Firefox Extension Lets You Pick the Name 479
Rovaedne writes "Mozilla
Firefox , the web browser
formerly known as Firebird,
formerly known as Phoenix, has a new extension which allows you to change the name to something palatable. The extension called
Firesomething lets users change the name seen in the browser titlebar, Help menu, and About dialog, thus erradicating all traces of "Firefox" in
Firefox (currently version 0.8). There is a
name change FAQ, but it currently does not mention this extension. This extension should hopefully help curb some of the criticism that Mozilla has received from its most recent
choice of name."
Actually (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Actually (Score:5, Funny)
Bring out an extention for other apps.
For instance, being able to change OpenOffice to Microsoft Word or Microsoft Excel. That way you can fool the higher-up's into thinking you have "what everyone else is using".
Save the cash from buying Office and take that money and go on a vacation! Then, when you get back, and before you get charged with fraud, quit and go live in a goat farm somewhere making cheeses.
Ok, I got way off on a tangent there...but you see what I mean.
Re:Actually (Score:5, Interesting)
If I acutally wanted to USE this bot, it would be pretty trivial to hack it's resources to change the titlebar (actually, I'm sure the author has already randomized the title). We're going to see an increasing battle between 'bot programs for online gambling and those who run online gambling sites.
If you're curious, to a google groups search on rec.gambling.poker for "WinHoldEm"
What's in a Name? (Score:5, Informative)
Of course we don't have executables with names like "Mozilla Firefox", because that's not geeky enough. Still, it should be trivial for any app to allow configuration of the name it displays in the title bar.
I can imagine what would happen, just for example, if The Bride of Monster (Personnel Manager at a sheltered workshop, dealing with handicapped adults) installed a copy of The GIMP on a computer at work, to save their tight budget the expense of buying Photoshop for working up sales brochures and such... Being able to change it so it says 'GNU Image Manipulation' or just 'GNU Image' might save her from the wrath of uptight Politically Correct types.
Finally (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Finally (Score:3, Funny)
And I was thinking that in the spirit of Firebird and Firefox I'd rename it to Flamebait.
Re:Actually (Score:4, Interesting)
For example, I can communicate with mozilla with a command such as:
Link.LinkTopic = "Mozilla|WWW_GetWindowInfo"
Link.LinkMode = 2
Link.LinkRequest
I can grab all sort of nice information through this process. Netscape, Opera, IE -- all support this function. Firefox currenly does not.
If plug-ins like the one described in the original posting change the DDE information, then it will even be more complicated to develop applications that are compatable with this browser.
Davak
Re:Actually (Score:3, Funny)
Next step for microsoft (Score:5, Funny)
2. Change name to Internet Explorer
3. apply IE theme
4. Release as Internet explorer 7
5. Profi... oh
No, boss... (Score:4, Funny)
This is just IE 7.0. Want me to get a copy for everyone?
Re:Next step for microsoft (Score:3, Funny)
2. Change name to Internet Explorer
3. apply IE theme
4. Insert SCO copyright code
5. Get sued
6. Profit
Re:Next step for microsoft (Score:4, Interesting)
Attach the IE icon to it and voila... the users act as if there is no difference except it's massively faster, no popup's, no crashes, no freezes.
It's funny, many people scream about the massive retraining required switching workers to Open Source... It's not real.
Re:Next step for microsoft (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Next step for microsoft (Score:5, Funny)
Actually, it wouldn't.
Re:Next step for microsoft (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Next step for microsoft (Score:5, Insightful)
No, it's anal morons like you who distract the reader, not the spelling. I honestly hadn't noticed the misspelling until you pointed it out (and I have better then average spelling abilities). What you need to remember is that most people posting to Slashdot aren't English majors. We're usually people posting a thought fairly quickly. Even if we know the correct spelling, it's easy to make a typo when you're typing quickly. Sure, you should catch the error when you preview, but not everyone will.
What you need to learn is that spelling & grammar != intelligence. I know several people who are smarter then me, but who can't spell worth crap. At least one is dyslexic, the others may just have actual important things on there minds.
Good spelling important in many contexts. Fortunately for us, slashdot isn't one of them. If you're that bothered by the problem, I suggest that you go elsewhere since the problem is fairly pervasive here.
Re:Next step for microsoft (Score:5, Insightful)
This post is off-topic as is the parent.
No, it's anal reactionaries like you who dilute the English language to the point of nonsense. Things have gotten so bad, college students commonly submit resumes riddled with typos, newspaper letters to the editor are incomprehensible, and business proposals look wholly unprofessional. And it all stems from slack usage of English in casual settings such as Slashdot.
It's embarrassing that you think that only English majors should have a solid command of the language. It just shows what a failure today's educational institutions are. When a person makes a typo, he should immediately realize it and correct it. If a person is unsure if the word is "consistent" or "consistant," then he should make the ten-second effort to find out and commit the fact to memory. This is what educated people do.
What is unacceptable is people that furiously type their thoughts and then do not even look over what they wrote to see if any of it makes sense.
Oh, cut it out with the holier than thou bull. If a person cannot effectively communicate his intelligence, then that intelligence is worthless. Smart people cannot get far in modern times without being able to write. And smart people won't be heard if they treat the English language like a redheaded stepchild.
By the way, have you ever considered readers not fluent in English? When they encounter a misspelled word, they have no way of initially telling if the word is misspelled or if it is a word they just haven't encountered before. How about having some consideration for foreign readers?
By the way, have you ever considered blind readers who use screen-reading software? When you misspell words, you make your writing inaccessible to the blind. How about having some consideration for the blind?
People used to have pride in the things they wrote. Now instead of people sucking up their egos and admitting their mistakes, we have people that now argue that making mistakes doesn't matter.
There is a difference between making an honest mistake and continually choosing not to care. You encourage this recklessness. And now we have college graduates who think spell checking is what word processors do, and not what humans do. Even after running a spell check, students submit papers full of flagrant violations of the language. Because people continually abuse English in places such as Slashdot, they believe college papers and business proposals shouldn't be scoured of all errors.
Good spelling is important in all contexts.
Re:Next step for microsoft (Score:3, Insightful)
I see it to be the complete opposite case: grammar and spelling is best corrected at the source.
But people submitting typo-ridden resumes are getting hired, error-plagued letters to the editor are being published (because the proofreaders at the newspapers themselves have no grasp of the language), and people who routin
Re:Next step for microsoft (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Next step for microsoft (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Next step for microsoft (Score:4, Interesting)
On a more serious note, this extension is GREAT (Score:5, Interesting)
When I set up a Windows box for a neophyte (admittedly, not often) I do everything I can to purge Internet Exploder from the system. Some might find this unjustifiable, but the only time I'm ever asked (begged) to help Windows is when a friend of my wife's computer is running badly due to six billion viruses and twenty-two trillion Spyware programs.
Anyhow. I hunt down all the shortcuts to IE and file associations to IE (i.e. as a viewer, default browser, blah blah blah) and replace them with Firebird. Then, I swap Firebird's icon with IE's icon. (I do a similar thing with with Lookout Express and ThunderBird). I used to even install the IE theme, but it's been busted for a while.
This will help to complete the illusion.
Of course, when I'm done, I just tell them I put on a new version of "The Internet" called Mozilla to help them not get viruses and spyware in the first place. I make sure they hear the brand at least a dozen times when I'm talking to them, because I want to build brand recognition. Maybe they'll tell their stupid friends how great Mozilla is and their friends will download it and use it. (Wishful thinking, I know).
But we all know that telling a Windows user to use Mozilla Fire* instead of IE will far on deaf ears; these people will click that stupid fuckin' blue E because they want to "get on the Internet". You have to make them use something else, or they WILL succumb to temptation and get infected again.
So far, nobody's come back. Either they hate me now, or they are relatively virus-free; I really don't care which.
At least my daughter was easier to set up. She knows to use Mozilla (full suite) instead of IE/OE. If she truly *needs* to use IE (i.e. one of her favourite sites doesn't work with Moz), she can ask me to add it to IE for her. I do this by modifying the automatic proxy configuration URL -- if it's on my safe site list, it points to Squid; otherwise it points to an inetd->shell hack which tells her to come and see me.
Re:On a more serious note, this extension is GREAT (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:On a more serious note, this extension is GREAT (Score:3, Interesting)
That's why they are trained to say "so and so set me up" when talking to tech support; I know the techs at the local ISP.
But even so, yeah, I admit this could cause some problems, but a clever tech will out what's going on anyhow.
The main point being, they don't call *me*. LOL.
Re:On a more serious note, this extension is GREAT (Score:3, Interesting)
But even so, yeah, I admit this could cause some problems, but a clever tech will out what's going on anyhow.
Not in my neck of the woods. The braniac for an isp tech here came over to setup my cable internet service was throwing fits because he couldn't find the IE icon on my desktop. I simply told him to "use Firefox.... it's not vastly different from Netscape". He still was dumbf
Re:On a more serious note, this extension is GREAT (Score:3, Funny)
Windows Update (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Windows Update (Score:4, Interesting)
Good point. It's worth noting that even Mozillatips [mozillatips.com] recommend keeping IE around for Windows Updates and also certain poorly-designed-but-necessary sites, like certain banks.
Incidentally, I keep IE as my 2nd browser at work for testing, and also to use the control panel app on a Cobalt Raq box. Irony, eh?
Re:On a more serious note, this extension is GREAT (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:On a more serious note, this extension is GREAT (Score:5, Funny)
The upshot of is is that, if somebody were ever able to implement Mozilla in a non-bloated way, we'd have a non-bloated Emacs & by extension, have non-bloated versions of countless other programs.
Re:On a more serious note, this extension is GREAT (Score:5, Funny)
At least my daughter was easier to set up.
Yeah, the initial set up is quite easy (especially if you are not the female). But just wait for your daughter to become a teenager.
Re:On a more serious note, this extension is GREAT (Score:3, Insightful)
Wait until they have to use some poorly built online banking software or online billing system that blocks Mozilla users. Keeping people in the dark about what browser they're using will give them a reason to badmouth Mozilla for not working properly when they find out what you did.
I like Firefox, but as long as certain websites require IE you're doing your "neophyte" frien
Re:On a more serious note, this extension is GREAT (Score:5, Insightful)
Banking on the Web should be IE only? Imagine the parking lot at the local bank will only allow Fords. What do you do with your BMW then? It runs better, smoother, faster, looks nicer, doesn't include clunky features, and follows the same 4 wheels/brake pedal/steering wheel/etc. standards needed for road use...
I'd like to hear any good reasons why a website should function in IE on Windows only. Anyone who replies "ActiveX" should be modded +1 Funny.
Re:Windows Update... (Score:3, Insightful)
It's like making your own urpmi source for Mandrake a
Re:Next step for microsoft (Score:5, Interesting)
I'm calling mine slash dot.dot (Score:5, Funny)
Re:I'm calling mine slash dot.dot (Score:5, Interesting)
Remember, FF is not yet out of Beta so a name change is trivial.
That said, it needs to start building a brand name and that brand will be Firefox. I believe the developers have said clearly that it will not change again.
Anyway, I love the new FF icon. Much nicer than Moz
Re:I'm calling mine slash dot.dot (Score:5, Informative)
Re:I'm calling mine slash dot.dot (Score:4, Informative)
I believe that that may have changed, and that Firefox will remain the brand name of the browser, which - once it reaches version 1.0 - will continue to be available separately to, as well as part of, the suite. That's why so much effort has been expended on the Firefox *image* - the logo, the cute "ads" ("Reclaim the Web", etc) and marketing. Then again, my information dates back at least a few days, so it's possibly out of date already ;)
The original announcement [mozillazine.org] on mozillazine suggests that Firefox is a permanent name, though I couldn't find other postings about the brand-identity. Like I say, this information is probably out-of-date already...
Comment removed (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Random names? (Score:4, Funny)
"...brought to you by a cadre of flaming geese?"
Re:Random names? (Score:2, Funny)
FireBlah!
What's wrong with Firefox? (Score:5, Funny)
I like Firefox. What the hell name would I change it to? Who cares anyway?
Re:What's wrong with Firefox? (Score:3, Interesting)
1) mozilla ? Their old browsers sucked.
2) firefox ? It sounds like a firewall software.
anyways, after taking the time to explain them what firefox really is, they were all convinced.
Black and white vs colour (Score:2)
Who needs computers - bring back sketchpads
Simon
Re:Black and white vs colour (Score:2)
Re:Black and white vs colour (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Black and white vs colour (Score:4, Informative)
Old news (Score:4, Interesting)
The plugin was actually released the same day as 0.8.
Re:Old news (Score:3, Informative)
Almost, but not quite. Someone (Dunderklumpen) on the MozillaZine forums made the suggestion for the extension the day Firefox was released, and I released a barebones extension two days later.
The new news, though, is that the extension finally got a user-friendly interface (no more digging around in about:config) last weekend. The extension has changed a lot over the past six weeks, thanks to the MozillaZine forums users who were interested in its d
Cheesy... (Score:3, Informative)
Hmmmm.... (Score:5, Funny)
Better? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Better? (Score:4, Funny)
A beautiful woman walking gracefully down the street, gets her shoe caught in a crack, hits the ground like a sack of rocks, rolls with the momentum a few times and gets up walking away like nothing happened.
Firefox's news strategy: "we ment to do that"
I know what I want to call it... (Score:2)
Re:I know what I want to call it... (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:I know what I want to call it... (Score:3, Funny)
anti-branding.. i like it! (Score:5, Funny)
How about (Score:2, Funny)
finally, a reason to switch from... (Score:2, Insightful)
i see it differently (Score:5, Insightful)
I like Firefox because it's trimmed down and has a smaller footprint. If I want to use mail I just start up Thunderbird. The calendar plugin works from both Thunderbird and Firefox.
I suppose if I regularly needed all the features in Mozilla I'd feel differently. No disrespect to Mozilla, but I really prefer using Firefox and Thunderbird.
Re:finally, a reason to switch from... (Score:5, Informative)
Try some of the extensions like AdBlock (block flash, iframes, etc.). The extensible search engine bar is really cool to (get imdb search, DHL tracking, etc.). Not to mention the quick search feature (keyword bookmars)!
zYay for Mozilla Firespider! (Score:2, Funny)
Great (Score:2)
Browser formally know as... (Score:5, Funny)
I'm going to call my firefox "Prince"
Diluting Mindshare (Score:5, Insightful)
Cool (Score:5, Funny)
Here's to hoping that the Mozilla hackers keep up the technical and political innovations.
Linux branding oppoptunity. (Score:4, Interesting)
Whenever you get a Linux distribution, it insalls about 5 differeent web browsers with confusing names such as Konqueror, Mozilla, Lynx, Galeon and Epiphany. There is no need for all those web browsers. And don't scream CHOICE either, you are only going to be using ONE, so why have 5 installed?
This is where this extension comes in. Linux distributions could now just ship one browser, but customised with their experiance. Imagine Debianavigator, Fedora the explorer, SuSEscape, Webdrake, Genfox and Slackzilla web browsers, with their own themeing, but still firefox internally, and "hardcore" users could still change it back if they wanted by downloading the extention.
Lindows already ship a customised Mozilla known as "Lindows Internet Suite", so why can't other Linux distributions do this? They already brand KDE/GNOME/ETC with their menu layouts, icons and apps, so why not do web browsers?
Re:Linux branding oppoptunity. (Score:3, Insightful)
Um, because ,while you may be using only one of them, the Distro-makers can not know WHICH one.
Therefore.. choice.
And rest assured that there ARE reasons for choosing one, even if many use the same rendering engine.
I, mean some people use Konqueror (KHTML) , others Mozilla (gecko) and all the variations (that make a difference on the Interface and features side) , w
Just call it OpenSourceBrowser... (Score:4, Insightful)
Yeah, OpenSourceBrowser isn't very 'sexy', neither is OpenOffice.org, but that seems to work for them...
Fire-star (Score:5, Interesting)
New open-source strategy? (Score:5, Funny)
Could this be used as legal immunity for linux? So, when SCO decides to sue someone for having an unlicenced linux kernel, they just reply with something like, "Sorry sir McNeal, but I checked this morning.. and what do you know, we actually run Mozillix, Fenix and Bollox... but not linux?"
I'm running... (Score:4, Funny)
After this article, I'm hoping the Slashdot editors go through the logs and find the funniest client names and post a list (after a few days for people to play with names). I can't wait to see what you bastards come up with!
On a technical note (Score:3, Funny)
Why is this on Slashdot? (Score:4, Insightful)
Good for a few jokes, yes; worth a whole story, no.
I Kind of Like "Firesomething" (Score:3, Funny)
Letting employees go has never been so easy! (Score:5, Funny)
-Adam
Why the user agent string?? (Score:3, Interesting)
Argh... I can understand it if you wish to access a site that thinks it only works with IE when it actually doesn't, but it's stupid to change it if:
1. You make the name "Mozilla Seaturtle" or something else "just for fun".
2. You keep it set to IE's user agent even if you don't need it.
Why? Because Firefox popularity will decrease in statistics and web masters will feel less reasons to support Firefox when checking their access logs.
Extentions are cool (Score:3, Funny)
My browsers name is now... (Score:4, Funny)
You can't take the sky from me.
GUID! (Score:3, Funny)
Mozilla 43c23aa3-7c29-4ce2-96ca-23c751efe5ff 0.9
mIRC and name changing (Score:3, Funny)
Back in "the day" there were those programs that you could run that would display ads while you were browsing the web. Basically it was a strip along the bottom of your screen. It checked for mouse/keyboard movement and made sure the the foremost window had the name of "Internet Explorer". Well I never browsed the web for more than 15 minutes or so but I was on IRC for hours on end using mIRC. And mIRC let you change the name that was shown in the title bar. So I changed it to "Internet Explorer" and... voila! I received a check from the company the next month for about $25 or so... but I got bored of looking at ads and never did it after that.
unpalatable (Score:5, Insightful)
This would really be funny (Score:5, Informative)
Phoenix rises from the ashes! (Score:3, Insightful)
IE can be renamed too (Score:3, Informative)
Mine currently says "Internet Exploder".
How?
I'm glad you asked, here's how:
Look for Window Title under
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Inter
If Window Title doesn't exist there, create it as a new String Value, edit the value with whatever name you want, restart your IE and enjoy the new name.
A much better extension would be (Score:3, Insightful)
Necessary for distros (Score:4, Interesting)
It's come up as an issue with the Debian package [debian.org] for Firefox.
KDE can do this too (Score:5, Interesting)
many Kde applications can be started to display a different name. For example, if you were feeling particularly sadistic you could run konqueror like this
%> konqueror --caption "Internet Explorer"
although something like
%> juk --caption "iTunes"
is probably more palatable
nick
I'm sorry, I couldn't resist... (Score:3, Funny)
Re:What about Thunderbird? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:What about Thunderbird? (Score:5, Insightful)
LetterRip
Re:What about Thunderbird? (Score:2)
Excuse me, but it's the TV series (Score:4, Interesting)
Or the Triumph Thunderbird motorcycle.
Oooh. Look not a Ford in sight.
In the real world, not necessarily the one you inhabit, the Thunderbird is a mythical beast from native Indian legend.
Re:What about Thunderbird? (Score:3, Informative)
That's why.
Re:What about Thunderbird? (Score:3, Informative)
Re:What about Thunderbird? (Score:3, Interesting)
Seems like browsers are supposed to just be named after cars....
What's next? the Nissan Opera????
Re:Isn't it time to work on essential things? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Trademarks and Un-offical Builds (Score:3, Informative)
(yes, even open source projects can be A-holes when it comes to "stealing" thier stuff).
As I understand it, this is a necessary by-product of US trademark law - "enforce your trademark or lose it". Mozilla recently sent out enforcement letters to t-shirt retailers, etc, which has to be the nicest, sweetest, most kindly example of legalese I've ever seen - along the lines of "you're using our trademark without permission. We understand why you're doing this, but we have to ask you to stop. Hope you're
Re:Internet Explorer, The browser formerly known a (Score:5, Funny)
I bet few folks these days would get it but other old fogies like me would probably appreciate the tip o' the hat...