The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group Firefox Secrets - for the bookshelf Major Keary |
The formal name of what we have become accustomed to calling 'Mozilla' is the Mozilla Application Suite, which contains the browser (navigator), composer, e-mail client, and news reader. Users may be interested to know that "the Mozilla Foundation's intention is to make the Suite obsolete, replacing it with Firefox and its flagship e-mail client, Mozilla Thunderbird" [Firefox Secrets]. A full installation of the Suite takes up some 20 MB — I have seen Internet Explorer 'quoted' at 75 MB —whereas Firefox weighs in at under 5 MB. For anyone who wants just a browser Firefox is recommended. However, the large current user base is not being ignored and the Suite is likely to be around for quite a while yet, but users should keep in mind that its Navigator component may not keep pace with the development of Firefox.
Being an open source product Firefox does not come with a printed manual (what do you expect for something that is free), but a body of literature is quickly developing. One of the books about Firefox comes from
SitePoint, which is a local company — Smith Street, Collingwood couldn't be any more local — that "specialises in publishing fun, practical, and easy-to-understand content for Web professionals". A visit to http://www.sitepoint.com/ is well worth while.
Their latest title, Firefox Secrets, is designed to "equip you with a thorough understanding of how best to use Firefox to suit your browsing references". This is a reference-cum-tutorial that will suit all levels of user, from Firefox beginners through to developers. The author is a very good technical communicator: for a book with such considerable technical depth its discussions are easy to understand.
The book describes the Firefox extensions that enhance its functionality;
especially useful is a section on recommended extensions. Firefox extensions are
in .xpi files, which are archives (change .xpi to .zip and you can use Winzip to
see what's in the archive: a group of Java files). The xpi
stands for cross (X) Platform Install; these files can be installed on any
platform for which there is a version of Firefox. Installation is quite easy,
and maintenance/updating is handled by the Extension Manager. The book contains
full instructions.
The final two chapters, Web Development Nirvana and Living on the Edge, discuss
development issues, describe Firefox's built-in tools and 'developer
extensions', and cover troubleshooting. For ordinary users much of this will be
esoteric, but it is worth reading.
A companion CD contains versions of Firefox and Thunderbird for Windows, Mac OS
X, and Linux; twenty-two ready-to-install extensions, and a selection of themes
for those who like their browser to be appropriately dressed.
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Cheah Chu Yeow: Firefox Secrets ISBN 0-9752402-4-2 Published by SitePoint, 297 pp. + CD, RRP $55.00 incl. GST |
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Reprinted from the April 2006 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia
