kev asleep at the wheel, 40 miles left to go

revisiting search

Mozilla Firefox has had a search bar since its initial release, and has helped to change the way our users look up information by giving them a single interface to a variety of search services. It’s also had search services in the location bar, but they’re not as accessible or (arguably) useful as what’s offered by the search bar. There have been minor tweaks along the way to how these work, but nothing fundamental has changed with respect to search features in Firefox since its original release. We need to change that. Starting now.

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?

kick the tires and light the fires

It’s been a really, really long time since I’ve posted anything that was a result of thinking vs. problem solving, and I’m hoping that stops starting now. The past year has been one of the most challenging and gratifying of my life, but it has been 100% reactive, with precious little advance planning and a hell of a lot of treading water. I have a new family (I didn’t even have to add water), a new-to-me home in a town I never, ever expected to be living in (it’s great), and a job I enjoy (although it’s been a tough few months adjusting to a number of things).

I think things have settled to the point where I can sit, breathe, plan, and use something more than 140 characters to express thoughts and share info. To that end, I’ll be blogging a little more often, focusing on work, but with the odd life update thrown in. There’s a lot I want to talk about, and a lot of things I’m working on, but it’s been hard to find sixty minutes on a regular basis to get thoughts to paper. I think I’m past that now, and I’m looking forward to talking a little more about things I’m working on and thinking about, and ideally getting feedback on it.

We’ll see how it goes, but I’m going to try treating posting a little more as a required thing, and plan on using the time I normally use getting annoyed by blam and jesus diaz over at Gizmodo for something useful, instead. Wish me luck.

xbox 360 video stuttering on the panasonic pt-ae3000

I have a new PT-AE3000 projector from Panasonic, and to date I have loved everything about it except for a few games (most notably rock band 2) using the Xbox 360 with a progressive signal. The video (but not the audio) would stutter/jump at times, which could throw my timing off. It wasn’t a huge deal, but it was annoying.

I had disabled the usual culprits, namely noise reduction and Panasonic’s “Frame Creation” (used to make moving images less after-imagy), but was still getting stutter. Searching various forums didn’t really help, so I went back to the manual, and eventually found the culprit.

The projector has a setting in the “Options” menu for “Frame Response”, which is described in the manual as “You can minimise the time delay of image displayed for the progressive signals.” This feature has two settings:

• NORMAL Prioritise the image quality
• FAST Prioritise the frame response

Setting it to “FAST” cleared up the problem, and I didn’t notice any discernible difference to image quality in-game.

PowerLinc 2412U PLM and Indigo/OSX

Just a really quick hit, because it took me a little while to find this post, which pointed me in the right direction.

If you’re trying to use the PowerLinc 2412U on OSX 10.5 with the latest beta (4.1) of the Indigo home-automation and control server, you’ll need to install USB serial drivers first. It would have been nice if this was a little more apparent with either the Indigo software or the PLM’s documentation, but it’s not (or, if it is, it’s buried).

Get the USB serial drivers from here, install them, and now you should be able to see the interface and the proper port in the preferences panel. Hopefully this will save you a bit of the aggravation I went through trying to figure out why the hell I couldn’t initialize the interface between Indigo and the PLM.

a stroll down memory lane

so… wow. it’s been an interesting last year.

- I met a nice girl
- who has nice kids
- and a dog
- who now pretty much lives with me (the dog. actually, the girl too)
- and likes to chase frisbees (just the dog)
- so I go to the park again
- I’ve been to the left coast ten times
- I’ve been to Toronto six times
- I missed going to NYC at Xmas for the first time in a decade
- I completed my 365
- I filed my first patch (very, very minor)
- I turned 41
- and I feel significantly younger
- so I’ve started running again
- and have dropped 15 lbs
- and it’ll keep on dropping
- I celebrated Canada Day with Walt and Lee and company
- who also brought a dog
- I also bought a house
- I move in less than two weeks
- to a place that is not Ottawa
- but is as close (time-wise) to YOW as I am now
- and is closer to a lot of other things, like my brother (now that he’s returned from Kirkland Lake)
- it’s been crazy
- I get overwhelmed every so often
- but it’s great,

That’s life in a nutshell. There’s a bunch more, but those are the more important bits.

See? I’m not dead, after all.

firefox 3.0.9 partner repacks

During the release process of Firefox 3.0.7, we added a section on Partner Repacks to the Releases page on wiki.mozilla.org. The idea behind the addition was to make people involved with the release process aware of the repacks, which depend on, and are affected by, the general release process and schedule. The information presented was a summary only, and was never really intended to provide detail about the repacks themselves.

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.

personas 1.0 released

the mozilla labs team released version 1.0 of the personas extension today. personas adds lightweight skinning to firefox, and the labs team has lined up a bunch of people and organizations (including livestrong, pictured here) who have submitted designs. have a look-see, or submit your own.

part of why my colleagues are so awesome

it’s all about the love.

<joe> i was thinking more along the lines of
<joe> "selecting for things that nature has no interest in"
<kev> "see: joe"
<joe> otoh nature selects OH FUCK YOU KEV

it’s not a cash grab, it’s an investment

from Bell’s site, for reals. I’m betting someone put it in as a joke, and it stayed in the final copy.

in Canada, mobile carriers (and other comm services companies) charge a "system access fee", which is generally $6.95 a month. it’s on top of any plan charges, and is purportedly to improve the network. it’s basically a cash grab that adds $80/yr in revenue per subscriber.

I have never seen it explained quite so nicely. “just one more reason to choose Bell” indeed.

"System Access Fees are charged by all wireless companies to help pay for the network and the ongoing software, technology and other upgrades to that network. Generally, the higher the fee, the greater the opportunity to invest in network quality to enhance your experience. Just one more reason to choose Bell."

seven things

ah, internet memes. they’re fun, actually, and the current one running its course on planet has reached pyramid-scheme proportions. I’ve been tagged by both robcee and shaver, and am happy to play the game. so, here goes.

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