Tag Archives | Firefox

Firefox Basics You Probably Forgot

Jun/06 in Desktop Apps

Firefox FactsI have been working hard at building up a better “basics” section for Firefox Facts. With all the news about Firefox 3 and all the people wanting to tweak the browser to fit their needs I think we sometimes forget that there are a lot of new people coming into the mix everyday.

Know of any other topics that you would like to see me cover? Drop me an E-mail and let me know.

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Best Stylish Tweaks for Firefox

May/30 in Desktop Apps

StylishWant to fix a few simple design flaws with the Firefox?

Raise your hand if you have ever played with the Stylish extension for Firefox. Now raise your other hand if you knew where to find some of the cooler application style for Firefox.

For all of you who have both of your hands in the air – I want you to wave them like you just don’t care. For the folks with one hand still on the mouse, scroll down to see some of my favorite tweaks to Firefox you can do with the Stylish extension for Firefox.

Stylish IconAdd Something to the about:blank Page – Why does the about:blank page have to be so – blank? There are several cool styles you can load up here to give your about:blank page a makeover. Here are a few more cool ones to pick from: About:Blank – Foxkeh and About:Blank – Washout.

Stylish IconAuto-hide Statusbar – Tired of your ugly statusbar getting in the way of your browsing? Load up this style and it will only show when you hover over the bottom section of your Firefox window. Move your mouse, and it disappears again just like magic!

Stylish IconSliding Menubar – Menubar getting in your way too? Load up this style and you can set it to only be shown when you need it. Click on the Firefox icon in the old menu bar place to show it and hide it. No reason to show all of those options up there if you don’t use them all the time.

Stylish Icon Bookmark Folder Icons – Add your own icons to specific folders inside of your bookmarks. This is helpful if you have a load of bookmarks and folders for the bookmarks and want an easier visual way to navigate inside them.

Stylish Icon Colorize Firefox 2.0 Active Tab – Tired of your active tab looking like all the rest of them? Wish it was a little easier to see the tab you were on in comparison with all the other tabs that are in the background? This user style does the trick and allows you to set your own color combination.

Have a favorite that I might have missed? Leave a comment so I don’t miss it again and so we can share it with the rest of the class.

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Give Google Reader an Mac Look

May/22 in Online Apps

There have not been that many scripts out there for changing Google Reader’s look and feeling. The only real good one that I have found to do so is this Greasemonkey script. As far as style goes, it turns your sister’s ugly friend into a super model.

Google Reader - Apple Style

You’ll need Firefox and an install of the Greasemonkey extension to get it going, but for all the Mac OS X Fans out there – this is for you.

+ Download and Install the Google Reader Prettifier!

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iGoogle Style Customizations

May/11 in Online Apps

iGoogle StylesI have been using iGoogle since it’s launch of gadgets and I have to say it is the best of the start pages out there (at least for me). A few things about iGoogle’s style kind of bug me though so I thought I might share a few of my favorite style hacks. The first two need the Stylish Firefox extension installed (or another workaround alternative) but the last one can be done without any special extra tools.

Transparency Effects for iGoogle – This user style makes the search bar fade into the background a ‘bit more on the themed iGoogle Web pages. Sticks out less and makes for a better visual experience.

Collapse iGoogle’s Top Section – This one is pretty neat. After installing it, you hide the top Google search box and pretty much everything else over the iGoogle tabs. To see that stuff again, just move your mouse to the top of the Web page layout.

Add More iGoogle Tabs – Reach your tab limit on iGoogle? To add more all you have to do is copy and paste this to the address bar, while you are on iGoogle, then press enter.

javascript:_renameTab(); _dlsetp(‘at=’)

More help on this tip can be found at Googlified.com!

Want to have more fun with iGoogle? Get a Few More Style Customizations at Mashable! That list there inspired me to write about some of my favorites here.

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Open Google Notebook in Firefox Sidebar

Apr/20 in Online Apps, Popular Posts

I like using Google’s Notebook feature but the extension they give you is a little lacking. I think it is too small and doesn’t allow me to open and shut it very quickly. What’s the solution? Well I took the Google personalized homepage widget for Google Notebook and added it to the sidebar of Firefox.

Google Notebook in Firefox Sidebar
 
This is much like the “Add Google Talk to the Firefox Sidebar” trick that was so popular a few weeks back.

  1. Create a new bookmark (right-click and select “Bookmark this link…”) for this address:

    http://www.google.com/notebook/ig?hl=__MSG_locale__

  2. Right-click on that bookmark and select “Properties”.
  3. Check the box that says, “Load this bookmark in sidebar” and you are good to go! It isn’t exactly rocket science so everybody should be able to enjoy this one.

Now you have a full note taking application to work with in your sidebar and it beats that tiny default extension Google provides you any day of the week.

Don’t miss out on any more geek candy!

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Mozilla Trashes Extensions?

Mar/26 in Hot Web Topics

Mozilla has taken a lot of a good extensions and tossed them in the trash. Why? I don’t really know. There is somewhat of an explanation for their actions here – but it doesn’t tell me too much. I have been a big Firefox fan for a long time, but this was just a stupid move.

I have gotten a lot of people saying that some links on my Firefox blog, FirefoxFacts.com are broken now because of this. I’ll be doing my best trying to fix their mess and finding alternative links to themes and extensions. The thing that sucks if for many of these extensions I am the number one source, so finding an alternative might be harder than I thought.

Maybe it is my fault as well, maybe I was stupid to think that Mozilla wouldn’t be clueless enough to eliminate that many quality extensions. Maybe I shouldn’t have kept giving them credit and linking back to them?

Maybe I’ll get started on Opera Facts? Ok – no reason to take it that far yet.

Was your extension deleted by Mozilla? If so – send me an E-mail and I’ll be happy to highlight you on Firefox Facts. As long as you have an alternative hosting solution setup for the extension or theme I’ll be happy to highlight you.

Update: Looks like links are coming back – or so I am being told via E-mail. I have been talking with several people from Mozilla and they promise they the broken links should only be a temporary thing as they work the bugs out of the new system. Mozilla, you won me back over again! Thanks for getting it fixed quickly!

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Windows XP? Vista? Firefox is my OS!

Feb/21 in Personal

I never really stopped to think about it till now, but it is true. Windows XP is not my real operating system on my computer – Firefox is! Over the past few years it seems like more and more of my Windows programs are getting replaced by Online alternatives.

Another five or ten years down the road, it will not matter if you are running Windows, Apple or a flavor of Linux. With the way everything is moving to the Web – all you will need is a good browser to access it all from. Need a few examples?

How Can I Check My E-mail Online?

Online E-MailPersonally I use Yahoo! Mail to do this, but there are a number of other choices out there. If I wasn’t using Yahoo! Mail – I would probably be using Gmail. Maybe if Google rolls out a premium service – I might switch. Now Webmail is great because it allows you to keep track of, respond to and check your E-mail no matter what computer you are using. As long as you have a browser and a Internet connection – you should be OK.

How Can I Write Documents or Edit Text Online?

Google Docs and Spreadsheets comes into play here. It is a very nice and basic backbone of an office suit. Sure you might not get all the bells and whistles just yet, but who needs ‘em? Since Firefox 2 came out I have been using the spell checker like nobody’s business as well. No need for a text editor to make sure I spelled things correctly before I post. Running my Web sites with WordPress, I can also save drafts of articles that I am not yet ready to make public yet too.

Edit Documents Online

Need a Calendar to Keep Up With Dates?

There are a slew of Online calenders to help you keep up with important dates and schedules. I was trying to decide myself a few weeks back about which one to use, but I finally decided to go with Google’s calendar application.

Yahoo! Calendar

How Can I Read my RSS Feeds Online?

Feed IconOh man, when it comes to ways to read your RSS feeds Online there is no end. There are countless start pages that can do this for you and dedicated RSS feed reader services like Bloglines and Rojo. I have tried just about all of them – and found myself most happy with the Google Reader. There is just so much that you can do with it to make it your own.

What About All My Other Tasks?

Now that I have all of the basic tasks that one might need to do on a day to day basis, I’ll talk about some of the other applications that you can move Online to use.

Need Online Instant Messaging? Try Meebo!

Need Saved Links and Bookmarks? Try Del.icio.us!

Need Remote PC Access? Try Log Me In!

Need Something to Watch? Try YouTube!

Have any other suggestions for Online application replacement? Leave a comment and let me know!

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Top 9 Security Extensions for Firefox

Feb/14 in Desktop Apps, Popular Posts

Now I do come from the camp of folks that say that Firefox is mainly safe because it is not the tallest nail getting hit at this moment. Internet Explorer is harder hit on by those who wish to do you harm, so that is one reason why it is less safe than Firefox.

On the other hand though, Firefox is a “stupider” browser (no offense to my Mozilla friends) so it is harder for deviants out there to get it to do their evil deeds.

No matter if you like Firefox or not, you have to admit there are a lot of great extensions out there that can make your browsing a lot safer. Nothing beats common sense, but having some of these extensions installed should be a good first line of defense.

Continue Reading →

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First Thanks via a Firefox Theme

Jan/04 in Personal

This is awesome.

Firefox Theme Thanks

Well this is a first for me! After plugging one of my favorite theme sets (and asking for an emerald version to be made) it was nice to see myself added to the “about” section of the theme.

+ Check Out the Cylence Theme – Emerald Variation Firefox Theme for Yourself!

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Get McAfee Off SiteAdvisor Button in Firefox

Nov/13 in Online Apps

sa.jpgWasted space is a real pain in the butt for me.

I really like the SiteAdvisor extension for Firefox. The only problem that I have with it is that it takes up too much space on the bottom of the browser window. Now before McAfee took them over I could live with the icon.

How about now? It is just annoying. This is what inspired me to want to fix this problem. With this quick extension edit you can down size that icon and take the “McAfee” part off of it. I love SiteAdvisor but I do not need a McAfee looking back at me every time I glance down there.

If somebody wants me to do so, I can post longer instructions on how I got this done. In all reality you can replace the graphics here (just .gif files) with anything you wish. I figured ninety percent of the folks out there just want it done and don’t care how to do it on their own.

First thing you need to do is download this file.

+ Download This File! (safe.jar)

Now that you have that downloaded, search your computer for this folder:

{1650a312-02bc-40ee-977e-83f158701739}

If you have a problem finding it there, then check out this path:

C:\Documents and Settings\(user name)\AplicationData\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\(random number)\extensions\

Look in there till you find the folder for SiteAdvisor. It might take some snooping – hence the reason why I included the “find the folder” method above.

Once you have found it, open it up then go into the “chrome” folder. Now inside this folder you should see a file called safe.jar. This is the one you want to replace. Drag the safe.jar that you downloaded from me into this folder, then replace it.

Restart Firefox, and your new down sized SiteAdvisor button should be there. Want more Firefox help and tips like this? Make sure you go visit and subscribe to FirefoxFacts.com.

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