Ask & Record Toolbar Not Compatible w/ Firefox 3.5 [Archive]

wT2

07-01-2009, 10:15 AM

I just installed Firefox 3.5 (the latest version). The Firefox add-on dialog shows the following message for the "Ask & Record" toolbar:

"This add-on is for older versions of Firefox"

Do you have any idea when a compatible toolbar for Firefox 3.5 will be available? Mozilla was 6 months late releasing Firefox 3.5. Why wasn't your product ready to go when they finally did?

Tasha Heinlein

07-01-2009, 01:05 PM

Try downloading directly form our site:

http://applian.com/asktoolbar/index.php

Let me know if you still have problems.

Best Regards,

Tasha Heinlein
Applian Technologies, Inc.

wT2

07-01-2009, 01:48 PM

Here's exactly what I did in response to your post:

1. downloaded the toolbar directly from your website using the link you provided
2. closed Firefox
3. installed the toolbar using the downloaded file from #1 above
4. shut down (Windows Vista Home Premium)
5. restarted Firefox 3.5

The toolbar was not visible. I clicked on View/Toolbars and your toolbar was not on the list of available toolbars. I checked my installed Firefox extensions and your toolbar was not listed. The problem still exists with Firefox 3.5.

Just for good measure, I opened IE 8. The good news is that your toolbar appears in IE8. The bad news is that Firefox is my default browser and it appears your toolbar is NOT compatible with Firefox version 3.5.

Any assistance you could provide would be greatly appreciated.

chizel

07-08-2009, 11:40 AM

I second this one.

Downloaded A&R toolbar directly from the site.
closed firefox prior to install

Vista Ultimate 64 bit
Mozilla 3.5

The error I receive is:

"Unable to complete installation
We've detected that you have a browser or operating system that is not supported by the toolbar."

Tasha Heinlein

07-08-2009, 12:08 PM

wT2

07-08-2009, 12:45 PM

Hi Tasha.

Is the toolbar visible in your browser the way it used to be with Freecorder? What operating system are you using? If you click (in Firefox 3.5) on the "View" menu and then on "Toolbars", is the Ask and Record toolbar listed? It's definitely not listed and not visible in my Firefox 3.5 browser.

I'm running Windows Vista Home Premium (on a 32-bit system) and I definitely cannot see your toolbar.

As I stated in a previous post in this thread, using the "Tools / Add-Ons" dialog inside Firefox 3.5 indicates that your toolbar applies only to older versions of Firefox. I've tried to install the toolbar both from inside Firefox and also directly from your website. Trust me, it doesn't install on Firefox 3.5.

What, if anything, is being done to address this problem? I'm sure I'm not the only person unable to use your product.

- wT2

Tasha Heinlein

07-08-2009, 04:49 PM

What other toolbars do you have installed?

wT2

07-08-2009, 05:09 PM

I have only the standard Firefox "Navigation" toolbar and the standard Firefox "Bookmarks" toolbar installed.

These are exactly the same toolbars I had installed before I upgraded Firefox to version 3.5. In my prior Firefox version, I was able to successfully use your Freecorder toolbar.

The only thing that has changed since then is that I uninstalled your Freecorder toolbar from my computer, successfully upgraded Firefox to version 3.5 and then tried, unsuccessfully, to install your Ask & Record toolbar.

wT2

07-17-2009, 03:26 PM

Sixteen days after my initial post and Applian has yet to even acknowledge they have a problem with their Ask and Record Toolbar.

This thread's already out-of-date. The original thread referred to Firefox 3.50; today I upgraded to Firefox 3.51 and the toolbar still will not install.

The bottom line is that Applian's Ask and Record toolbar does not work with Firefox 3.5 and later. If you go to the Firefox Tools/Add-Ons menu and search for the toolbar, you'll see that Firefox does not let you install it because IT IS NOT COMPATIBLE WITH FIREFOX 3.5 AND LATER.

I can understand that Applian might need some time to upgrade their software, however, Applian has not even acknowledged they have a problem.

Is anyone working on upgrading the toolbar? Does Applian accept the fact that it is not compatible with Firefox 3.5 and later? Is anyone from Applian even monitoring this forum anymore? The number of "views" in this thread and in the similar thread are indicative of how many people are having the exact same problem.

Hello, Applian, are you out there?

LadyDee

07-17-2009, 06:42 PM

Hi Tasha ..

I'm new to this site and the products from Applian. I've downloaded and purchased the Replay Video Capture program, and so far I like what it does. I also downloaded the Ask and Record Toolbar, and up until yesterday, it was working great - I have Windows Vista 64-bit and Firefox 3.5. There was no indication that the Ask toolbar isn't compatible with it.

I was trying to uninstall that toolbar yesterday using the uninstall tool in that folder, and it didn't work. I sent off an email to tech support and I have a ticket number from my email, so I will wait for a response from them before I come back here.

Thanks for the input on the 64-bit O.S. Maybe Ask should change things up a little so it will work.

LadyDee

I have version 3.5 of Firefox and I currently have the Ask & Record toolbar loaded and it works fine. As for the error the second customer stated - Ask does not support 64 bit systems.

Best Regards,

Tasha Heinlein
Applian Technologies, Inc.

Tasha Heinlein

07-18-2009, 07:31 AM

The toolbar is compatible with the latest version of Firefox, as I said - I have it installed. It isn't compatibel with YOUR system. If you open a support ticket and include all of your basic information along with a screen shot of your Add/Remove programs, I will pass this along to the folks at Ask. They can look through your programs and let me know if there are any compatibility issues.

Sixteen days after my initial post and Applian has yet to even acknowledge they have a problem with their Ask and Record Toolbar.

This thread's already out-of-date. The original thread referred to Firefox 3.50; today I upgraded to Firefox 3.51 and the toolbar still will not install.

The bottom line is that Applian's Ask and Record toolbar does not work with Firefox 3.5 and later. If you go to the Firefox Tools/Add-Ons menu and search for the toolbar, you'll see that Firefox does not let you install it because IT IS NOT COMPATIBLE WITH FIREFOX 3.5 AND LATER.

I can understand that Applian might need some time to upgrade their software, however, Applian has not even acknowledged they have a problem.

Is anyone working on upgrading the toolbar? Does Applian accept the fact that it is not compatible with Firefox 3.5 and later? Is anyone from Applian even monitoring this forum anymore? The number of "views" in this thread and in the similar thread are indicative of how many people are having the exact same problem.

Hello, Applian, are you out there?

wT2

07-18-2009, 08:38 AM

Les Gnome

07-19-2009, 12:33 AM

The toolbar is compatible with the latest version of Firefox, as I said - I have it installed. It isn't compatibel with YOUR system. If you open a support ticket and include all of your basic information along with a screen shot of your Add/Remove programs, I will pass this along to the folks at Ask. They can look through your programs and let me know if there are any compatibility issues.

I can understand your response to some extent, Tasha, especially as I once worked in IT Support. However, this sounds like the response where the customer says "my light bulb is broken" and Support says "well, my light bulb is just fine".... :) All you've got to do is read this forum. There are several posts where people who formerly used the excellent Freecorder have gone to Firefox 3.5 with Ask & Record and it now doesn't work. Even if it installs, then it doesn't work properly. There is obviously a problem!

FYI, my Firefox just updated to 3.5.1 and it still exhibits the same problem. The toolbar buttons only work the first time you start Firefox (see my other thread in this forum).

I'll also investigate the trouble ticket route and report back on this forum if I get anywhere. Edit: right, my trouble ticket is in. I'll keep you up to date on progress.

In Applian's defence, I'd also point out that one free product Freecorder has been replaced by another free product Ask & Record. I'd be really annoyed if I'd paid for this software but I'm trying to be patient. However, this response to customer problems hardly reflects well on Applian if I was thinking of buying one of their products.

Tasha Heinlein

07-19-2009, 08:03 PM

If you told me your light bulb was broken I guess I'd tell you buy a new one :) This just isn't as simple as that. Yes I realize that people are having installation issues, and not just with this browser version. However we can't fix what we can't duplicate. So it is a matter of gathering as much information as we can and trying to find common denominators within the group that is having trouble. You have opened your ticket, I have got your info and I'll work with it. Ask & Record did not replace Freecorder, Freecorder is still available.

Les Gnome

07-20-2009, 12:31 AM

Fair enough comment.... And thanks for your efforts to try to solve this via my trouble ticket.

I'd take slight issue with your comment about Freecorder still being available. I must admit that I can't remember exactly what happened now but I think that Freecorder won't work with the latest Firefox update to 3.5 or 3.5.1. Also, if you go the Applian website and look at the Freecorder product information, it takes you to the Ask & Record information and days "Freecorder Toolbar has been updated to the Ask & Record Toolbar."

Whatever, I'll keep feeding info via the trouble ticket and see where we get.

Thanks again
Les

wT2

07-20-2009, 04:17 AM

I'd take slight issue with your comment about Freecorder still being available. I must admit that I can't remember exactly what happened now but I think that Freecorder won't work with the latest Firefox update to 3.5 or 3.5.1. Also, if you go the Applian website and look at the Freecorder product information, it takes you to the Ask & Record information and days "Freecorder Toolbar has been updated to the Ask & Record Toolbar."

Hi Les.

Here's a direct link to the Freecorder download:
http://applian.com/sound-recorder/freecorder.php.

I was able to install it on Firefox 3.51 but couldn't get it to record anything.

wT2

Les Gnome

07-20-2009, 05:59 AM

Here's a direct link to the Freecorder download:

Thanks, wT2. I might have a play with this at some point but not yet - I think it might just complicate things at the moment.

I took Tasha's suggestion to log a trouble ticket with Applian via the Support pages. I'm currently going through that process with them. You know; supplying config information to them etc. If I can help them get Ask & Record working for everyone under Firefox then that would be good.

Meanwhile it's a pain but I can get it to record by restarting Firefox immediately before I start the playback. Not a good long term solution but it will do for now while Applian/Ask look into the problem.

Tasha Heinlein

07-20-2009, 07:50 AM

I'd take slight issue with your comment about Freecorder still being available. I must admit that I can't remember exactly what happened now but I think that Freecorder won't work with the latest Firefox update to 3.5 or 3.5.1. Also, if you go the Applian website and look at the Freecorder product information, it takes you to the Ask & Record information and days "Freecorder Toolbar has been updated to the Ask & Record Toolbar."

We released an update almost immediately that made Freecorder compatible with the latest update of Firefox. When you click on Freecorder and get redirected to the Ask Toolbar there is a link under that to the Freecorder Toolbar. It's there, just not as accessible as it once was. I am working with the developer on your settings issues. Hopefully we can work this out for you. Thank you for your patience.

pamivire

07-25-2009, 01:41 AM

Hi tasha

I have a 32 bit system, Firefox 3.5.1 and Ask & Record doesn't work ...

No problem with IE8

lemel_man

07-26-2009, 11:35 PM

Les Gnome

07-27-2009, 12:10 AM

I'm completely new to the AR Toolbar. I downloaded the latest version and installed it on my new XP Pro+SP3 system and Firefox 3.5.1. There were no error messages, that's the good news, but there was also no toolbar when I started FF. So I can't even try it.
Any idea what to do now?

Have a re-read of this and the other threads. They are still investigating what the problem is from Firefox. Meanwhile, you can use it from IE (yuk... but it will work) or you can use it standalone rather than from the toolbar until they fix this, which is what I do.

I created some shortcuts on my desktop so that I can Record Audio and change Settings.

lemel_man

07-27-2009, 01:27 AM

Have a re-read of this and the other threads. They are still investigating what the problem is from Firefox. Meanwhile, you can use it from IE (yuk... but it will work) or you can use it standalone rather than from the toolbar until they fix this, which is what I do.

I created some shortcuts on my desktop so that I can Record Audio and change Settings.
Thanks.
I uninstalled it and got the query from Applian asking why I'd uninstalled. That's where I found the link to this forum.
I reckon I'll wait and try again when (if?) its fixed.

wT2

07-27-2009, 08:14 AM

I began this thread way back on July 1. Today is July 27.

Seven days ago, Applian Tech Support forwarded the problem to the Toolbar's developer but I have received no further information.

Has the developer at least acknowledged that there is a problem? Is the developer currently working to resolve the problem? Is there any rough estimate how long it will take to repair the defect in the software?

For those following this thread, please be assured that I will post any information I receive from Applian or from Ask as it becomes available.

Tasha Heinlein

07-27-2009, 08:48 AM

The problem you are having is related to the Ask aspect of the toolbar. I have not heard back from them. I assure you I will be getting in touch with them again today to see if there is any progress. Thank you.

wT2

07-28-2009, 06:33 PM

I was notified today (July 28) by Applian Tech Support that:

"Ask will be sending us a new toolbar build in about a month that should fix this issue."

If they meet the target date they specified, the new toolbar should be available sometime around the end of August. Stay tuned to this thread for further information.

Tasha Heinlein

07-28-2009, 08:31 PM

Thanks for updating this thread. I was told end of August or early September. Hopefully this will solve a great deal of the installation issues people are having. Thank you all for your patience!

rainyz

08-03-2009, 01:05 AM

Les Gnome

08-03-2009, 06:13 AM

I have uninstalled and reinstalled. On the IE browser it works fine. On firefox I have to close it and open a new browswer and it will allow me one click of one the one button of my choice, Then I have to close it and again it will allow me one button choice. I am frustrated. :(

Have a look at the other threads on this part of the forum. Ask are working on this and will have a toolbar update later in August apparently.

Meanwhile, you can workround this by creating shortcuts to the functions you want on your desktop. The programs are in "C:\Program Files\Ask & Record Toolbar\" on my Vista PC. The program names are pretty self explanatory. It's not as convenient as the toolbar but it works!

rainyz

08-03-2009, 06:20 AM

Thanks man!

castronzl

08-04-2009, 05:10 PM

just a note re Ask and record toolbar...I have read the other posts about it and see quite a lot of people have had probems regarding installing...my experence is that i had it running on my laptop fine which has vista till Firefox upgraded itself to version 3.0.13..after that it stopped running and for that matter isn't showing up at all...and is not in the list of addons...so I uninstalled it from the laptop...cleared every bit of it out of the registery...download the latest version...and have tried to install again...no luck at all...tried 3 times...nothing....so went to my desktop which has winxp pro with all service packs...updated Firefox to the same version as on the laptop....installed the ask and record toolbar and it works fine...so my view is that the problem is either with vista...or the latest version of the toolbar isn't compatable with vista...just thought you guys may be interested it that...cheers....
oh yes...sorry forgot...on the laptop with vista running...installed fine in internet explorer 8...

PhotoBoothe

08-18-2009, 02:06 AM

Glad that I am not alone, glad that Ask is HOPEFULLY working on a Fix. I am using FF 3.5.2 on a 32 bit Vista Premium laptop. I'd had a bug before, but A&R was working ok, apparently until I made the leap from 3.0 generation to 3.5 generation Firefox. Just like Rainyz, I can install, but I only get 1 click of a button per each FF restart. PLEASE let everyone know when Ask finally gets a corrective update released...

DjAladdinUSA

08-27-2009, 10:20 PM

Hello, newbie here.

Just wanted to thank applian tech for making the "ask and record" toolbar.

So far it's a 2 out of 5 in my book. It does record, but whenever I navigate away using tabs, another browser or program, the toolbar stops responding and the end of the session. I've recorded some great stuff and was unable to complete the process and lost it entirely. Audio ONLY, I don't use it for video.

I still like the program because it is free and I wait patiently for a fix.
Here's my info for fix help and an applian tech may e-mail me for further info.

(Primary Browser) Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 6.0; en-US; rv:1.9.0.13) Gecko/2009073022 Firefox/3.0.13 (.NET CLR 2.0.50727; .NET CLR 3.0.30618; .NET CLR 3.5.30729)

(Secondary) Explorer 8.0.6001.18813 Cipher strength 256-bit

WINDOWS Vista Home Premium (Service Pack 1)
AMD Athalon 64x2 Dual Core Processor
32-bit OS

Later. :)

Les Gnome

08-27-2009, 11:31 PM

Hi DJ. I expect you've seen all the posts on this forum but just in case....

I have the same problems recording with Firefox. However, you can create desktop shortcuts which do the same as the toolbar buttons but they actually work. I've not lost any recordings working this way.

Also, for most peoplethe toolbar seems to work fine in IE. For me it's a pain to use IE so I'm happy just to use desktop shortcuts to manage my audio recording. BTW, I don't do anything with video either.

Regards, Les

DjAladdinUSA

08-28-2009, 08:28 AM

I did read the post earlier in this thread about using the toolbar separately from the browser. It wasn't until you said 'shortcut' that the light bulb in my head went on.

Thank You for responding Les Gnome :)

Going to give it a go, I'll post my results.

DjAladdinUSA

08-28-2009, 02:48 PM

RESULT:

Created button, shortcut to the "AAR RECORD" so it acts independent of browser. At least that's how I figured it.

I tried several GUI changes to the program, none seemed to better than the next. Though it acted a little better, it was still unstable, I still lost recordings.

Kudos to those who have made it work for them. As for me, I'm tired of losing 20 minute sessions, especially when I'm just sitting there, watching the waveform.

I did like the applian recording waveform :)

I'll lurk a bit here in the future to see what the end result is. Right now, I've decided to go a different route for recording. Did I mention I liked the applian recording waveform? Gonna miss that little tidbit.

Good luck to aaplian technologies and I mean that sincerely. The program (not applian) I am moving to doesn't have the waveform aaplian has.

Did I mention I liked the aaplian recording waveform? LOL

EDIT:

Ah, the other program (currently used by me) is depreciated in comparison with applian in another area. It seems the ask and record toolbar encoded @ 16-bit 48,000Hz, the default I set for my computer. The other one works max @ 16-bit 41,000Hz, believe it or not, I can hear the difference. Applian wins the quality-of-sound trophy.

FIX IT!

DjAladdinUSA

09-04-2009, 07:59 PM

Well I am here for one last huzzah. The news:

I've had professional recording software for years now and as a result of applian, I played with configurations within my OS and voila.....I am recording 48Kcycle-16bit WAV files then converting them to mp3 after personally editing the file with one of those programs. Didn't need applian after all.

Thank You anyway for at least making me wake up to computer sound configurations. :)

jean louis44

09-27-2009, 07:39 PM

I have version 3.5 of Firefox and I currently have the Ask & Record toolbar loaded and it works fine. As for the error the second customer stated - Ask does not support 64 bit systems.

Best Regards,

Tasha Heinlein
Applian Technologies, Inc.

jean louis44 said:
damage, I desinstalle your product, the border in 32 bits should be:mad: apparently pointed out during the telechargement and/or of the installation.bye

Tasha Heinlein

09-27-2009, 08:50 PM

Quick update - I know that many of you are getting frustrated with these issues. We are now expecting the new build from Ask near the end of October or the beginning of November. I know this has been kind of a pain, and I thank you for your continued patience!!

bucknerwh

09-28-2009, 08:16 AM

I had Ask & Record toolbar installed and working on IE8 and Firefox 3.0.
However, when I upgraded to Firefox 3.5.3, it wasn't working, nor could I install due to the 'already installed on system' error mentioned previously by another poster.

To solve this, I needed to uninstall the program altogether (even though it was still working in IE8) and reinstall. Now it works properly in both IE8 and Firefox 3.5.3.

I have a 32-bit Vista system. Those with 64-bit Vista systems have to keep in mind that part of its requirements are that all software must pass certain standards to be compatible. Read between the lines and realize that this allows Microsoft to marginalize or exclude certain software companies if they choose.

The Ask & Record toolbar is FREE. I'm seeing a lot of whining and complaining considering that this is a free program with free tech support. It clearly states on the description page that 64-bit systems are not supported, but notice that they are trying to help you, anyway. Show some class.

Cheers,
bucknerwh

Les Gnome

09-28-2009, 08:55 AM

Well said, bucknerwh, I'm with you. It's free, the toolbar does not work but the audio recording software does (well, for most of us anyway). Not quite as slick as via the browser but still excellent.

wT2

09-28-2009, 08:15 PM

First, thanks to Tasha for giving us the latest status. It's a bit disappointing to see a delay in the initial "repair" timeline but it's good to see that things still seem to be progressing.

For Firefox users following this thread, I've come up with a pretty good workaround that will let you run the toolbar from inside Firefox.

If I get some time tomorrow, I'll post the details of what you can do to "fix" the problem until Ask comes up with a real repair. It's a very easy fix you'll be able to implement with no problems.

The temporary fix I'm talking about works for me on a 32-bit system using Firefox 3.53 (Windows Vista). I expect it will work for virtually all Windows-based Firefox versions but I'm not sure about 64-bit systems.

Stay tuned. I'll post the "fix" as soon as I can.

- wT2

wT2

09-30-2009, 02:37 PM

I have found a couple of ways to launch the Ask and Record Toolbar from inside Firefox 3.5 and later.

You can read a detailed explanation of how to do this at this link:
SOLUTION: How to run the ASK toolbar from Firefox 3.5 and later.

- wT2

mikewink

10-04-2009, 12:43 PM

I've got Firefox 3.53, in fact I just completely removed Firefox and did a complete reinstall (for other reasons). Then installed Ask & Record Toolbar and it works....sorta....

I get the chance to click 1 ART button before none of the rest of them work in my open Firefox 3.53 window. However, when I close and reopen Firefox, I can again click 1 ART button before none of the rest of them work in my open Firefox 3.53 window.

I've recorded video and audio. The audio seems a bit flakey...Is the program meant to sense "breaks", because it seems I get a lot of 1 second or short song MP3s? And why do you use both Widows Vista (I have Ultimate) and Applian drivers to make 2 copies?

Is the ART meant to record all streaming video, because I've got at least one site, where I'm trying to "time-shift" about a 2 hour program where it doesn't seem to see the stream or address? Are you interested in knowing the site?
Should I try Replay Media Catcher? Do you think it would give me better results?

I appreciate the toolbar and your other products.

Thank you. Mike Winkelman (who's used Freecorder for years).

Tasha Heinlein

10-04-2009, 02:20 PM

You can uncheck one of the recording options so that you only get one recording. The toolbar will start a new file when it detects silence. There is no setting to change this. As for the Save Video function - it will only capture http format. I would recommend trying Replay Media Catcher (http://applian.com/download-videos/). Or if you send me a link I will be happy to test it for you and let you know which program will work best.

mikewink

10-04-2009, 07:43 PM

Thank you Tasha for your response.

Can you say something about adding a check box for the audio silence break. My worry (and problem) is this.....if my internet breaks the streaming (that never happens right? <grin>), your program interprets that as silence, resulting in a zillon files for one streamed item. I have had that happen. And I really don't want to have to recombine multiple files for what is one streamed item. It didn't use to happen in Freecorder.

As for the video I can't time-shift, it's
http://video.pbs.org/video/1258663935/program/1072181584

Thanks for the help Tasha.

Regards,
Mike Winkelman

Tasha Heinlein

10-04-2009, 08:35 PM

Hi Mike, I will definitely pass your request on to the developer. Thank you for the feedback. I tested the link that you sent and it is RTMP, so the toolbar won't pick this up. I was able to capture it with Replay Media Catcher. Download the demo and give it a shot - you will be limited to 75% of this video with the demo version. You will need to re-record it to get the entire video if you purchase the full version. Let me know if you have any questions or run into any problems with the program!