chromeless meebo
Update (Aug 28): I’ve created a Chromeless Meebo changelog page. It will always have a link to the latest version.
Launching Meebo in a “chromeless” window has been a feature request for many Meebo users since almost day one. Unfortunately because of the way web pages work, Meebo can’t really do this. There is a work around though. Using window transparency it’s possible to get 99% of the way there.
A week or so ago I threw together a quick proof-of-concept, it’s now at build 3, and ready enough that I’m happy that ‘real users’ can test it. It requires the .Net 1.1 framework, and Internet Explorer to be installed. Depending on what hardware you have it could run fast or slow. There’s not much to tweak because all the heavy lifting is done by the OS.
Grab a copy of Meebo Browser today! (Source included, patches welcome!)
Notes: It can sometimes take a while before the Meebo log in page is visible, just give it time. Use the system tray icon to change auto-on-top, and display of the ‘you are currently connected’ text, and exit Meebo (after you’ve logged off). If you click the icon it will bring the Meebo window to the front, clicking it repeatedly will hide and show the Meebo window. You can edit the Meebo.exe.config file to change the defaults too.
Update (Mar 26): If you get an error about “Microsoft.mshtml” missing, you need to install the Office 2003 Primary Interop Assemblies.
Update (May 28): An updated .Net 2.0 build is now available.
March 17th, 2006 at 11:41 pm
I am trying to start the Meebo Browser V3 and receive the following error:
************** Exception Text **************
System.IO.FileNotFoundException: File or assembly name Microsoft.mshtml, or one of its dependencies, was not found.
File name: “Microsoft.mshtml”
=== Pre-bind state information ===
LOG: DisplayName = Microsoft.mshtml, Version=7.0.3300.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b03f5f7f11d50a3a
(Fully-specified)
===
March 18th, 2006 at 2:36 pm
Hey Tony, (fyi: I trimmed your comment to only include the critical information)
It seems that this dll is only installed if you install Visual Studio (or possibly just the .Net SDK). I’ll have to do some digging around to see if there’s an easy way to fix it.
March 23rd, 2006 at 11:13 am
just upgraded to v3, and it’s rocking! the combination of “Hide console” and “Always On-Top” makes it a killer – a web-based forms client (and now that meebo has sound, even better)
I reckon transparent web app browsing is the future (subtext: not just meebo
) – well done Nurm!
March 25th, 2006 at 10:02 am
> It seems that this dll is only installed if you install Visual Studio
> (or possibly just the .Net SDK). I’ll have to do some digging
> around to see if there’s an easy way to fix it.
Hi Nurm,
I have the exactly the same problem… so… I was wondering… if it’s only one DLL in a matter… would you be so kind to mail it to me…I’ll try to inject it into system and observe what will happen…
March 26th, 2006 at 6:15 pm
It will not let me download it. It says that it is not there. please E-mail the link.
March 26th, 2006 at 7:29 pm
Hrm, odd. I’ve sent you the links.
March 26th, 2006 at 7:35 pm
I’ve found that the missing dll is distributed as part of the Office 2003 Primary Interop Assemblies. So if you’re missing it you can head on over and get it for yourself.
March 27th, 2006 at 5:17 pm
Hi Nurm,
Thank you so much! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve posted a forum entry and never received any response. I truly appreciate you pursuing this answer for me.
March 30th, 2006 at 5:06 pm
Cheers, Nurm…works a charm!
May 28th, 2006 at 1:36 am
Update: An updated .Net 2.0 build is now available.
August 27th, 2006 at 3:36 am
Nurm you’re awesome! I stumbled upon your site and your widget on friday and you walked me through the whole thing and showed me this excellent product that you made. I would like to start a nurm fan club.
August 27th, 2006 at 4:07 am
Thanks for the great feedback!
Btw: I’ve created a page to track all the enhancements to Meebo Browser
October 9th, 2006 at 8:53 am
[...] Clicking through Flickr, I noticed a cool photo of someone who carries meebo around with them on a portable version of Firefox. Another has done a 30boxes mashup and a neat developer has even coded up a meebo browser! I gave it whirl myself and it’s pretty neat! [...]
October 9th, 2006 at 5:08 pm
Awesome job! This looks great! It’s like having a meebo client app. Thank you!
October 10th, 2006 at 4:22 am
Wow. This is seriously impressive! Wow! You’re good…
Well, great job, Nurm. This is really cool!
October 10th, 2006 at 3:10 pm
Is it possible for Meebo browser to work with dual monitors with extended desktop?
October 10th, 2006 at 3:18 pm
Yes, at the moment the easiest way is to use something like UltraMon and set up a hot key to move the Meebo Browser window the the other screen. I’ll add ‘native mutliscreen support’ to the todo list for the new version.
November 7th, 2006 at 3:29 am
I just wanted to say thanks for such a great product. I use it all the time. I even carry it with me on a usb and use in it in conjunction with mojo pac. I have now noticed that with the current release of meebo, the chrome less browser isn’t working correctly. I hope you continue to keep the browser updated. Please email me if you do update it to get it to work with the latest version of meebo. Also do you have a pay pal account. I would like to make a donation.
thanks,
Mike
November 7th, 2006 at 12:18 pm
Woot thanks! I’m currently on holiday, and for some reason Meebo refuses to load (either new version or classic). I’m planning some sort of JavaScript driven engine for the next version, which will make updates much easier to handle. You should still be able to use Meebo Classic by editing the configuration file and changing HomeUri to http://classic.meebo.com/).
I’ll post the new version release as a blog entry in my meebo category, so you can just subscribe to the feed for that category. I have a donate link at the top of my Todo List (I need to make it more prominent)
February 2nd, 2007 at 9:19 pm
Does this work with the new meebo layout yet? I remember there was an issue with it in the past (and I had to change the config file to direct it to classic.meebo.com, and on the meebo forums you said you were gonna try to fix it, but just not sure if you ever did…
February 3rd, 2007 at 11:36 am
It does. I posted an updated version in early January that handles the new Meebo layout.
March 22nd, 2007 at 6:04 am
Meebo review at web 2.0 sites:
http://web2.ajaxprojects.com/web2/projects/Chat/Meebo.php
June 4th, 2008 at 6:30 am
Do this for firefox and I’ll give you $50.
June 4th, 2008 at 6:34 am
I should read further before I post things.
Thanks, this will prove useful!
June 4th, 2008 at 5:40 pm
Heh, yea the Firefox mode works ‘okay’ as long as you use the older version of the application.