An update on the Firefox EULA issue

I wanted to pass along some updated news I’m seeing on the matter of the Firefox End User License Agreement that popped up for some Ubuntu Intrepid testers. There are updates from both the Mozilla side and the Ubuntu side, and I’m just going to give you the links today and let you decide for yourself how good the news is. It’s not a done deal yet, but there is progress being made.

• Mitchell Baker: Firefox without EULAs – Update
• Harvey Anderson: Licensing Proposal
• Harvey Anderson: Licensing Proposal Notice Page Screen Shot
• John Lilly: Progress on Firefox license issues
• Mitchell Baker: Mock-ups Available for Notices (previously was EULA)
• Mozilla is Linux: Mozilla is Linux
• Harvey Anderson: Licensing Feedback
• DesktopLinux.com: Mozilla removes EULA from Linux Firefox

I do have some other links I want to share with y’all, but I’ll have to do a links post tomorrow to catch them. Have a great evening, y’all. I hope you can enjoy the last official day of Summer in the US.

Does Mozilla hate Ubuntu users?

Over the weekend people who got and ran an update to Firefox 3 on test builds of Ubuntu Intrepid have been greeted with an End Users Licensing Agreement (EULA) (the bug report on the issue). Users were thrown by it, because we hadn’t seen it at any time before, although we’re hearing Windows users sometimes got it. There were several issues with the EULA, ranging from a question of whether the EULA conflicted with other licenses that cover software made available to Ubuntu users, to the possibility that some of the EULA may not even be legal in some countries. The fact that the EULA is presented for agreement in most, if not all CAPS, which has been called rude for several years, not to mention that its simply hard to read. And of course if you decline the EULA it doesn’t prevent you from actually using Firefox anyway.

Some Ubuntu users have been suggesting that it may be time to switch from Firefox to Iceweasel or GNOME’s Epiphany web browser, the latter using the Apple Webkit browser engine. Personally, this user has long said what Ubuntu includes isn’t strictly Firefox because of the changes they make, such as removing the automatic update feature, a major selling point in Mozilla Firefox. But that’s probably just me.

Mozilla’s Mitchell Maker posted to her blog about the matter, admitting that the content of the EULA itself is wrong, and Mozilla is working to fix the EULA that’s popping up in Firefox distros.

Rather than try to distill all of the posts I’ve seen on Planet Ubuntu, Ubuntu Weblogs (Planet Ubuntu Users) and Planet Mozilla I hope you don’t mind if I simply list all of the posts with their links. I’m pressed for time this afternoon and I’d rather get this published now than hold on to it for another day and possibly risk user’s possibly not be able to find one of these links. I’ll post them all in one list, in chronological order according to the time stamps that Evolution has for them on my computer.

• Risto H. Kurppa: User needs to approve Firefox EULA in Intrepid on first run? (also includes a link to the discussion on the Launchpad bug report about it)
• Stefano Forenza: Firefox EULA to clutter Ubuntu User’s Experience (also includes a link to the discussion on the Launchpad bug report about it)
• Pavel Rojtberg: So Mozilla is getting cocky again (looks at the branding issues that seem to be at the root of the matter)
• Mark Van den Borre: TMbuntu
• Mitchell baker: Ubuntu, Firefox and License Issues (finally, a response from Mozilla, thins one coming from the Mozilla Foundation chairperson and a CEO, as well as the CEO of the Mozilla Corporation, although I’m not entirely sure those titles are current. Mitchell admits Mozilla screwed up, and they’re working to fix things)
• Harvey Anderson: Firefox EULA in Linux Distributions (Harvey’s one of the Mozilla people working to fix the issues, and he discusses the problem, as well as how they’re working to resolve it)
• Lucas Nussbaum: Is Mozilla the new XFree86? Could Ubuntu actually help? (Lucas hopes Mozilla listens to the Free Software community, or they’ll lose market share to Webkit. Personally I’d like to check out Webkit on Ubuntu without having to compile so frigging much of it)

I look forward to seeing how this ultimately gets resolved, although I wouldn’t mind if Ubuntu lost Firefox, or at least a browser called Firefox, once the dust settles. Having used Firefox/Linux code from Mozilla for so long I’d really like to see Ubuntu stop calling their modified code “Firefox”. But that’s still just me. YMMV. I’ll try to post updates once they’re available.

[UPDATED] Peng’s links for Friday, 22 August

[Updated to include an update for WINE. -Peng]

• muted articulation. I found this blog while checking the August 2008 Desktop Screenshot Thread and there are some great articles on it, especially one about timelapsed backgrounds in GNOME and his post on browser quirks. This blog belongs in your RSS reader, and I’m hoping we’ll get him on at least the Ubuntu Weblogs planet soon. Btw, if you’re looking for some ideas on things you can do to freshen up your desktop you should try to take the time to go through this month’s desktop screenie thread, and as many months as you can. I’ve gotten some nice ideas from those threads. It does take some time every day to get caught up (we’re up to 92 pages as of this writing) but it’s always worth the time to me. My only real problem is that I’ve got a lot more wallpapers for my rotation after getting some of the ones used on other people’s desktops. They’re that nice.
• Jonathan DiCarlo: Tabbing Through the Tabs and More Questions (and No Answers) about Tabs. Jono has some nice info on using tabs in Firefox, especially moving from tab to tab. I’m not sure if his ideas will be incorporated into Firefox, but if not I hope it becomes an extension. It would sure make moving between tabs easier, especially when I have several tabs open on a single site, which happens a lot more often for some of us than you may realize.
• Gervase Markham: Two Ways To Become a Beta Tester. A short but simple post showing the difference between how Microsoft and Mozilla, and for that matter most of the open source community, looks at beta testing.
• DesktopLinux.com: Linux to gain anti-virus software. McAfee is wanting to protect “Linux-based laptops and MIDs (mobile Internet devices) from ’security challenges.’” Does this mean programs like Clam AntiVirus are crap? Or does it simply mean that McAfee sees the growing popularity of Linux and figures people will get around to start writing Linux malware sooner or later and wants to start cashing in on it now? (For the record, Linux users don’t really need anti-virus software at this point because it’s so difficult to write and spread that kind of malware on the Linux platform.)
• Launchpad News: Launchpad 2.1.8: Bugzilla and Trac plugins now available, plus karma for commits. Launchpad, the bug tracking software from Canonical (parent company of the Ubuntu Linux distribution) just gets better and better. The plugins for Bugzilla and Trac make it even easier to link upstream bugs, thus getting fixes where they belong faster.
• Kevin DuBois: Tips for spawning GUI’s from the Command Line. Some people love the command line, some people prefer Gui’s (graphical user interfaces). But did you know there’s a way to start a program from the command line without having to tie up a Terminal window while it runs? I didn’t either. I’m going to have to remember Kevin’s info for later use.
• Aaron Leventhal: Firefox and OS X’s VoiceOver … Reading the Magic 8 Ball. OSX has some nice accessibility tools like their VoiceOver screen reader. Unfortunately they’re proprietary tools and it’s just not that easy for other programs to use them. But the Mozilla devs are bound and determined to find a way to make things easier to use for people with disabilities.
• andrewsomething/Ubuntu Forums: Contributing to Intrepid. While I really wish this has been posted to a blog on Planet Ubuntu rather than as a topic on the UF, this is a must read for anyone wanting to help get the next version of Ubuntu ready to ship in October. No programming knowledge, let alone experience, required, just the willingness to install and run Intrepid and help report bugs. Intrepid is still in development and may cause major breakage at any point, so it should not be run on your primary computer, but if you have a second computer you can run it on we’d love to have you help test it.
• WINE HQ News: WINE 1.1.3 Released. I know, another new version of WINE? You betcha, and there are a number of improvements, including “many installer fixes” and “tweaks for better PulseAudio support.” It’s not available in the Ubuntu repos yet, but this may be one of those programs you get directly so you can keep up with updates. Update Sat 23 Aug 8:00: When I checked for updates this am I saw wine_1.1.3~winehq0~ubuntu~8.04-0ubuntu1 presented to me as an update. I believe it’s in hardy-proposed, but I couldn’t confirm that. It should be available to all Ubuntu Hardy users before too long.
• Miia Ranta: If I really knew how to code… A member of Planet Ubuntu shares her wish list. You’ve got to love her emote at the bottom of her post. One of these day I may have to join her in that emote. [Get your mind out of the gutters. It's not that kind of emote. lol]
• Lydia Pintscher: Nerrivik released. You’re thinking “WHAT released???”, but Nerrivik is the code name for the first beta of Amarok 2.0, the next version of the KDE media player I use on my GNOME box, even though it means I have to install some KDE libraries. Amarok used to be my primary media player until I discovered MPD/Sonata. Check out the screenshot that Lydia posts, then go read the release notes. (Her link takes you through Digg, mine gets you there directly. No offense, Lydia.)

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Peng’s links for Saturday, 7 June

[Updated to include a link to info on installing Google Gadgets in Ubuntu. - Peng]

Sorry about not posting links the last couple of days. Let’s just say this flightless waterfowl was pretty toasty when I finally got my list of dumb things I had to do done, and it wasn’t from drinking. Although I sure did want a drink when I was done.

• David Thomas/Planet Ubuntu: Google Gadgets for Linux. One thing that Linux users have been missing from our list of Google tools is Desktop Gadgets. Davis tells us that we may not have to wait that much longer for them. Sweet! UPDATED 12:26pm: I found a thread on the Ubuntu Forums with instructions on installing them on Ubuntu via a PPA.
• John Slater/Planet Mozilla: The T-Shirt History of Mozilla. I have a Firefox tee that I’ve loved wearing (not so much now that Firefox 3 is almost out, and watch for a post this week about exactly why I don’t love this new version). Some of the Mozilla folks put together a history of Mozilla tees that you’ll probably get a kick out of. It’s great to see how the clothing presentation of Mozilla has evolved over the last decade.
• Markus Thielmann: Installing Ubuntu Netbook Remix on Ubuntu Hardy 8.04. My last links post included a link to news about Ubuntu Netbook Remix. Markus wrote a piece on using it with Ubuntu Hardy.
• Ubuntu QA blog: Who wants a copy Ubuntu on the small screen…. Not only is Ubuntu coming to netbooks and MIDs, you will even be able to use it on your smartphone.
• Madhava Enros/Planet Mozilla: Get add-ons in Firefox 3. One of the nice things in Firefox 3 is that you can gett add-ons without having to point your brower to the Mozilla add-ons site.
• Alex Polvi/Planet Mozilla: State of the Add-ons Report: June 5th. Speaking of Firefox add-ons, Alex has a report on add-ons and their compatibility with Firefox 3.
• Mike Beltzer/Planet Mozilla: What’s new in Firefox 3? Here, let me show you! Mike has put together a screencast showing off the new features in Firefox 3. It’s already been on post by several others on Planet Mozilla, and I’m glad to say that it’s now been Stumbled.
• Wine HQ News: Wine 1.0-rc4 Released. The good people at WINE (Wine Is Not an Emulator) have stepped one step closer to the official release of Wine 1.0 yesterday with the release of their fourth Release Candidate. Ubuntu Hardy users can now get it if you have the hardy-proposed repo enabled.
• Ken Gurnick/LADodgers.com: Kuroda channels Dodgers history. Who cares about Dodger baseball you ask? If you’re a baseball fan you’ll want to read about this rookie from Osaka and his complete game shutout. It’s even more impressive when you see that he didn’t give up a single walk and struck out 11, including the last two batters he faced, and he only allowed four hits to the red hot Chicago Cubs. While you’re there you should check out some of the videos from the game, no matter what team you follow

Adorable Feline Pics of the Weekend

I have every intention of taking tomorrow off from blogging (I want to check out the latest SecondLife clients) so I’m going to give you a pair of kitties for the weekend. I didn’t get to post Thursday’s AFPotD, or one of the several pics from yesterday, so I hope these two kitties will brighten your weekend.

Damn but that pic looked like me the last couple of mornings, especially since my asshat neighbors kept me up until 11 pm Thursday night watching the damned Celtics game

This one may be me this evening. Except I have to watch out with my pain meds, especially after the last several days

Have a great weekend! I hope y’all can manage to keep cool this weekend. I know I plan on being in air conditioning as much as possible from here to Tuesday.

Peng’s links for Tuesay, 20 May 2008

Nanci pointed out that we come across a number of stories each day on the wide wide world of web but don’t blog them because we’re not sure we can do them justice. I do share them through Google Reader, but I’ll try to start making sure one of us do a post of some of those links more days than not. Here is today’s list.

• Cute Overload: You CAN’T HANDLE the MEWS. I know, its cute and kind of cheesy, but this has got to be one of the most adorable Scottish Fold kittehs evah to get on the web. It’s even more adorable than these Cheezburger kittehs.
• LA Times: Blake DeWitt’s single drives in winner in ninth for Dodgers. yes, a baseball story. But after dropping the Freeway Series to the Angels over the weekend it was not only good to see the win, but a Blake DeWitt walk-off single? Damn we need to tie that boy up for a long time.
• Planet Mozilla: No Secret Data Project. Robert Accettura writes about the misconceptions and truths about Mozilla’s data collection.
• Planet Ubuntu: I Want Interwebs! . Poor Mackenzie Morgan is having Comcast issues in her new diggs.
• WBZ-TV: Inside Google Cambridge. A nice slideshow tour of the Google offices in Cambridge, MA. I almost want to work there as much as I’d like to work here.

Mozilla rolls out Firefox 2.0.0.14

There’s a new security and stability upgrade for Firefox 2. The biggest change is that a JavaScript scurity issue has been fixed, but you should definitely take the update if you’re running Firefox 2.

Firefox 3 Beta 5 is HERE!

My sources in Mozilla QA tell me that Firefox 3 Beta 5 should be out this afternoon. There’s no download link available yet (duh) but I did want to take a minute to write what could end up being my final post on Firefox 3’s development.

Updated 2:30 PM EDT 2 April: Firefox 5 Beta 5 is now out! And the firstrun page does in fact continue the robotic theme of previous betas.

Happy 10th Anniversary, Mozilla!

Ten years ago today, Mozilla was officially launched. While they’re marking the 10th anniversary all year long, there are two things that I’d like to make sure you check out today.

Are we ignoring the new AMO?

Mozilla unveiled a new version of their add-ons site the other day, and yet neither Peng nor I have written anything about it. Is it an inadvertent slip due to the demands of Real Life or so we have something against the update?

Is Firefox 3 Beta 5 out yet?

If anyone says they have Firefox 3 Beta 5, they’re lying through their teeth.