Posted 11/17/09 at 03:30:18 PM by David Murphy

I don't know about you, but the last thing I enjoy doing in Mozilla Firefox is surfing through about:config. While can't complain about the various performance boosts and other clever tweaks that this massive configuration database can provide, trying to make any sense of the about:config screen sans helpful guide is, in a word, impossible. If you're trying to stumble in there blindly, you're in for a world of confusion--and, depending on how much you fiddle with the settings, one broken browsing experience.

Thankfully, a clever developer has finally translated the arcane about:config language into real-world speech. And by that, I mean that an awesome add-on now exists that lets you edit about:config settings while being told exactly what it is that you're doing to your browser. In a sense, Configuration Mania is like one big guide to about:config that's built directly into Firefox. Tell the add-on what it is you want to do to enhance or otherwise alter your browsing experience, and the add-on will automatically configure the associated about:config string without forcing you to deal with confusing preferences or values.

 Read on for more details!

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Posted 11/16/09 at 10:30:00 AM by David Murphy

What, you ask, is Jetpack?

Right now, it's just an add-on for Mozilla Firefox. But it could also represent the future of browser-based extensions as we know it, depending on how much developers can twist and craft this new open framework to their advantage. Unlike normal Firefox add-ons, which require a decently skilled knowledge of Javascript and XUL, Jetpack add-ons use a combination of HTML, CSS, and Javascript to deliver new features and functionality directly through the browser. According to Mozilla, one could theoretically write an easy-to-use Jetpack add-on in "under a dozen lines of code." And the benefit for the casual Web browser? Jetpack add-ons promise universal compatibility with different versions of Firefox and, the kicker, require no browser restart to function.

Mozilla just launched the official gallery for this new framework last week. As you might expect, there aren't a ton of browser add-ons to play with. However, I'm going to take a look at five of the more innovative, interesting, and downright install-worthy of the Jetpack add-ons that are currently available in this week's freeware roundup. And remember--you can install and uninstall these add-ons without mucking up your browser session whatsoever, so feel free to be a Firefox Rocketeer and grab as many as you want to try out!

Read on for our picks!

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Posted 11/11/09 at 02:00:00 PM by David Murphy

Earlier this week, I took a look at a number of free tools designed to give your Windows 7 desktop a bit of a makeover. One of these, Rainmeter, is a comprehensive application that can substantially alter the look and feel of your desktop beyond anything you could possibly modify with Windows' default settings.

Just how much can you mess around, you ask? If this week's "Download of the Week" is any indication, then the possibilities are near-limitless. For DeviantArt user UltraBE has transformed the plain ol' Windows desktop into a HUD from the popular zombie shooter Left 4 Dead--and this new look isn't just cosmetic. It's a fully-functional statistics engine for your system.

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Posted 10/08/09 at 08:05:17 PM by Ryan Whitwam

Developers of the Firefox Add-on, SkipScreen, had a bit of a rude awakening recently when Mozilla said they’d received a takedown request. The request was made by file hosting site, MediaFire. They claimed that SkipScreen violated their terms of use. To their credit, Mozilla asked the SkipScreen devs to respond before they’d pull the add-on down. Mediafire contends that SkipScreen “bypasses the MediaFire website and steals costly bandwidth”. They also claimed that SkipScreen displays content from other pages.

SkipScreen allows users to bypass the tedious wait times on sharing sites like MediaFire and Rapidshare. This ingenious little add-on will automatically click through whatever hoops necessary to get to the actual download page. Then it will extract and execute the code for the download link. This is how it bypasses those screens that force you to wait ‘X’ seconds, unless you register. 

The Electronic Frontier Foundation wrote SkipScreen’s response. They rightly pointed out that the add-on doesn’t technically bypass any screens. It just automates the process of finding a download link. The EFF also pointed out that SkipScreen does not present content from another site. MediaFire has probably just brought more attention to SkipScreen by going through with this complaint. Apparently, they’ve never heard of the Streisand Effect. So… the add-on is still available on the Mozilla site, get it here.

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Posted 10/06/09 at 04:00:00 PM by Florence Ion

The history library of any browser can be the most convoluted maze to navigate, especially if you’re looking for a very specific URL. The interface is always austerely simple and clogged with duplicate links that seem to take up most of your history archive’s free space. If you oftentimes forget to bookmark important sites, or desire for a simpler way to sift through URL archives, then History Tree will make your Firefox history library easier to navigate by displaying it as a tree diagram.

 Read on for more!

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Posted 09/29/09 at 02:00:00 PM by Florence Ion

We hate to sound like a sales(wo)man, but this Firefox extension is so handy, it deserves its own infomercial-like introduction. Thus, have you ever had one of those instances where you really needed to open up a Word document, but didn’t want to fire up Microsoft Office and waste precious memory? Open IT Online makes it so you don't have to! This extension for Firefox (and, if you prefer, Internet Explorer) enables you to open and edit your document in the browser window, as opposed to downloading the file and opening it via an external application.

 Read on for more!

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Posted 09/22/09 at 04:15:00 PM by Florence Ion

When you need your search engine to be your utilitarian counterpart, Surf Canyon’s search engine assistant will make sure that you receive the most relevant information from your search queries. Whether you use Google, Bing, Yahoo, Lexis Web, or Craigslist, this add-on will offer a refined search in real time, turning up only relevant search results.

Read on for more about this add-on!

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Posted 09/15/09 at 12:30:00 PM by Florence Ion

There is simply not enough time to see the entire Internet.  Sure, it’s important to be informed about the latest celebrity gossip or the next big thing in tech, but when duty calls, these things are of a lesser value. Because of these reasons, we use Read It Later, which allows you to save pages of interest to read at a later time, so you’re never out of “the know”. This helpful and essential Firefox Add-on eliminates the habit of bookmarking sites that are basically of a one-time interest.

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