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Archive for March, 2006

Firefox 2.0 Alpha (Bon Echo)

Published on March 23, 2006 in Firefox

Mozilla has officially released the Firefox 2.0 (Bon Echo) Alpha. Due out later this year, Firefox 2.0 will include a handful of improvements and new features. These changes include a new storage system for bookmarks and history. The Places window is one of the biggest changes for the end user. This window allows the user to search their history, bookmarks, and RSS subscriptions by keywords. There are also a few minor tweaks to the UI, such as Xs on inactive tabs for easy closing (for those who do not like this approach an extension called Tab No X reverses the close buttons on tabs or you can use the Tab Mix Plus developer extension).

If you plan on installing this version of Firefox be forewarned this is alpha software so you will face some crashes while using it and all of the features are not fully complete (a list of the known issues is here. In addition, many extensions will not work. The best way to go about playing around with it then is to use a portable version of the build. This will allow you to use a separate profile from your original installation of Firefox. Secondly, if you want to try out extensions that will not install under Bon Echo grab a copy of the Nightly Tester Tools extension. This allowed me to easily install and run the excellent Web Developer extension, for example. There is no guarantee that an extension will work correctly, but most of the times they will.

Text Entry System for the Palm

Published on March 9, 2006 in Palm

Alexander Pruss, the creator of mySkin, has recently released a new keyboard entry system for the Palm. myKbd adds a customizable hex keyboard to mySkin. The application comes with two different hex keyboard layouts, including the ATOMIK layout optimized by IBM researchers for speed of typing in English.

Palm Crystal myKbd Keyboard

In addition to the keyboard, the user can define up to 10 macros. Macros allow you run a variety of commands in one step. For example, this macro will open up Memo Pad, write the text ‘This is a macro.’ and then enter the date stamp in the memo, and finally exit the memo to the main screen in Memo Pad.

<run Memo Pad> –> choose run… and then select Memo Pad
This is a macro. –> enter this text in directly
<date> –> choose datestamp
<tap Done> –> choose tap button… and type in the word Done

del.icio.us on the Go

Published on March 6, 2006 in Palm

For those of us who use the del.icio.us bookmarking site there is a new way to get del.icio.us on the go. Mobilicio.us is a online tool that combines del.icio.us with Google’s Mobile Search tool. Any del.icio.us link that has been tagged with ‘mtag’ will show up in the in Mobilicio.us by default, or you can choose to view all your del.icio.us links. This is a quick and easy way to take access all of one’s mobile bookmarks, whether it be just on the Palm or between a Palm and a mobile phone, etc. The main advantage I see with this approach over just running the regular del.icio.us site through Google Mobile is that you get a much cleaner interface with all of the extraneous information stripped out. If you are using a Palm with wireless access, I would highly recommend an approach like this, whether it be with Mobilicio.us, a regular del.icio.us, Furl, etc. to store bookmarks across multiple computers and devices. It is a much cleaner and easier approach then something like Chapura’s “Pocket Favorites”.

Note: For those who are concerned about del.icio.us going away and loosing all of your bookmarks look here to find ways to back up del.icio.us.

Extend Firefox Contest Winners

Published on March 3, 2006 in Design, Firefox

Mozilla has announced the winners of their Extend Firefox contest. Winning the grand prizes were Reveal for Best New Extension, Web Developer for Best Upgraded Extension, and Firefox Showcase for Best Use of Firefox 1.5 Features.

Web Development Tools for Mozilla Firefox

Published on March 2, 2006 in Design, Firefox

The Rapid Web Development and Testing with Firefox presentation has been updated to account for two news extensions: the Firebug extension and the CSSViewer extension.

The Firebug extension helps in debugging AJAX, DHTML, and JavaScript web applications. It will display errors that occur during the rendering of a page, will place the pointer on the appropriate line, and allows for the inspection of different values of the DOM. The CSSViewer extension inspects elements on a page to give a complete rundown of the CSS declaration for a chosen element. While both of these extensions are very new, after the Web Developer extension these two extensions are some of the most valuable tools a developer can have in their toolbox.

Rapid Web Devlopment with Mozilla Firefox

Note: The location of the presentation has changed.

Who Am I?

Leslie Franke Profile

Leslie Franke:[les-lee fran-key]; 1. Husband and proud dogowner; 2. Seventh-day Adventist; 3. Web Designer; 4. Atlanta Braves Fan; 5. Northeast Ohio Native; 6. Bottle Caps Lover; 7. Certified 'Freakonomic';