Thicke.org

Just like everyone else in the Blogoshpere that has downloaded it, I am testing a post from within Flock.  Let’s see how well it works.  If it does work, expect a very positive review on this software from me soon!

Well, it’s a day after I posted the above from the built in blog editor in Flock. I have to say I’m pretty impressed. It does do things that make my life easier. But, it doesn’t necessarily do them right.

The first issue I have is session saving. I have a bad habit of leaving my browser open all the time, usually with way too many tabs open. When it crashes, it can be quite a serious loss for me. I’ve got to have some way of saving my session. I’ve managed to install the session saver extension for Firefox (I’ll explain how a little later). But it doesn’t seem to be working. I haven’t tried to manually save a session, but it is definitely not auto-saving.

The other problem I have is spell checking. Almost every spelling mistake I’ve made here on Wild Tangents has been caught by an excellent extension call Spellbound. Using the same method I used to install session saver, I was able to get Spellbound installed and working. But my joy was easily defeated. The blog editor is not you average browser text box. The context menu for it does not contain the Spellbound option. For a bad speller like myself, the blog editor is pretty much useless.

Now I’m not here to tear down this wonderful new project. What we’re all downloading and installing is a developer release. We can’t expect all the bells and whistles. I’m just stating for the record what I think the important pieces are that are missing. I can see this really taking off with a certain crowd. Flock is not for everyone. But the people who it is for will probably have something good in it when it matures.

Here’s how to modify an extension’s xpi file so it will install under Flock. First you have to run it through some kind of upzipper. I just used the “unzip” command under Mac OS X. Once it’s unzipped, you need to open the “install.rdf” file in a text editor.

UPDATE: Well, I’m an idiot and couldn’t get all the code to display right for this. Besides Liew has a much better explanation on his website. You can get it by clicking here.

Once the file is edited and saved, zip the contents of the original file and the new install.rdf up into a file. Be sure the new file has the extension “xpi”. Drag and drop the xpi file into the Flock window. It should install then.

In case you don’t feel like doing that, I’ve uploaded the new files here. Just download them and drag and drop. I would advise doing that instead of just adding me to you allowed sites list, because quite frankly I don’t trust me either….

Note that I only have the Mac OS X version of the lib file. Since I don’t have any way to test the files for other platforms, I will not be posting them. Please don’t ask me to.

Be sure to install the main file first, then the lib file.

**** Use at your own risk*****
Marc is not responsible for any loss of data or virtual damage caused by installation of these files!

Spellbound

Spellbound Library for Mac OS X only

Once you do that, you’ll need at least one dictionary. You can find them by going here.

I am not able to find any license info on the Spellbound site, so I assume these file fall under the same license as Mozilla. I don’t think i have violated any license by posting them. If I am wrong, please let me know and I will remove them.