After spending a little time getting up to speed in creating Firefox Search Plugins, I’ve crafted a Mozilla search plugin to drive Shaun Inman’s Shortwave, a command based online search tool.

“Shortwave is an extensible quick-search and shortcut system like Firefox’s Smart Keywords or Safari Stand’s Quick Search..”

The bookmarklet is great concept and is highly portable. However developers have spent time successively removing bookmark keyboard commands from each new Firefox version. Shortwave Search integrates functionality back it into the built-in Firefox search function.

Quick, Robin, to the Install.

You can install the default version, which uses the Shortwave hosted default search from here (fixed!):

›› Install Shortwave.

I’ve added the search to the un-official official search engines at Mozilla HQ:

›› Shortwave search addon at mozilla.org.

Alternatively (or if the above links do not automatically add the search) save the following XML file to the appropriate searchplugins folder, as listed here, then restart your browser.

Making it BIGGER.

If you have created your own custom waves.txt and would prefer to use that by defualt, then edit the above linked shortwaveapp.xml and append the following after {searchterms}:

&s=http://yourdomainname.com/path/to/waves.txt

Note — I have included an example (commented) for a self-hosted waves.txt in the manual download verson above, for further reference.

Which button, Jim?

You can prefix any search terms with the desired action, entering help will present the currently defined commands — for example prefixing a search with g will trigger a google search. Conversely prefixing the same search with a would ask the same question to Amazon.

Using the built-in Control + K keyboard combo (Cmd + K if you’re in Mac land) makes that search even faster.

To make Shortwave the default browser search engine, browse to about:config (you may be asked to confirm ok) and set the following Firefox pref to Shortwave:

Finally and in conclusion.

This is a reasonably simple implementation — it should work in Firefox and most other Mozilla based browsers that support the OpenSearch standard.

Special thanks also go to Mr Inman for developing this brilliant tool and for the permission to share the search plugin.

In Apple’s world, you can use the original OS disc and Time Machine to fully restore a broken situation. Apple have gone to the extreme of producing a one-touch backup solution. Set that bad-boy up, once, then you’re good to go. In Microsoft’s world, you’re on your own skippy. It’s a dog-eat-cat world world out there.. to hell with ensuring the OS can be restored.

At this point you may well be thinking “what about System Restore? fucking noob”. System Restore is a wonderful drain on disk space (with the ever logical usage level set to 10% by default) — it even works, sometimes. It’s also a haven for net-nasties of nearly every flavour.

And it’s always a case of Russian Roulette as to whether it will heal an install. Or deep-six it. That’s assuming you can actually boot into your system to begin with. Logically one has to assume that’s just not possible if the install actually implodes.

Don’t get me wrong, though. I have backups. Mountains of data and cruft and bloat. And stuff that I might actually need at some point too. But the problem frequently comes down to a central location. And what, exactly, do I actually need to make sure I have? Microsoft have taught us that the average user shouldn’t see large portions of the drive and yet will somehow be armed with a keen knowledge of the right things to store in a safe place.

That’s a plan that will always work, right?

Now, having bled in Microsoft’s world for nearly as long as Windows has existed (at all) I’ve got the art of finding hidden-shit-I-really-need down pat. But the average user? Now you know why an entire Microsoft-centric industry of highly-trained individuals exists, to do just one thing. Recover your stuff.

And yet Microsoft, to this very day, still don’t understand they are responsible for enabling us. We can push the fucking button if needs be.. sure, but after decades of building operating systems, you’d think they would — being the pants wearer in the relationship — have got a fucking grip and built an OS that can be successfully recovered from reliable backups.

No. No they have not. Instead, one must frequently erase a system that had a working install — ensuring the pre-requisite multiple-hour forensics mission was successful — re-install the operating system. Find drivers for core hardware — like network cards — potentially without internet connectivity. Then re-install at least one service pack. Then all the security updates. Then the applications.

Only then, once Microsoft feel that the operating system is somehow magically complete again — and one is as certain as one can be that all the applications are back — can one even consider locating the aforementioned forensic data and then return it from whence it came.

In the same period of time it takes me to get back to a running OS, an Apple Mac user has already gotten their life back on track, as though nothing. ever. happened. Who was the ass-hat at Microsoft that allowed this to continue? Windows 7 is around the corner and, yet again, there is absolutely nothing slated to revolutionise data retention.

Do you know what is most damming about the whole situation? It’s such a common issue in the Microsoft world that it doesn’t sound at all odd that folks will re-install their operating system every few months for what appears to be absolutely no functional reason whatsoever. And that should be an entirely ridiculous notion, not the norm.

I’ve spent 2 days attempting to breathe life into the rapidly-decaying corpse that was once my operating system. In the end I have had to — like a great many frustrated users before me — accept defeat, destroy the operating system volume and start all over again.

And again I am reminded of how inadequate and boneheaded the entire situation really is. Nearly every other popular operating system has this nailed down. It’s (very) early on a Thursday morning, do you know where your data is?

“Interesting how influential people like Henry Ford, Steve Jobs and Andrew Stanton all ignore their audience or customers.”

It’s not a new concept and Pixar certainly aren’t the first to shun industry numbers — although I’m sure it helps that they can afford to do so — Kevin Smith has managed to do it more than once on a shoe-string budget.

“Once people got wind that I’d been trying out Expression Engine, I’ve been badgered with the question “Which one should I use: Textpattern or Expression Engine?”.”

“I have personally archived every one of these files due to the high quality of content. No matter what you call them; ebook, white paper, or resource they all contain information that no designer should go without.”

“This workshop explores the possibilities and potential for using social, collaborative, and interactive technologies across the curriculum.”

I’m all for teaching new media. Just not something that will be irrelevant five minutes before it’s taught.

.. a tag crew of knitters, bombing the inner city with vibrant, stitched works of art, wrapped around everything from beer bottles on easy nights to public monuments and utility poles on more ambitious outings.

The Connect-A-Desk is a new product that gives you the ability to use your laptop with both hands free, to type while walking or standing.

“I do skim articles on the internet (so if I’m reading something of yours, make it interesting). I skim text on my computer as well (so if you email me, make sure it’s interesting). The problem isn’t my brain, it’s in the method of delivery.”

It’s easy to present raw information. It’s much harder to make it an engaging read.