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Mylyn/Contributor Reference
See also: helpwanted bugs, discussion bugs, eclipse dev, ViewVC, ViewVC for Mylyn Web
- 1 Getting Started
- 2 Workspace
- 3 Contributors
- 4 Committers
- 5 Sandbox
- 6 Tips and Tricks
Getting Started
For ideas on how to contribute see the following lists of bugs and comment on any that interest you, or send a message to mylyn-dev on ways that you would like to get involved:
- bugday bugs: a short list of highly relevant bugs for getting started
- helpwanted bugs: a longer list of all bugs targeted at community contributions
All contributions to Mylyn need to be made using Mylyn since it links source changes to tasks and contexts, making open development and collaboration easier. Using Mylyn ensures that:
- All Bugzilla reports have a corresponding task context, making them easy to reopen or pick up by you and by others.
- All commits correspond to a single Bugzilla report, making it easy to navigate from changes to bugs.
- Eclipse Code Conventions
- Eclipse User Interface Guidelines
- Documentation Style Guidelines
- Eating your own dog food (Wikipedia)
The recommended way to work with Mylyn sources is by checking them out of CVS. Doing this makes it easy to try the latest changes and work with patches and ensures that you can easily browse the source code and documenation using Eclipse's facilities and avoids compilation problems such as PDE bug 157375.
Install Eclipse and get it configured for developing Java 5 applications.
- Unless targeting a particular Eclipse release, download the latest Eclipse milestone release.
- Associate J2SE-1.5 with your installed JRE via the Window -> Preferences -> Java -> Installed JREs -> Execution Environments. Note that to get rid of JRE association warnings you may need to download older JREs, e.g. from: http://java.sun.com/products/archive/
The Mylyn CVS repository contains the following branches. Each can be checked via saving the linked
.psf file locally, and then using File -> Import -> Team Project Set. Use username "anonymous" and an empty password. If you are only interested in parts of Mylyn, the additional projects can be deleted after the import. After the checkout you should have no errors or warnings from the Mylyn projects.
Note: these project sets specify anonymous
pserver access. If that does not work for you see the CVS Howto.
Active branches:
HEAD: Mylyn 2.x stream for Eclipse 3.4 (latest milestone)
e_3_3_m_2_x: Mylyn 2.x stream for Eclipse 3.3 (branched projects updated with each release)
End-of-life branches:
e_3_2_m_2_0: Mylyn 2.0 stream for Eclipse 3.2
e_3_3_m_1_0: Mylyn 1.0 stream for Eclipse 3.3 (M4)
e_3_2_m_1_0: Mylyn 1.0 stream for Eclipse 3.2
e_3_1: Mylyn 0.6 for Eclipse 3.1
compatibility: required for building Mylyn 2.0, prevent
org.eclipse.mylarplug-ins from loading
- Web site: for updating eclipse.org/mylyn
:pserver:dev.eclipse.org:/cvsroot/toolscan be used for manual checkout
JUnit tests
Each component has it's own All<Component>Tests suite. If not familiar with running PDE JUnit tests, refer to the Eclipse Documentation.
- Add a credentials.properties file to org.eclipse.mylyn.context.tests and put the following into it:
user: <user> pass: <pass>
- For <user> use "tests<at sign>mylyn.eclipse.org". For <pass> use "<project's name lowercase>test". If you have any trouble making this work email email@example.com.
- Add the following to the test configuration under Arguments -> VM Arguments: -enableassertions -Xmx384M
Test suites (in
AllTests: all of the automatic tests, should always pass, run as a JUnit Plug-in Test
AllStandaloneTests: do not require workbench, can run as JUnit Test, subset of
AllFragileWebTests: web connector tests, some templates may periodically fail
Manual tests
The manual tests can be found on the Mylyn Testing page.
- Component owners are responsible for maintaining their respective manual tests and ensuring they are covered two days prior to release.
Trac Connector
- A Trac test repository that offers anonymous access through XML-RPC is available at http://mylyn.eclipse.org/tractest. Feel free to create or modify any tickets.
Self-hosting, also known as working bootstrapped (i.e. self-hosted) makes eating your own dog food easier and avoids having to update to dev builds.
The following is an example of how to set up a bootstrap workspace, using Eclipse 3.3 on Windows and a C:/Dev workspace directory as an example.
- Create a new directory for your build workspace, e.g.: C:/Dev/build-e3.3
- Launch Eclipse with this workspace, e.g.: C:\Apps\eclipse-3.3\eclipse.exe -data C:\Dev\build-3.3
- Check out Mylyn from CVS into this workspace, see #Setup
- Create a new Launch Configuration:
- SelectRun -> Run... -> create a new Eclipse Application.
- Call the application Mylyn Bootstrap.
- On the Main tab, set the Location
- You can use the existing workspace that you used Mylyn with previously
- You can create a new workspace (e.g. C:/Dev/bootstrap)
- Launching with this launch configuration will give you a second workbench with Mylyn. This workbench will be created based on the target platform (the workbench you're launching from) and the plugins in C:/Dev/build-3.3.
- Do your development in the runtime workspace (C:/Dev/workspace).
- Whenever your changes make it into HEAD that you would like to use, close your runtime workspace (C:/Dev/workspace), update from CVS in the build workspace (C:/Dev/build-3.3), and then re-launch your runtime workspace.
- The launching workspace will typically consume very little memory.
- Working in bootstrap mode means you have the source code checked out at least twice, once to bootstrap Mylyn, and once to actually develop.
- You must have two distinct workspaces, you can't bootstrap into the same workspace as you launch from.
- It is possible to run in debug mode so that the changes apply to the workspace immediately after synch, but this can cause problems with the running workspace if classes change or go missing. This is because the hot-swap virtual machine can only change method bodies, not class definitions.
Getting Started
- Use Bugzilla for all of your communication. This helps committers track the contribution.
- Before setting out to contribute to a bug report, post on the bug report describing your intention. This helps committers guide the contribution and avoids problems with patches going stale due to related work being done concurrently.
- For contribution ideas see the list of helpwanted bugs to find one that interests you, file a new bug of your own, or email mylyn-dev for ideas.
Following these steps will help get your patches applied more quickly.
- Before implementing the functionality post a brief proposal of the implementation and UI changes/additions and get a committer's feedback.
- Post a patch to the core functionality with reasonable unit test coverage.
- After that's applied iterate on the UI proposal if needed and the post the patch to the UI.
- Note that the smaller you make patches and the more focused they are on individual and well-tested units of functionality the more quickly they will get applied.
- Each patch should correspond to a single bug report, and a single patch should be made for each set of changes to be reviewed.
- A task context should be attached to each patch to make applying and evolving it easier.
- With few exceptions patches should be accompanied by a JUnit test, and in general unit tests are one of the most valuable and long-lived contributions. If you are having trouble writing a test (e.g. trickiness verifying what happens in the UI) comment on the corresponding bug report so that we can point you at similar test cases or consider extending the test harness if needed.
- Minimize the amount of changes to existing code to make review easier.
- Synchronize often to ensure you have the latest code. Once you start modifying resources, put the Synchronize view in Outgoing mode and press the Change Set button so that Mylar tracks the context for the patch.
- Before creating a new JUnit test class class check the components test suite for similar test cases (e.g. AllTasklistTests).
- Set the formatter by importing org.eclipse.mylyn/mylyn-settings-formatter.xml from the org.eclipse.mylyn project into Window -> Preferences -> Java -> Code Style -> Formatter. Format code using Eclipse's formatter (Ctrl+Shift+F) and ensure that no have been added.
- Add an @author tag to each class that you create or make significant modification to, placed below any existing author tags and indicating the bug, e.g.: @author Rob Elves (bug 160315)
- Ensure that there is no console output. For logging errors use org.eclipse.mylyn.monitor.core.StatusHandler.
- Ensure there are no build errors, warnings, and that org.eclipse.mylar.tests.AllTests passes.
- Do not include binary files such as GIF icons in the patch, they need to be attached separately.
- Synchronize using Incoming mode and ensure that there are no conflicts, and merge them locally if there are.
- Right click the task context change set (or the project containing the patch--patches should be made for a project, not a file), press Team -> Create Patch and select Save to clipboard.
- In the Attachments section of the Task Editor select Attach File... and use Clipboard as the source. Check off the Patch and Attach Context checkboxes in this wizard page.
- Add a description of issues addressed and comment on what testing was done to validate it (e.g. unit test coverage, manual tests performed). Also indicate any changes made to the existing UI in the comment (e.g. reordering of menu actions). Also indicate if patch is intended to resolve bug report or further work is required.
Writing Tests
Writing tests along with patches is key to ensuring that it is possible for committers to maintain the new functionality added by the patch. When writing tests look for the
All<component>Tests class in the
tests plug-in for that component, identify a test that is similar to the functionality that you are adding, and use that test as an example of how to add additional coverage. Tests can sometimes take longer to write then the change itself, but a committer will always be willing to assist you in designing the test or extending the mock test harness to make it easier to write.
The key things to ensure is that your test covers is the addition or change to the existing functionality. For API changes it is often sufficient to have the public method covered. When writing tests for UI components, the simplest way of testing will often involve a combination of unit and black-box testing, for example, relying on other parts of the Mylyn UI to be set up (e.g. the Task List view). Consider the case of adding functionality for pre-selecting a repository in the New Task dialog, writing a test can take the following form (refer to
- Create a mock repository
- Add a task to the mock repository
- Set the selection on the Task List (new functionality uses this selection)
- Invoke the wizard and assert that the selection was set correctly on the viewer (wizard is a black box, all we care about is the contents of the viewer)
- Dispose the wizard dialog, remove the mock repository and the mock task
When writing UI tests note that asynchrous updates, such as refresh, can make testing challenging. Note that several UI components have a method on them to set synchronous execution for the purpose of testing, and if such a method is lacking it can be added.
If contributing a feature with icons or other graphics feel free to ask a committer to generate the graphic for you. If interested in contributing graphics you can find all of the source files (e.g. Photoshop) here:
The Eclipse Charter explains how developers can gain commit rights.
Committers should:
- Sign up for all of the project mailing lists.
- Read the newsgroup regularly, and respond to posts in their area of expertise.
- Respond to mylar-dev email in their area of expertise.
- Watch and update all wiki pages related to components that they contribute to.
Mylar committers are required to follow these communication guidelines. Our philosophy is that the user is always right, even if it takes time to figure out how or why they are right. Our project thrives on the feedback of users, whether they are seasoned experts or newbies. Feedback defines how the tool should work, how it should be simplified, and how it should evolve.
- All feedback contains information, and it is the responsibility of committers to turn that information into actions. This can mean improving the implementation, simplifying the workflow, clarifying the documentation, or noting a duplicate request. Making the actions we take clear helps communicate this philosophy to our growing user community and encourages high-quality feedback.
- If users do not provide enough information or do not take the time to provide accurate information, they should be prompted to provide the necessary details. If they do not do so in a timely manner, the feedback is incomplete and can be resolved without taking action.
- Always show respect to others in the community, whether they are making correct or incorrect assumptions about the tool or technology. When they are making incorrect assumptions it is because we have not done our job well enough, or because the platforms we build on are making it hard for us to do our job well enough. Identifying those cases is important so that we can provide feedback to those platforms and find work-arounds.
- Never turn feedback or discussion away by flaming, being condescending, short, or insulting in any community communication forum. Forms of humor that work for face-to-face communication, such as sarcasm, should be avoided because they result in misinterpretation, especially when there is a language or cultural barrier. Use of emoticons is not a work-around.
- Review public communication before sending. Things that are not meant to be intentionally disrespectful can come across that way. When reviewing try to shorten in order to show respect for your audience's time.
- Any user-reported bug should be resolved by one of: code improvements, documentation/FAQ improvements, or being marked a duplicate of another bug. All but the last require attaching a context.
- Be judicious in marking bugs for LATER, because this typically communicates that the bug will never be resolved. Do this only if the bug does not fit in with the current scope of the project but is related to the mission. Otherwise mark P4/P5 and "helpwanted" to encourage a contribution that is not part of our current prioritization and plan.
- When naming bugs, try to describe the use case or problem instead of the implementation unless there is no ambiguity in how the fix should be implemented. If the implementation approach helps with queries append it.
- Bad: task list working set
- Good: support nesting top level task list elements, e.g. via working sets
- Use the Eclipse bug severity conventions
helpwanted: bugs that are beyond the current priorities for the project. Note that some bugs marked for an upcoming milestone can be marked as
helpwanted. This indicates that the project committers would like to see the bug solved for the milestone and will actively contribute to a solution, but that the bug is more likely to be fixed in a timely manner with the help of additional contributors.
bugday: these are a special category of
helpwantedbugs that are intended to be mast accessible or rewarding for new contributors interested in helping the project to tackle. See the Bug Day FAQ for more information. In order to keep this list focused on the most relevant bugs it is capped at 24 and should be reviewed periodically.
Feature Maturity
Mylyn features vary in UI maturity and availibility of support. The following is a guideline for what it takes to move from experimentation through to maturity. (Note that this is partially based on the Eclipse project lifecycle and could converge further with that lifecycle if Mylyn were split into a separate incubation project or subprojects.)
Mature: packaged Eclipse downloads and available via main update site
- UI quality: Eclipse SKD features have set a very high quality and UI consistency bar that needs to be met in order to make it possible to improve users' productivity with Eclipse.
- UI simplicity: the Mylyn project's goal is to simplify and streamline the user experience. A simple and self-evident UI also helps ensure a manageable support burdeon on the component.
- Availability of support: the feature must have an owner or organization with a long-term commitment to the quality of the feature and the ability to provide responsive support for feedback on that feature.
- Responsiveness to feedback: the feature owner and other contributors must process and prioritize user feedback and respond to the highest priority needs in a timely manner (e.g. blockers and critical bugs need to be fixed within one release of being submitted, key enhancements help the feature evolve to meet users' needs).
Incubation: available via the Extras update site
- High quality components that meet most but not all of the above criteria. To graduate, sufficient community feedback must be available on the quality and usability of the component (e.g. 100+ resolved bugs) and committers must vote to determine whether component meets the UI quality and simplicity guidelines.
Sandbox: available via the Extras update site
- Unsupported components used for experimentation and not intended for daily use.
- Community interest and contributions determine which experimental features move from the Sandbox into Incubation.
Applying Patches
- Make sure to update
mylyn-iplog.csvwith an entry for each bug that is resolved by patch. Note that each patch should not contain more than 250 lines of code of unique and seprately usable functionality. For larger patches we need to invoke the IP Review process.
- Contributors frequently write quick patches in order to get something working for them. It is the responsibility of the committer to either encourage the contributor to improve the modularity and test coverage of the patch or to do those themselves if this aligns with the projects' priorities. Failing to do so can reduce the overall quality of the code and failing to get sufficient test coverage reduces our ability to evolve the code.
- Create a new CVS location: :pserver:dev.eclipse.org:/cvsroot/org.eclipse
- Check out www/mylar as a project
- To push documentation from org.eclipse.mylar.doc to the web site use the targets in mylar/build.xml
Building a distribution
- Using PDE Build support to create a Mylar distribution from HEAD, using a plain Eclipse 3.2
- org.eclipse.mylar-feature/feature.xml -> Overview -> change version number to current date (e.g. 0.4.7.v20060125-0800)
- On Plug-ins tab -> Versions... -> Force feature version into plug-in and fragment manifests
- Repeat above for org.eclipse.mylar-bugzilla-feature.xml
- org.eclipse.mylar-site/e3.2/site.xml
- Delete old features (grayed out)
- Add new mylar-bugzilla and mylar features
- Hit Build All (if this fails restart Eclipse and try again)
- org.eclipse.mylar-feature/feature.xml -> Overview -> change version number to current date (e.g. 0.4.7.v20060125-0800)
- To install, add the path of org.eclipse.mylar-site/e3.2/site.xml as a local update site
- Bugzilla support can be built independently of the Mylar UI by checking out the following projects mylar.bugzilla.core, mylar.bugzilla.ui, mylar.tasklist, mylar.core
Merging and building the 3.1 branch:
- Right-click the org.eclipse.mylar.java, mylar.ide, and mylar.xml project, Team -> Switch to Another Branch..., then Refresh the Branches and select e_3_1
- The list of files that should not be overwritten is in: org.eclipse.mylar-site/merge.text
- Instructions are in org.eclipse.mylar-site/release.txt
The sandbox is a set of CVS projects and feature contributors use for experimentation. These features are not intended to be used for daily development. Sandbox features include experimental connectors and bridges, experimental UI features, and developer tools. To use sandbox tools either check them out of CVS from the
org.eclipse.mylyn/sandbox directory, or install them using the update site above. Please note that some Sandbox tools may have external dependencies, listed in a readme.txt file.
Update Site
Dev tools
- Introspect Object (action): displays the class and other relevant information (e.g. degree-of-interest, task synchronization state) of any object visible in the workbench. Appears at the end of the context menu for any view that accepts an object contributions.
- Interest Level Decorator: displays the floating point interest level of elements. Enable via Decorators preference page.
Experimental tools
The following experimental views can be opened via the Mylar Sandbox view category or accessed via the Mylar -> Sandbox preference page.
- Active Task Swither Trim Widget: note that it cannot currently be disabled
- Context Search: automatically finds and displays elements that are structurally related to landmarks in the active . These elements become part of the task context and have a predicted degree-of-interest.
- Context Hierarchy: displays the Java hierarchy of all landmark elements.
- Predicted interested for Java errors: potentially useful, but tends to overload the Package Explorer. If you find this useful for long-term use condiser commenting on bug 107542.
Tips and Tricks
User support
- Every time that you find yourself formulating an answer to a bug report, email, or newsgroup post, if the answer is more than a sentence, consider updating the FAQ, User Guide, or Integrator Reference and pointing to the entry.
- Every time that resolving a bug does not result in a code change that addresses the problem or clarifies the UI, update the FAQ or User Guide to make sure that users can self-diagnose the problem. This is particularly important for bugs marked INVALID or WORKSFORME.
- For error handling use
- Use
WorkbenchJobfor running jobs that should only run when the workbench is active. Not doing this can cause errors on workbench shutdown (e.g. bug 178409).
- When using
String.toLowerCase(), use
String.toLowerCase(Locale.ENGLISH)to ensure locale safety (see bug 168652).
- Do not use
@Overrideannotations on implementing methods, only on overriding methods. Doing so violates Java 5 (bug 173171).
- Use DateFormat with extra caution. It is not thread-safe and should not be saved to fields in classes that can be used from multiple threads (UI, asynchonous execution, or jobs).
- For the sake of multi-monitor setups, use
getMonitor()instead of
getDisplay()when you want to position a UI element on a specific coordinate of the screen.
- Query setup: If you are added to the cc list on a report that is not picked up by your usual queries it may go unnoticed. One trick is to create a query for ALL products except the product you usually work in (and hence have queries for) and set the cc field of the query to your id. Now you will be notified of anybody adding you to the cc of a product you don't usually monitor.
- Including Platform plug-ins in search: Java search (Ctrl+H > Java Search) will include all plugins in your Plugin-in Dependencies. If you want to search other plugins as well, open the Plug-ins view, right click on the desired plugin(s) and choose 'Add to Java Search'. That plugin will now always be included in your java searches.
- Plug-ins fail to load: verify that plug-in dependencies are met via the Validate Plug-in Set button on the launch configuration Plug-ins tab.
- Startup failure: If you get an
IStartupfailure message or a
ClassNotFoundExceptionon startup this is often the result of some step in the activation of the plug-in failing.
- Attempt to find the earliest exception thrown within the in the plug-in's activation process. For example, this could occur in
- If the cause of the failure is not straightforward, the problem could be due to a class loading race condition. This can sometimes be verified by trying a different VM like IBM's or BEA's and checking if that resolves the problem. If this is the case, please file a bug.
- Attempt to find the earliest exception thrown within the in the plug-in's activation process. For example, this could occur in
- Getting a thread dump (when Eclipse hangs):
- On Windows use the tool found at the adaptj home page:
- Follow the link and select button "Launch" and run the applet
- Select menu Process > Thread Dump
- In the combo box "Process ID" select the Java VM and click OK
- Or, run Eclipse with the
-debugoption (or use
javaw.exeon windows), then
- On Windows: Hit a
Ctrl-Breakfew times on the console window during that long synchronization to capture the thread dump
- On Windows: Hit a
- Or, on Linux: Use
Ctrl-\on the console or send SIG_QUIT signal:
kill -SIGQUIT pid
- Or, with jconsole (requires 1.5 jdk, works on any OS):
- Launch eclipse -vmargs -Dcom.sun.management.jmxremote
- Launch the JDK's jconsole tool. You can attach to the Java Process and copy&paste the thread dump.
- Use
jpsto find the PIDs of Java processes and
jstackto show the stack trace of Java processes:
jstack pid
- Supported starting JDK 5 for UNIX / JDK 6 for Windows
- See this Weblog on jstack
- Also see Thread Dump and Concurrency Locks for more details.
- On Windows use the tool found at the adaptj home page:
- Startup problems and deadlocks: for a diagnosis of a potential problem see diagnosis on https://bugs.eclipse.org/bugs/show_bug.cgi?id=177048#c3
Migrating Eclipse milestones
To migrate between Eclipse 3.3M4 and 3.3M5 (as of I20070205-1824):
- Get latest milestone or integration build: http://download.eclipse.org/eclipse/downloads/
- Unzip two copies of it, one for bootstrapping and one for setting as your Target Platform in your bootstrap workspace. If you get two workspaces when you launch a test workspace, delete the "configuration" directory of the Target Platform. Note this bug may be fixed by
3.3M5 (bug 172975).
- To synch you may need to delete the known_hosts file if CVS connections were failing (file path is in: Preferences -> Team -> CVS -> SSH2..).
- After synching, if you get conflicts in the .settings folder after launching override them (happens because CVS version was updated, and your own was automatically migrated).
- As usual, update your repository credentials in the Task Repositories view.
- Note that you may need to re-create your launch configurations.


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The peak body representing Catholic parents in NSW has welcomed the Baird Government's plan to provide additional funding for classrooms and facilities in non-government schools.
Education Minister, Adrian Piccoli today announced an additional $50 million capital works funding over the next four years for non-government schools. The additional funding will be allocated in the upcoming NSW Budget under the Building Grants Assistance Scheme.
The Council of Catholic School Parents (CCSP) NSW/ACT said the decision reverses a capital works funding cut from non-government schools three years ago.
CCSP Acting Executive Director, Linda McNeil, says the new capital works funding will ease the financial burden on Catholic school parents, particularly those in the low to medium income bracket.
"Catholic school parents in NSW contribute to capital works through school building levies and other capital funding. For decades, parents have funded two-thirds of the building works in Catholic schools and this places a burden on many families.
"With one in five children in NSW currently enrolled in a Catholic school and demand for places increasing, there is significant need for new classrooms and schools.
"There are more than 254,000 children now being educated in Catholic schools and the days of the lamington drive are well behind us."
Ms McNeil said she was particularly pleased that the NSW Government today voiced its support for the right of all parents to choose the type of education that suits their child.
"The CCSP worked hard in the lead-up to the state election to engage with local MPs to convey the importance of our Catholic schools - schools which have been part of the Australian education system since 1806.
"This is about ensuring we have an education system that is fair and equitable and affordable for all children in our state, regardless of whether they attend a Catholic, independent or government school. This is great news for our Catholic schools and great news for education in our state."
19th June 2015
Authorised by Linda McNeil, Acting Executive Director, Council of Catholic School Parents NSW.
Contact: 0410 512 070|

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Four weeks ago today, as a sunny Sunday came to a close, I sat in the restaurant of a hotel in Clare. Perched on a clifftop, the view was of huge Atlantic waves crashing on the beach, the surfers long gone as the last light drained from the sky. My husband was putting our children to bed in a family room two floors up. Our two-day break was nearly over. I say break, but as any parent with small children will tell you, 'break' is the most ill-conceived description of a holiday with young kids. Tons of fun, yes. A relaxing rest, no. After adventure parks and bouncy castles, beach strolls and round towers (where I managed to convince my son that Rapunzel lived), we decided to grab an hour or two to ourselves for dinner. The babysitter was booked, I ordered our main courses and although the view bordered on romantic cliché, it was insanely pretty. The minutes ticked by, other diners looked at me sympathetically. My wedding ring and the book of short stories I was reading did nothing to dispel she's-been-stood-up glances of pity. I texted my husband. My normally well-behaved children, bitten by the holiday hyperactivity bug, were having none of it. After milk, umpteen stories and back-rubs, there was outright mutiny. Sleep? No way!
I mentally cancelled the crème brûlée I had seen on another diner's table. After nearly an hour of wrangling, my husband gave up and sent the babysitter away. The kindly restaurant manager offered to send our food up to our room. My heart sank. I adore my children, and I thought of their impish faces as I wearily pushed the button for the lift – but everyone needs time out. At the time, I didn't think of Kate and Gerry McCann. A harried doctor couple with three kids under four (including daughter Madeleine) attempting a family holiday, while stealing time for themselves; for the couple they were before they had children. I didn't think of them, because at no point did my husband or I – as good as the view looked and the steak smelled – suggest to each other that we leave our children in the room alone. The McCanns stayed in an apartment a short distance (but completely separate from) the Tapas bar where they spent that fateful night. Our room was two floors up in the same building, with key card access, 30 seconds from the restaurant, but still the thought was not there. It wasn't even that it was unuttered – it never entered our collective brains to begin with. Watching the McCanns being interviewed on The Late Late Show recently, I had a flashback to that Clare hotel. How could they have left their children alone?
It's a question that every armchair critic and news corporation has been demanding of Kate and Gerry McCann. It's probably the one they ask themselves every night as they go to bed without their daughter. On the last night of their stay in Portugal, they did what they had done every other night. They gambled. They made what they thought (must have thought, as I still don't understand their rationale) what seemed like an innocuous choice. Food and drinks with friends versus leaving their young children untended. Not only was their decision as catastrophic as it gets, it has made them parental pariahs accused of everything from wife-swapping to sedating their child and much worse. They told Ryan Tubridy the story they've told a thousand times to Spanish police, to newspapers, to everyone they know. Clearly, it never gets easier. Kate's face, as she talked of the horrific moment of realising her daughter was gone, was taut with pain. Online reactions to the interview were harsh. Too harsh. Because they have paid the ultimate price, and will have to live with unquantifiable levels of regret and guilt. I understand their lives were stressful, that they were tired parents, that they were eking out some downtime together in the evenings. That's where I understand Kate and Gerry McCann. But that's where my comprehension ends, because of the unfathomable decision they made that night.
In a Clare hotel, the food arrived to our room and we drank a glass of wine. My son and daughter wanted to taste the potatoes, in between bouncing on the beds and giggling. My heart nearly burst looking at them. Half an hour earlier, I could have screamed at them. Tired, I lay down and my daughter cuddled up beside me, her curls tickling my cheek. Her gorgeous face, all big-eyed and cheeky staring at me. Of all the memories we made that weekend, that was the one etched in my mind during the McCann's interview, thankful that I can feel my daughter's skin and smell her hair every day of my lucky life. And I feel nothing but pity for the McCanns because they cannot do the same thing.


text:
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text:
I met Brian Garr three years ago at Sarasota's Hyatt Regency hotel.
The Boca Raton-based entrepreneur had come to Southwest Florida to meet "angels" -- venture capitalists who invest small amounts of seed money in fledgling companies.
Garr was one of six presenters invited to pitch the angels at the GulfCoast Venture Forum event. He is the chief executive of LinguaSys, a technology company that makes voice recognition software that translates communications into different languages.
Unlike traditional bank lenders, venture capitalists do not require business owners to pledge collateral, sign promissory notes or make loan payments.
Instead, they are willing to take more risk than banks and in return they want to own stock in your company. They hope for double-digit returns on their investment and even fantasize about stumbling upon a company that quickly grows into another Staples, Microsoft or Google.
Garr snagged two angels and came back again the following year to pitch the angel group for more money.
Raising capital is a continuous process.
"We are now 14 people on four continents," Garr said last month about growing his company. And, he added, "Mark Cuban bought 23 percent of our stock over the past 12 months."
Cuban is best known to TV watchers for his role as a venture capitalist on Shark Tank. He owns the Dallas Mavericks basketball team and Landmark Theaters and holds stakes in a number of other high-profile enterprises. His backing of LinguaSys could make it easier for Garr to raise additional funds.
Garr said that his original angel investors have doubled their investment and they continue to own stock in LinguaSys.
I asked him what lessons he learned that might be helpful for Herald-Tribune readers.
"My advice, as always, is never listen to the folks that tell you why you are or will fail," he says. "Almost every entrepreneur plows his own path based on his passions."
Passion is one of the traits that venture capitalists look for. But to get your foot in the door, you have to be passionate about the right industries.
Most venture capitalists want their investment to be paid back within three to five years and select the industries that have the capacity to grow that quickly.
Furthermore, investors look for opportunities that they understand. So if a venture capitalist was previously in pharmaceuticals, for example, it is highly unlikely she will invest in your hardware store.
To learn more about the process and types of companies that the GulfCoast Venture Forum's angels seek, check out its website, gcvf.angelgroups.net. It hosts events throughout Southwest Florida, and you can fill out an online application to pitch your company.
On a grander scale, you can attend the 2013 New York Venture Summit on June 18. According to its advertisements, the "13th annual summit will showcase 50 of the hottest early stage and emerging-growth technology, life sciences and clean-tech innovators."
But even if you do not attend, it can be enlightening to peruse the list of venture capitalists named and research the kinds of deals that they seek. Go to youngstartup.com/newyork2013/overview.php.
Ralph McNeal, a seasoned venture capitalist, author and SCORE volunteer, says "Some of the best ideas are missed by the venture capital companies because it does not fit into their portfolio."
To illustrate his point, the Nevada resident notes that there were investors "that missed out on Apple Computer, McDonalds, cable TV, cell phone franchises and dot-coms which were high flyers and gave good returns on initial investments."
Even though Apple is in his examples, Steve Job's garage-built computer enterprise did get early seed funding from a non-traditional type of venture capital firm that is backed by the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Apple received its capital from a small business investment company (SBIC), a venture capitalist licensed and partially funded by SBA.
McNeal says that SBICs are "private venture companies." They "are capitalized by individuals, corporations and sometimes the local and state governments."
Additionally, SBICs raise capital with SBA-guaranteed debentures. Its rates are below that of conventional bonds and the proceeds are invested in small businesses.
You can read more about the SBIC program and download a directory of SBICs at sba.gov/sbic.
Jerry Chautin is a volunteer with Manasota.SCORE.org, a local nonprofit SBA resource partner offering free business advice and mentoring. He is SBA's 2006 national "Journalist of the Year" and a former entrepreneur, commercial mortgage banker and business lender. He writes and blogs about business and commercial real estate strategies for several publications and financial organizations nationwide. Contact him with your questions and stories at firstname.lastname@example.com and follow him on Twitter, www.twitter.com/JerryChautin.
Angel investors are out there; you just need to know where to look
I met Brian Garr three years ago at Sarasota's Hyatt Regency hotel.


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It is compatible with Nikon i-TTL autoflash when used on camera.
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Built-in 2.4G wireless transmission: with all-in-one functions and 100meters further tramsmission with X1 TTL wireless flash trigger.
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Current Reviews: 1
This product was added to our catalog on Saturday 19 March, 2016.


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Bangladesh court seeks HRW response on charges
A special tribunal dealing with war crimes involving Bangladesh's independence war against Pakistan on Monday asked an international rights group to explain why it shouldn't be charged with contempt of court for comments the group made about a recent ruling.
The tribunal ruled that Human Rights Watch must reply within three weeks or it could be charged. A person found responsible for contempt could face one year in jail and be ordered to pay 5,000 takas ($63).
Last month, New York-based group issued a statement saying the trial of former Islamic party leader Ghulam Azam was "deeply flawed" and did not meet international standards. The statement also alleged the "judges had improperly conducted an investigation on behalf of the prosecution" and mentioned "collusion and bias among prosecutors and judges."
Azam was sentenced to 90 years in jail for war crimes. Both the defense and prosecution have appealed the verdict. The maximum punishment Azam could have faced was the death penalty. The tribunal found him guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity, but said it considered his age and decided to award a jail term. Azam is 91.
Azam is known to be the key person to openly oppose the independence struggle and toured the Middle East to raise support for Pakistan. His party has been accused of organizing citizens' brigades to fight against the soldiers and guerrillas who sought independence. Bangladesh says Pakistani soldiers, aided by local collaborators, killed 3 million people and raped 200,000 women in the 1971 war. Bangladesh was the eastern wing of Pakistan and was geographically divided by India.
The group's statement prompted prosecutors to file a contempt petition last month against the group. The prosecution's filing said the group raised "biased, baseless, utterly false, fabricated and ill-motivated" allegations involving the trial process.
The U.S. ambassador in Bangladesh, Dan Mozena, expressed his concern last month over the prosecutors' move. He said an organization like Human Rights Watch has "a critical role to play."
The prosecutors' petition names the group's board of directors, its director for the Asia region, Brad Adams, and his associate Storm Tiv.
There was no immediate response from Human Rights Watch. It said last month that it was not in a position to respond because it had not received any official notification of the prosecutor's contempt petition.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government is holding the war crimes trials despite protests from the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party and its main ally Jamaat-e-Islami party.


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Shoppers drive competition as new grocers expand in suburbs
When Melanie Collins of North Barrington spends about $300 a week on groceries for her family, she wants a good selection of produce and freshly cooked prepared meals that are free of preservatives.
That's why she returns, time and again, to Dominick's, Trader Joe's and Fresh Market. She also goes every two weeks or so to Costco to buy items in bulk for the household.
"It has to be fresh, healthy and convenient," Collins said. "I don't want it to be from a fast food place or anything fried."
Grocery shoppers like Collins are helping to change the face of the grocery industry in the Chicago suburbs. They're demanding more produce and other foods that are fresh, healthy, quick and convenient, and they're willing to shop around to get it.
Price, store appearance and other factors also come into play, and that's telling local grocers to meet those needs if they want shoppers' business, experts said.
With mainstay Jewel-Osco's future in limbo under new owners, other major grocers are shaking up the local market with expansions, including Mariano's, Meijer and others. The latest entry, >Uncle Joe's Tuscan Fresh Market in Rolling Meadows, is expected to open soon on a site abandoned years ago by Dominick's. It is touting competitive pricing and special features to keep a growing suburban population well-fed and supplied with favorite to-go items.
Even in the face of such suburban expansion, the Chicago area as a whole is seeing more supermarket closings than openings. The region had 955 supermarkets in 2012, compared to 1,258 in 2011, according to the Marketing Guidebook Year in Review by Deerfield-based Stagnito Media and The Nielsen Co. LLC.
Some companies are downsizing, such as Dominick's, which has operations in Oak Brook, and Jewel-Osco, which has headquarters in Itasca.
Competition among traditional or similar competitors is very intense, said Bill Bishop, chief architect of Barrington-based Brick Meets Click, a research firm.
"The market for traditional grocery stores is saturated. So some capacity has to leave the market, and this is happening," Bishop said.
"But there are also exciting growth opportunities for any food retailer who can provide a new and different shopping experience," he said. "The reason some stores like Meijer and Mariano's continue to expand is because they offer a value to shoppers that causes customers to flock to their stores."
The U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends 2012 report showed that consumers seek low prices, a clean and neat store, high-quality produce and great selection of products as their primary reasons they return to certain stores.
Technology is playing an increasing role, since consumers are gravitating toward stores that incorporate it. Nearly 52 percent of consumers nationwide use a smartphone or grocery websites to help do their shopping, according to Arlington, Va.-based Food Marketing Institute's Annual Financial Review for 2011.
To keep customers coming back, many stores nationwide sought facelifts. Nearly 52 percent of stores did a major remodel in 2011, compared to 40 percent in 2010, and 37 percent built new stores in 2011, compared to 24.5 percent in 2010, FMI said. Its report for 2012 is expected in May.
A major player with suburban expansion plans is Mariano's, owned by Milwaukee-based Roundy's Inc. and led by CEO Bob Mariano of Inverness. Mariano's features a full-service bakery, sushi restaurant and other in-house cooked foods along with a full selection of products and organic items. Roundy's operates about 160 grocery stores and 98 pharmacies under other names as well, including Pick 'n Save, Rainbow, Copps and Metro Market in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Illinois.
Mariano's added four stores in 2012 -- in Palatine, Hoffman Estates and two in Chicago, bringing its count in the area to eight, said James J. Hyland, vice president of investor relations and communications for Roundy's.
This year, the company plans to open five more Mariano's in Wheaton, Elmhurst, Frankfort, Harwood Heights and Chicago. Another is expected to open in Lake Zurich in 2014, he said.
The overall plan is to have 25 to 30 Mariano's stores in the Chicago area, Hyland said.
"We get new competition all the time," Hyland said. "We focus on the consumers and their experience rather than the competition. There is nothing quite like Mariano's, and through focus on brand, leadership and our customers, we intend to keep it that way."
Instead of adding stores, longtime grocer Sunset Foods plans to unveil a new format inside its Libertyville location. Construction starts in April and could be completed this fall. It eventually could roll out to other Sunset Foods stores in Highland Park, Long Grove, Northbrook and Lake Forest, said Sunset Foods CEO John Cortesi.
The renovation will include a larger floral section, prepared foods and craft beer. A new entrance will be added just for the wine and spirits section, and a new outdoor area will seat 60 people, Cortesi said.
Sunset also will expand its e-grocery service at the Libertyville store to seven days a week, so customers can order items online and later drive up to a designated spot to pick up their groceries. That online service will eventually be offered at the other stores, he said.
The stores also use social networking more heavily, including Facebook and, soon, Twitter, Cortesi said.
Whole Foods opened a new store in Orland Park last year, then it closed a store in Palatine last month, Whole Foods spokeswoman Ashley Heaton said.
"Whole Foods Market will be growing its presence in suburban Illinois in the next two years with a store opening in Kildeer March 6 and then an additional store in Park Ridge later in the year," Heaton said.
Meijer, which has stores in Rolling Meadows, Bolingbrook and elsewhere, continues to expand. Its 16th store will open soon in Evergreen Park. Meijer also is in talks with a number of other suburbs, including Mokena, for future stores, said Meijer spokesman Frank J. Guglielmi.
"We believe competition is good for everyone, especially the customer," said Guglielmi. "At Meijer, our focus is always on maintaining high levels of customer service and the lowest prices, which has served us well as we focus on slow, steady growth."
In January, SuperValu, the parent of Jewel-Osco, announced the local chain would be sold to an investor group led by Cerberus Capital Management. The sale is expected to close in March, and a team has been reviewing staffing, said SuperValu spokesman Mike Siemienas.
Jewel has struggled in recent years and has introduced various campaigns, including lowered prices, to overcome competitors -- such as discounters Target and Walmart -- that have expanded their grocery sections.
"At this time, it is business as usual in our stores," Jewel spokeswoman Karen May said this week. "We can't speak to what will happen once the transaction closes."
Yet SuperValu's other subsidiary, Save-A-Lot, is adding a new store at the former Irv's menswear spot in the Palwaukee Center in Prospect Heights.
Also last summer, Ultra Foods in Hanover Park closed due to poor performance as a result of stiff competition and a "difficult economic environment," said Dave Wilkinson, president of Highland, Ind.-based SVT LLC, parent of the Ultra and Strack & Van Til chains.
The discount grocery chain has 14 stores in the Chicago area, including Wheaton, Lombard and Downers Grove, as well as in Indiana. Late last year, Ultra opened another store in Crestwood and plans to open in May in the vacant former Dominick's at Prospect Crossings on Rand Road in Prospect Heights.
Besides Ultra, Wheeling-based Garden Fresh Market also closed stores in Mount Prospect and Arlington Heights last year. Competition was a factor, Garden Fresh General Manager Golan Mor had said. It still has stores in Mundelein, Naperville, Round Lake Beach, Northbrook and Wheeling.
As the grocery industry continue to evolve here, the future looks bright. "In the next couple of years, stores that are unique and different will expand," Bishop predicted. "Whole Foods will definitely gain market share at the upper end of the market. Aldi will definitely gain at the lower end of the market. And Mariano's and Caputo's will gain in the middle market."


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NEKF is a 501(c)(7) Club
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Become a supporting member of NEKF.
Learn more here.


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Sony HDR-PJ650V High Definition Handycam Camcorder with 3.0-Inch LCD (Black)
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Have you been feeling a bit lonely and down lately? Perhaps you need an adorable, fuzzy creature in your life. Sure, a cat or dog might be the first thing that comes to mind, but those aren't for you. No, you need something a little smaller, and a little cuter.
Don't worry, unlike the Tribbles seen on the original Star Trek series, these cute balls of fur won't be multiplying faster than rabbits. Instead, these particular creatures do little more than sit there and look adorable.
Each of these 4-inch plushies comes in a container, which contains several useful facts about your new pet. The most important, of course is "Use extreme caution when feeding. Tribbles eat constantly, resulting in reproduction at a dangerous rate." If you're in the market for your own creature from Iota Geminorium IV, then you'll be able to pre-order yours for just $10 starting very soon.
Source: MightyMega
[ You won't have any trouble with these Tribbles copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]


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Clown gets out of here: ESPN director of news Vince "let's get this clown out of here" Doria is set to retire early next year, reports The Big Lead. Doria says the decision isn't final, but we'll be sure to send him the proper send-off whenever it is. [The Big Lead]
More from Deadspin


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Hi Linda,
I responded to your email. It is working fine for me and a few other people I had test it out. I just spoke to the programmer - maybe you do not have cookies enabled. Can you check on that?
Dave, I just thought you should know that the verification image is not showing up for adding new members. All anyone is seeing is a red x and the text Catcha image. But, there's no image displayed. Plus, if you click on refresh or "Show me another image" nothing is happening. Is there a problem with the image?????????
Linda at Top Blogs By Crafters
Hi Linda,
I responded to your email. It is working fine for me and a few other people I had test it out. I just spoke to the programmer - maybe you do not have cookies enabled. Can you check on that?
Hi, Dave. Thanks for responding so quickly.
I checked my cookies and had to set IE to the lowest level for the image to show up. Believe it or not but I've had my cookies on IE medium high for over a year now and have never had a problem with the image showing up before. I know that a few months ago I updated IE. Something must have changed with the IE updates and the way they handle cookies and pop-ups. I guess I didn't notice it as I hadn't tried to join a new toplist since then.
An interestung note is that I restored my IE cookies setting to medium high and went through AOL to see if the image would show up there given all their new security features. It showed up fine even though IE was at medium high. Go figure!!!!!!
In any event, thanks so much for responding so quickly.
I looked into it further and it could be some kind of ad blocker software preventing the image from appearing. It doesn't sound like that is the case this particular time, but just to be safe, have you installed anything like that?
Good morning, Dave.
Not lately. The only thing I did do lately was update my Google Toolbar. However, I enabled it to show pop-ups and removed the pop-ups restrictions but it still wouldn't work. I still had to go into IE and change the security settings to the lowest in order for it to work. Go figure.
Thanks for all you help with this, Dave.


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!! History Commons Alert, Exciting News
We are planning some big changes! Please follow us to stay updated and be part of our community.
Project: Complete 911 TimelineOpen-Content project managed by matt, Derek, Paul, KJF, mtuck, paxvector
add event | references
Abu Hamza al-Masri (left) riding in a car with Haroon Rashid Aswat in January 1999. [Source: Sunday Times]Haroon Rashid Aswat is a radical Muslim of Indian descent but born and raised in Britain. Around 1995, when he was about 21 years old, he left Britain and attended militant training camps in Pakistan and Afghanistan. He is said to have later told investigators that he once served as a bodyguard for Osama bin Laden. In the late 1990s, he returns to Britain and becomes a "highly public aide" to radical London imam Abu Hamza al-Masri. Reda Hassaine, an informant for the French and British intelligence services (see After March 1997 and Late January 1999), will later recall regularly seeing Aswat at the Finsbury Park mosque where Abu Hamza preaches. Hassaine frequently sees Aswat recruiting young men to join al-Qaeda. "Inside the mosque he would sit with the new recruits telling them about life after death and the obligation of every Muslim to do the jihad against the unbelievers. All the talk was about killing in order to go to paradise and get the 72 virgins." Aswat also shows potential recruits videos of the militants fighting in Bosnia and Chechnya. Hassaine will add: "He was always wearing Afghan or combat clothes. In the evening he offered some tea to the people who would sit with him to listen to the heroic action of the mujaheddin before joining the cleric for the finishing touch of brainwashing. The British didn't seem to understand how dangerous these people were." Hassaine presumably tells his British handlers about Aswat, as he is regularly reporting about activities as the mosque around this time, but the British take no action. [Sunday Times (London), 7/31/2005] It will later be reported that Aswat is the mastermind of the 7/7 London bombings (see Late June-July 7, 2005). Some of the 7/7 suicide bombers regularly attended the Finsbury Park mosque, and may have been recruited by al-Qaeda there or at another mosque in Britain. Counterterrorism expert John Loftus will later claim that Aswat in fact was working with British intelligence. He will say that in the late 1990s British intelligence was trying to get Islamist militants to fight in Kosovo against the Serbians and Aswat was part of this recruitment effort (see July 29, 2005). [Fox News, 7/29/2005]
Entity Tags: Reda Hassaine, Abu Hamza al-Masri, Al-Qaeda, John Loftus, Haroon Rashid Aswat
Category Tags: Haroon Rashid Aswat, Reda Hassaine, Al-Qaeda in Balkans, 2005 7/7 London Bombings, Londonistan - UK Counterterrorism
The ranch near Bly, Oregon. [Source: Seattle Times]Haroon Rashid Aswat and Oussama Kassir, assistants to leading London-based radical cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri, arrive in the US to assess the suitability of a proposed terrorist training camp. Upon arrival, they meet up with James Ujaama, another associate of Abu Hamza who proposed the camp (see October 1999) and its owner Sami Osman. Aswat is considered a close aide to Abu Hamza, who himself is an informer for the British (see Early 1997), and will later be described as the mastermind of the 7/7 London bombings. Unsuitable Facility - However, Aswat and Kassir are unhappy with what they find, especially as Ujaama does not have a key to unlock the gate to the ranch when they arrive. In addition, the ranch lacks food, running water, toilet facilities, and barracks, and only has a simple trailer on it. They stay at the ranch for about two months and conduct weapons training for around 15 militants present. According to a witness, Kassir brags that he is a "hit man" for Abu Hamza and Osama bin Laden and has had jihad training in Afghanistan, Kashmir, and Lebanon. Jihadi videos are shown and a computer disc with details of how to improvise poisons is displayed. In addition, a scheme for poisoning a water supply is discussed, as are armed robberies, building an underground bunker to conceal weapons, and firebombing vehicles. FBI Investigation - However, on December 13 Osman's car is stopped due to a faulty brake light and the police officer notices that two men, who turn out to be Aswat and Kassir, are acting strangely in the car. For example, Aswat clutches a briefcase closely to his chest as the police officer questions him. The FBI previously had Osman under surveillance, but has lost him. A database check performed by the officer alerts the FBI and an agent is immediately dispatched to Bly. He shows a surveillance photo of Aswat and Kassir to the officer, who identifies them as the other two men in the car. More FBI agents arrive to investigate the ranch, but, before they can raid it, Aswat and Kassir leave for Seattle. There, Aswat allegedly boasts of being bin Laden's "hit man," just as Kassir has done. Advised to Abandon Ranch - Aswat and Kassir eventually return to Britain and advise Abu Hamza against putting any further effort into the ranch. Kassir will be arrested in the Czech Republic and extradited in 2007 to stand trial. [Daily Mail, 7/24/2005; Sunday Herald (Glasgow), 7/31/2005; Seattle Times, 8/9/2005; O'Neill and McGrory, 2006, pp. 185-186, 194; Associated Press, 9/26/2007]
Entity Tags: Sami Osman, James Ujaama, Oussama Kassir, Abu Hamza al-Masri, Haroon Rashid Aswat
Category Tags: Counterterrorism Action Before 9/11, Abu Hamza Al-Masri, Haroon Rashid Aswat, 2005 7/7 London Bombings
Lead 7/7 suicide bomber Mohammed Sidique Khan (see July 7, 2005) first attends the radical Finsbury Park mosque in London in 2002. The mosque is run by extremist imam Abu Hamza al-Masri, an informer for Britain's security services (see Early 1997). Khan and fellow suicide bomber Shehzad Tanweer first heard Abu Hamza preach in Leeds, and when Khan arrives at the mosque he is carrying a letter of recommendation from Haroon Rashid Aswat, a top aide to Abu Hamza, an alleged mastermind of the 7/7 bombings, and a possible British informant (see Late June-July 7, 2005 and July 29, 2005). Reportedly, Khan makes several visits to the mosque, sometimes sleeping in the basement. Aswat recruited young men to join al-Qaeda at Finsbury Park, at least in the late 1990s (see Late 1990s). Khan also takes Tanweer to the mosque, where, according to authors Sean O'Neill and Daniel McGrory, they are "shown gory videos and DVDs portraying the suffering and slaughter of Muslims in hotspots around the world, and [are] urged to make common cause with the people of Chechnya, Iraq, and Afghanistan." O'Neill and McGrory will later comment: "Instructors at Finsbury Park would have spotted that in Khan they had a small-time street boss who was an ideal candidate to organize his own cell." Khan, Tanweer, and a third bomber, Jermaine Lindsay, will also attend gatherings led by Abu Hamza outside the mosque after it is closed by police (see January 24, 2003). [O'Neill and McGrory, 2006, pp. xix-xx, 190, 269, 271-272]
Entity Tags: Shehzad Tanweer, Mohammad Sidique Khan, Finsbury Park Mosque, Germaine Lindsay, Abu Hamza al-Masri, Haroon Rashid Aswat
Category Tags: Abu Hamza Al-Masri, Haroon Rashid Aswat, Londonistan - UK Counterterrorism, 2005 7/7 London Bombings
In 2002, federal prosecutors are building a case against a group of Islamist militants for attempting to start a militant training camp in Oregon in 1999 (see November 1999-Early 2000). They prepare charges against radical London imam Abu Hamza al-Masri, his "highly public aide" Haroon Rashid Aswat, Oussama Kassir (who visited the prospective camp with Aswat), and James Ujaama. Ujaama is living in Seattle, but the others are believed to be overseas. Seattle prosecutors want to seek a grand jury indictment against all of them, which would result in arrest warrants and possible detention for extradition. However, this plan is blocked by higher-level officials at Justice Department headquarters, who want most of the case to be handled by the US Attorney's Office in New York City. Seattle prosecutors are only allowed to bring charges against Ujaama. [Seattle Times, 7/24/2005] They go ahead and arrest Ujaama in August 2002, finding weapons and training materials, and charge him with conspiring with Abu Hamza "to provide material support and resources" to the Taliban. One of his associates, Feroz Abbasi, is already in Guantanamo Bay, and is talking to interrogators about trips Ujaama has made to Afghanistan (see December 2000-December 2001). Ujaama quickly agrees to co-operate with the authorities, giving them details about Abu Hamza's activities, and is given a two-year sentence for a lesser offence. [O'Neill and McGrory, 2006, pp. 189-190, 198-200] The others are merely listed in Ujaama's indictment as unindicted co-conspirators. Abu Hamza has actually been working as an informant for British intelligence (see Early 1997), but by early 2004 his relationship with the British has soured (see April 2003 and April 26, 2004), and the US Justice Department will finally indict him for charges relating to the training camp in May 2004. However, Aswat still will not be indicted. When asked why Aswat is not indicted as well, a federal official in Seattle will reply with frustration, "That's a great question." [Seattle Times, 7/24/2005] Shortly after the 7/7 London bombings (see July 7, 2005), it will be widely reported that Aswat was the attack's mastermind (see Late June-July 7, 2005). Then a counterterrorism expert will claim that Aswat was also an informant for British intelligence, and this explains why the US never indicted him and other mysteries surrounding him (see July 29, 2005).
Entity Tags: US Department of Justice, James Ujaama, Abu Hamza al-Masri, Haroon Rashid Aswat, Oussama Kassir
Category Tags: Abu Hamza Al-Masri, Haroon Rashid Aswat, Londonistan - UK Counterterrorism, 2005 7/7 London Bombings, Counterterrorism Action After 9/11
According to the Sunday Herald, in early 2003, British officials believe that Haroon Rashid Aswat has been killed in Afghanistan, because his passport has been recovered from the body of a young man fighting for the Taliban there. The Herald will later claim that days later in the headquarters of the British intelligence agency MI5, officers there "were in no doubt that Aswat's death had eliminated a major terrorist threat to [Britain]. Laid out before the group were highly classified photographs and papers from his file, revealing the activities, friends, and acquaintances of a young man who was increasingly becoming a headache for Britain's security services. It was early in 2003, but in the previous few years, the file on Aswat had burgeoned." [Sunday Herald (Glasgow), 7/31/2005] Aswat apparently will be monitored in February 2004 meeting with suspected bomb plotters in London, but he will not be arrested (see February 2004). In June 2005, US intelligence will learn that Aswat is living in South Africa, but British authorities will prevent the US from renditioning him there (see Early June 2005). In July 2005, he will be implicated by many media outlets as the mastermind of the 7/7 London bombings (see Late June-July 7, 2005). Counterterrorism expert John Loftus will also claim that Aswat had been a long-time asset for the British intelligence agency MI6 and had been trying to prevent other parts of the British government (presumably including MI5) from arresting him (see July 29, 2005). [Sunday Herald (Glasgow), 7/31/2005]
Entity Tags: UK Security Service (MI5), Haroon Rashid Aswat
Category Tags: Haroon Rashid Aswat, 2005 7/7 London Bombings, Londonistan - UK Counterterrorism
A surveillance photo of Momin Khawaja (in grey sweater) and unidentified man on February 20, 2004. [Source: Public domain via the Globe and Mail]According to a joint Canadian and British report sent to Pakistani authorities in September 2005, Mohammed Junaid Babar, Momin Khawaja, and Haroon Rashid Aswat meet in London in February 2004. Babar and Khawaja are both members of a British fertilizer bomb plot (see Early 2003-April 6, 2004), but Khawaja is living in Canada and making occasional trips to Britain to meet the other plotters there, and Babar is based in Pakistan and also occasionally coming to Britain. By this time, the British intelligence agency MI5 has learned of the plot and is intensely monitoring all the major plotters, including Khawaja. US intelligence has apparently been monitoring Babar since late 2001 (see Early November 2001-April 10, 2004), and Newsweek will state he is definitely being monitored by February 2004 (see March 2004). [Daily Times (Lahore), 9/7/2005; Globe and Mail, 7/4/2008] Newsweek will later confirm, "Aswat is believed to have had connections to some of the suspects in the fertilizer plot," and his name is given to the US as part of a list of people suspected of involvement in the plot. [Newsweek, 7/20/2005; Newsweek, 7/25/2005] He is the most interesting figure in this meeting. The US has wanted him since at least 2002 for his role in attempting to set up a militant training camp in Oregon (see November 1999-Early 2000). It will later be widely reported that he is the mastermind of the 7/7 London bombings (see July 7, 2005) and may even simultaneously be an informant for British intelligence. Babar, Khawaja, and other major figures in the fertilizer plot will be arrested at the end of March 2004 (see March 29, 2004 and After and April 10, 2004), but Aswat curiously is not arrested, even though British intelligence had compiled a large dossier on him and considered him a "major terrorist threat" by 2003 (see Early 2003).
Entity Tags: Mohammed Junaid Babar, Haroon Rashid Aswat, Mohammad Momin Khawaja
Category Tags: Haroon Rashid Aswat, 2005 7/7 London Bombings, Londonistan - UK Counterterrorism, Counterterrorism Action After 9/11
Around early June 2005, US intelligence learns that Haroon Rashid Aswat is living in South Africa. An associate will later say that he had known Aswat there for about five months, and that Aswat was making money by selling religious CDs and DVDs. [Press Trust of India, 8/2/2005] The US wants Aswat for a role he allegedly played in trying to set up a militant training camp in Oregon in 1999 (see November 1999-Early 2000), although he has not been formally charged yet (see August 2002). US officials contact the South African government and ask if they can take him into custody. Aswat is a British citizen, so South Africa relays the request to Britain and British officials block the request. When the debate continues, he manages to leave the country. [CNN, 7/28/2005] An unnamed US official will tell the Telegraph: "The discussion was whether or not they would render him. He's got [British] papers and they said you can't render somebody with [British] papers." British officials will complain that they would have cooperated had the US simply pursued a formal extradition request instead of pushing for a rendition. A senior US intelligence official will add, "Nobody is going to say there is a row or a rift but there was certainly dissatisfaction and exasperation here over the handling of this case." [Daily Telegraph, 7/31/2005] He apparently returns to Britain and meets with and phones the suicide bombers of the 7/7 London bombings (see July 7, 2005 and Late June-July 7, 2005). He will be named the mastermind of those bombings in many newspapers. One counterterrorism expert will allege that Aswat also was an informant for British intelligence, and this would explain why the British were protecting him (see July 29, 2005).
Entity Tags: US intelligence, Haroon Rashid Aswat
Haroon Rashid Aswat. [Source: John Cobb]According to an article in the London Times, Haroon Rashid Aswat is the mastermind of the 7/7 London bombings. Aswat's family comes from India, but he was born in the same West Yorkshire town as one of the 7/7 suicide bombers and has British citizenship. He is said to be a long-time al-Qaeda operative and also the right-hand man of radical London imam Abu Hamza al-Masri. He arrives in Britain about two weeks before the bombings from South Africa, where he was being monitored by British and US intelligence. He orchestrates the final planning for the bombing, visiting the towns of all the bombers as well as the bomb targets. "Intelligence sources" also will later claim that there are records of up to twenty calls between Aswat and two of the bombers, lead bomber Mohammad Sidique Khan and his friend Shehzad Tanweer, in the days before the bombings. A senior Pakistani security source will tell the Times, "We believe this man had a crucial part to play in what happened in London." Khan telephones Aswat on the morning of the bombings. He flies out of Britain just hours before the bombings take place. Pakistani officials will also say that a total of eight men in Pakistan were in telephone contact with Khan and Tanweer, and that Khan, Tanweer, and Aswat were all at the same madrassa (religious boarding school) at the same time when Khan and Tanweer went to Pakistan for training in late 2004. [London Times, 7/21/2005] A later Sunday Times article will confirm that Aswat and some of the bombers talked on the phone. Some of the cell phones used by the bombers will be found and some data will be recovered from them, even though they are badly damaged. This will confirm that at least several calls were made from Aswat's phone to the bombers in the days before the bombing. British investigators will not deny the phone calls took place, but will "caution that the calls may have been made to a phone linked to Aswat, rather than the man himself." There is speculation that US intelligence may have been monitoring the calls (see Shortly Before July 7, 2005). [Sunday Times (London), 7/31/2005] It will later be alleged that Aswat is an informant for British intelligence. Furthermore, the imam he has worked for, Abu Hazma, is also a British informant (see Early 1997).
Entity Tags: Haroon Rashid Aswat, Abu Hamza al-Masri, Al-Qaeda, Mohammad Sidique Khan, Shehzad Tanweer
Category Tags: Abu Hamza Al-Masri, Haroon Rashid Aswat, 2005 7/7 London Bombings, Londonistan - UK Counterterrorism
It will later be reported that Haroon Rashid Aswat, the possible mastermind of the 7/7 London bombings (see July 7, 2005), talks on the phone about 20 times with two of the suicide bombers involved in the attack in the days before the bombings (see Late June-July 7, 2005). The Sunday Times will later note, "It is likely that the American National Security Agency—which has a powerful eavesdropping network—was monitoring the calls." British investigators will not deny the phone calls took place, but will "caution that the calls may have been made to a phone linked to Aswat, rather than the man himself." [Sunday Times (London), 7/31/2005] A book about the Mossad by Gordon Thomas will later claim that the Mossad learns by the early afternoon of the day of the 7/7 bombings that the CIA has a "strong supposition" Aswat made a number of calls to the bombers in the days before the bombings. [Thomas, 2007, pp. 519] This would support the theory that the NSA was tracking the calls. US intelligence had discovered Aswat's location several weeks before the bombings, but then supposedly lost track of him again (see Early June 2005). If these calls were tracked, it is not clear why action was not taken against the bombers.
Entity Tags: Haroon Rashid Aswat, Central Intelligence Agency, National Security Agency
Category Tags: Haroon Rashid Aswat, 2005 7/7 London Bombings, Remote Surveillance, Londonistan - UK Counterterrorism, Counterterrorism Action After 9/11
Haroon Rashid Aswat, the alleged mastermind of the 7/7 London bombings (seee July 7, 2005), is reportedly arrested in Pakistan, but accounts conflict. For instance, on July 21, The Guardian reports that Aswat was arrested in the small town of Sargodha, near Lahore, on July 17. He is said to be found carrying a belt packed with explosives, a British passport, and lots of money. Pakistan's Interior Minister Aftab Khan Sherpao and Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed deny that the arrest took place. However, The Guardian reports, "Intelligence sources insisted, however, that Mr Aswat had been detained." [Guardian, 7/21/2005] It is soon reported that Aswat has been arrested in the African country Zambia (see (July 21, 2005)), and news of his arrest in Pakistan fades away. Officials claim that the arrest was a case of mistaken identity and the person
"arrested was in fact a ceramics salesman from London with a similar name." However, it is not explained how or why a ceramics salesman had a suicide vest, what his name was, or what happened to him. [Los Angeles Times, 7/28/2005; Sunday Herald (Glasgow), 7/31/2005] Yet as late as July 24, a "US law-enforcement official with knowledge of the case" continues to insist that Aswat had been arrested in Pakistan. [Seattle Times, 7/24/2005] Counterterrorism expert John Loftus will later claim that Aswat in fact has been an informant for the British intelligence agency MI6. He will point to Aswat's arrest and then quick release in Pakistan as an example of how MI6 was attempting to protect Aswat even as other branches of the British government were trying to find him (see July 29, 2005). [Fox News, 7/29/2005]
Entity Tags: Haroon Rashid Aswat, Aftab Khan Sherpao, Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, John Loftus
Category Tags: Haroon Rashid Aswat, 2005 7/7 London Bombings, Pakistan and the ISI, Londonistan - UK Counterterrorism
On July 28, the Los Angeles Times is the first to report that Haroon Rashid Aswat, the alleged mastermind of the 7/7 London bombings (see July 7, 2005), was arrested in the African country of Zambia about a week earlier. He is said to have been arrested while trying to enter Zambia from the neighboring country of Zimbabwe. Aswat is a British citizen but is wanted in the US on charges of setting up a training camp there. US and British officials vie to extradite him; Zambia soon announces they will extradite him to Britain. [Los Angeles Times, 7/28/2005; London Times, 7/29/2005]
Entity Tags: Haroon Rashid Aswat
Category Tags: Haroon Rashid Aswat, 2005 7/7 London Bombings, Londonistan - UK Counterterrorism, Key Captures and Deaths
John Loftus (right) is asked a question from an audience member while on Fox News on July 29, 2005. [Source: Fox News]In an interview on Fox News, counterterrorism expert John Loftus claims that Haroon Rashid Aswat, named in recent reports as the mastermind of the 7/7 London bombings earlier in the month (see July 7, 2005), is actually an agent of the British intelligence agency MI6. Loftus says: "[W]hat's really embarrassing is that the entire British police are out chasing [Aswat], and one wing of the British government, MI6 or the British Secret Service, has been hiding him. And this has been a real source of contention between the CIA, the Justice Department, and Britain.… He's a double agent." The interviewer clarifies, "So he's working for the Brits to try to give them information about al-Qaeda, but in reality he's still an al-Qaeda operative." Loftus replies: "Yeah. The CIA and the Israelis all accused MI6 of letting all these terrorists live in London not because they're getting al-Qaeda information, but for appeasement. It was one of those you leave us alone, we leave you alone kind of things." Loftus then explains that Aswat has been wanted by US prosecutors in Seattle since 2002 for attempting to help set up a training camp in Oregon (see November 1999-Early 2000). "[W]e've just learned that the headquarters of the US Justice Department ordered the Seattle prosecutors not to touch Aswat [because] apparently Aswat was working for British intelligence. Now Aswat's boss, the one-armed [London imam Abu Hamza al-Masri], he gets indicted two years later. So the guy above him and below him get indicted, but not Aswat. Now there's a split of opinion within US intelligence. Some people say that the British intelligence fibbed to us. They told us that Aswat was dead, and that's why the New York group dropped the case. That's not what most of the Justice Department thinks. They think that it was just again covering up for this very publicly affiliated guy with [the British militant group] Al-Muhajiroun. He was a British intelligence plant. So all of a sudden he disappears. He's in South Africa. We think he's dead; we don't know he's down there. Last month the South African Secret Service come across the guy. He's alive." The host asks: "Yeah, now the CIA says, oh he's alive. Our CIA says OK let's arrest him. But the Brits say no again?" Loftus replies: "The Brits say no. Now at this point, two weeks ago, the Brits know that the CIA wants to get a hold of Haroon. So what happens? He takes off again, goes right to London. He isn't arrested when he lands, he isn't arrested when he leaves. [Even though] he's on the watch list. The only reason he could get away with that was if he was working for British intelligence. He was a wanted man." Loftus finally explains that Aswat's relationship with British intelligence began in the late 1990s with the war in Kosovo. The US, Britain, and radical Muslims were all on the same side, helping the Muslims in Kosovo fight the Serbians. Loftus says that Al-Muhajiroun was involved in recruiting British Muslims to fight in Kosovo, and Aswat was part of that effort. [Fox News, 7/29/2005] Two days after Loftus's comments, the Sunday Times reports that senior British officials "deny 'any knowledge' that he might be an agent for either MI5 or MI6." [Sunday Times (London), 7/31/2005]
Entity Tags: Al-Muhajiroun, Haroon Rashid Aswat, Abu Hamza al-Masri, UK Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), John Loftus
Category Tags: Haroon Rashid Aswat, 2005 7/7 London Bombings, Londonistan - UK Counterterrorism, Omar Bakri & Al-Muhajiroun
Around July 21, 2005, Haroon Rashid Aswat was arrested in Zambia, and the British government soon arranged to have him quickly extradited back to Britain, since he is a British citizen. Numerous press accounts have described Aswat at the mastermind of the 7/7 London bombings (see July 7, 2005 and Late June-July 7, 2005). However, British authorities, who apparently have yet to question him, appear mysteriously uninterested in him. On July 31, the Sunday Times reports: "Scotland Yard sources say [Aswat] is not considered a priority in their criminal investigation into the July 7 and July 21 attacks. But senior [British] officials do not rule out the possibility there my be links to one or more of the bombers." One unnamed official says, "I don't think the evidence is conclusive either way." Senior officials "also deny 'any knowledge' that he might be an agent for either MI5 or MI6." [Sunday Times (London), 7/31/2005] The Times does not explain why officials would deny he worked for British intelligence, but on July 29, counterterrorism expert John Loftus claimed on Fox News that Aswat has had a long relationship with MI6 and they have tried to protect him from arrest (see July 29, 2005). [Fox News, 7/29/2005] On August 1, the Financial Times reports that British officials are seeking "to play down the role of Haroon Rashid Aswat… Zambian officials have agreed to extradite [him]… but British officials said they were no longer interested in interrogating him." [Financial Times, 8/1/2005] It is not explained why officials are not at least interested in interrogating Aswat over his other suspected criminal activities. According to one article, by 2003, British officials had collected a large dossier on him and deemed him a "major terrorist threat" to Britain (see Early 2003), and in 2004 he was linked to a fertilizer bomb plot in Britain (see February 2004). Furthermore, while in custody in Zambia, he allegedly confessed to serving as Osama bin Laden's bodyguard. [Sunday Times (London), 7/31/2005]
Shehzad Tanweer. [Source: Public domain]The Christian Science Monitor reports that police in Pakistan are carefully analyzing the cell phone records of the two 7/7 London bombers who trained there, Mohammad Sidique Khan and Shehzad Tanweer. "While officials stress that it is a tedious process, it has already yielded the name of at least one significant suspect: Maulana Masood Azhar." Azhar is leader of the Pakistani militant group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM), which has technically been banned twice by the Pakistani government but continues to operate (see November 2003). [Christian Science Monitor, 8/1/2005] Tanweer met a JEM leader during visits to Pakistan in 2003 and 2004, and also associated with a JEM recruiting agent (see Late 2003). Sources also say that Haroon Rashid Aswat, the alleged mastermind of the 7/7 bombings, has links to JEM as well as al-Qaeda. [Guardian, 7/21/2005] Azhar is questioned shortly after the 7/7 bombings, but then let go. [Dawn (Karachi), 7/16/2005] However, there are no apparent repercussions for Azhar or his group, despite well-documented links to al-Qaeda and other attacks. In 2006, it will be reported that Azhar is keeping a low profile, but living openly in the city of Karachi and editing a militant newspaper there. Also in 2006, it will be reported that Rashid Rauf, the leader of a failed transatlantic airplane bomb plot (see August 10, 2006), is related to Azhar through the marriage of their siblings. [New York Times, 12/17/2007]
Entity Tags: Mohammad Sidique Khan, Jaish-e-Mohammed, Haroon Rashid Aswat, Maulana Masood Azhar, Shehzad Tanweer
Haroon Rashid Aswat, arrested in Zambia around July 21, 2005 (see (July 21, 2005)), is extradited from Zambia back to Britain. Aswat is a British citizen and spent most of his life there until disappearing several years earlier. Numerous media accounts refer to him as the mastermind of the 7/7 London bombings (see July 7, 2005 and Late June-July 7, 2005), but British authorities seem mysteriously uninterested in him (see Late July 2005 and After). Even as he arrives in Britain and has yet to be questioned about any role in the 7/7 bombings, officials make clear that they have no intention of charging him for any crime. Instead, they plan to extradite him to the US, as the US has just issued a warrant for his arrest relating to his efforts to help start a militant training camp in Oregon in 1999 (see November 1999-Early 2000). Briefly appearing in court upon his arrival in Britain, Aswat denies any terrorism link and says he does not want to be extradited to the US. He is immediately placed in Belmarsh Prison, Britain's highest security jail. [London Times, 8/8/2005]
Nafeez Mosaddeq Ahmed. [Source: Publicity photo]The Independent publishes an article questioning some aspects of the official account of the 7/7 London bombings (see July 7, 2005). The article notes that "There are some bewildering gaps in the [government's] account of 7/7…" It quotes counterterrorism expert Nafeez Mosaddeq Ahmed, who has recently published a book questioning the government account of the bombings. Ahmed concludes that the government has deliberately downplayed the sophistication of the operation, the size of its support network, and evidence of al-Qaeda involvement, in order to deflect questions about how a large network was able to operate in Britain for many years. The Independent notes that "even the nature of the explosives used in the bombing is unclear." The Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC), a group of MPs chosen by the prime minister, published a report on the 7/7 bombings in May 2006 (see May 11, 2006), but was vague about the explosives used. The Independent comments, "The report says only that 'it appears' they were home-made, although there is plenty of evidence that the bombs were powered by at least some commercial or military explosive." Ahmed says: "Forensic science… tends to produce unambiguous answers within a matter of hours and days. The idea that continuous examination over many months has failed to finish the job beggars belief." Ahmed also notes that the links between the 7/7 bombers such as Mohammad Sidique Khan and known al-Qaeda figures have been underplayed. For instance, the ISC report fails to mention Haroon Rashid Aswat at all, despite many articles suggesting that he may have been the mastermind of the bombings and may even have had a relationship with British intelligence (see Late June-July 7, 2005 and July 29, 2005). Ahmed says, "In systematically downplaying the undeniable role of al-Qaeda in the London bombings, the official account is attempting to draw public attention from the fact British authorities have tolerated the activities of an entrenched and burgeoning network of radical Islamists with terrorist connections for more than a decade." [Independent, 7/2/2006]
Entity Tags: Intelligence and Security Committee, Mohammad Sidique Khan, Al-Qaeda, Nafeez Mosaddeq Ahmed, Haroon Rashid Aswat
Category Tags: 2005 7/7 London Bombings, Londonistan - UK Counterterrorism, Haroon Rashid Aswat
A British high court approves the extradition of Haroon Rashid Aswat to the US. Many media accounts have described Aswat as the mastermind of the 7/7 London bombings (see July 7, 2005 and Late June-July 7, 2005). However, British authorities appear to be ignoring his possible connection to the 7/7 bombings and are allowing him to be extradited to the US on unrelated charges of helping to create a militant training camp in Oregon (see November 1999-Early 2000). The US has promised that he will not be sent to the prison in Guantanamo or turned over to a third country. [Guardian, 11/30/2006] As of mid-2008, Aswat has yet to be extradited.
Key Events
Day of 9/11
The Alleged 9/11 Hijackers
Alhazmi and Almihdhar: Specific Cases
Projects and Programs
Before 9/11
Counterterrorism before 9/11
Warning Signs: Specific Cases
The Post-9/11 World
Investigations: Specific Cases
Possible Al-Qaeda-Linked Moles or Informants
Other Al-Qaeda-Linked Figures
Al-Qaeda by Region
Specific Alleged Al-Qaeda Linked Attacks or Plots
Miscellaneous Al-Qaeda Issues
Geopolitics and Islamic Militancy
Pakistan / ISI: Specific Cases
Terrorism Financing: Specific Cases
'War on Terrorism' Outside Iraq
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Launching web applications in Prism
More and more manufacturers are starting to offer their services directly in the form of web applications. Prism lets you use them like local applications.
Web-based applications are shooting out of the ground like mushrooms. Independent of platform, programs can launch on any computer and offer a similar function scope to their local counterparts. At the same time, they save users the trouble of installing an application, thus reducing the amount of code on their machines and, in turn, the danger of programming errors and vulnerabilities. Additionally, web applications do not typically access locally stored data. Because the handling processors are normally executed on the server, web applications also save resources on a local system.
However, web applications do have one disadvantage: Running the program in your web browser entails some danger of attack by malicious code that reads the content of pages in other browser tabs.
Enter Prism [1], which lets the web application escape the browser interface and displays it as a separate instance, like a local application in a normal window. This lets users launch applications at any time via desktop shortcuts.
Prism, which was formerly known as Webrunner, uses the Firefox [2] Rendering Engine to run applications in their own windows. In doing so, it hides all of the functional elements no longer needed for working with the web application. The program includes all the required elements and thus works independently of the other applications.
That said, Prism does not have an interface to retrospectively install Firefox plugins, which makes the installation of useful extensions (such as ad blockers or dictionaries for spell checkers) impossible. It also reduces the feature-rich contextual menu normally provided by Firefox to simply Copy and Paste.
In contrast to Firefox, which only allows one launched instance, Prism will load each web application with a process of its own. This means that crashes will only affect the current application. However, Prism only keeps the processes separate. Information downloaded by applications, such as cookies or temporary files, are also available to other web applications that you launch with Prism. For example, if you launch Google Mail and log in, your authentication credentials will apply to all other Google online applications.
Take care to avoid nonstandard characters in application names because Prism will trip over them; at best, it will display the name and the icon incorrectly on your desktop, and at worst, you might not be able to launch the application.
If you want to work with Prism, simply download the package available from the project homepage [1] and unpack it anywhere on your disk. Readers of LinuxUser Media Edition can use the package included in the LinuxUser/prism/ directory of the CD. After unpacking, click on the prism file. This will pop up a configuration dialog (Figure 1).
At the top, specify the URL and the name of the application; below this, specify whether you want Prism to display the address bar and status messages or enable the navigation keys. Then press Desktop in the Create Shortcuts field to tell the application to create a link on your desktop (Figure 2).
The Windows variant of the software has much more to offer here: It not only lets users create desktop items but also create shortcuts in the start menu and in the taskbar. Clicking the desktop icon is all it will take in future to launch the online application that you configured. Prism does not give you any options for changing the settings after the original setup. All you can do is delete the link and create a new one.
At the lower right of each application window you will find a cogwheel-shaped icon. Clicking the icon opens a menu that lets you print out the page you are currently viewing or launch the Error Console or DOM Inspector. The latter choices let you analyze the structure of websites.
Prism's look and feel helps users forget that it is nothing more than a web browser without any controls. However, the lack of back and forward buttons makes it difficult to get used to working with Prism at first. The application opens its internal links in the same window. If the new page does not have a link back to the previous page, the user has no chance of navigating back. However, Prism will always open external links in your normal web browser.
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