What is an "outbind" error message?

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Posted: Fri Oct 30, 2009 4:19 pm

My son tried sending me a link to a gift which I might order for his wife for Christmas from a company called Restoration Hardware (yes, I need major hints for desirable gifts)
-- but all I get when I click on the link is the following message: "outbind is not a registered protocol."

I connect to the internet on an iMac using AOL with dial-up service
(not my fault, not my fault -- my inept phone company insists that I live too far from town to get high-speed service),
and then I access web connections via Firefox.
I've never ever gotten an "outbind" error message before, and a brief Google search has not enlightened me.

Thanks in advance to any computer gurus who might offer an explanation. Preferably in very simple words. Confused

Posted: Fri Oct 30, 2009 4:38 pm

Where does the error occur? Does it seem to be an error that Firefox generates, or does it seem to come from the server that you try to access?

Can you maybe show us a screenshot?

Posted: Fri Oct 30, 2009 4:47 pm

It looks to be coming in via my e-mail program, but I am not sure if it's coming from the company's server:

using my AOL read-mail, when I click on the link, I get: "outbind is not a registered protocol"

and using my Apple mail program (which overlaps my AOL mail), I get:
Mail was unable to open the URL “outbind://21/rh/catalog/product/product.jsp?productId=prod1613041&navAction=jump”.

. . . well, worst-case is, I suppose I'll have to locate my TELEPHONE and call the company to order the gift, right?

Baiting Guru Joined: 03 May 2007 Posts: 18313

I Googled the error message. Someone else had the same problem here:

http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=233605&start=0&st=0&sk=t&sd=a

A response was this:

Quote:

Unless I am mistaken, the link in question is an Outlook MailItem object which only IE can parse.

Maybe try opening it with Internet Explorer instead of Firefox and see if it works?

Posted: Fri Oct 30, 2009 5:07 pm

can you not just paste the address into your browser address bar?

Posted: Fri Oct 30, 2009 5:29 pm

Ah, judging from the URL the 'outbind' is something like 'http:' and 'ftp:' and some others. It's a 'protocol', a specified way of transferring data. Like Ima said, IE is probably the only browser that can handle it...

What's strange is that even if you'd received this on a windows pc you probably would'nt be able to do anything with it. Because it doesn't point to a domain, so it's either something located on your son's computer, or it's a really weird link that only works when opened from a page on the server it's coming from. I'd ask your son on what site he found it, and by clicking which buttons, then try to find it yourself that way. (or have him send a link that starts with http://

EDIT: @Conga: No. It doesn't really point anywhere, you'd need a domain in front of '21.....'

Posted: Fri Oct 30, 2009 5:51 pm

Try this link.

Why do people assume that the whole world uses windows and IE???

Posted: Fri Oct 30, 2009 7:41 pm

Blessings on all of your tech-savvy heads!

Following your leads I have found my way to the website and ordered the gift. (Don't tell my daughter-in-law Heather, okay?)

MODS: feel free to lock this thread. Asked and answered, and thanks to all who replied.

Posted: Fri Oct 30, 2009 7:44 pm

^^^ I wish someone could explain it to me. I was trying to reconcile some travel expenses at work so had to log onto my CC account to download the latest statement. I could not get past their opening page so I dropped them an email, which went back and forth for days.

The customer support person insisted that I had to use IE. It took me awhile to get her to understand that IE wouldn't run on my LInux box. Their bottom line answer was that there site was only compatible with IE. What a freaking joke....Microsoft that is!

Posted: Fri Oct 30, 2009 8:32 pm

Quote:

Why do people assume that the whole world uses windows and IE???

A: Because 80% of the time you'll be right! Smile

Posted: Fri Oct 30, 2009 10:03 pm

^That's not really accurate Wink

Of course, loads of computers come with Windows, and therefore with IE. So IE-sites can be viewed on the majority of computers, only a lot of users will have to switch browsers. Personally, I still can't bring myself to take webdesigners/-developers who code only IE-compatible seriously.

On a side note: Not that long ago there was this issue about Microsoft monopolizing the market for mediaplayers with their free distribution of windows media player with windows and had to take it out (or something, I can't remember the specifics and am too lazy to look them up). I wish they could do something like that with IE.
It seems that IE8 shouldn't be that bad with regards to webdesign, seemingly they stick with most of the conventions now...

Posted: Fri Oct 30, 2009 10:22 pm

I wonder what the percentage of IE vs Firefox or other browsers are used here in eater. It took me 4 years of hearing about Firefox (and my brother-in-law's encouragement) to switch over. I am now a very satisfied former IE user!

A side benefit to my switch is that Mafia Wars does not keep giving me an IE error out of memory on line 140. Very Happy

I have found that Firefox is quicker loading, so I am going to ask Bill G for a couple hundred hours back in my life that I wasted waiting for IE to load something.

Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2009 9:33 am

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usage_share_of_web_browsers

65% IE-usage (of which 24% IE6, 19% IE7 and 19% IE8 (percentages rounded down, they don't add up to well now))

Baiting Guru Joined: 31 Jan 2007 Posts: 12237

ParaNoid wrote:

I wonder what the percentage of IE vs Firefox or other browsers are used here in eater.

FF here, with the occasional use of Chrome and Opera. The Adblock Plus extension for FF makes it the winner, hands down.

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