At the Mozilla Summit a week and a half ago, I gave a 30-minute talk on some of the challenges the IT groups that support us face with deploying Firefox. It’s not a new discussion by any means, but it’s something I’d like to raise awareness on within the community and actively contribute to addressing. I wanted to get people thinking about all the bits outside the product at a high level, and called out what I think are the important parts along with what we’ll need to do. It’s not exhaustive, but I think it got the point across, and there were some great follow-on conversations that are on-going.

Our mission is to promote openness, innovation, and opportunity on the web. Making it easier for organizations to use our products in their workplace is a great opportunity to take that message to them. There’s a lot of people who use us at home, but who’d also love to use us at work. I want to help make that happen and, thankfully, I’m not alone.

The end game is to improve support for groups that are looking to get Firefox into the hands of their organization’s users, and to get the working group that addresses these problems spun back up to share how they do it with everyone else. There’s interest from organizations that want to use Firefox in their workplace, and a need for information on how to do it repeatably. The latter part is the tricksy bit, and I’m hoping to work on this with some like-minded individuals in the short and long term.

A few people have asked for the slides, so I figured I’d post them here. My presentation slides can be viewed using Google Docs, and if you want them in an editable format all you have to do is ask. I’d love to hear what you think, and would also love for you to get involved. If you’re interested in participating, add your name to the Working Group’s Participants section; I hope to reboot the group at the end of the summer, and will be in touch.

if you think there’s any reason why this maintenance shouldn’t proceed, please let me know in the comments, or drop me a line via the BYOB contact form. I don’t foresee the maintenance taking longer than the allotted time, but sometimes stuff happens that can extend the window, and I’ll update this post if any additional time is required.

Search behaviours have changed, and there are a number of new – and sometimes even different – search service providers out there. Unfortunately, our users don’t always realize how many options are available to them through Firefox, the websites they visit, and search-related add-ons. Our users today are using search to find other people, stuff that’s close to them, what everyone’s talking about right now, and a host of other things, and we should be making that as easy as possible for them.

Aside from the great UI work being considered, like moving the search bar into the location bar, I think there’s considerably more we need to do across a number of domains. I’d like for us to start exploring how we improve the use and utility of search in Mozilla’s products and services, particularly:

1. What kind of information are our users searching for, and who is best-positioned to provide the most relevant information for those searches?

The web has matured in the last five years, and people are using different search services for specific tasks. We should categorize the search services that are available in Firefox, and ensure they’re relevant to the task at hand for the people who use them. The Fennec team has developed its search interface with this in mind, providing search services for different tasks that our user base performs on a regular basis, and I think this is something we should build on.

2. Are we doing a good job meeting the needs of the users in each locale we support?

Every locale we support starts with the default list of providers we offer in the US English version of Firefox. Our amazing localization teams have created these lists to add search services that are more relevant to their locales and the users in them, and they do a great job. I’d like to ensure we all have a better understanding of who those providers are, and what, if any, alternatives there are per locale. From there we can build on the categorization process, and provide a truly global list of search services for our users.

3. How can we help our users discover and use the options available to them?

There are several search features in the browser, along with search options other than what we provide by default in our search bar. We need to make it easy for users to add to the list of search engines to the list of defaults we provide, to discover that there are add-ons that enhance search utility, and that they can change things like the default search provider(s). The mechanics behind these features could be improved considerably, and we should make changes to both to make them more usable by our publishers and users alike.

4. What does our search wish list look like?

We should think hard about what we’d like to change in Firefox to make search better, as well as where we should incorporate search services and which services should be offered. We don’t need to constrain ourselves to how we’ve done things thus far, and should consider including anything and everything that will help. If we could get things just by asking, would they include things like:

• add-on searches and discovery
• suggestions on error pages
• better user control of search preferences
• context-sensitive searches by website
• searches from within new tabs
• insert your idea here (and in the comments!)

The net result of this process should be a list of new services and features we can incorporate into the Mozilla project and its individual products, and would encompass all of the information assembled. The idea is to get people thinking, and come up with a public plan for improving search across the board to keep our products relevant and useful.

None of these ideas are new, and have been considered at different times by individual groups or people. They touch the user, the product, our content providers, localization and add-on communities, and almost every functional organization at Mozilla, and requires the input of same. As such, they’ll always be considered individually unless we shift from a tactical mode of thinking to something a little more strategic. I’d like to kick things off so we can start driving towards that.

The sky should be the limit, and we shouldn’t constrain ourselves to any particular mindset.

So, how do you think search should work?

Partner Repacks are versions of Firefox that are customized for a specific distribution partner. These customizations can include modified preferences and/or bundled add-ons, and are used by both Mozilla and third-party distribution providers. We call them repacks because all of the customizations are made by adding files to the default installer we use in the general release. There are no changes to any of the original files included in the general release, and all changes are additive in nature.

With the inclusion of Partner Repacks page in the 3.0.7 release, there were a few questions from the community regarding the repacks, and we realized there should be more information about them available. To that end, starting with the release of Firefox 3.0.9, we’re publishing information about all of the partner repacks we release on the Mozilla wiki.

From the Status page you’ll be able to see what repacks we’re generating, the customizations we’ve made to them, and where in the release process they are. Repacks will also be tracked by release, with information that will include which repacks are generated for a specific release, along with tracking bugs, QA results, and any changes that are made to a repack between releases.

There’s still a fair bit of work to do to better document the process, and over the next few weeks I’ll be adding additional information about repacks, how they’re created, and the guidelines we apply to those customizations. I’ll post more later, but wanted people to be aware that we’ve started publishing this information, and we’ll continue to build on it.

If you have specific questions on the repacks, or are interested in finding out more about distributing customized versions of Firefox, please see the Partnerships section of mozilla.com. Please note that distribution of a customized version of Firefox requires Mozilla approval, and additional information about distribution of the official installers as well as customized versions can be found in the Mozilla Trademarks Policy document.

The Rules

• Link to your original tagger(s) and list these rules in your post. (see above)
• Share seven facts about yourself in the post. (see below)
• Tag seven people at the end of your post by leaving their names and the links to their blogs. (see below)
• Let them know they’ve been tagged.

The Things

• I have been lucky enough to have visited every provincial capital in my country. I have every intention of visiting the two – of three -territory capitals I haven’t been to yet. every Canadian should do it. (I haven’t visited many state capitals, but I have visited more than two-thirds of the states in the US)
• the first time I met shaver, he ate half my dinner. a friend was trying to convince me to come work for her company, and brought shaver along as an example of the amazing people who were getting into this whole internet thing. I was doing more talking than eating, and he was still hungry. how could I say no? that was in 1994, and I’m happy I accepted the offer, and even more happy that shaver and I are still friends. he claims I’m a responsible adult, but I remain unconvinced.
• my dream job is owning and running a real neighbourhood local. quality beers, wines, a menu that is both made on-premise and highlights local product, and a ridiculous whiskey selection in a comfortable environment would be the offering. it’d be an insane amount of work, but holy crap it’d be fun.
• I have been an avid gamer since I was old enough to put a dime (and, later, quarters) in the slot. my first gaming system was a Lloyd’s TV Sports console (think pong with a light gun). my favorite gaming system is still the Sega Genesis, in large part because I played NHL ’9x for cash against my roommates and never had to pay for my beer in university. I suck at most of the current gen console games, but love to play anyways. my true gaming love is pinball, however, and I have two machines at home (ST:TNG and The Getaway). I’ll happily play you those for cash, too.
• despite bouncing for close to seven years, I have been in exactly one fist fight in my life. it was in grade seven (1979, for the historical archive), and it was against Chris Coghill. I have no idea why we fought, but we just kind of looked at each other funny, and next thing we knew we were clocking each other. I had got my braces on that morning, and the inside of my mouth was a disaster afterwords. important life lesson: talking works a hell of a lot better than fists, although submission holds are very, very useful.
• I’ve moved twenty-two times so far. there are two places I swore I’d never move to: New York City and California. I kind of failed on NYC, but am glad I did. I loved it, and occasionally wish I had never left. California’s nice, but I’m still holding out on that one :)
• I like shooting things; people and kids when they’re not expecting it, in particular. I don’t spend nearly enough time on it, but am generally pleased with the results. it’s something I could see myself getting a little more serious about someday.

The Seven People I Am Tagging

• Von, because he probably won’t do this, but occasionally surprises
• Mr. Forbz, because he needs something to do besides snowboarding (bastard!)
• Jen, because she needs more reasons to dislike me, and also needs to post more
• Rachel, because she hasn’t posted in far too long
• jhawke, because I’m curious to see what she’d post
• Moggy, because she’ll do this.
• j, because then there will be three people whose name starts with j that I’ve tagged

Please note that public distributions of Firefox are still governed by the Mozilla Trademark Policy, which is referenced in the about:rights text. If you’re looking to distribute customized versions of Firefox, you should contact us at partners@mozilla.com for more information.

If you’re currently repacking distributions, please ensure you do not incorporate the EULA with Firefox 3.0.5 (and greater) installers or DMG files moving forward.

Additional information on these changes can be found at the URLs below:

The original licensing proposal, as outlined by Harvey Anderson, following feedback from his postings on September 15th, and Mitchell’s postings on September 15th and 16th.

Bug 456439 for adding the about:rights text and a “Know Your Rights” infobar on firstrun

Bug 462254 for removing the EULA from the installer and DMG files

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me, and I’ll do my best to answer them.

updated: added links to additional posts from Harvey and Mitchell to provide more information

just a quick note for all you firefox users: sumo, our firefox support forums, went live today. the forums are the start of a knowledgebase designed to help firefox users of all levels of expertise, and should be your first stop when you have a question about firefox that you can’t readily find an answer to. if you’re interested in contributing, some help is still needed with a number of articles that the support team would like addressed.

in any event, do have a peek, and consider helping out.

My subscription ran out a couple days ago, so I upgraded to NIS 2008. NIS 2008 includes anti-phishing protection, which I already have. NIS wants me to use its anti-phishing, so helpfully installs a toolbar in Firefox. It doesn’t tell me it’s going to do this, nor does it give me a choice, and there’s no way I can see to remove it from within NIS, only disable fishing protection. This pisses me off, so…

DO NOT WANT.

If this kind of behaviour pisses you off as well, and you want to stick with the built-in protection Firefox offers, you can remove the toolbar. Fire up your trusty file mangler, and head on over to the Firefox installation directory (usually C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox). Under that directory is a subdirectory called “components”. In the “components” directory is a file called “coFFPlgn.dll”; move it somewhere safe and restart Firefox.

Toolbar gone!

Thanks Symantec, next time try providing it as an uninstallable plugin or, even better, an extension. Fucktards.

Update: Toolbar back! Every time you reboot, it “helpfully” restores the file. I have asked Symantec how I turn it off permanently. I think I know the answer already.

Update 2: Johan has a good workaround, as follows: After playing about for a bit I tried an old trick, close all instances of firefox, go to the components folder as mentioned above, and remove the coFFPlgn.dll file. Create a new empty file, name it the very same, coFFPlgn.dll and set it to be read only.

the null file is ignored by ffox, and marking it read-only will prevent Norton from over-writing it. works nicely for me. recommended. thanks, Johan!

have you ever closed a tab in firefox and immediately wished you hadn’t? did you know you can get it back? didn’t think so.

if you accidentally close a tab, you can restore it by pressing <ctrl><shift><t> (mac users: <command><shift><t>) simultaneously. voila! closed tab magically restored. try it and see!

As of 18:30(ish) Eastern today, the update was pushed out and is now live. If you’re running 1.5, you’ll be offered an upgrade to 2.0.0.4 over the next few days. Take the offer! :)

Congrats to everyone who worked on this; it’s a huuuuuuuuge milestone.