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TechBite's columnist Steve Bass writes weekly commentary on the technology products he loves, the strategies for getting the most out of them, and the gotchas that can cause computing misery. Plus a couple of weekly laughs.
10 More Super-Duper Firefox Extensions
In This Issue
Firefox: Did I Get Mail
10 Super-Duper Firefox Extensions
Tool of the Week: CFi Lockdown!
Time Wasters
Quick, Do This Now
Newsletter Update: The TechBite newsletter will always be free. But starting in a few weeks, added content -- more Firefox add-ons, for instance, a couple of extra tech tips, tools, and time wasters -- will appear in the TechBite Members Edition. Comments? Lemme know. --Steve
Firefox: Did I Get Mail
I love it when you write and pass along handy ideas. I received hundreds of messages (okay, 50, but who's counting) sharing Firefox add-ons, extensions, and tips -- and I'm successfully using many of them. Here are some of the most useful of the bunch.
But first some advice.
The day after the "7 Tools to Make Firefox Shine" newsletter published, the world almost ended for Firefox fanatics: A major security hole was discovered in Firefox. Great timing, no? Not to fret, if you upgrade to Firefox 3.51, the world will be okay again.
You'll be happy to know if you're still using Firefox 3.06 or so, all of the add-ons I mention will work. But if you're a worrier, and already upgraded to 3.51, you'll find a few won't install. My guess is that individual add-on developers are working overtime to satisfy your overwhelming need for updates. If you continue feeling stressed, just up the meds for a week.
Most important is that you experiment with these add-ons and extensions one at a time. I don't want to hear any whining (you will anyway, I know it) if you enable them all at once, cause new sunspots, and feel faint. [top]
Let's start.
10 Super-Duper Firefox Extensions
Deskcut adds something Internet Explorer users love: A way to generate desktop shortcuts by using a right-click context menu. Now you can resume making a mess out of your desktop. (Seriously, keep your desktop neat and clean; all those icons grab system resources.)
I searched and couldn't believe Firefox was missing a valuable Internet Explorer feature: A way to run a downloaded app immediately rather than download it. OpenDownload takes care of the problem by adding "Open with Win32 application" from Firefox's download dialog. [Thanks, Todd.]
I recently talked about sites that tell me the time anywhere in the world. FoxClocks is handier: It puts customizable world times a click away in Firefox's status bar. [Thanks, Bill W.]
If you never remember what time
it is in Singapore,
Mountain Time Zone),
FoxClocks will tell you.
Page Info is an overlooked feature built into Firefox. Go to Tools, choose Page Info, and click the Media tab to snatch items off the page that are otherwise difficult to get. [Thanks, Todd.] [top]
Want to do something at a site that insists -- no, demands -- you use Internet Explorer? Use IE Tab, a simple extension that lets you open a tab that emulates Internet Explorer. Take that, IE! [Thanks to Grant Van Weerdhuizen.]
Use IE Tab to circumvent
Internet Explorer.
If you want to open up a bunch of tabs with specific links, and on specific days, install Morning Coffee. About as close to Maxthon's Groups as I've seen, it stores sets of bookmarks and opens them on specific days. For example, I can look at financial sites once a week, say Fridays only, my fav adult video sites on the weekend, and check sports scores on Sunday. Way cool. [Thanks again to Grant.]
Tab Mix Plus is an essential add-on, one that I use constantly. The current version doesn't work with 3.51, but Ivan Taylor told me about the stable development version -- and it works just perfectly.
Update Notifier automatically tells you when there are updates for your extensions and themes. [Thanks to Kirstie McKenzie.]
I never bother with themes or overlays that change the look of a program. I always figure that whatever the program gives me is okay. Yet Todd said Qute 4 and Kempelton are better designed, with clearer, easier to spot icons. Todd's right; I settled on Qute 4 and I encourage you to try it.
Menu Editor lets you hide or rearrange nearly all of Firefox's menu items, including the easy-to-become-messy right-click context menu.
Think the right-click context menu is cluttered?
Get rid of the items you don't need.
Tool of the Week: CFi LockDown
CFi LockDown is a free tool that signals you with a sound when you've pressed the Caps, Scroll, Num, or Insert keys. It's a simple, but oh-so-handy, alert that saves you from copying over text or typing in all caps. [top]
Accidentally pressed the Insert key?
CFi LockDown gives you the lowdown.
Time Wasters
Super news sites, something weird from Japan, a tough game, and videos to make you smile in amazement.
You like news? I have plenty -- the Newseum has headlines from over 800 newspapers from 76 countries. Hover over an orange dot and the front page appears; click the dot and the page zooms out. Drag the map with your cursor to move around the selected country. Choose from Europe, Asia, Caribbean, and other locations. And you know what? The news, no matter where you're looking, ain't good. [Thanks to Dick Cowell.]
I'm about to lose playing
the very difficult
Line Bounder.
It'll drive you nuts.
Some sites defy description. Here are a couple of product blurbs from Yu Wan Mei. [Thanks to Sandra Curtis.]
Apply with caution to your tongue and then enjoy the tastes.
Good for main course, appetizers, or dessert. Teeth optional.
E-Z Go Spine Extractor: Removal of undesirable fish spine and other living things has never been easier!
Watch this clever commercial for, of all things, an
orange drink. [Thanks, Judy.]
Watch this commercial and you'll wonder
if the bird is trained -- or they're using CGI...
I have a video of some of the quickest, most devious animals around. It's "Animals That Steal: Hey, Give Me That Back."
They're small and cuter than cute.
Check out these finger-size creatures.
Image of the Week
Any idea what this is? It's a picture of my garage. Well, sort of.
For about $240, choose from hundreds of posters created by
German firm Style Your Garage. Check out more of these
dramatic posters you can attach to the outside
of your garage door. [Thanks to Sandra Curtis.]
Quick, Do This Now
Did you pick up a new Firefox extension you're going to use and tell your friend about? I'll bet you did. Or maybe you had some fun with these time wasters. Nah, no need to send me a thank-you note, and don't worry about flowers. Instead, forward my TechBite newsletter to your golfing buddy, the dork in the cube next door, or even, dare I say it, your boss. Then suggest they sign up to get their own copy by going to: http://www.techbite.com. By the way, if you're enjoying this newsletter and getting something out of it, become a TechBite member by sending us some financial support using PayPal. I promise, good things will come your way... [top]
_____________________
Steve Bass is the publisher and self-appointed Chief Content Officer at TechBite; he continues to experience the cool feeling of having his own newsletter. Send him your feedback at TechBite. To sign up for TechBite's free Steve Bass Technology newsletter, head for our signup page.
Steve's also the author of "PC Annoyances, 2nd Edition: How to Fix the Most Annoying Things About Your Personal Computer," available on Amazon. You haven't purchased your copy today yet, have you? Don't wait, supplies are limited...
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