LittleCamels.com

As a Mozilla enthusiast, I have to criticise a bit the Firefox affaire.
Let’s start in this way. I have always used Mozilla. As a Netscape fan, it wasn’t a problem for me to switch to Mozilla. Since the latest versions of Netscape were Mozilla-based, by getting Mozilla I had the possibility to be sure to get the latest bug fixes and new features.
That was three years ago.

Since the last year, the echoes coming from the development of Firefox (bird, or whatever) and Thunderbird started to be more and more intense. I’m talking about echoes, because so they were for me. I’m a Mozilla user. I use continuously its browser and its mail reader, often the HTML editor (useful for adjusting tables and forms, to get all the tags in small letters, etc.), seldom chatZilla (I don’t like to chat through a computer, except with Mau).

Now, due to the separate development of Firefox and Thunderbird, the development of Mozilla has literally stopped on Sept 28, 2004 with the Mozilla 1.8a4. Before we used to get a new realease within four/five weeks. Now it is also hard to know when the next version will be available.
As a matter of fact, the Mozilla roadmap doesn’t specify anything after the 1.8a4.

What is this? I guess Mozilla developers want me to forget the Mozilla suite being a product having the latest features. It seems that for that I should switch to Firefox and Thunderbird. Well, right now I tell you “no, thank you”. I still do believe that the suite is better for my needs. But, please, don’t forget it.

P.S.: Just to realise how times have changed, try to see how long it takes from the Mozilla main page to reach the the download page of the latest version of Mozilla. If you can’t find it, it’s here.

Update: I just found out that Planet Mozilla shows a Mozilla Tree Schedule containing the future 1.8 alpha versions. From that schedule it seems that the 1.8 alpha 5 freeze time is now. Funny to notice that it links back to the Mozilla roadmap which is stuck to 1.8a4. More than funny, weird.

Pivot is a web-based tool to maintain dynamic sites, like weblogs or online journals. It is released under the GPL so it is completely free to use. It is written in PHP, and does not require additional libraries or databases to function. That is, you don’t need to install anything. Just download the installation files in your website and you are ready to go!

I’m currently developing a set of templates to be used with Pivot.
Here you can see the live result.
They are made in the same style of the IcyBlue template as originally designed by Neil Turner for Movable Type. I’ve just done some hacking to adjust them for Pivot.
As you might notice, there are still several bugs to be fixed. But as soon as I am a bit satisfied with my job (hopefully in a few days), I’ll release the code of the templates. However, if someone is interested in developing them, just let me know, we can share the duty!

As you might have noticed (just have a look at the address bar), the Raffan Sähköpäiväkirja has moved to a real web domain! Why littlecamels.com? I have been struggling for months thinking about the name of a domain that would have been suitable for me and my weblog. I couldn't find any. But then, after posting the English translation of "The little camels of memory", I got it. As I have written in the introduction to the novel, the little camels of memory carry our thoughts on their back. We don't know where they go…. That was it. So, welcome to littlecamels.com. Please update your bookmarks and check this diary every now and then.