If it is wrong to love a web browser, then buddy – I don’t ever want to be right. OK, now I know this might sound like the introduction to a bad geeky country western song – but hear me out. I love the Firefox web browsers, put out by those fine folks at Mozilla. Now I didn’t just jump on the bandwagon when using Firefox was cool – oh no. If that was the case I’d be using Google Chrome right now. So what makes Firefox so special to me? Let me see if I can count the ways.
Tag Archives | browsers
Firefox Fan Boy Love
Build Your Own Awesome Apps Installer
Ninite makes installing a plethora of new applications really simple. With Windows 7 coming out, or those who feeling the urge to clean out Vista or Windows XP, we are all looking at simpler ways to install a lot of great programs out there. That is what Ninite is all about.
All you have to do is visit their web site, click the check marks for the programs you want to bundle together, start the customized installer, and presto – you are done. They only install the programs you want (no hidden toolbars or spyware). Heck, they don’t even install their own program – they only install the programs you want and need.
Ninite definitely offers a cool way to grab your own bundle of software solutions to install. For more assistance on how to get up and running with your own customized install, check out these articles from Simple Help and the How-to Geek. (also big thanks to Todd for showing my this great free service!)
Quicker Window Resizing in Firefox
You might need to resize your browser window for a number of different reasons.
Maybe you need to check to see what your web site looks like at a smaller resolution? Maybe you want to take a quick screenshot? Now, of course you can resize the browser by dragging the edges around till you get the perfect fit, but that is often tedious and if you are a perfectionist like myself, you have a hard time getting the browser back to the perfect shape and size it was before, until now.
How to Make Working with PDFs Better
So what needs to be done to make the PDF format better? Here are a few of my opinions, and some tools and services to make those requests come true.
Better PDF Editing Abilities
Need an easy way to edit PDF files without the expensive PDF editor? In the past, I have told you about creating PDFs via Open Office. However, what if you could convert those PDFs to Word doc files to edit instead? Pickup the Free PDF to Word Converter for Windows to get the job done.
Better PDF Browser Support
How about better PDF support for the browser? PDF files are notorious for crashing your modern web browser. So with that said, what tool can you use to make the experience better? A browser add-on named PDF Download. It’s features include:
- Convert Web pages to PDF. (NEW) Convert any Web pages to great looking PDF files, and then save, share, print or archive them.
- View PDF as HTML. View the contents of PDF files faster and eliminate browser problems by instantly converting any Web-based PDF to a browser-friendly HTML Web page.
- Control PDF files in Firefox. Stop crashes and get the upper hand on Web-based PDF files by automating and controlling how your Firefox or Flock browsers deal with them.
PDF Download works with Firefox 2 & 3, Flock 1, and Internet Explorer 7 & 8 (beta) web browsers.
Better Printing Abilities to the PDF Format
Now this one isn’t really PDF’s problem, however I do have a solution. If you are wanting to cut down on the paper you use, printing to the PDF format can save you some cash in the long run as well as conserve that printing paper. All you need to do is grab PrimoPDF for Windows. It will add the ability for you choose “Print as PDF” from any print screen. All you have to do is select it as the printer of your choice.
So what other things bug you about PDF files, or have you found any other solutions to your PDF powered problems? It might not be the best standard in the world, however it can come in handy from time to time.
Add to MySpace Bookmarklet
I have been sharing a lot of my posts and articles on MySpace lately to get a few more interested readers coming in, and after a long search I ran into one problem. Yes, MySpace has the "Post to MySpace" feature now that makes sharing URLs from other non-MySpace sites easier. The problem is nobody has written a bookmarklet for it yet.
Well, that was the case till I figured I would give it a shot. Drag and drop think link on to your bookmarks toolbar:
To cover all my bases, here is what you do – depending on the browser you use:
Firefox – Drag and drop the above link to your bookmarks toolbar or right-click the link and select "bookmark this link".
Internet Explorer – Right click on the link above, and select "add to favorites".
Safari – Drag and drop the link to your bookmarks toolbar.
I hope this helps out anybody else looking to quickly share interesting articles and sites with your friends and stalkers on MySpace. If anybody wishes to be my bud – you can find my MySpace profile and add me there!
Netvibes vs iGoogle
I have been playing with a number of start pages these days, and I have to say I am about ready to make a switch. It seems like over time iGoogle seems to be getting slower to load. I don’t have many things on it – maybe four thingies, widgets, gadgets.
So now I am looking at some of the competition and I have to say only one has impressed me thus far.
Netvibes is becoming king of the start pages, if you like customization, speed and cool tools to use. Now I don’t need a lot to get going – but it is nice to see they have tons of tools to add.
What does Netvibes Have that iGoogle Does Not?
- More Customization Options for the Web Page
- Quicker Loading Times Overall
Only reason I can see for using iGoogle is to use their specialty gadgets for Gmail and Google Reader. So am I making the right choice? Is there one that even blows Netvibes out of the water?
Best Firefox RSS Reader Extensions
There is more than one way to subscribe to web pages and get the latest updates and news. Firefox itself can even become an RSS feed reader if you install the right extension. Now which extension is right for you?
Need Firefox 2 Coverage?
With Firefox 2 coming out today, you might be wondering what to do with it next. You got it, but how can you make it better, faster, stronger? I’ve been updating Firefox Facts with launch coverage today, and as always you can expect a lot of extension reviews, themes and much more. To celebrate the launch I also updated the style of the Web site as well. Also, don’t forget to download the free Firefox Facts eBook! No installation of Firefox is complete without it.
Misleading Users
Now I love Firefox as much as the next person, but isn’t this chart from Read/Write Web’s Review of Firefox 2 a little misleading?
Swift – More Browsing Fun?
Well, it looks like there is another browser getting ready to pounce on the compeditors in the war for your surfing attention. Swift is a Web browser for Windows based on the Apple WebKit rendering engine. From somebody who has never even used and Apple (I’d rather eat them) here are my thoughts.
Well first things first, it didn’t stay running long. After going to about two or three Web sites, it just died on me. That isn’t so cool. The inteface needs some work, but I am sure a polished look will come in time. One more thing that really gets me is there is no right-click menu! This might be some sort of Apple thing, but if you are going to have a program on Windows, I need my right-click menu.
Overall, I think in the future it might be great – but this release shouldn’t be people’s first impressions of it. They should have held off a little while longer till they got it at least fully usable. Download it for yourself, and let me know what you think!
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