I am back to using the trunk builds - I really like the inline spell check feature. Good job Scott! Thanks to Neil Deakin for the code. I must also admit I love dogfooding Thunderbird - it is cool to see new features added and the product continually improving!
Prentice Hall has put one of the Firefox chapters up on their website - it is the chapter that deals with Privacy and Security. You can find it here: Sample Chapter
The target date for publication is April 15th. So far I have seen a few "review" blurbs that have been very positive. Slashdot will review the book soon enough.
A few things in the queue for the book:
Early April - "Let's Talk Computers" with Radio Host Alan Ashendorf (Chris Hofmann and John Hedtke will join me for this interview). We tape the segment this week, so I will have an update shortly on when it will air in case anyone is interested.
Tuesday, 4/19/05 webchat with the washingtonpost.com
The book has gone to the printer, so I should have an update soon on when hard copies will be available.
This is definitely a good way to keep Firefox and Thunderbird in the news!
So it appears that a number of Firefox books are on the horizon besides the one I am involved with - Firefox and Thunderbird Garage. As Asa points out here, this is a good thing - different strokes for different folks.
As far as having Firefox and Thunderbird versions in the "Dummies" series, at first I wasn't completely sold on this idea (I personally don't like the name of the series). But if these books can help Firefox and Thunderbird users, then I am all in favor of books in this series being out there. Each book that deals with FF and TB will likely have a slightly different approach, and since people all learn in different ways, it only benefits end users if there are a number of different choices out there.
Someone on Mozillazine was wondering about foreign translations of the book. It is my grand hope that we will be able to "internationalize" the book in the same way that we have all of those great localized versions of Firefox. As soon as I find out from the publisher what the plans are in this area, I will let everyone know.
Writing this book has been an exciting adventure, stress-filled at times but intensely rewarding. I would definitely consider writing another book after this experience. I just hope that the book will encourage more people to use Firefox and Thunderbird and explore all of the great features.
Firefox and Thunderbird Garage
I have been working very hard on this book since the beginning of the year (well, actually since around Christmas). It will be great to finally see it in print! I think it will be helpful for Firefox and Thunderbird newbies as well as existing users who want to explore some of the other great features in both products. Very soon, the Prentice-Hall site will have some sample chapters up in case you want a sneak preview.