Repurposing Build Your Own Browser

Over two years ago we launched Build Your Own Browser as a way to create customized versions of Firefox that could be shared with friends, family, and affinity groups. Since that time we’ve had almost 6,000 individual registrations and almost 4,000 customized versions of Firefox submitted for distribution. We’re very happy with the response we’ve received, and have learned a lot during the time since we launched.

Moving forward we’re going to be re-focusing Build Your Own Browser as a customization framework, and will be shutting the current website down at the end of this month. The product will live on, but future versions will be the engine that creates customized versions of Firefox behind other web applications instead of web application in its own right.

Customized versions of Firefox that have passed review will continue to be available through 20:00 Eastern on June 30th 2012, after which the site will be closed and all account and build information deleted. If you’ve been using Build Your Own Browser to create customized builds for your organization, we recommend that you join the Enterprise Working Group mailing list, where browser customization for organizations is discussed at length.

We’d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who’s used Build Your Own Browser over the past two years. It’s been a great learning experience, and we hope to take what we’ve learned with Build Your Own Browser and use it to power newer, easier-to-use customization applications in the near future.

Decelerating Deadsquid

deadsquid.com turns 14 this month, and there are some changes afoot. I’ve been running a bunch of ISP-ish services – everything from dialup access to mail and web hosting – since 1995, and am tired of it. I like having my own server to do my own thing, and have been happy to help friends and family out by hosting their content, but the services I offer aren’t comparable to what can be had commercially at a very (very!) reasonable cost. So, to that end, I’m shuttering the dedicated server everything runs off of by the end of April.

Thanks to everyone who has used deadsquid.com over the years to vent about Ingenia, keep in touch with friends, play Expert CTF, check your mail, and post your thoughts and photos. I’ve enjoyed it, but I’m not paying anywhere near as much attention to it as I should, and it’s hard to justify the $1200-1500/year it costs to maintain. If you have a website still hosted here, I’ll be in touch shortly, and will help however I can to move it over to a provider who will take much better care of you.

k

Mozilla Firefox Extended Support Release

Just a quick note that the Mozilla Firefox Extended Support Release (ESR) is now available. The ESR is based on Mozilla Firefox 10, and is intended to be used by organizations that deploy Firefox in a managed desktop environment. You can read more about the Windows, Mac, and Linux installers from the Mozilla website, and additional information can be found in the Firefox ESR FAQ. Organizations who use the Firefox ESR are also strongly encouraged to join the Mozilla Enterprise User Working Group; a discussion group focused on sharing information related to Firefox deployments.

a note to myself

andrea posted a link to a note she leaves to herself to remember something important. I have something similar on my work computer to ensure I remember something important, too.

I work with a great group of people at Mozilla, and a large part of how we function is through peer reviews of ideas, code, and the execution on them. those reviews tend to focus on the negative, which can be incredibly demotivating. I’ve found that I’ve fallen into the trap of giving criticism but not praise on more than one occasion, and I want to nip making that a habit in the bud. having this little note front and centre reminds me to start with what I like and why, and then move on to what I find that could use improvement, and some of the options I see that can help get there.

as a good friend of mine says, “two yes, one no” takes you a long way. criticism alone is draining. letting people know what you think they’re doing well is just as important as what you think they aren’t, and combining the two makes for an overwhelmingly positive experience that people can act on.

firefox release dates

Update: Asa put a calendar up that is much better, as it covers all release channels, not just the main line.

because I am always, always trying to figure out when a particular release of Firefox is coming out.

big-assed disclaimer: this assumes unwavering adherence to releasing every six weeks. I will update this page if something happens.

also, New Year’s Day in 2013 is gonna hurt.


Release
Date
Firefox Beta Aurora
27-Sep-11 7 8 9
8-Nov-11 8 9 10
20-Dec-11 9 10 11
31-Jan-12 10 11 12
13-Mar-12 11 12 13
24-Apr-12 12 13 14
5-Jun-12 13 14 15
17-Jul-12 14 15 16
28-Aug-12 15 16 17
9-Oct-12 16 17 18
20-Nov-12 17 18 19
1-Jan-13 18 19 20
12-Feb-13 19 20 21
26-Mar-13 20 21 22
7-May-13 21 22 23
18-Jun-13 22 23 24
30-Jul-13 23 24 25
10-Sep-13 24 25 26
22-Oct-13 25 26 27

white chicken chili

…because the other day got up to 36-ish, it seemed like the best way to celebrate was to make chili at 11pm. it’s a staple recipe I got from lee when I was living in NYC, and it’s worth sharing. probably not in 36-degree weather, but I’ll leave that up to you.

NOTE: if your herbs/spices aren’t fresh, you are missing out.

you’ll need:

  • 2 tbsp butter. yes, butter.
  • 1 tbsp diced/crushed garlic
  • 1 large white onion, sliced thin (or sweet vidalia)
  • 2 celery stalks, ends trimmed, sliced 1/4″ thick
  • 1-2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 lbs skinless boneless chicken breast, trimmed of fat and cut into 1/2 to 3/4 inch cubes (can also mix 50/50 with thighs for a richer flavour)
  • 3-4 cups chicken stock – bonus points for using fresh
  • 1 can white kidney beans
  • 2-3 fresh jalapeño peppers
  • 1/2 cup fresh, chopped cilantro

Chicken seasoning

  • 2 tbsp flour
  • 2 tbsp (good) chili powder
  • 2 tsp ground thyme
  • 2 tsp garlic powder
  • 2 tsp cumin
  • 2 tsp cayenne pepper

Garnish

  • 1/2 lb old cheddar cheese (aged 2yrs or more)
  • sour cream
  • tortilla chips (we prefer the blue corn chips)
  • sliced baguette, to wipe up the leftover goodness

In a large (4qt) casserole pot (you can use a sautée pan, too, it just means more clean up), melt butter over medium-high heat. Sautée diced garlic for 2-3 minutes; reduce heat to medium, add celery and onion, and sautée until tender (abt 5 min). Reduce heat to low, add white kidney beans (pro-tip, turn can upside-down and shake vigorously for 10s or so before opening to loosen the settled and sticking to the bottom beans) and chicken stock. Stir occasionally, ensuring mixture doesn’t boil strongly (slow boil/simmer is what you’re aiming for). The mixture will look watery. Don’t worry.

In a large mixing bowl (I prefer a large ziploc bag, as it simplifies things), combine chicken seasoning ingredients and mix well. Add cubed chicken to mixture and mix, ensuring chicken is well-coated.

Heat skillet/large fry pan on medium-high (about 300F). Add olive oil to skillet, and allow to heat (but not to smoking). Add coated chicken mixture to skillet and cook until done, turning often and breaking up clumped pieces often. Add cooked chicken to simmering stock mix.

Bring stock and chicken mixture to a slow boil (don’t go above medium heat, you’ve got time), and cook for approximately one hour, stirring often to help reduce the liquid. While the stock is cooking, broil or grill the jalapeño peppers until the skin is well-charred. Remove the charred skin, cut the peppers lengthwise, remove the seeds, and dice (note that you may want to use gloves for this, and you do not want to rub your eyes.) Set aside.

After the hour is up, reduce chili to a simmer, and add diced jalapeños to mixture (this is an optional step). Add the diced jalapeños to taste in small increments; you can increase the heat pretty quickly, and don’t want to add it all in one shot and potentially ruin things.

Simmer for an additional half-hour, and add diced cilantro to mixture. Simmer for an additional 15-30 minutes, and the mixture should thicken up nicely.

Serve in bowls with a dollop of sour cream and grated white cheddar. Garnish with a sprig of cilantro. Crunchy baguettes on the side are also recommended.

Done. Serves four-six.

T-minus 2 hours

IMG_0709.jpg by zjlw
IMG_0709.jpg, a photo by zjlw on Flickr.

Our back yard cleaned up pretty nicely for the wedding. We had the ceremony on one side of the yard, and dinner on the other. The weather was fantastic, and so was the day as a whole.

Adobe Security Updates for Flash, Reader, and Shockwave Plugins (plus bonus Silverlight & Java updates)

On June 14th 2011 Adobe released updates for its Flash, Reader, and Shockwave plugins to address critical security vulnerabilities in those products. Also getting in on the update fun recently was Microsoft, with a new version of Silverlight and Oracle, who released an update to Java last week that addressed 17 security vulnerabilities.

If you use any of these plugins, you should update them as soon as possible.

If you are unsure of what plugins you have installed and whether they need to be updated, you can visit Mozilla’s Plugin Check. Plugin Check is a web app which helps you identify what plugins you have installed, whether they need to be updated, and where to get the updates.

Related Links: