WindowsMacLinuxby Lee Mathews (RSS feed) Sep 29th 2008 at 9:00AM
Update: Don't forget - now you can subscribe to our Firefox Addons
Collection thanks to Mozilla!
My affinity for Firefox comes as much from the fantastic community of
addon developers as it does from the program itself. Now, I'm sure you
will have heard of some of these before: good Firefox addons tend to
spread like wildfire. I hope I've managed to include some that you might
have missed.
I've ranked just over a dozen addons that I find to be particularly
useful - even to more casual Firefox users.
1. Cybersearch - Customizable Google searches in my Awesome Bar? Yes,
please! It also supports keywords so you can enter things like "ds
firefox addons" and limit your search to a specific web site (like
Downloadsquad, for example). Enter a comma separated list of URLs to
search a group of sites.
2. LastPass - I used to use KeePass, but I just like LastPass better. It
did a great job of importing (and then removing) my Firefox stored
passwords, and its secure password creation tool makes using different
passwords on new sites a snap. The web interface is a great way to
manage my logins and groups.
3. FEBE - As with anything else on your computer, it's never a bad idea
to back up your Firefox install. FEBE will back up everything -
extensions, themes, bookmarks - or just what you choose, and you can set
up an automated schedule. It's also got integrated Box.net support,
which is actually a fairly nice way to roll-you-rown manual Firefox syncing.
4. AdBlock Plus. I don't really use AdBlock because I hate
advertisements, but because I don't like waiting for web pages to load.
Flash ads and multiple banners really gum up the works, so I depend on
AdBlock to keep things running smoothly. It's also a decent way to cut
back on your bandwidth usage.
5. DownThemAll - When a friend first showed me DTA a few years ago, I
couldn't believe I was still just using FF2's built-in manager. DTA
rocks, and would definitely make my Top 5. It's simply one of the best
download managers out there.
6. OpenItOnline - I don't do enough work with Office-type documents
anymore to warrant installing a suite on my laptop. OpenItOnline lets me
send DOC, XLS, and all the other supported file types to ZohoViewer for
perusal instead of downloading them. It supports all Zoho and Google
Docs apps to open files.
7. Deng Google Bookmarks - I'm not sold on Weave yet, so for now I let
Google store my bookmarks. I switched to the Deng addon after using
GMarks for the longest time - because I got tired of the giant
"bookmark" button on my toolbar. Deng displays only a small star icon,
and its management interface is superior.
8. Screengrab! - To quickly capture an entire web page, Screengrab is a
great tool. It can save or copy an entire page, the visible portion, or
a rectangular selection. If I don't actually need to print a page,
Screengrab is an easy, environmentally friendly way for me to keep a
copy of it.
9. HP Smart Web Printing - When I do need to print, HP's addon gives me
the option to combine multiple web pages on one sheet of paper,
eliminate elements I don't need to print, and it even allows saving to
PDF. Always nice to see the big boys release something great for free.
10. Web Of Trust - WOT is a great way to keep yourself out of malware
trouble. I think I'm a pretty responsible surfer, but I don't know the
reputation of every site on the Internet. WOT gives you a heads up about
the trustworthiness of a link (based on community input) before you
visit it.
11. Shareaholic - Anyone that enjoys sharing links would do well to
install this one: it supports a ton of services, including Digg,
Delicious, Twitter, Pownce, Reddit, Facebook, MySpace, and Google. It's
also a quick way to see how many Diggs or Delicious bookmarks a page has
received. Bzzster support gives quick access to sharing items via email.
12. Pingfire - Another must for the social surfer. Ping.fm's
multiple-site update service is rad, and Pingfire kicks it up a notch.
No need to even visit Ping, just add the Pingfire icon to your toolbar
and update your microblog and status sites with ultimate ease.
13. Tab Kit - It's got a whole slew of options for tab management:
grouping, coloring, sorting, protection, mouse rocker and scroll wheel
support, and many, many others. Visit the devloper's page for a full
list of features.
14. Yet Another Smooth Scrolling - Firefox's default scrolling isn't
quite as refined as I like it, so I use YASS to tweak things until
they're just right. It supports up to three presets, which is nice for
laptops. Keep one set for your touchpad and one for your mouse.
Since Downloadsquad readers are largely Firefox users, did I miss your
favorite? Share it in the comments so our other readers don't miss out!
Go there...
http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/09/29/12-extremely-useful-firefox-addons/3
Don
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