Matthew's Place on the Web
Archive for April, 2008
Window Live Writer
Apr 30th
Some of Microsoft’s Window Live applications seems to be redundant for Vista, but some really seem kind of cool. Take for instance Window Live Writer. I’ve seen similar functionality in Flock, and other dedicated applications, but I really like Live Writer, just feels better. This is actually my first post using it and I may continue using it for future posts.
It support most of the popular blogging software packages and of course Microsoft’s own Spaces. The look and feel really are much better than using the WordPress editor, and the application is definitely more responsive than any JavaScript based interface. (Except Firefox’s engine which powers it’s chrome)
Using MinimizeToTray to replace the Firefox Preloader
Apr 23rd
Now, since my last post about the Firefox Preloader, I’ve gotten a few comments about it. I wonder if anyone knows how to replace the Preloader with MinimizeToTray. If not, I thought I might enlighten people who don’t know. Now for the record I am currently using the Preloader since MinimizeToTray is not compatible with Fx 3b5 yet, but for you people still using Fx 2, here is how MinimizeToTray can replace the Preloader.
First create a copy of the Firefox shortcut from it’s program group to your Startup folder. Now add the -turbo option to the command-line. This will start Firefox without showing any Windows. This does exactly what the Preloader does. It also will all allow Firefox to shutdown completely and restart correctly when using the update system.
Now since people do still want to use the Preloader, I will look into updating it with fixes for the automated update system. For the moment though, I am going to be working on the Glasser extension until Firefox 3 is finally released.
Add Glass to Firefox in Vista.
Apr 18th
For all you people who have been looking for a way to get Vista’s glass effect in Firefox, look no further. Here is an extension for Firefox 3 that will do it. Please read this entire article before install this extension.
To get the latest version visit this MozillaZine forum post.
Please submit any support requests the the MozillaZine forum post. Any comments posted on Sleeping Cats related to support issues with Glasser will be deleted.
Is the Firefox Preloader still alive?
Apr 14th
Now I remember some years ago, I wrote the Firefox Preloader. It was a small open-source application that would load Firefox in the background. Now since then, a Firefox extension known as Minimize To Tray has appeared which offers the same functionality and then some.
Well, it’s almost three years old, and I have stopped working on it since the automatic update system for Firefox had trouble with it. I also stopped using it since I now use the extension I mentioned before. Even still, it seems people are discovering and using the preloader even today.
Here is a link to a site that has made an article about it this year. This does make me ask the question that I titled this article. I am also happy to see that my software has made it into Secunia’s database.
But in all this I would probably now recommend Minimize To Tray over my old Firefox Preloader until I can figure out a way around the software update system being unable to update Firefox while it’s running.