Great Firefox Add-ons

With the recent switch to Firefox I thought I'd share some nifty add-ons I've used in Chrome but is also availble to Firefox. So enough with the introductions, let's see some great extensions.

Fox Tab vs Speed Dial vs Fast Dial

These three extensions add a fast access to your sites you frequent. Here's the lowdown on the three. Hit the links for the downloads.

Fox Tab: 3D effects, adds visual tab switching, kind of slow

Speed Dial: Fast, Customizable, able to create groups of links, looks butt-ugly

Fast Dial: Fast, limited to 1 page worth of shortcuts, isn't butt-ugly

Personally I would have chosen Speed Dial for its customization options but it just looks ugly, I'm using Fast Dial for now.

Downloads Tab

If you hate the window that pops out after you've downloaded a file, this extension puts the download in a new tab (a feature of Chrome I love). https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/downloads-in-tab/

Better GMail

If you frequent GMail, you might notice that there's some stuff that needs improving. This extensions adds some cool things like hierarchical labels, row highlights and much much more. https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/better-gmail-2/

AdBlock Plus

One of the most popular addons, this one blocks those pesky annoying ads. This one's a mixed bag for me. It's really useful but sometimes goes in conflict with some other extensions so see if this one is okay for you. Oh by the way, after you install this extension and restart FF. Close the bar on the bottom that it adds.https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/adblock-plus/

InstantFox

This one is just pure awesome. I used to have a button to search YouTube automatically bur this one ups that concept. Once you install this add-on, if you want to search Google just hit "g [keyword]" right in your awesome bar and it'll hit up Google. You can replace g with y so it auto-searches YouTube. The only downside is that you could already do this with FF itself, this just simplifies it.  https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/instantfox/

Stylish

This is another awesome extension. As I've shown in a previous post, this one skins or changes the look of the website you're currently viewing. So you can give Facebook or YouTube a makeover.  https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/stylish/

There's a ton more addons so just head over to the addons site and try a bunch. Enjoy!

Tech How To: Moving From Chrome to Firefox 4

As you may have noticed from the blog, I'm a current Chrome user but I do like Firefox. Chrome seemed better than Firefox version 3 but now with version 4 it seems Firefox is back on track. So with all the customizations, preferences and modifications I've done with Chrome I don't want to part with those cool nifty stuff but I want to try Mozilla's new (or rather improved) Firefox. 

Here's a guide to moving from Chrome to Firefox.

Step 1: Download and Customize Firefox 4

First things first. Download and install FF 4.  Get it here http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/fx/

Optional: Customize Firefox's Look

If you aren't too fond or don't really want to adjust to Firefox 4's new look, there's a way to change that. Check out this guide by LifeHacker to customize FF's new look. http://lifehacker.com/#!5784783/how-to-fix-annoyances-with-firefox-4s-new-look

In case you don't want to look at the site here's a rundown of the stuff you can customize.

Toolbar: If you don't like the standard FF look. Head over to the main button (Firefox or Aurora) then Options>Toolbar Layout

Firefox Button:  If you don't like the darn button unorthodox FF button there's a way to change that. Download this extension https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/movable-firefox-button/ and you can customize where it is by doing the same technique as above.

From here you can drag and drop icons and it'll turn into buttons. You can customize it to however you like. Here's mine. 

I removed the search bar (since the url bar searches too), put the refresh button near the forward and back button, added the tab groups button and download button. In addition, also changed the main FF button.

Step 2: Find and Download Extensions

In Chrome go to the wrench icon  then goto tools > Extensions to get a list of your extensions. Now this is the most boring step. Since there is no automatic import,you'll have to do it manually. Goto https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/?browse=featured  and search for your extensions there.

Once you find an extension hit "Add to Firefox" and you'll be prompted a restart. Hit ok and the extension should be installed. Repeat this step a zillion times or really depending on the extensions you've made. Most of the time every Chrome extension has a Firefox equivalent or vice-versa so you shouldn't have much of a problem.

Step 3: Import Your Bookmarks to Firefox

Okay so next up we save our bookmarks to FF. This is a much easier step than the last so here goes. Go to Chrome's wrench bar and go to Bookmark Manager. You'll see the bookmarks tab. Click organize > export bookmarks and you'll be prompted to save a file. Save it temporarily anywhere your heart desires.

Now in FF hit the bookmarks button (the one with the star) then choose "Show All Bookmarks". You'll now see this window.

Hit import and backup button and choose to import HTML file. Find the file you saved earlier and choose OK. You'll notice your bookmarks are now imported to FF. You're done.

Step 4: Check Your Settings

This one is just to avoid anything annoying. Once again in Chrome hit the wrench icon and choose Options. Browse through your settings. In FF go to the Firefox button and choose Options>Options (Yes it's redundant). Now compare both and see which things you like your browser to do. Things like would when you click a link should you switch to the new window are just some of the stuff you could tinker with.

And that's it. You've now more or less transitioned to a new browser! Enjoy!