➜  cache git:(master) ✗ rm /*
rm: cannot remove `/bin': Is a directory
rm: cannot remove `/boot': Is a directory
rm: cannot remove `/dev': Is a directory
rm: cannot remove `/etc': Is a directory
rm: cannot remove `/home': Is a directory
rm: cannot remove `/lib': Is a directory
rm: cannot remove `/lib64': Is a directory
rm: cannot remove `/lost+found': Is a directory
rm: cannot remove `/media': Is a directory
rm: cannot remove `/mnt': Is a directory
rm: cannot remove `/opt': Is a directory
rm: cannot remove `/proc': Is a directory
rm: cannot remove `/root': Is a directory
rm: cannot remove `/run': Is a directory
rm: cannot remove `/sbin': Is a directory
rm: cannot remove `/srv': Is a directory
rm: cannot remove `/sys': Is a directory
rm: cannot remove `/tmp': Is a directory
rm: cannot remove `/usr': Is a directory
rm: cannot remove `/var': Is a directory

Stupid missing dot. Luckily I didn’t specify the option -rf. If I did and was root I would have f****d myself. No further comments.

I wrote my first firefox add-on with the source on github, yeah

If you are a member of a hackerspace and are sick of visiting your hackerspace wiki or blog page to see the space status, this add-on is made for you. The following spaces are supported until now:

• ACKspace
• Bitlair
• Fabelier
• Frack
• HeatSync Labs
• Hickerspace
• Kwartzlab MakerSpace
• Makers Local 256
• Milwaukee Makerspace
• MidsouthMakers
• Noisebridge
• Pumping Station: One
• RaumZeitLabor
• RevSpace
• Shackspace
• syn2cat
• tetalab
• TkkrLab
• TOG
• Void Warranties

It’s displaying the status of the chosen hackerspace with a green or a red dot in the add-on bar. There’s yet missing an icon to be displayed on the Extensions page (and later also in the menu) in firefox. If you know a good one, let me know or contribute and design one.

Install the add-on

Download openspace@slopjong.de.xpi.zip, extract it and double-click on the xpi file. If firefox doesn’t launch, start it manually and open it from the firefox menu.

If you are installing the add-on please drop a comment here so that I’m able to notify you if an update is available because the current version has no update check included and the much improved version is already on its way. I guess you don’t want to use the initial version forever. Please scroll down and read Outlook to the new version.

Works with firefox 5-10, 11.0b4 and 12.0a2
Not compatible with versions prior 5. If you have firefox 3.6 or 4 you have no luck.

The add-on will be published on mozilla.org after some people tested it and gave me feedback.

Restart firefox

Click on the dot

Activate the add-on bar with the shortcut ctrl+/ or from your menu View > Toolbars > Add-on Bar and click on the dot in the bottom right corner.

Choose your hackerspace and the refresh interval

Report bugs

If the add-on seems to not work correctly, it’s not the add-on, it’s your hackerspace. A couple of spaces deliver incorrect json or don’t implement the specs correctly, amongst others these are:

• Fabelier (specs error: member open is missing but is mandatory in rel0.11)
• Kwartzlab MakerSpace (syntax error: (1) invalid comma, expecting } ___ (2) Expecting string, not })
• syn2cat (specs error: member open is of type string instead of boolean) fixed

Please use OpenSpaceLint to find syntax errors to check your JSON against the specification. Check if you use the correct datatype. "open": "true" is not the same as "open": true. The first returns a string but the latter one a boolean.

If you did check intensively your json and if you are really sure that it’s correct, well then it might be the add-on. Please report bugs as a comment here or as an issue on github.

Outlook to the new version

The new version will load the space directory from the web so an unneeded add-on update is not required to support new spaces in the future that implement the space API. If you’ll be missing your space the new version allows you to add it within the add-on which will use OpenSpaceLint to validate your hackerspace’s space API JSON and finally to insert it in the directory if it hasn’t failed.