Traditional Chinese Problem with Firefox - new plug-in! Problem solved!
amber
July 16, 2008, 08:27 AM posted in General DiscussionHi all traditional character lovers:
Great news. We've released a new plug-in that is compatible with Firefox 3 to give you back your traditional characters. Please click on this link to install it.
Once you install it, you will be able to again view ChinesePod with traditional chinese characters instead of the simplified (like it use to work with previous version of Firefox).
misterfranks
January 11, 2009, 01:21 AMI've got the plugin, but it doesn't seem to work. I'm doing it manually by adding trad to the end of the url, before the dot. Does the plugin work?
poopzilla
July 16, 2008, 02:27 PM@tvan: I use Safari on a Mac, so to use CP I must switch to FF. Not an option I like.
johnb
July 16, 2008, 10:49 PMtvan's point is very true -- FF is the only major cross-platform browser. It is also the only major browser that has a plugin architecture that allows us to modify the browser's behavior directly. Safari and IE (not sure about Konquerer) require us to write operating system components, which are considerably more work and involve much greater long-term support costs.
We would love to support every browser/OS combo out there, if we're going to support one, it's going to be the most open and widely option, which is currently Firefox.
andrew_c
July 16, 2008, 11:14 PMI don't feel strongly about this issue, but just out of curiosity, I wanted to ask the following. Please excuse me if I oversimplify the task at hand.
Would it be possible to do it on the server side instead of the client side? This way, every user would express their preference for simplified or traditional characters in their profile, and then you guys would deliver content based on that preference. Then it wouldn't matter what browser is used.
hanyuxuesheng
July 17, 2008, 05:51 PMacorrigan said:
every user would express their preference for simplified or traditional characters in their profile, and then you guys would deliver content based on that preference.
Well, just this was asked for in CP version 1, 2, 3, ... by many people here and in the CP forum.
It will never come!
The reason for this is one of CP's best hidden secrets.
I am in the IT business, and I can tell you: it would be quite easy to implement - say one, two working days?
hanyuxuesheng
July 17, 2008, 05:59 PMjohnb says
Safari and IE (not sure about Konquerer) require us to write operating system components...
This is bullshit. Sorry for the harsh words. You only need to program (in php) an user option which sets the right sql query - on the server side!
It's a crazy idea that CP forces their customers to use a specific browser - this is not at all state-of-the-art web programming.
fordbronco
July 18, 2008, 12:12 AMAs a software developer, I can't believe I'm reading about people needing to modify the browser and/or operating system components just to display traditional Chinese characters.
poopzilla
July 18, 2008, 11:10 AM@johnb: so CP is only for Firefox users?
It's an interesting business model to force the customer to use a specific browser.
tvan
July 16, 2008, 01:24 PMpoopzilla, I think I know what you mean, but is there a correlation between liking/using traditional characters and your browser of preference.
I guess its always nice to have every browser possible supported. Still, isn't FireFox the only major supported browser on all platforms? IE isn't supported on Macs and, while Safari is supported on Windows, it doesn't seem to be a major force there.
henning
July 18, 2008, 02:21 PMAnd what about an option to completly localize the UI of CPod to force us Intemediates to read more Hanzi? Like in those zh.chinesepod.com-times?
Such an effort should also be manageable if the current version is based on common programming practices (like separating GUI strings and logic).
poopzilla
July 18, 2008, 02:28 PM@calkins:
as a Mac/Safari lover I agree with all your points.
But: it's not a huge cost.
I agree with hanyuxusheng: Implementing a serverside solution to set the preferred (simp./trad.) script based on an user's option is not a big thing. It seems that CP is not willing to do this because of other (political?) reasons.
pipsy
July 20, 2008, 11:09 AMpoop poop.
Q.Which browser just set a world record for the most downloads in one day?
A. Firefox3
C Pod has delivered yet again by providing an updated plugin that works in the best cross platform browser available!
hkboy
August 22, 2008, 08:23 AMOk. I'm not go great with computers but I want to see the traditional characters.
So I download the Firefox program and then add this plug-in?
Are many of you using this?
andrew_c
August 22, 2008, 04:27 PMIt's been over a month without a response. Do any of you at CPod have a response to the issue discussed above?
goulnik
August 22, 2008, 07:17 PMbopomofo : for you 繁体字 lovers, I just added to a 注音符号 to 汉语拼音 converter to the script I released a few weeks ago (also known as bopomofo-to-pinyin).
true, there is one on pinyin.info, they even have a reverse converter, but it has some limitations, doesn't insert quotes where expected, and it's closed. mine is javascript-based, you are free to download and reuse, you can convert as much text as you want and mix 汉字, simplified or traditional. (see this, which incidentally misuses 一 for ㄧ).
xtna
September 04, 2008, 02:04 AMHi, all. I'm new to the boards and just discovered this thread. Is this working for anyone? I just installed it, and it appears to have installed properly, but it doesn't seem to be working (I'm using Mac OS 10.4.11, FFox 3.0.1).
If I go to "Tools," I see the rest of my plugins, but not the CPod one. If I go to "Tools" -> "Add-ons," I see "cpodtraditional 1.5 (Disable/Uninstall)," but "Preferences" is greyed out.
Sorry if I'm re-treading past territory or if this has been discussed on another thread, but I haven't found any answers to this yet. Anyone have any ideas?
Thanks a bunch! :)
calkins
July 18, 2008, 02:09 PMI have to agree with many above...it is strange for a company (especially a web-based one) to build its internet model based on one internet browser.
I wonder what would happen if:
- Mozilla was bought out and subsequently changed Firefox drastically.
- Mozilla, for whatever reason, went bankrupt and ceased developing Firefox.
- Millions of bugzillas came down from the heavens and ate all of Mozilla's web servers.
I know these are highly unlikely, but why put all your eggs in one basket? Because ya just never know.
Personally, I don't like Firefox at all. I think Safari is a much more intuitive, intelligent, and user-friendly browser. I really miss using it and wish CPod would redesign its site based on all (or most) browsers. I know it's a huge cost, but it's something that should have been done in the beginning.
poopzilla
July 16, 2008, 11:19 AMI would have preferred a solution which works within IE, Safari, Konqueror, or any other non-FF browser ...
Seems that viewing trad. script forces me to use Firefox. And I just see that there is no possibility to switch this plugin temporarily on/off. Not very convenient.
Sorry guys, but with this solution you won't attract any traditional character lovers...