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 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 05/18/09 at 11:00:00 AM by David Murphy

Just like the Spy pulling a fast one over on the Sniper for this week's Team Fortress 2 update, I'm not going to be profiling a list of freeware applications this time around. Nope. Not a single program. I'm going meta with this update. Instead of tossing a list of superior apps your way, I'm going to give you a list of the top five Firefox extensions that will take your power downloading to untold heights of awesomeness.

Now what does that entail?

Are you sick of having to sort through your expanding download directory just to find and organize the new files you've picked up? Boom. There's an add-on for that. Does it frustrate you every time you have to wait for a countdown on one of the free file hosts before you can grab the file you want? Oh-ho-ho: There's an add-on for that as well! Do you hate the very act of clicking on multiple links on a page to download files? You might be a little lazy on that one, but no hate here. Yes, there's an application to make even this most-mundane of tasks easier.

If you aren't using Firefox, well, I can't say much to that. But check out this list anyway -- I bet you'll be tempted to switch over once you realize all the additional functionality you can pack into this foxy browser. Click the jump (no, an add-on won't do that for you) and let's get started!

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Posted 10/30/08 at 04:00:11 PM by David Murphy

Are you sick of using iTunes?  We don't blame you.  The program eats up resources and makes us scratch our heads with its "Genius" recommendations, and we're ready to throw out display through the wall every time the Apple Software Updater tells us that there's a new version of Safari out. Arrgh!

Before our inner Hulk gets both mad and strong, we've taken a look at alternatives to the popular music library software.  As luck would have it, we stumbled across an open-source solution that's every bit as good (and functional!) as iTunes.  Better still, it comes without all of the clutter!  You might have heard of the application before--it's called Songbird, an open-source music library application straight from Mozilla itself.  But what you might not be aware of is the sheer depth of functionality (and dare we say it, iTunes replication) inherent in the program itself.  And we're going to show you the top nine ways to tweak this application to bits and make it do exactly what you want, including features you'll never find in iTunes!

Throw on your headphones and check our out big list behind the jump!

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Posted 08/08/08 at 07:31:12 PM by Chris Moody

Think about all the ways we converse and communicate online now. RSS/Atom feeds, Twitter, blogging, web discussion forums, social networks, email and others. It gets to be a jumbled mess in just a short time.

Now the folks that brought you Firefox are trying a new experiment in managing all this information in the form of Snowl.

Make the jump to find out what key ideas are going into Snowl's development.

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Posted 06/30/08 at 11:36:25 AM by Paul Lilly

If Firefox loses its marketshare momentum, it won't be because Mozilla's developers are resting on their laurels. On the contrary, programmers are already plugging away on the next version, Firefox 3.1. A recently proposed roadmap points to next month for an alpha debut, with a beta release busting onto the scene in August before finishing up the final code by the end of the year.

In addition to the usual bevy of bug fixes, Firefox 3.1 will incorporate several complimentary features originally pushed to the side in 3.0 due to time constraints. Portions of the Ctrl-Tab extension, such as thumbnail previews of open tabs and tab searching and filtering, are expected to finagle into FF 3.1, along with improved download options, better bookmark tagging, a more powerful location bar, and other goodies.

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