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What is MozTips?

MozTips 2.0 Beta launches!

December 26, 2002. The new Version 2.0 (Beta) of MozTips has launched at MozTips.com !! .

It features a brand new design, and updated content. This old version of MozTips will remain here until the new site has reached "final" status, has undergone enough testing.
Look for fresh content each day at MozTips.com and spread the word !

October 22, 2002. MozTips update, Phoenix, Mozilla 1.2 beta, Calendar.

MozTips Update:

Sorry for the long lack up updates: a lot has happened for me since September 2nd, when I made my last MozTips update. I have moved countries (Simmern, Germany to New York City) and am in the process of establishing my new web design business. All of that, unfortunately, has taken up a lot of my time and energy - hence the lack of updates.

But fret not! I have also resumed work on the new redesigned version of MozTips, and hopefully will be able to post something viewable/testable in a week or two. The new site will be powered by PHP, and its structure will be determined by CSS, not tables. Additionally, I will update some of the outdated content. Watch this space for more updates on MozTips 2.0 Beta!

Phoenix

I have been following a lot of the new developments in the Mozilla community, and have been very pleased with what I have seen. The new Phoenix Browser Project is an interesting one: it attempts to use the core of Mozilla to produce a lightweight, yet useful browser. Think of how Mozilla could be if it were designed with the same goals as Opera: user friendly, lightweight, simple, not complex. Phoenix attempts to achieve all of those goals. And Phoenix sticks to just browsing: it leaves out the Mail and Newsgroups and Composer components of Mozilla. While Phoenix is still on version 0.3 (which I tried), it shows great promise.

Mozilla 1.2 Beta

Mozilla 1.2 Beta was released recently, and has some nifty features. For one, you can now use a set of tabs as your start-up pages. So, instead of just having *one* "Home Page", you can have as many as you'd like.

Calendar
I tried the latest version of the Calendar addon for Mozilla 1.2 beta. The Calendar add-on, which lets you maintain your daily, weekly and monthly calendar, and a to-do list, has made rapid progress too. The last time I checked it out was several months ago. Among the new things I noticed: a To-Do list, mutiple calendar file support, and reminders. There is probably much more new stuff, and after having used the program for a week or so, I will write a more comprehensive write-up. What I am happy about, is that Mozilla is moving closer to competing with other complete Email and Calendering solutions, without creating a program that is unwieldly, bloated or not intuitive (unlike Outlook). In other words: good work!

September 2, 2002. Netscape 7 has been released!

Sorry for the slight delay in posting this information, but in case you haven't heard - Netscape 7 has been released!
Don't believe the 7/10 rating given by News.com to Netscape (see my last post) - it is better than that. Go try it out yourself.
It is speedy, polished, and feature complete (even more so than Mozilla 1.1, and tremendously better than IE 5.5 - I don't think I'll upgrade to IE 6).
First off, here's what you get:

• A fast, good looking browser, email, web page creator, instant messaging combo.
• A browser which helps protect your privacy and security like no other. In their endless quest to reprint the 4% browser share statistic for Netscape as many times as possible, Cnet's News.com swept the following information under the carpet: Internet Explorer was found to be riddled with so many holes recently,that it should have looked like a sinking ship, not Netscape. If there's one reason to get Netscape 7.0, it is that it protects your privacy like no other browser. Consider its ability to encrypt the passwords you store, or the ability to review the cookies stored on your computer (and block cookies from sites you choose).
• The free email account offered by Netscape (Netscape.net Webmail) is a unique value because: you get free IMAP access through Netscape's Mail program - whereas Yahoo's POP access costs money. Plus, IMAP is more convenient than POP for many people. Additionally, Netscape.net email addresses are accessible from any web - browser through Netscape.com (whereas the IMAP access only works with Netscape 6 or 7) . If you're sick of Yahoo serving you blinking, flashing pop-up ads while you're trying to read your email (and I pay for Yahoo), then try out Netscape's webmail. Their webmail interface is minimalist - but you can get in and out, and send and receive emails easily. I cannot say the same for Yahoo. Which other company offers you an IMAP email account and an email program for free?
• An awesome email program, which protects you from SPAM and viruses. Unlike Outlook Express or Outlook, Netscape is not vulnerable to (most) email viruses because it does not support insecure technologies such as ActiveX. It also offers filters against SPAM. If you have ever been embarrased by a virus having emailed everybody in your address book, its time to get Netscape 7.0.
• An easy to use webpage editor: If you can use a word processor, you can make a webpage, with Netscape Composer. A plus: Netscape 7.0 does not create invalid HTML, which is only readable by a certain browser, unlike Frontpage / Frontpage Express.
• Built-in instant messaging - how cool is that? Chat while you surf!
• Last, but not least: a browser by the people, for the people. By supporting Netscape, which is a Mozilla based browser, you are supporing diversity in the browser market. Why should you care? Because Netscape is more than a browser, or a software product. It is the collaborative product of a community, which cares deeply about keeping the Internet open to people on different platforms, and people with different browsers. Netscape 7 embodies the democratic ideals of the open source movement, and has brought to fruitition a product which has surpassed its competitors in quality, stability and features. What more do you want in browser? Get Netscape 7.0 today!
  Coming soon: Tips and Tricks for the new Netscape 7.0.

September 2, 2002. Mozilla 1.1 was released

Sorry for the delay in posting this information to MozTips - Mozilla 1.1 final was released a little while ago. I tried it out briefly and was pretty happy with it. Although I got distracted thereafter with Netscape 7, which is oh-so-cool (don't believe those Cnet guys!). More on Netscape 7 in my next post. If you would like to find out more about Mozilla 1.1, check out Mozilla.org or ask questions (and read others' responses) at the awesome Mozillazine.org.

Before I end this post, I thought I'd mention how impressed I am by all those hard working Mozilla volunteers - especially those who devote their time to providing useful information: check out Michael Hendy's Plugindoc for comprehensive plugin information or mycroft.mozdev.org for sidebar search engine plugins.

August 17, 2002. Working on a new design for MozTips - need your help.

I have been working on a new design for MozTips, which should bring numerous improvements, and be more forward looking (CSS based) than the current design. In the spirit of the Open Source Website Design website, I ask you - my faithful visitors - to critique this new design. Check out the beta version of the new design. You can post your comments in the forum or email me ( moztips [at] emailias.com ) with your suggestions. Using the forum would be nice, so that others can read your comments too.

August 13, 2002. My personal blog

Although MozTips maintains a strictly "officially Mozilla" tone, I (the maintainer of MozTips) have my own new weblog, hosted by LiveJournal. Check out my LiveJournal for non-mozilla thoughts.

August 4, 2002. Mozilla 1.1 looks like it'll be a winner!

I tried out a recent nightly build of what will soon (within a week, maybe) become Mozilla 1.1 final. I have to say: I was really, really impressed. I have never seen Mozilla work this fast. Pages appear like lightening, and my computer appears to be less taxed by this version (better memory management). Other new goodies you'll find in Mozilla 1.1 which were added after 1.0 :

• Icons for individual program Windows (Navigator, Composer, Mail & News, Help, Download Manager). It also adds an nice dinosaur icon to the Quick Launch menu (Windows).
  
  
• Improved Publishing Wizard ("dialog"): It looks like the Publishing Wizard (which was added shortly before Mozilla 1.0 / Netscape 7.0  PR 1) has been greatly improved, to make it much easier to understand. (No more cryptic subtitles such as "Location to browse to".)
  
  
• The new "new tab" button which had been added to Mozilla 1.1 beta appears to have been removed. Maybe it will make it back in after version 1.1 has been released.
• A new cool tool against privacy invasion by spammers! Spammers often send rich text (HTML) emails with embedded images. These images are hosted  on the spammers' websites, and are used to track which emails have been opened by whom (using cookies). You now have an easy way to prevent spammers from tracking you or invading your privacy:
  
  Edit | Preferences | Privacy and Security | Do not load remote images in Mail and Newsgroup messages:
  
  
• Long tooltips (using the title attribute) can now extend beyond one line.
  
• A greatly revised version of the JavaScript debugger (Venkman).
• Improvements to the help file: a)You are now notified when the term you have searched for could not be found b)Updated help file contents c)Context senstive help (this may have been in 1.0 too)
• Support for return receipts while sending emails: With this option, you can request to be notified when the recipient of your email gets/reads(?) your message.
• The site navigation bar appears to be back (after its removal from 1.0).
• A new (much more visible and convenient) option to bookmark a group of tabs, right under the Bookmark menu!
  

August 4, 2002. Lots of updates!

• A new Quality Assurance Glossary
  
• Updated list of Discussion, Help and FAQ Sites   
• Updated: Zone Alarm Pro 3.x with Privacy (pop up, ad and JavaScript blocking) on, now miraculously works with pre 1.1 (nightly) versions. More in the Firewalls FAQ.
  
• Updated my search engine's index. I am currently using a JavaScript based search engine for my site. I am thinking of other, better ways to provide this functionality.
• Also - Thanks to all the 40,000 or so people who have visited MozTips in the last few months! I guess this site must me more useful than I thought!
  

July 22, 2002. Lots of new FAQs at MozTips!

Sorry for the month-long absence of news and information at MozTips. Well, here's a whole bunch of goodies at once to make up for it. I have put together some FAQs from a large mass of text files I had scattered around my hard drive:

• Mozilla Mail FAQ (Exporting/Moving Mail Messages, Sorting (by Date) AND Threading Messages)
• Updated: The ChatZilla FAQ (List of fun channels added, saving a conversation log)
• Did you know?Sort of like a FAQ, but with questions you didn't know you had (!) (Cool things about Mozilla and Netscape I bet you didn't know! )
• Firewalls FAQ (Get Mozilla to play nice/work with Zone Alarm and Norton Internet Security)
• Web Developer FAQ (Why do document.layers and document.all not work? How do I get my JavaScript drop-down menu to work?, "Standards?" and Scripting Flash and Quicktime with Mozilla [NEW FEATURE] )

June 10, 2002. New tutorial and FAQ for Mozilla-specific developer/web design tools

Mozilla comes with some great tools for developers and web designers, which are not found in Netscape 7.0 PR 1. Two of these are the Document Inspector (which lets you analyse the tag structure of a webpage) and the JavaScript Debugger (also known as Venkman). Mozilla's help file currently does not contain information on these two tools, but Venkman's author Rob Ginda and open community member Grayrest have stepped in to fill the void. Check out these great new resources on two of Mozilla's "best kept secrets":

• Venkman 0.9.x Frequently Asked Questions by Rob Ginda
• Grayrest's Guide to the Document Inspectorby Grayrest

June 6, 2002. Mozilla 1.0 has been released!

This is great news for Mozilla fans and the Mozilla project, as this release marks the achievment of an important milestone. There will be lots of parties, and there already is a lot of press coverage. For more information on Mozilla 1.0, including parties, FAQs, a (press, reviewer's and OEM) guide, and cool technology demos, check out the 1.0 start page at Mozilla.org. MozTips' download table will be updated soon. In the mean time, you can download Mozilla 1.0 from Mozilla.org.

New ChatZilla FAQ

May 24, 2002. MozTips has a brand new FAQ (with pictures!) explaining how to use Mozilla's minimalist (yet tremendously useful) IRC chat program, ChatZilla.

Netscape 7.0 Preview Release 1 was released!

I tried out the new Netscape 7.0 PR 1 (which is reportedly based on Mozilla RC2) and was very impressed. It is beautifully polished, sports two extremely useful instant messaging programs (AOL and ICQ, *without* the ads!) and gorgeously integrated components. A tip for Mozilla users: Do not share your Mozilla Profile with Netscape (even if you have Mozilla 1.0 RC 2+), because that can cause your Profile to get corrupted, or Netscape to malfunction. Instead, create a new Profile for Netscape 7.0 PR 1.

May 24, 2002. MozTips has a browser comparison chart, to help you figure out all the confusion between Netscape 6.2.3, Netscape 7.0 PR1, and Mozilla 1.0 RC 3.

May 5, 2002. Profile Help:

What Mozilla's  Profiles are, what they contain, where they are stored on your computer, how you can back them up, troubleshooting.

Check out opinionated articles on why open source works at Open Works, MozTips sister site.

Check out Grayrest's excellent Mozilla news site , for the latest on all things Mozilla.