It’s all about the Fox
FireFox that is, Perhaps Mozilla’s best known program. Now FireFox, of course, is a Web Browser, one which I use because
1)It’s faster than any other I’ve used before
2)It has a whole repertoire of useful add-ons (some of which I use will be listed below) that cover a wide variety of things, from Web Development, to writing and organization.
Here is a list of the add-ons I use, with a short description of what they do.
Adblock Plus
You know those annoying ads that appear on every page and slow it down and seem to exist only to annoy you? This gets rid of them.
ChromaTabs
If you are like me you have a dozen tabs or more open at once. This little add-on basically gives each url a specific color, so after a while you can quickly switch tabs just by glancing at the color. This is a GREAT tool to keep things organized and clean.
Clipmarks
I myself have not had the pleasure of testing this out yet(Much too busy) but it sounds like a god send. Basically instead of having to copy an entire web page to bookmarks for that one sentence or tutorial you want(etc) this will allow you to just save that sentence/quote/whatever like a bookmark.
ColorZilla
ColorZilla is a must have for any web developer. Basically it allows you to use an eyedropper tool(among other things) on any web page, so you can find out the exact color of an object in 3 different formats. Very useful.
Cooliris Previews
Cooliris Previews is a neat little add-on which let you hover over a link. When you do a little icon will appear next to it, hover over that, and suddenly you can see the other web page without actually leaving the first. Nice to check out a page if you don’t want to click a link, or posting in a forum without ever leaving the main page.
CustomizeGoogle
CustomizeGoogle is another nice add-on that basically adds extra information (such as links to yahoo/ask.com/msn etc) and removes useless information like ads or spam. I’d give it a try.
DownloadSort
If you are like me you don’t have a lot of time to save things while browsing, so you end up saving everything to the desktop and having this huge clutter to work through. This add-on helps remove that. It allows you to have certain extensions (.swf .zip .txt) etc, or files with certain keywords in the name to be automatically saved to a folder you select. I.E if you save a picture, it would go to “Pictures” Folder. Etc. Really useful once you get the hang of it.
DownloadStatusbar
If you use Mozilla FireFox and haven’t downloaded this yet you should be ashamed of yourself. This is perhaps one of my favorite add-ons. Instead of having a bulky annoying download box to show your progress, this has them appear on one thin bar on the bottom of your browser. GREAT for making things nice and tidy.
FireBug
Ahh, what can I say about FireBug? It is a useful web development tool which lets you edit html/css/javascript live in any webpage you visit. Very useful for you web developers out there.
FireFTP
This has to be another of my all-time favorite add-ons. FireFTP is a browser FTP client that is reliable and fast. It also opens right in your FireFox browser under it’s own tab, so no more cluttered start bars.
iMacros
Sadly I haven’t had the chance to check iMacros out yet but it sounds promising. Basically this add-on allows you to automate tasks within FireFox, such as opening tabs to website when startup, filling out forms, etc. Just give it a try.
MeasureIt
MeasureIt is another useful add-on for web developers, with it you can see the pixel width&Height of any object on a web page, so no more guess work.
qtl
qtl is a delightful little add-on that allows you to translate a line of text, or a whole web page instantly. It also includes a huge variety of languages. Great if you visit foreign sites a lot.
ReminderFox
Now personally I enjoy ReminderFox though I sometimes get too busy to use it(makes me wonder why I even bothered) But don’t get me wrong, it’s a great tool! ReminderFox allows you to put reminders and to-do lists that really help you organizer your day and stay on track. I really recommend you try it.
ScribeFire
I have to give this little add-on a lot of credit. Especially because it is what I am writing this blog post with as we speak. Yes, that’s right ScribeFire is a full featured blog editor that opens right in your browser. It doesn’t take up space with it’s own tab and is really a great help with posting blogs, taking a lot of the work out. Instead of opening your page, going to post blog, etc, etc. You just click the nice little icon in your tool bar, write your post and send, and it will publish it to your blog(or save as draft if you’d like)
Session Manager
Now I know what you’re thinking “But FireFox already has a session recovery tool!” But that only works when your browser crashes. This restores all your tabs and info when you close it, and gives you the option to restore previous sessions as well. Not only that but you can save a certain session an open it later to have all your tabs back. I really recommend you give it a try. You’ll love it.
StumbleUpon
Now StumbleUpon is one of those neat little add-ons I haven’t had time to really try but I love what it can do. Basically you sign up, list your interests and while you search you will be sent sites related to the interests you chose recommended by other people. This isn’t spyware and is completely safe. And very useful for getting information. So go ahead and try it out!
Web Developer
I don’t have much to say about this add-on except try it out. There is more information in the link but basically it adds a menu+toolbar with web developer tools to aid you.
Zotero
Zotero is a neat thing I haven’t had much of a chance to try, but I still love it. It is basically an add-on to help you collect and manage research sources. If I am correct say you are a web developer. You want to keep track of allll your tutorials and knowledge for CSS. Well just use this and they can all be collected into a nice neat little folder. Please go and check out the link, I really can’t do this add-on enough justice.
And there you have it! That is the list of add-ons I personally use and find wonderful. But don’t take my word for it, go out and check them out for yourself! I can promise you won’t regret it.
Also for a FireFox theme I use something called iPox
I use it because in my searches it is nice, easy on the eyes, and takes up less space than other themes.
I hope you enjoyed this blog post and later please check for my second dealing with more personal information, such as ideas for a story I’d like to write.
