I'm missing something. I wonder why developers continue to invest work in SeaMonkey rather than just create a meta-package that combines Firefox + Thunderbird + necessary extensions.

Re:SeaMonkey vs Firefox / Thunderbird

[ccandreva]

Personally I prefer the menu layout of Mozilla/Seamonkey to that of Firefox.

To each their own. Long live Open Source !

Damn I feel so modern.

[Dareth]

Just downloaded Seamonkey to replace Mozilla. So this is what it feels like to have a current browser!

Hopefully it fixes the jump/select issue I had with Slashdot and Mozilla.

Re:SeaMonkey vs Firefox / Thunderbird

[UnRDJ]

Seamonkey/Mozilla is much more customizable. I particularly like the ability to make key bindings, as well as define scroll ranges. Firefox tries way too hard to be minimal. Look at the preference page, there's barely anything there. Tons of features I found useful before Firefox came about were just cut. I don't want minimal, I like having lots of features.

Theme and extension to enhance Seamonkey UI

[Anonymous Coward]

I am writing a theme called SeaGnome for Seamonkey so it blends in nicely with GTK desktops. I have the Mail and Browser section but am still working on the remaining suite applications.
Try it out here:
http://markbokil.org/index.php?section=tech&conten t=c_linuxseagnome.php

I also have written an extension for Seamonkey which allows you to collapse down the toolbars and provides a quick menu to often used features. Great to reclaim screen realestate while browsing.
http://markbokil.org/index.php?section=tech&conten t=c_linuxmonkeymenu.php

Disable/Uninstall Components?

[Paulrothrock]

Is it possible to disable certain components of SeaMonkey? The HTML editor, browser, and IRC client would be helpful for me, but I don't really need the mail client since I use GMail or read newsgroups.

Re:Disable/Uninstall Components?

[Spad]

Yes. There's a fairly comprehensive list of components for you to choose from on install.

Re:Disable/Uninstall Components?

[sjaskow]

Um, how about Firefox 2.0 + Chatzilla + Firebug ? They seem to do what you want.

Re:Disable/Uninstall Components?

[fondacio]

The installer allows you to choose which components to install, so you can uncheck Mail & News.

Not So

[Dareth]

... my computer dual boots Win98 and Debian Woody.

I'm not so behind the technical curve... don't ask about my cellphone. Tunez sounds great!

Re:Not So

[Bright Apollo]

Lemme guess, Butabi brother?

-BA

Disappointed

[brian.aspx]

I thought it was going to be an upgraded version of the brine shrimp everybody loves.

No extensions

[kyager]

It would be nice if it support extensions like Firefox, thats the only thing holding me back from using it.

Re:No extensions

[Spad]

Well apart from the fact that it does, it does.

Only problem is that a lot of "Firefox" extension developers don't bother to add Seamonkey install scripts, so a lot of them won't install, even though they work perfectly.

Re:No extensions

[Anonymous Coward]

There's a fairly extensive list of extensions that work with SeaMonkey, and two people are actively working on making Firefox-only extensions compatible with SeaMonkey when their original authors are too lazy or incapable of doing so themselves. (Obviously they won't have success with all extensions - some extensions would need to be re-coded from scratch, given how crappy the original code is - but they're good with responding to requests, and have done a lot of good work already.)

Re:No extensions

[Spliffster]

"... a lot of them won't install, even though they work perfectly."

I am not sure if this is still true. I have written a couple of extensions for FF/TB and NVu. I have then checked what needs to be done to make them available in in SeaMonkey. SM uses quiet different structure for the menu overlay for example (altough consisten over platforms unlike FF). As you mention the install scripts have to be added. then (this is some while back) the chrome registry in SM used RDF files while FF isn't. And there are probably other differences (think of the preferneces dialo).

While these are small changes, it takes quiet some time to figure out all the details.

Re:SeaMonkey vs Firefox / Thunderbird

[noldrin]

If you are using any combination of Browser, Mail and Composer, Seamonkey is more compact. Also traditionally firefox has lagged behind seamonkey in tab functionality. These days I like it because it tends to filter out some of the craziness of firefox, so by the time Seamonkey gets features they tend to be the best ones with very bugs.

Numbering System?

[Pretzalzz]

Does anyone understand the numbering system? They've been calling the nightlies 1.5a for a while so is this a different branch or did they just decide right before release that jumping to 1.5 would look silly so they jumped back to 1.1?

Re:Numbering System?

[Arctic Dragon]

SeaMonkey 1.5 will be the next release. As per MozillaWiki:

The current working title for a release from that work is "SeaMonkey 1.5" (subject to change) with a release expected in 2007. (This work takes place on "Mozilla trunk".)

Re:Numbering System?

[Anonymous Coward]

This is from the Gecko 1.8.1 branch, the same as Firefox 2.0. The 1.5a nightlies are from the trunk, which will be Gecko 1.9, the same as the Firefox 3.0 alpha/nightlies.

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Re:Firefox, Thunderbird, and now Seamonkey?

[pembo13]

Mozilla has little to do with Seamonkey

Official web site

[Anonymous Coward]

Here.

:-)

Re:Firefox, Thunderbird, and now Seamonkey?

[bunratty]

Actually, Mozilla has almost everything to do with SeaMonkey. They developed Mozilla 1.8, which SeaMonkey is still based upon. They host the source code, bug database, and releases. The core of SeaMonkey is shared with Firefox and Thunderbird so most Mozilla development directly improves SeaMonkey with no extra effort. SeaMonkey remains an official Mozilla project. SeaMonkey simply isn't a Mozilla product, which means that Mozilla doesn't drive SeaMonkey-specific development or provide support.

Re:Looks great but

[Marxist Hacker 42]

Only when the real Seamonkey 2.0 is released from Monsanto- telepathic anthromorphic brine shrimp.....

Re:Spell Checker (that had better be a joke)

[gosand]

As far as spell check goes -- amen! I *love* in-browser spell checking and can't stand life without it on my mobile device. Not that I'm a bad speller, I'm just a poor typer while driving.

Unless this was a joke... you are a f'n jerkoff for typing while driving.

I don't need to go into WHY.

Re:SeaMonkey vs Firefox / Thunderbird

[zer0halo]

Do all FF/TB extensions work with SeaMonkey? I'd be interested in trying it out, but would be loathe to give up my favorite extensions.

Re:SeaMonkey vs Firefox / Thunderbird

[oerd]

Firefox can be customized through the chrome about:config menu. Some ppl may not find it very user friendly but you can set a lot of the features you may miss in the options/preferences menu. Some features you don't get at all, true. But hey, it's free! Just my two cents...

Slogan

[Das Auge]

And the download slogan could be, "Spank the Sea Monkey, now!

Re:SeaMonkey vs Firefox / Thunderbird

[noldrin]

No, I think some extensions might work, but in general I don't think they work. I usually keep FF around to be loaded with extensions for certain circumstances, but I use Seamonkey as my lean and mean browser.

Is the silly Email bug fixed?

[Fantastic Lad]

The worst part of Thunderbird is that it doesn't actually delete messages, and so, especially with tons of spam incoming, the email program gets very slow in starting up even after only a few weeks of use because it has to process 1000 or more messages for every 100 you save.

Does the Seamonkey email program have this problem?

And why doesn't anybody bother fixing this? It cannot be that hard to shift things so that emails are saved as individual files or to write a program which retroactively breaks up the giant inbox file into a bunch of smaller ones.

-FL

Re:Is the silly Email bug fixed?

[robogun]

I'm not seeing that problem, it seems to run fine for me with saved emails dating back to 1998 (imported thru Navigator 3 on) split into folders in six-month increments with about 4000 mails in each (a lot of those mails with attachments).

After deleting, you have to compress the folders (something dating back to the Navigator 3 days) & do not interrupt while it's doing so even if it seems locked or you will lose your mail. If you have a lot of mail it might take some time.

The major bug for me is you still often get a blank window when trying to reply to an email, it didn't happen in Mozilla Suite.

Re:Is the silly Email bug fixed?

[ukatoton]

It's not immediately obvious that you eed to compress the folders. And it's stupidly annoying. Something that needs automation, or a replacement.

Re:SeaMonkey vs Firefox / Thunderbird

[UnRDJ]

But hey, it's free! So is Seamonkey.

SeaMonkey = IceApe in Debian

[antdude]

For those who are curious or want SeaMonkey in Debian via apt-get, it is called IceApe.

Re:SeaMonkey = IceApe in Debian

[hritcu]

Lame

Re:SeaMonkey = IceApe in Debian

[antdude]

Yup, I agree. :( I wished Debian and Mozilla groups would stop fighting.

Re:SeaMonkey vs Firefox / Thunderbird

[Randle_Revar]

There are a fair number of extensions that support SeaMonkey, and are labeled that way. And some extensions that only list Firefox or Thunderbird will work with Seamonkey anyway. If you want to try extension in SeaMonkey, be sure to get the extension uninstaller API extension and the extension manager extension first.

SeaMonkey 1.5 (gecko 1.9) will have much better (but not perfect) extension compatibility and will have extension management built in.

I used to use Seamonkey...

[coldmist]

and now I use FireFox/Thunderbird.

Why? Extensions. I actually like Seamonkey better for tab options (Ex: Firefox doesn't honor the preference to open a new tab showing the home page.) and the overall integration (icons in the bottom left of the screen, ctrl-[123] to switch between browser/email, etc. Another one: One theme applies to the browser and email.

However, I run Firefox and Thunderbird now for the extensions.

But, I wish one theme could be used for both.

I wish it had all the options (or honored the about:config options that do work, somewhat).

If/when Seamonkey supports FireFox/Thunderbird extensions, will quickly go back to it.

Re:I like it

[Randle_Revar]

Any rendering bugs should be exactly the same as in Firefox, as SeaMonkey uses exactly the same rendering engine. SeaMonkey 1.1 uses Gecko 1.8.1, just like Firefox 2.0 does.

Opera, mainly

[Kelson]

Unless you count IE+Outlook Express, or Safari+Mail. Everyone's moved toward solo apps. These days it's pretty much Seamonkey and Opera that are doing the Suite thing.

Seamonkey: Web, email, newsgroups, HTML authoring, chat
Opera: Web, email, newsgroups, feeds, chat

Re:why forks

[Randle_Revar]

Fork are sometimes beneficial, and sometimes not. When forks are beneficial, it can be for a variety of reasons.

In the case of Firefox forking from Mozilla (now called SeaMonkey), the benefit was that Firefox is better for the "average user", and so it has captured much more of the browser market than Mozilla ever did.

The Mozilla foundation minimizes confusion by displaying SeaMonkey much less prominently on the home page and there is no organized promotion for SeaMonkey as there is for Firefox. Most people who know of Firefox have never heard of SeaMonkey.

Re:Total crap

[Kelson]

Recently when SeaMonkey installed with my linux distro... I started the browser... clicked on the icon in my menu to open another one and... that crap was still there !

From TFA (specifically, the release notes):

• [Linux] When launching SeaMonkey, already-running instances are detected (Bug 122698)

If this is your only problem with SeaMonkey, upgrading to the new release fixes it.

Does Seamonkey allow 1 process per profile?

[markjhood2003]

If I start an instance of Mozilla on :0.0, then starting another instance on :0.1 causes Mozilla to demand that I use another profile. Similarly, if I logon to another host where my home directory has been mounted and start Mozilla without closing down the instance running on the previous host, Mozilla again demands that I use another profile.

Because of this, I have a total of 4 personal profiles that I have to maintain in my home directory. Most of the contents are now symlinked to the default profile, but this is still a hassle to set up. Does Seamonkey solve this problem?

More frequent releases?

[RealGrouchy]

It seems that as soon as I upgraded to 1.0.5, 1.0.6 was out. The 1.0.7 installation files are still sitting on my desktop waiting to be extracted, and all of a sudden 1.1 comes out.

Am I just lagging behind, or do new releases of SeaMonkey come out more frequently than other common OSS (FF/OOo/etc.)? (Or am I just taking longer to install it because it's a bigger hassle to upgrade than FF?)

Anyone else find this?

- RG>

Re:SeaMonkey vs Firefox / Thunderbird

[Raenex]

about:config is stupid design. I don't care so much that isn't user friendly. What annoys me is that it isn't available from the Preferences menu. They have an Advanced tab. Why don't they stick a link to it in there?

Re:Firefox, Thunderbird, and now Seamonkey?

[jonasj]

It should be pointed out that when you speak of Mozilla as an entity (as in "they host", "Mozilla doesn't", etc) you are speaking of the Mozilla Corporation, which is only a small, though important subset of all that Mozilla is. http://www.mozilla.org/projects/