Firefox 3 introduces support for web-based protocol handling so instead of a desktop application taking care of irc:, im:, ftp:, mailto: and other protocol link, these addresses are passed to a defined web service provided that it is capable of parsing and processing them.

Firefox 3 ships with Yahoo! Mail and 30Boxes as bundled web protocol handlers (for email and calendars respectively) but you can easily add more as they become available.

Google for example added the necessary interface too short before the Firefox 3 release so it wasn’t included by default but you can change that.

First, you will have to enable registration of protocol web handlers from different domains.

• Enter about:config in the location bar and press Enter to access the advanced preferences.
• Look for gecko.handlerService.allowRegisterFromDifferentHost and double click it to set it to true.

Now click in the link below to add Gmail as a mailto: links handler.

Add Gmail as a mailto handler

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The SeaMonkey project has released an update to its namesake Internet applications suite, SeaMonkey 1.1.9. Similar to yesterday’s Firefox 2.0.0.13, this update fixes six security vulnerabilities, two of them labeled as critical.

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The SeaMonkey project has released SeaMonkey 1.1.8, an update that fixes seven security vulnerabilities, including three rated as critical, one high, one moderate and two low, including the unauthorized directory traversal due to a bug in the chrome protocol handling.

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The SeaMonkey project has updated the SeaMonkey Internet suite to patch three security vulnerabilities including one that could allow a cross site scripting attack by exploiting a jar:// protocol weakness.

The fixes are similar to the ones included in Firefox 2.0.0.10 released aeralier ths weekland doesn’t include the <canvas> regression.

Visit the SeaMonkey project site to get the latest version.

The SeaMonkey team has released an update with patches that fixes some regressions found in the previous update, 1.1.5.

Get it at the SeaMonkey project web site. Available for Windows, Linux and Mac OS X.

Robert Kaiser, SeaMonkey lead developer posted a proposal of goals for SeaMonkey 2, the next major update to the integrated Mozilla-based Internet suite.

Among the most notable changes suggested is improving SeaMonkey extensibility, toolbar customization and a visual refresh for better integration with the operating systems.

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Adobe has released an update for Adobe Flash Player 9 plugin for all Gecko-based browsers: Firefox, Netscape, SeaMonkey, Flock, Camino, etc.

While there is no documentation on what’s new on this update, it’s always advisable to stay on top and avoid incompatibilities the update may already fix.

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Following the Firefox updates, the SeaMonkey project has released SeaMonkey 1.1.2, a security and stability update for the Mozilla suite.

Just like the latest Firefox 1.5.0.12 and 2.0.0.4 updates, this one addresses 5 security vulnerabilities, 1 of them labeled as critical. Users are strongly encouraged to update as soon as possible. This release also fixes some incompatibilties presented by web sites using Backbase, an Ajax library.

To get the update, visit the SeaMonkey project web site and download the latest version. 

Firefox users who like a clean desktop may already know about MinimizeToTray, a extension developed by Mook and Brad Peterson for Firefox, Thunderbird and SeaMonkey on Windows platforms.

As advertised, when you press the minimize button instead of sending it to the task bar it's added to the system tray bar which helps reduce the clutter. You can customize it to do the same when pressing the close button and whether you need to click once or twice in the system tray Firefox icon to restore the window.

Linux user now have the same functionality thanks to FireTray, a developed by Duo for Firefox on Linux only. Here, a Firefox icon is permanently added to the system tray when Firefox is running. Click on it to minimize to the system tray. I tried it in Ubuntu and works perfectly, however this version works only with Gnome desktops but the developer has announced that future versions will fix this.

Try MinimizeToTray and FireTray at Mozilla Add-ons.

What’s the most annoying thing when writing a long text in web textareas? You guessed: not being able to use the Tab key to indent some text.

Tabinta (Tab in Textarea), is an extension for Firefox and SeaMonkey, developed by Bálint Endrey, that lets enter tabulations in a textarea. This allows better formatted text and even some sort of tables to be created (like in the example shown).

You can also set a different key for tabulation and keep the Tab key for focusing links and web form elements.

Another useful, simple, transparent extension.

Try it at Mozilla Add-ons.

Usefulness: 4/5 - Usability: 5/5 - Features: 5/5