[Ext] Adblock Plus 0.5.11.4

tonymec · Post by **tonymec** » January 18th, 2006, 2:47 pm

paulfox wrote:[...]As for tonymec's observation, the auto update to 0.6 wouldn't work anyway. The install folder is different, 0.6 requires an uninstall of previous versions, and you would double the filterlist in prefs along with a couple of other remnant entries that wouldn't go away. [...]

That's what I said: it's a different animal. If it were just the next generation of the same, it would be called by auto-upgrade and, on first load, it would notice "old style" preferences and migrate them seamlessly without any loss of functionality. But it is not "the next of the same" (figuratively "straight ahead" on the development "trunk"), it is a different thing (a "branch", I suppose, in Mozilla parlance, or maybe it is the "trunk" and the other is the "branch", I don't know) so the auto-upgrade mechanism doesn't download it, and rightly so.

Wladimir Palant · Post by **Wladimir Palant** » January 18th, 2006, 3:34 pm

Starting with Adblock Plus 0.6.0.2 the upgrade from Adblock Plus 0.5 or Adblock should be unproblematic. But per discussion with mcm it looks like we aren't going to make this upgrade automatic, it is quite a big change.

PTS · Post by **PTS** » January 18th, 2006, 3:35 pm

Oh boy, my head is spinning.

I am currently using Adblock Plus 0.5.11.2.

After sifting through the posts on the most recent pages of this thread I am thoroughly confused as to which of the three variants is the best Adblock for me. Does anyone know whether the new Adblock+ (.6) contain the 'Support Websites' Ad hiding feature? I've viewed the Adblock Plus page on mozdev but could not determine whether this is included.

Post by **BenBasson** » January 18th, 2006, 3:36 pm

It does, or at least, appeared to. Give it a try, you can always revert back if you prefer.

mcm_ham · Post by **mcm_ham** » January 18th, 2006, 3:47 pm

Apologies for all the confusion. The story is this, I have been invited to join the original Adblock project which I've accepted. Given that I was planning to slow down on development with Adblock Plus to just compatibility fixes with future Firefox versions.

Wladimir as you've guessed from the posts earlier in this thread has also been in talks with rue and other Adblock developers and wanted to take Adblock down a more fast lightweight approach so is breaking away with a new version (now called Adblock Plus 0.6). As a result I did let him take over the Adblock Plus project to avoid confusion over there being three Adblock projects.

If people want I can still make sure Adblock Plus 0.5 is available with compatibility fixes to work with the latest Firefox version as originally planned.

mcm_ham · Post by **mcm_ham** » January 18th, 2006, 3:50 pm

Actually a couple of things I have been debating on the pros and cons with Wladimir and would like comment on is this:

Do poeple think the name of the new Adblock Plus version should be renamed to Adblock Lite since that fits better to where Wladimir is aiming his version a clean, fast, lightweight version. Or will this add to the confusion.

And also should the new version be linked to the auto-update or should people be given the choice to upgrade because of the differences.

Cato62 · Post by **Cato62** » January 18th, 2006, 4:00 pm

If you don't mind my $0.02:

mcm_ham wrote:Do poeple think the name of the new Adblock Plus version should be renamed to Adblock Lite since that fits better to where Wladamir is aiming his version a clean, fast, lightweight version.

I like that idea for the name Adblock Lite for Wladamir's version / branch. That is what it seems to be.

mcm_ham wrote:And also should the new version be linked to the auto-update or not because of the huge differences.

I personally don't think it should update to any version but its own.

Wladimir Palant · Post by **Wladimir Palant** » January 18th, 2006, 4:08 pm

Sorry, but the naming of the extension isn't open for discussion - it is already done. And "Adblock Lite" isn't it anyway, that's not what it is. Adblock Plus 0.6 is more powerful than Adblock already (in terms of real features) and will continue to improve.

paulfox · Post by **paulfox** » January 18th, 2006, 4:09 pm

mcm_ham: Very, very nice you're here, Brother! That's a load off - a few of us were really getting worried. Thank you for continuing to provide your version - MANY on here will prefer it, and it's all we had for a long time. What an awesome job you did. Personally I like 0.6 A LOT - and see nothing "lite" about it, although I guess people go by "features." The lean and mean is its strength, not weakness!

I'm with Cato62 on the upgrade process. As for renaming I'd like to suggest "AdBlock ALT," as "lite" has a somewhat bad connotation. But if "Lite" is the only option, good. Something should definitely differentiate the two versions. I had rather hoped it would be a pairing of you and Wladimir, but as long as you're happy that's what counts. Glad you're back, and you have an email from me.

EDIT: Whoops - Wladimir already got in above me - it's not for discussion. Good. "Lite" it isn't.

Cato62 · Post by **Cato62** » January 18th, 2006, 4:17 pm

mcm_ham wrote:Actually a couple of things I have been debating on the pros and cons with Wladimir and would like comment on is this:

Do poeple think the name of the new Adblock Plus version should be renamed to Adblock Lite since that fits better to where Wladimir is aiming his version a clean, fast, lightweight version. Or will this add to the confusion.

Wladimir Palant wrote:Sorry, but the naming of the extension isn't open for discussion - it is already done. And "Adblock Lite" isn't it anyway, that's not what it is. Adblock Plus 0.6 is more powerful than Adblock already (in terms of real features) and will continue to improve.

Sorry, man, just responding to mcm_ham's request for comment. Wasn't trying to step on anyones toes.

******** · Post by ******** » January 18th, 2006, 4:20 pm

mcm_ham wrote:And also should the new version be linked to the auto-update or should people be given the choice to upgrade because of the differences.

choice, choice, choice!
hoever i myself have become one of the new converts to Adblock Plus 0.6, at least temporarily, while i try it out.

tonymec · Post by **tonymec** » January 18th, 2006, 4:34 pm

Yes, I believe that Adblock Plus 0.5 should receive, at the least, compatibility updates with future Firefox versions, and bug fixes if any bugs (i.e., malfunctions) are found.
I like the name "Adblock Lite". Wladimir, the name "Adblock Plus" was already taken -- if you want to use it for your own product, you should provide all the functionality of the existing "Adblock Plus 0.5", including features which you may regard as "unreal", and support all its preferences; otherwise you would be committing fraud (selling counterfeit goods).
If Wladimir believes "Adblock Lite" is pejorative (IMHO it isn't), other names are possible: "Adblock Turbo" comes to mind as an example.

******** · Post by ******** » January 18th, 2006, 4:44 pm

i agree with tonymec on the naming issue.

I myself have switched to what is still called Adblock Plus 0.6+, but the name problem becomes a feature and identity problem.

i also suggest choosing a different word to follow Adblock.

Wladimir Palant · Post by **Wladimir Palant** » January 18th, 2006, 4:45 pm

@Cato62: yes, I was also responding to mcm_ham.

XerBlade · Post by **XerBlade** » January 18th, 2006, 4:47 pm

paulfox wrote:
desertfox wrote:yep. choice, choice, choice. this isn't a war.
choice is supposed to be good for users. though there is one thing i would like:
maybe wladimir could help mcm_ham to make adblock plus 0.5.11.2's code cleaner and more efficient without a loss of features.

Yes. You mentioned that earlier and it would be great. This extension came out yesterday. How many months did AdBlock go untouched?
If it weren't for mcm things would have been awful, and HE has apparently released this to Wladimir. Still hoping to run mcm for Governor and it is my extreme fondness for him that is the only reason I would stick with 0.5.11.2. Otherwise I think 0.6 is hands down better, and for the first time makes "AdBlocking" a background low resource process. How many posts have we seen on here by people saying they won't use AdBlock because it slows things down? Not any more!

As for tonymec's observation, the auto update to 0.6 wouldn't work anyway. The install folder is different, 0.6 requires an uninstall of previous versions, and you would double the filterlist in prefs along with a couple of other remnant entries that wouldn't go away. This is why Cusser's suggestion of filters not being kept in prefs is brilliant. MenuEdit doesn't do it - changes are kept in menuedit.rdf in your profile folder. Same with RIP - config file in your RIP extension folder, under "store."

Actually, I did do just that, once, with the conversion from my series of IE Tab builds to PCMan's current official series. After I had waited long enough to be confident that most everybody had switched over themselves anyway, I linked the auto-update on mine to install PCMan's, though it had a differetn GUID and would not overwrite it. I figured the very few people who had been beta testing it and hadn't been chaching back on the forums or whatever to have already upgraded would at least be smart enough to figure out that, hey, this thing that keeps wanting to install a different extension and keeps prompting for update on itself probably needs to uninstalled (though it would still work with both versions installed, I tried). I mean, considering the only possible advantage it had over the newer, cooler, more awesome PCMan builds any more was that it used IE 7 icons instead of IE 6, choice wasn't so much the issue (especially considering it will be a while yet before very many people even have IE 7...).

Anyway, from the plans for Wladimir's Adblock Plus future builds, I do like what I see, and will likely be switching over to it eventually anyway, just not at the moment. The only issue I believe I'd still really have which isn't listed in the plans, which is trivial enough anyway, is the need for a quick easy option to hide the statusbar icon.

On the naming issue, well, it has technically already been submitted to AMO as Adblock Plus, so changing the name may not be as simple a matter as it once was.