Weirdness

I downloaded a new build of Mozilla Firebird that isn't rendering the Blogger entry page right. It's disappointing because in every other way this build is much superior to the current stable version. The interface is more Mac-like and pretty, and it seems to be handling AutoFill better. It also didn't break the new extension I added earlier today that enhances Firebird's ad-blocking capabilities (out of the box, Firebird can block images you tell it to, meaning you can right/control-click an ad and tell Firebird to block it; however, it wasn't able to do this with Flash ads until I installed the extension). I guess a funky bug like this is to be expected, though, when the version you're using isn't a point release.

What bugs me is I can't seem to find the option that once was in Blogger to use the simple interface instead of the advanced one designed for IE and Mozilla browsers. They're always changing this site up without telling us. For example, in looking for this option I discovered that you can finally change the format for archive links (see my sidebar for an example). I always hated having them read "01-01-2004 - 01-31-2004" in the Monthly view. It's under Settings: Formatting, I believe.

Other nifty new Blogger tricks: There's a page in the Knowledge Base that has the JavaScript code for making a Title Index of your front page a la Movable Type in your sidebar (see mine to the right).

And Blogger supports RSS syndication now, too. This means that if you enable the "Site Feed" option under Settings, it'll give you a link to a page generated in XML with your blog content. These pages can then be read in a newsreader like the free NetNewsWire Lite for Mac. Newsreaders gather blog XML pages into one e-mail-like program so you can easily check which ones have been updated recently. I'm sure there's free Windows newsreaders, too, but I don't know what they are offhand. You have to add the link to your blog's home page in order for people to find out that you have Site Feed enabled. For more information on it, see the Knowledge Base page on Atom.

And I don't think I mentioned it in my last entry, but all of those Mac games I posted links to are completely free, no strings attached. There's other shareware games out there, but I can't afford shareware fees right now, and I feel guilty using shareware for free.