[WEB4LIB] Re: Netscape 6.1 -- Print Preview

[Andrew Mutch]

I think the absence of the "Print Preview" function is a textbook example of what happens when the theory of open source meets reality.  With a commercial product, the marketing department probably never would have allowed the product to be released without the print preview function [unless you have a
monopoly like MS and then you don't have to follow the normal rules].  But, there is no marketing arm of Mozilla and so it is left to the coders to decide what features get worked on and which ones don't.  That is why we have seen what I would consider glaring mistakes like the absence of the print preview
function and moving the "home" button off the toolbar.  This isn't a knock against the open source movement but a recognition that what the coders think is a priority might not square with our vision.

Ideally, there is a motivated user base that helps "direct" the coders to work on the features that are most important to those people who actually use the browser.  The challenge for Mozilla is that people use their browsers for such a wide range of tasks.  For some people, the most important feature would
be support for the latest version of Flash, for others, complete support for HTML standards while others would want to see features like Print Preview and Page Setup. Mozilla is trying to meet all of these needs without creating something that is so unwieldy that it works for no one.

In Mozilla's defense, I think they do realize that they dropped the ball with Print Preview.  Reading through the  postings for this "bug", you can see that they realize that this is a feature that they should have had in the browser.

http://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=20943

You can also see that several users were quite vocal about the need for this feature.  Ironically, just before this came up on the list, I wason Bugzilla following up on some of these issues and putting in votes for the print preview and home button and some other features in the hope that it would make
those more of a priority.  If just a fraction of the people on Web4Lib took a few minutes and registered and voted for these features on Bugzilla, we might be able to highlight how important we think these features are to the users out in the real world. That in turn might motivate the developers to spend
time getting those completed.  If we want Mozilla to be a product that is useful in our libraries and offers an alternative to IE, we have two options: we can sit out here and cross our finget sand hope they get it right and then grumble when they don't. Or, we can get involved and help steer this product
in a direction that works for us. I prefer to be involved.  At least then, I feel like I can grumble when they don't do it right!
;)

Andrew Mutch
Library Systems Technician
Waterford Township Public Library
Waterford, MI


rich at richardwiggins.com wrote:

> On Sun, 19 August 2001, "Thomas Dowling" wrote:
>
> > IE went for
> > years without Print Preview and many people found it quite usable
> > regardless.
>
> It was usable as a browser, but we do more than "browsing."  Many e-commerce sites advise "Print a copy of this page for your records."
> If you look up a map to a specific address on Mapquest, you are more likely to print it out than download it to a PDA.  Most magazines with an online presence are now smart enough to offer printer-friendly versions, knowing that people want to read, mark up, and hand around longer, complicated articles.
>
> Browser designers just didn't realize how important a function printing a Web page is.  And unless the page is in PDF, often you want to check out what it's going to look like.  For long Web pages, IE Print Preview allows you to pick which physical page(s) to print -- useful to avoid waste.
>
> > On the list of problems facing Netscape, its future on library public
> > workstations is probably not what has the company shaking in their boots.
>
> I wouldn't recommend NS 6 for end user desktops, either.  In the year 2001, a browser that lacks good printing (including accurate Print Preview) is not ready for prime time.   And it's a shame, because I think IE needs effective competition.
>
> /rich
>
> _____________________________________________________
>
> Richard Wiggins
> Writing, Speaking, and Consulting on the Internet
> rich at richardwiggins.com  http://richardwiggins.com