Friday Tech Tool: Firefox Add-on Roundup

Hi all, one thing that I think isn't getting enough play around here is computer geek technology.  I'd like to make this the first of a weekly series on computer tools and technologies that I use to improve my geek life.

To kick off, let's talk about the list of Firefox Add-ons that I use to help me travel around the Internet.  Wait what's that?  You are using Firefox as your web browser right?  You're still using Safari or Internet Explorer?  Okay let's back up; what is Firefox?

According to Wikipedia:

"Mozilla Firefox is a web browser descended from the Mozilla Application Suite, managed by the Mozilla Corporation. Firefox had 19.23% of the recorded usage share of web browsers as of July 2008, making it the second-most popular browser in current use worldwide, after Internet Explorer.

To display web pages, Firefox uses the Gecko layout engine, which implements some current web standards plus a few features which are intended to anticipate likely additions to the standards.

Firefox includes tabbed browsing, a spell checker, incremental find, live bookmaking, a download manager, and an integrated search system that uses the user's desired search engine. Functions can be added through add-ons created by third-party developers, the most popular of which include the NoScript JavaScript disabling utility, Tab Mix Plus customizer, FoxyTunes media player control toolbar, Adblock Plus ad blocking utility, StumbleUpon (website discovery), DownThemAll! download enhancer and Web Developer toolbar.^"

So Firefox is a web browser, but it offers so many features over the likes of Internet Explorer or Safari.  Chief among those features are Add-ons.  Add-ons allow you to extend the browser and add to or change the way the browser works.  I keep a pretty standard list of Add-ons that I will share with you now.

1. Ctrl-Tab
   This add on adds thumbnails to the tab switcher in Firefox much like the Alt-Tab functionality in Windows Vista or Command-Tab in Mac OS X.  As I often have at least 10 tabs open, this tab allows me to quickly cycle through the mess in my browser.
   http://en.design-noir.de/mozilla/ctrl-tab/


2. Delicious Bookmarks
   I've had this Add-on installed for a while, but it was only recently that I started using it regularly.  If you're not familiar with del.icio.us, it is a social bookmarking site that allows you to organize and tag your bookmarks.  This Add-on synchronizes your bookmarks from del.icio.us with Firefox and allows you to take advantage of your tags and the tags of others.  It seems counter-intuitive at first until you realize how quickly you can sort through hundreds of bookmarks with just a bit of tagging.
   http://delicious.com/


3. Digg Firefox Extension
   Digg is yet another social bookmarking site that allows you to share sites that you "digg".  If you find something on the web that you like and would like to share with the rest of the world, simply digg it.  Digg.com aggregates all of the dugg sites and keeps tabs on what is currently popluar on the web.  This extension allows for one click digging and also gives you in browser access to the most popular and most recently dugg stories.
   http://www.tc.umn.edu/~wilm0044/digg/


4. Glasser
   Glasser is a purely visual Add-on fir Windows Users.  It adds the Aero Glass theme to Firefox 3 and makes it look more at home in a Windows Vista environment.
   http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?p=3343435#3343435


5. Google Gears
   Google Gears is my most recently installed Add-on.  Even though it has pretty limited usage now, I think more and more sites will be adding Gears functionality to their sites in the future.  Google Gears allows a web site to be available offline.  Currently, I use this with Google Reader to bring my RSS feeds offline with me.  In the future this will be added to GMail and Google Docs.
   http://gears.google.com/


6. Greasemonkey
   Greasemonky is the coolest addition to the web since the web browser.  It allows you to write scripts and add them to any website.  This will let you change the way a web site functions, or add some kind of functionality to it all within your web browser.  I use some scripts that remove adds from specific sites.  Hundreds more scripts are available to completely control the way you browse the web.
   http://www.greasespot.net/


7. IE Tab
   As much as I like Firefox, there are still sites out there that require Internet Explorer.  This is where IE Tab is invaluable.  Rather than opening up a new instance of IE, this will allow you to switch a single tab to the IE renderer.
   https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1419


8. ReloadEvery
   ReloadEvery accomplishes a very simple task, reload this tab every x minutes.  If you keep a tab open and need to have the most up-to-date information every time you go there, this tab is for you.  I use this to keep my twitter page open all day and have it refresh automatically every few minutes.
   http://reloadevery.mozdev.org/


9. Right-Click-Link
   Finally, a simple Add-on that allows me to be even lazier.  Have you ever seen a URL on a web page that isn't clickable?  You could highlight the URL, copy it, open a new tab and paste it and hit enter.  But why go through all of that when you can simply right click on it and click Open.  This will turn and URL into a clickable link.  Hooray for lazy.
   https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1472

I hope this list encourages you to use and extend Firefox, there are a staggering number of Add-ons available that can dramatically change the way you use the web every day.  Plus, stay tuned for more computer tools and technologies that I use in my geek life.