Mozilla 1.6a, the next alpha release from the “classic” codebase was announced at mozilla.org recently. The mail app now has vCard support, “remove from server after x days” and the (much requested) option of separate recipient and sender columns in the thread pane. Check out the Changelog to see a list of the other new features/fixes.
Mozilla 1.6a Released
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Eugenia Loli
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Deliver a Mozilla 1.4 milestone that can replace the 1.0 branch as the stable development path, then move on to make riskier changes during 1.5 and 1.6. The major changes after 1.4 involve switching to Mozilla Firebird and Thunderbird, and working aggressively on the next two items.
Are Firebird and Thunderbird not ready? Have they postponed the move? Does anyone know if 1.6 will eventually contain Firebird and ThunderbirD?
…separate recipient and sender columns in the thread pane…
It’s the main change for me, so happy about this!
Now what? Is this still an old Seamonkey Mozilla (as I would guess by the above mention of “classic codebase”), or finally Firebird+Thunderbird+the rest of Mozilla, as was planned for 1.6?
The release notes don’t actually include _anything_ about this.
You can see it here:
http://website-beta.mozilla.org/
Open source are unstoppable, they say they plan to shut the Mozilla suite down, but still new versions crop up seemingly even faster than before.
Seems to me all the devs are working maybe even harder than they used to.
Mozilla is a great project, keep on trucking!
It looks to be Seamonkey. I think they’d mention more if they were switching to the Firebird core. After reading through the current Roadmap it doesn’t look like there are any specific plans on when to replace Seamonkey in the primary release.
I know Firebird is very nice, but from what I’ve heard, Thunderbird is far from ready for the mainstream.
Mozilla 1.6a is missing Personal Security Manager (PSM), so no logins to online banks etc. Wait for 1.6b or download the latest daily build.
As of 1.5 final Mozilla finally displaced Opera as my default browser – it’s always done one or two things better than Opera but the speed now seems equal at last so I switched.
It’s also replaced MSIE 6 which I’d always had to have available when using Opera as Moz seems to handle just about everything, while Opera seemed to have a fit when faced with some sites – specifially MSN Groups pages.
I’m already looking forward to Moz 1.6.
hope this isn’t too offtopic but it seems like a broad remit – so the question is: will the Composer module be getting more or less focus with the upcoming “birds” releases?
Has anyone seen that lindowsy thing?
http://www.lindows.com/lindows_michaelsminutes_archives.php?id=87
Will the Lindows thing be Linux only?
After getting frustrated with the lack of tabs and popup blocking in IE I finally switched to Firebird. I love it. My question is, besides ripping out the email client and the composer, what differences are there between mozilla and firebird?
If you download Avant browser for Internet Explorer, it has tabbed browsing, popup control and several features that make it worlds better than Mozilla. Plus, Internet explorer works best with Windows. I am sold on Internet Explorer it is the standard and the best browser on the market.
Re: Roy Batty – if you find IE lacking with tabbed browsing and blocking popups then check out:
MyIE2 – http://www.myie2.com
CrazyBrowser – http://www.crazybrowser.com
This bound to be a bunch of others too!
Firebird has been my default browser since it was phoenix (0.5). For me, it loads faster and renders pages quicker then IE, Mozilla, and Opera. The tabbed browaing and pop up blockers are simply icing on the cake.
…separate recipient and sender columns in the thread pane…
It’s the main change for me, so happy about this!
———
How is this so great? I don’t see the benefit of this feature and therefor to me it’s something i’ll never use.
But please, elaborate, why is this so great?
They are really going hard on development. They are going very quick to the version 2! I remember we worked with milestones first
Welp my default browser is Firebird these days.
“I am sold on Internet Explorer it is the standard and the best browser on the market.”
I have to do some comments on this too. Well so because it’s a standard you have to use it? And based on what is IE the best, IE is out-dated with no new big improvements the last few releases. And your still ignoring the fact that there are serious bugs in IE still unfixed for ages? And don’t talk about speed because IE is not faster as other browsers. I don’t wanna troll here, but these are pure facts.
Firedbird (currently using a 0.7 build optimized for PIII SSE, but there are others with SSE2 and such — see Mozillazine.org’s build forums) *is* the best standalone browser right now.
You can add shells to IE to have tabs, but you still don’t get the tons of extensions and themes that Firebird has, you are still stuck with all the security problems or IE, you are not encouraging the open source movement and IE is starting to be a seriously old and outdated piece of software (and it can only get worse.)
As pioni pointed out, the current 1.6a builds are missing the Personal Security Manager which handles SSL and such. It looks like there was a configuration error when they went to make the builds.
So for now it’s best to wait until they come out with corrected builds which include the PSM… From what I hear they should be out within a couple days.
From what I’ve been hearing it’s going to be a bit of a wait before there’s a switch to Firebird/Thunderbird. So don’t expect it anytime soon. Not until like maybe Mozilla 1.8?? I have a feeling 1.7 will be seamonkey.
But it’s good that they’re taking their time. It’s not something you want to rush into. So there’s nothing to worry about. Both Firebird and Thunderbird are progressing quite nicely.
It’ll happen… but just not tomorrow. Not until like 1.8 or even 1.9? We’ll have to wait and see…
It is also pointed out that this is only true for the MS Windows version. The GNU/Linux and the Apple versions are complete.
Firebird and Thunderbird intergration is expected to arrive in in the first quarter of 2004.
“If you download Avant browser for Internet Explorer, it has tabbed browsing, popup control and several features that make it worlds better than Mozilla.”
I don’t use Windows, so I’m going to have to take your word for it. What ‘several features’ exactly make it not only better than Mozilla, but worlds better?
“Plus, Internet explorer works best with Windows.”
Well, yes, it’s a windows program. I expect the unix based browsers work best with unix based operating systems, what’s your point? Or did you mean that in Windows, IE works better than Mozilla or Firebird?
“I am sold on Internet Explorer it is the standard and the best browser on the market.”
I still havn’t seen any evidence in your post to support this opinion. On one hand you’re saying that IE is the best browser on the market. But you’re also prefacing this comment by saying that IE is only good if you use another browser and inbed IE’s rendering engine within it. If you’re trying to say that IE’s rendering engine is the best on the market because it’s the defacto standard which people are writing for, then I think I understand where you’re coming from. But otherwise, your post has totally confused me.
Well, first a few thoughts:
It’s okay that there are addons to IE to give it popup blocking and tabs. That’s what competition is all about. We improve, so they have to step it up, now we have to step it up. People shouldn’t use a browswer because of ideology (“You’re not encouraging open source movement”), they should use what works best (even if only per situation or personal preference). In the long run, using what’s best will do MORE to encourage the open source movement because of competition.
Now:
Differences between firebird and mozilla: I’ve noticed that if you hit CTRL+Enter after typing in a url it prepends http:www and appends .com to everything instead of opening the url in a new tab. I do not know if Mozilla 1.5 or 1.6a do this: I haven’t checked yet
Observation:
If you combine the download size of Firebird and Thunderbird it’s larger than just Mozilla itself. Now, that confuses me because I thought Firebird was supposed to take up less space. I’m guessing there maybe some reduncies between the two. We also have now Kmeleon, galeon, and epiphany as mozilla based projects. This leads me to
The following Though Provoking Questions:
1. Is Firebird meeting it’s goals/moving towards them?
2. Are there any appreciable improvements in mozilla 1.5/1.6a compared to 1.4?
3. Why does firebird and thunderbird take up more space (download) than just mozilla?
4. How will moving Firebird/thunderbird into the main trunk affect galeon and epiphany (which I believe require mozilla to be installed)?
If you download Avant browser for Internet Explorer, it has tabbed browsing, popup control and several features that make it worlds better than Mozilla.
“Worlds better,” eh? Why don’t you describe some of these features instead of making vague references to them?
Plus, Internet explorer works best with Windows. I am sold on Internet Explorer it is the standard and the best browser on the market.
If Internet Explorer is the best browser on the market, why are you using Avant? Internet Explorer 6 has known CSS rendering issues, does not come with pop-up blocking, tabbed browsing, a download manager, etc. It is only the standard because it comes bundled with Windows. The majority of sites non-IE browsers have problems with are Microsoft sites, and others that don’t adhere properly or at all to open standards.
I use Opera as my primary browser, but Mozilla is a very capable browser, and much better than vanilla IE.
A primary reason for using Mozilla is to escape the serious security problems in a standard/unpatched IE
The different architecture gives good immunity against common IE exploits, as well as scumware toolbars etc installed by *free* ad spensored applications.
Furthermore by not being integrated into the shell it gives better reliability – anyone involved with IT over the last few years will have seen what an IE crash can do to Windows.
Lastly, Mozilla is themeable and can be very attractive as well as reliable and safe – I use and recommend the Orbit theme – give it a try, you’ll love it.
On this PC Internet Explorer security settings are set to the highest level possible – this makes normal browsing with IE impracticable but gives great system security.
I just have to give you kudos on the Prisoner reference
“People shouldn’t use a browswer because of ideology (“You’re not encouraging open source movement”), they should use what works best. In the long run, using what’s best will do MORE to encourage the open source movement because of competition.”
I’m going to have to respectfully disagree with you. Microsoft does everything it can to eliminate all competition. This is not a judgement, just a fact. If you stick with MS products, you get locked in. So, using what’s “best” is great in the short term, but does nothing for your long term health. This, of course, assumes that the open source alternative doesn’t suck. That’s just my opinion, as I never could see the short term picture in things.
The fact that Firebird + Thunderbird > Mozilla is not a big deal. The concept is that some people may want to use a different browser with a different e-mail client. Breaking Mozilla into component parts just gives people more choice. Whether you agree with the concept or not, that was the original impetus for changing directions.
I run a courier-imap server with imap mailboxes that should be used by different people.
As an example take the mailbox sales@mydomain: all the people in charge of sales should answer emails addreesed to sales and see what other people in the same department answered.
Till 1.5 they could see if somone else answered that email but could not see WHO answered (at least it was not so easy).
You could resolve that problem with shared maildirs on the serev side but it’s not exactly the same.
Didn’t try 1.6 yet but I think that function is what I mean.
Outlook could handle that issue but has stepped out of our clients long time ago…
“”…you are not encouraging the open source movement…””
Either the developers want to write the software or they shouldn’t write it. What developers shouldn’t require is pompom waving cheerleaders on the sidelines. Happily they DO actually want to write it, independent of how much support they get.
***
Have they managed to speed up the Javascript/DHTML engine any? Mozilla always runs like a dog for me once my pages reach a certain level of complexity. It generally shows up most when scrolling and moving images around the screen. IE is quite a bit faster doing the same Javascript/DHTML tasks on my machine (Celeron Coppermine 800Mhz, GeForce2MX).
Biggest non-standard grip: Padding and borders as relates to element dimensions.
Good news! Corrected builds of Mozilla 1.6a for Windows have been uploaded to the server.
I’ve downloaded them and can confirm that all is well. The PSM is there.
Thanks to the Mozilla crew for their always good work!
It still won’t play Yahoo pool.
Okay Deak, I tried Avant Browser. Its pretty terrible. MyIE2 is a better IE add on. But is still buggy, does not handle Pop-ups properly, and generally Firebird is streaks ahead in useability. You will notice that I have not even mentioned the lack of full CSS2 support in IE which is a major pain.
“It still won’t play Yahoo pool.”
Im not sure if Mozilla does, but it works fine in Galeon 🙂
When I wrote “encouraging open source”, I meant in an active way; I use Mozilla Firebird and test new builds, post on the forums and report bugs and glitches when I find some.
I don’t believe that ideology shouldn’t play a role.
Between two equal browsers, one being OSS and the other being prorietary software, I’d take OSS.
In this case, I happen to think that Firebird is better than IE, and I’ve always used IE with MyIE2.
Open source movement proves its force once again if the 1.6a is indeed fixed during the same day. I didn’t have time to try it on Linux, but at least the Win32 build was broken. I’ll have another go with that new Win32 build if there’s such.
One reason I use Linux and Mozilla is because for me, it is better. If you tell people that they have to do something just for the sake of Open Source, you won’t hold their attention very long. Saying that Microsoft discourages competition doesn’t mean I should 100% avoid their products. If they have the tool for the job, then I have to go with them (which I personally don’t do often). On the other hand, there could be a time when ethics might tell you not to use somebody’s product: for instance, you know the sale of the product goes to fund a white supremicist society.
Microsoft may commit anti-competitive sins, but they can’t stop someone from competing with them. Especially the Open Source Community. This is like TV stations worrying about losing view time to people who go to church. Or people who sleep. Or people who sleep in church.
Remember, this is Open Source. Not Guilt-Trip Source. Or Why-Haven’t-you-called-your-mother Source. Which I haven’t done for a few days. I think it’s wrong to complain MS is anti-competive when we tell people that they should only use Open Source.
Now about my Firebird and Thunderbird being bigger than Mozilla as a download, let me clarify a few things. One reason this concerned me was that these projects were supposed to be smaller and sleaker versions. So far just the Web and Mail Clients take up more space than the “suite” containing the Browswer, Mail, Composer, Chat, and
Address Book. This had me a little worried.
However, I meant to leave it as an open ended question allowing for such facts as:
1. It’s a work in progress. I’m not expecting the goal to be met when it’s only at .7.
2. Perhaps the binaries are smaller. The extra size could be documentation, themes, or superfluous files that do not need to be in a tarball.
3. Since they are seperate programs now, there’s a chance that in Mozilla the Browser and E-mail clients shared a lot of functions and therefore the seperate binaries contain “redundancies”.
4. Since firebird and thunderbird will become the next mozilla, when they are recombined, they might take up less space.
“Microsoft may commit anti-competitive sins, but they can’t stop someone from competing with them. Especially the Open Source Community.”
I’ll have to respectfully disagree with that.
The only reason why Open Source can compete with Microsoft is because they can’t be bought.
…but I won’t be fully changing over until either can create .mht files. Mozilla can read them but not make them, and Firebird can’t even read them. Does anyone know if .mht support is proposed fr either of these browsers?
> 3. Since they are seperate programs now, there’s a chance that in Mozilla the Browser and E-mail clients shared a lot of functions and therefore the seperate binaries contain “redundancies”.
this is true.
> 4. Since firebird and thunderbird will become the next mozilla, when they are recombined, they might take up less space.
also true. And when that happens, other applications that uses the core mozilla code will also be able to share these files and function, therefore making these programs smaller.
I think most people now use broadband so the speed issue is not that important anymore except dial-up user like me. For me opera is the fastest, hands down. Mozilla’s speed is just a little faster than IE.
Could anyone elaborate why fonts isn’t AntiAliased when installed manually (contrary distribution installed)? Is it because it isn’t compiled with GTK+ or QT fonts? I’m using Mandrake 9.1 and have installed Mozilla 1.5.
>Could anyone elaborate why fonts isn’t AntiAliased when
>installed manually (contrary distribution installed)?
>Is it because it isn’t compiled with GTK+ or QT fonts?
>I’m using Mandrake 9.1 and have installed Mozilla 1.5.
Actually, I believe it is because it wasn’t compiled with XFT2 enabled. Redhat was the first to begin enabling this, I think. Interesting. I had forgotten how Mozilla used to look without XFT2. It’s only been a little over a year, but I’ve become very accustomed to good anti-aliased fonts on Linux.
Yeah, I’ve also become very accustomed to AA-fonts.
Howcome this inconsistence between the use of AA? Should there be a uniform way of enabling/utilizing AA for developers? Why isn’t AA default? Is there a difference between the AA-fonts implementation in KDE, Gnome etc?
Can Mozilla mail read a local Unix mail spool, yet? Without going through hoops faking it out?
Through Moz 1.5 and Thunderbird 0.3, both want me to set up a pop or imap account.
You guys are not supposed to take Deak seriously. He only shows up to rile up people who have a problem (or two) with Microsoft).
Looks like you’ve at least partially answered your own questions already, but let me add to that:
– For now, both Firebird and Thunderbird are still shipped with separate instances of the GRE (Gecko Runtime Environment), which contains Gecko, Necko and some other core stuff. The plan is to make them – and other Gecko-based apps – share the same GRE, which should cause a significant diminishment indownload size.
– The *Birds still contain quite a bunch of SeaMonkey code. This is being taken care of, albeit slowly.
– I am not 100% sure about Galeon/Epiphany, though it seems reasonable to assume that those apps too (as well as the Calendar app, Composer etc.) will depend on the GRE.
Mozilla uses much better Bayes filtering system than Thunderbird … I think, thunderbird has a totally different filetering engine. I tested Thunderbird, and got really more “false positives” than in Mozilla, and it was able to recognize only around 50-60% of spam email … Mozilla recognized more around 90-95% without any single false positive.