“The browser, and e-mail software – Ok, HTML authoring tool as well – formerly known as “Mozilla” or more recently referred to as “Mozilla Suite” is back alive and kicking, despite recent efforts from the Firefox Foundation Mozilla Foundation to make it go away after freezing future development and deciding to only provide bug fixes.” The Inquirer took it for a spin.
I have completely enjoyed Mozilla & Netscape for many years and always prefered it over Internet Explorer (any version).
When I first read that the Mozilla Foundation was going to ‘end’ the Mozilla Suite in favor of FireFox & ThunderBird, I was quite shocked, and a little upset.
Even with a fantastic browser such as Opera, I use Mozilla (Linux & Windows versions) more than any other. Not to take anything away from Opera; it’s truly a wonderful product. I just happen to prefer Mozilla.
With the SeaMonkey Project, the browser will continue to live on!
I just hope they update the ugly default UI. I’ll have to take it for a ride and see how it is.
Isn’t it skinnable/themeable? I thought that it was?
Just get ‘Mostly Crystal’ theme. It’s native-looking, superb and professional.
You probably mean GUI, not UI. The two are different. No offense meant.
UI = User Interface (typically the behaviour of the program, without any thoughts to it’s look)
GUI = Graphical User Interface (usually used as “the graphical representation” and not the way the GUI behaves).
I’ll try this “new” browser.
I get it that there is a lot of shared code between firefox and thunderbird which makes them approx. the same size? Where with seamonkey that share code does not need to be duplicated between two projects?
Most of the themes that were available for Mozilla 1.8 have been ported to SeaMonkey. It’s usually a simple issue of changing the theme version in Chrome.rdf to 1.8 (instead of 1.5) and renaming scrollbars.css to xulscrollbars.css. The notable exception is Aaron Spuler who only makes themes work with Firefox now.
I was advised to use Mozilla, I used Mozilla.
Then I was advised to use Firefox, I swithed to Firefox.
Then I was advised to use Opera, “free” now.
Now I am or will be advised to use SeaMonkey.
Finally, I will go back to IE.
Apparently you do not have a mind of your own; perhaps you should be using IE.
Seriously, IE is the worst browser out there.
Use whatever browser you want, except IE.
It’s simply proof of Microsoft being lightyears behind current internet technology.
My browser history involves a little more choice.
I started with NCSA Mosaic.
I was force to switch to Netscape (that’s all that work had).
I doggedly stayed with Netscape even though IE surpassed it in both quality and popularity.
I experimented with Opera (version 5.xx I think) and wasn’t really impressed.
Got wind of the Mozilla project and switched to Mozilla 0.7 (I think).
Experimented with Phoenix but although I didn’t like it as much as Mozilla, it seemed to have great potential so I kept an eye on it.
Got married and my wife insisted on using IE and Outlook (“I don’t like MS” wasn’t a good enough reason to get her to switch).
Got our first virus through an email that outlook automatically opened.
Ditched IE and Outlook and went back to the Mozilla suite (an easy sell at this point).
Have been virus free for 3 years.
Mozilla Foundation announces the death of the Mozilla Suite.
Switched to Firefox and Thunderbird at home (fairly painless and similar enough to Mozilla not to bother my wife).
Didn’t like the new combination as much as I liked the Mozilla Suite so I started looking around a bit.
Experimented with Opera 7.54 and this time I loved it.
I currently use Opera at work and at home while my wife continues to use Firefox and Thunderbird (and occasionally Opera).
I looked at SeaMonkey and would switch to it if I wasn’t so happy with Opera.
The browser world is wide open. When somebody advises you to use a browser, try it out. If you like it better, use it. If not, use what you like. That’s the joy of choice.
from the “Advices” author.
Of course, I will not switch back to IE. I’m using FireFox and I’m happy with it.
It took me months to convince my family’s members not to use IE. I succeeded. But now, what will I say? It’s time to switch again. Choice is sometimes bringing confusion.
Don’t confuse your relatives. Have them use IE which will always be supported by Microsoft.
I wish they would keep the Mozilla name.
What am I going to say now after pushing Mozilla to all my clients for last few years?
Umm, sorry, Mozilla is dead. But there is a new one called Seamonkey.
This is bad and will confuse people and make me look bad too.
I wish they would stop changing their product line and just stick with what they started and improve it.
They could also offer Firefox, Thunderbird and all the other components integrated into one package and call it Mozilla if they’re so short on manpower.
Besides, Seamonkey is a stupid name. There are no monkeys in the sea.
Maybe Mozilla Reloaded?
They have been FORCED not to use the Mozilla name.
The Mozilla Foundation wants to bury the Suite once and for all so as to attract people to Firefox, since those who know both are usually reluctant to touch the birds.
However, there’s only so much they can harm. Seamonkey already presents developments over Mozilla 1.8, and will maybe get to stand on its own during the following months.
Sorry to butt in on your tin-foil hatting, but Mozilla don’t have the resources to continue the suite themselves and handed it to the community to do.
Mozilla *gave* the seamonkey community CVS, LXR, Bonsai and Bugzilla infastructure so that work could continue unhindered. If Mozilla wanted to bury the suite truly, they wouldn’t be giving away hundreds of megs of space and bandwidth for free 😐
Sorry to butt in on your tin-foil hatting, but Mozilla don’t have the resources to continue the suite themselves and handed it to the community to do.
Wrong. They have plenty of resources; they decided to focus on Firefox and sap everything else. Thunderbird is the poor cousin and only NVU really shines, and that due to its main developer.
It was only because of the stubbornness of Suite developers that it wasn’t shut down for good.
(The idea that they don’t want the Mozilla name to be used any longer so that users won’t look to the Foundation for technical support is, at the least, worth a zillion laughs.)
Mozilla *gave* the seamonkey community CVS, LXR, Bonsai and Bugzilla infastructure so that work could continue unhindered. If Mozilla wanted to bury the suite truly, they wouldn’t be giving away hundreds of megs of space and bandwidth for free 😐
You mean, they couuldn’t keep the loyal Suite developers locked out. Any other behaviour would be a PR disaster.
If the Suite were so uninteresting as claimed, it wouldn’t take up lots of bandwidth now, would it? As storage goes, GB are cheaper than chewing gum.
Sorry to butt in on your tin-foil hatting, but Mozilla don’t have the resources to continue the suite themselves and handed it to the community to do.
Bullshit. The Mozilla Corporation has more resources at its hands than it has ever had before. The difference now, is that Mozilla does not know how to handle them. Firefox, for example, is no longer a community support effort. It is the effort of a small group of elitist individuals who cannot be bothered to accept patches from anyone else. This is *exactly* the reason that Firefox has fallen behind in security, and why memory leaks continue to plague the browser. Meanwhile, developers of other Mozilla projects continue to duplicate each others’ efforts: there is a stand-alone calendar, a calendar for Firefox, a calendar for Thunderbird, and another project trying to merge the stand-alone calendar WITH Thunderbird. Mozilla is no longer the Mozilla of old; it has changed from an ambitious software project to a public relations nightmare, and by abandoning the Suite they have turned their backs on the very project that got them this far.
The “good feelings” vibe around the Mozilla Corporation can only last so long. Unless the Corporation shifts its focus back to the community and its end users, it will come crashing fast, VA Linux style.
This is what open source is all about, folks! Nobody can kill software if someone else can download the source and continue working on it. It only dies when nobody wants to work on it.
“Umm, sorry, Mozilla is dead. But there is a new one called Seamonkey. This is bad and will confuse people and make me look bad too.”
It probably wont be as bad as you think. Many product names change over time. When you stop and consider, Mozilla hasn’t dies, it is simply evolving & growing.
“Besides, Seamonkey is a stupid name. There are no monkeys in the sea.”
Ummmm…. Actually, Sea Monkeys are a type of tiny shrimp. You can get them many places. A lot of fun for kids and very low maintenance.
Here’s a link:
http://www.seamonkeyshop.com/what-are-sea-monkeys.html
“They have been FORCED not to use the Mozilla name. The Mozilla Foundation wants to bury the Suite once and for all so as to attract people to Firefox.”
Both of your statements could probably be true. The Mozilla Suite will now continue as SeaMonkey. I see this as a good opportunity and a huge relief for myself and the many who enjoy & use the Mozilla Suite.
Both of your statements could probably be true.
The first one is fact; the second one is an interpretation.
The Mozilla Suite will now continue as SeaMonkey. I see this as a good opportunity and a huge relief for myself and the many who enjoy & use the Mozilla Suite.
Don’t expect miracles but, so far, so good. I’ve been using the latest builds and can say it’s improving, but still rely on Moz 1.8 for serious use.
Just incase anyone was wondering where the name came from, it is not new at all. The “Mozilla Suite” has been know by that name for YEARS by me, it is the code name of the software.