June 2011

More on the Broken Thunderbird in Linux Mint

Yesterday, I did some more testing on Linux to see if I could still create the blank User Interface by running a profile from Thunderbird 3.1.x with the Add-on Compatibility Reporter installed in Thunderbird 5.0 on Linux Mint. So I made a duplicate of my Thunderbird 3.1.x profile which had the Add-on Compatibility Reporter installed using the ProfileManager tool and then attempted to run that profile in Thunderbird 5. As expected, the result was the same a blank UI and a dead profile. In another test, I was able to successfully ‘resurrect’ the ‘broken’ profile by launching the profile in…

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Remove Domain Highlighting

A new feature in Firefox 6 is domain highlighting which is another feature that is already in place with Chrome and IE. This features makes the main domain standout in the address bar. You will notice in the example below, the ffextensionguru.com is black whilst the http:// and blog. sub domain are in grey. For those would prefer the entire address to be one color, there is an about:config tweak that will disable this feature. In a new tab paste & go about:config into the address bar If needed…Click the I’ll be careful, I promised button. Filter for browser.urlbar.formatting.enabled Double-click…

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avast! Package is Broken Error

Once in a while I end up getting Package is Broken error when trying to do an update on either the definitions or the avast! application.  This latest incident was getting a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) after taking my computer out of Hibernation. After Windows restarted was when I started getting errors, either when Avast! attempted to update itself or I tried a manual update. Long story short, something got corrupted as result of the earlier BSOD. No matter what you try to do, the best solution is just to download the latest version of avast! then run the…

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Oh Joy! Yet Another WordPress Update

While I really like working with WordPress, especially with the Weaver Theme engine, it gets to be a major PITA when there are updates to not only plugins, but the core WordPress as well. May not be so bad for someone who has a couple WordPress sites, but I have nearly a dozen: Firefox Extension Guru (3) – Main Site, Blog, Wiki The Email Mafia (3) – Main Site, Blog, Wiki El Guru (2) – Main Site and Blog 3 more misc sites However, PITA or not it is important to keep WordPress updated, so I am off to update.

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Fix Blurry Fonts Thunderbird 5.0

Like Firefox 5.0, Thunderbird 5.0 takes advantage of video hardware acceleration to improve performance. Unfortunately, like in Firefox 5.0, this can lead to blurry fonts. A quick change of a couple values in about:config should clear this issue up for most users: In Thunderbird go Tools > Options… Click Advanced Tab Click the Config Editor… button at the lower right If needed, click the I’ll Be Careful, I Promise! button Filter for each of the below values and double click to change the setting from false to true gfx.direct2d.disabled layers.acceleration.disabled

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Change Google’s Nav Bar Color

Quickest change I’ve ever made. 🙂Installed the script before I ever used Google for search though I did see the black nav bar briefly and could hardly read it. Change Google Navigation Bar (the bar at the top of Google page) to a light (white) classic style, or colorize it as you like. “ Script Google Light Navbar for Greasemonkey Found @ GHacks.net Go get it.

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Clean Toolbar Buttons

Part of the User Interface (UI) redesign in Firefox 4 for Windows was new buttons with borders around them to make them look like well, buttons. Below you can see what the default toolbar buttons look like in Firefox 3.6 and Firefox 4 (and newer). Toolbar Buttons Firefox 3.6 Toolbar Buttons Firefox 4.0 (and newer) Some people prefer the cleaner look without the borders as was the case with the Firefox 3.6 UI.  Add the following lines to your userChrome.css file (directions) and restart Firefox: /*Removes toolbar button Shadows*/ toolbar .toolbarbutton-1 { border:0!important; box-shadow:none!important; background:none!important;} Upon restart your Firefox toolbar…

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Lightning For Thunderbird 5.0

Lightning 1.0 Beta 4 RC 2 (released today) works with Thunderbird 5.0 and can be obtained via AMO. While the AMO page does show Lightning 1.0 Beta 4 in the description it is still downloads 1.0 Beta 2. Warning: Attempting to force older versions of Lightning to work with Thunderbird 5.0 will not work. For those looking for the Provider for Google Calendar there is a new version available as well.

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Thunderbird 5.0 Released

After nearly a year in development, Mozilla/Mozilla Labs has released Thunderbird 5.0 on June 28th. As mentioned prior to keep the version numbering the same across all products, there was not a Thunderbird 4.0 release. Further during early development this was labeled as Thunderbird 3.3 Alpha. Users who’s computers meet these system requirements should be prompted to update with in 24-48 hours or Windows user can go to Help > Check For Updates… and should be presented with an update offer (see below). Please note, some add-ons may not yet be working with Thunderbird 5.0. See this post for more…

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Disable Switch-to-tab

Firefox 4.0-8.0 Firefox 4 introduced the Switch-to-tab feature. From our Quick Guide to Firefox 4: Switch to Tab – Numerous times I have so many tabs open and don’t realize that the new tab I just opened is a duplicate of one already open (but not visible).  For example in the address bar I typed Hotmail, the new ‘smart location bar’ knows I already have this tab open and gives me the option to ‘Switch to Tab’. Update: This feature works for tabs open in another Firefox window as well. Typing % in the address bar will also display a…

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