My adventure in staying free and open began with the installation of the K-Meleon web browser. I was eager to try it, especially considering the high marks it received a few weeks back. After a few minutes of tweaking, however, I realized that it was the “Osage-orange” of web browsers — inflexible, rigid, and probably solid enough to rip a pickup truck in half upon impact. Not willing to give up so easily, I navigated to a site that promises loads of K-Meleon hacks and extensions. The first thing that I needed to do, it said, was to make sure that I had HM NSIS Edit and its sister program, NSIS Compiler, loaded on my system. According to the site, these programs are integral to the extension process. It didn’t take me all that long to realize that I wasn’t staring at some “converter.” I was staring headlong at programming code. Since I am really not on the best of terms with traditional (read: not web-based) languages, I came to the conclusion that running away was the best option. I had way too much to do at that point in time. I couldn’t get sidetracked with a “COBOL branded programming headache.” I backed away slowly, pretending that it never existed.

Taking the “extension” experiment as a regrettable, albeit temporary, loss, I started poking around the browser’s about:config file, looking for things to change. Within minutes, I finally had my Firefox bookmarks all in place and had my tabs resting comfortably at the bottom of my screen. Unfortunately, that’s all I had going for me. I was going nowhere, and knew it. So instead of spending the rest of my day fiddling and getting frustrated, I decided to uninstall K-Meleon. It seems to be a fine browser, but I just didn’t feel like working with it. I, along with my good friend “Excedrin Migraine,” plan on tackling this project on the weekend. For now however, I believe that I can just coast on Firefox, which runs off of the Mozilla License. Sure it’s not the GPL, but at least it’s still free and open.

Putting the little “browser snafu” behind me, I found myself heading to Wikipedia to research GPL email clients. Thankfully, the choice here was simple: Evolution. For those unaware, Evolution is the email companion to the Linux-based web browser (and Free Line favorite) Epiphany. About a year ago, the folks in charge of the client, along with higher ups at Novell, decided that it was a good idea to port the system over to Windows. While their intentions were  good, the result was anything but. Users who wanted to try Linux’s “best kept secret” had to compile everything themselves from scratch. Extensive knowledge of the DOS prompt was also required, as the newly installed program required it to be running at all times. Not happy with this turn of events, Novell programmer Nat Freidman hired famed Linux-to-Windows programmer Tor Lillqvist to create an easy to use installation file  for people who dislike compiling their own programs. People just like me.

Installing the program was easy: just click a few buttons and I was on my way. Setting up my various email accounts was easy as well. In many ways, Evolution was actually easier to work with than that brand new copy of Windows Live Mail Desktop that I had been previously using. Everything was going fine, until I accidentally closed the program. This is where my troubles truly began.

Before I go into detail, I think it’s only fair to detail the operating system I use. Like our fantastic product tester/guinea pig Angela Smedley, I work with a system that is dependent upon Windows 7 RC 1. Instead of having your open programs displayed in a long, somewhat annoying row like in previous editions of Windows, Windows 7 puts them all in “button” form next to the start menu. If you wish to have access to these programs after you have closed them, all you have to do is right click on the icon and select “pin to the taskbar.” Simple, elegant, and much easier to deal with than the traditional “long bar/quick launch button” combination. Most programs respond well to the new system. Evolution did not. Here comes “Excedrin headache #10” again…

As I stared at the strange, DOS-based error message, I thought about the steps that brought me to this point. Closing the message, I instantly decided to start the program from the shortcut on my desktop instead from my taskbar. Although the ominous message was gone, I still didn’t have access to my email accounts. Undaunted, I right clicked on the shortcut and chose the “run as administrator” option. Success! After a few more minutes of “administrator-level” tweaking, I finally have things working properly. The shortcut that is currently pinned to my taskbar still isn’t completely functional, but it doesn’t matter. At least I still have access to my email.

…And there you have it. After one day, I have fought a battle against a scripting language and lost, hacked a registry, dealt with a rogue DOS error, and explored the inner workings of Windows 7. I wonder what tomorrow will bring…