10 useful Firefox add-ons for almost everybody

[Fluffy]

Friday, June 26, 2009 17:00 PST
10 Useful Firefox Add-ons for Almost Everybody

By Meryl Evans

I’m in the middle of moving to new computers. Two of them. The laptop is easy. The desktop, well, that’s a story for another post. New and faster computers with a fresh install can compel a person to look up applications, plugins and other tools to boost web worker efficiency. Browser add-ons are a perfect example.

Quick overview for those new to Firefox: Add-ons are little free tools that make your application experience better and easier. Add-ons don’t stop at browsers, either. Email applications like Thunderbird have them, too. They’re very easy to install. Just go to Firefox add-ons, browse, click “Add to Firefox” and click “Install” in the popup window. Once installed, you’ll need to restart Firefox to complete the process.

Here’s my list of current favorites:

Adblock Plus — No. More. Popup. Ads. Or auto-playing videos. You might also want to download a Filter Subscription. You can still create your own filters to block ads on specific sites.

Better Gmail 2. Two great feature additions for Gmail. Folders4Gmail lets you have labels in folder-like sub-folders. Attachment icons replace the useless paperclips with the icons of the app that the attachment uses. If it’s a Word document, it’ll show Word’s blue W icon. Better Gmail 2 has other good features, too.

Download Statusbar. Get rid of the download pop up box. Instead, downloads appear across the bottom of Firefox where they don’t intrude. When you’re ready to open one, just double-click the relevant filename in the status bar.

Firefox Environment Backup Extension (FEBE). Any kind of backup tool for an application is worth it because it restores data with little effort. This one backs up your add-ons and rebuilds them.

Long URL Please. Twitter increased the use of URL-shortening services. But some of us like to know where we’re going before we click. This add-on automatically expands shortened URLs. Even if you can’t see the full URL, you can mouse over the link to see the full link tooltip-style.

Print/Print Preview. Adds a print icon to the tool bar with a down arrow giving you the choices of Print, Print Preview or Page Setup. I limit printing to stay green. This add-on helps because it ensures I print only what I need and nothing more.

Read it Later. I’ve always saved articles to read later by opening them in a tab and keeping it there until I read it. No, it didn’t lead to having a bunch of open tabs. Because I don’t like many tabs, it compels me to read them soon so I can get rid of them. Read it Later took over the job. The add-on puts a checkmark in your browser. Click the checkmark to add the page to Read it Later, click it again to remove.

Web Developer. I’m not a web designer, but this toolbar has helped me out many times. You can disable Java, Javascript and colors, manage cookies, change up styles with CSS, adjust form options and much more.

Word Count Plus. Anyone who writes web content where word counts matter needs this. Simple tool where you highlight the text, click the icon and see the word count. Now it just needs an added feature to count characters for Twittering outside the box.

Xmarks. A bookmarks synchronizer that works between computers and across networks. I first used it back when it was Foxmarks, but encountered issues. Those issues are now gone, and the add-on comes with more features. It can synchronize passwords, give you information about a web page and create separate profiles. You can have a profile for each computer so you can pick and choose which bookmarks to display at each location.

I’m sure I’m still missing some of your favorite add-ons, but I limit how many I install because Firefox does become a memory hog.So here’s your chance to fill in the blanks.

Web Life - GigaOM - Salon.com

[Aella]

These are great, I found some I didn't have already.

Can I just recommend keyscrambler? I got it a round of hackings due to keyloggers on livejournal. It basically encrypts your keystrokes-great for peace of mind:

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/fir...ambler&cat=all