Essential Firefox add-ons [Make surfing safer and more fun]

There are several different popular browsers available today for Windows, OS X and Linux. Internet Explorer is the most popular on the Windows platform but Firefox comes in second and now has nearly 20% of the browser market share. One of the great things about Firefox is that you can extend it by installing add-ons. These add-ons add features and fun to to the browser. Here is an overview of some essential add-ons for Firefox.

Google Toolbar

The first add-on for any serious surfer is the Google Toolbar. Provided by the search engine people it adds lots of features to your web browser including a SpellCheck button that hunts out any spelling mistakes whenever you type in a web form, including web-based email and forums. It also makes it easier to use Google’s search engine and has some integration with Gmail. Other features include automatic form filling, a PageRank display (which tells you how Google assesses the importance of the page you’re viewing) and Google Notebook integration.

DownThemAll

If you find yourself downloading lots of MP3, AVI, PDF or image files from the web then DownThemAll is a must add-on. The DownThemAll (or dTa) extension is a download manager that adds simple to use but powerful download capabilities to your browser. DownThemAll lets you download all the links or images contained in a webpage while allowing you to refine what is actually downloaded.

Fast Dial

Fast Dial is a simple but yet effective Firefox add-on. When you open a new tab on Firefox (and I do hope you are using tabs), Fast Dial replaces blank tabs with a panel of thumbnails of your favorite sites. You just click the thumbnail of the site you want to visit and you are taken straight there. No more routing around in your bookmarks!

Cooliris

The add-on with the biggest “wow” factor is definitely Cooliris. Cooliris adds a “3D Wall” to your browser that lets you move quickly through images and videos. With an integrated search for Google Image, YouTube, Flickr and Hulu it lets you see, search and browse Internet images in a way I didn’t think would possible on a browser.

Music

If you listen to music from your iTunes collection while surfing the web then FoxyTunes lets you control (pause, play, skip etc) your music and find lyrics, covers and videos from within the browser. Just click on the orange note icon that appears in the status bar and you are good to go. If you don’t use iTunes then FoxyTunes also supports WinAmp, Windows Media Player, Real Player and many other players.

Shopping

If you like shopping on-line for your gadgets then two great Firefox add-ons are the eBay Companion and the Amazon Shopper.

With the eBay Companion shopping is safer with built-in warnings for spoof or lookalike sites. Being an auction site it is important to keep up to date with your activities. The eBay companion provides an at-a-glance update on all your eBay activities including your what you are watching, buying or selling.

The Amazon Shopper gives you an integrated international Amazon Product Search (including Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.de, Amazon.ca, Amazon.fr, Amazon.co.jp), an Instant Price Check feature to price check any selected text or link and an Amazon Price Watcher. It is a valuable tools for those who shop at Amazon regularly.

Others add-ons worth mentioning

There are literally thousands of Firefox add-ons here is a list of a few more which are worth investigating:

• Video DownloadHelper – The easy way to download and convert Web videos from hundreds of YouTube-like sites.
• Forecastfox – Get international weather forecasts from AccuWeather.com, and display it in any toolbar or statusbar.
• Read It Later – Read It Later allows you to save pages of interest to read later. It eliminates cluttering of bookmarks with sites that are merely of a one-time interest.
• meebo – Instant messaging across all major IM networks built right into Firefox.
• AutoPager – Automatically loads the next page of a site inline when you reach the end of the current page for infinite scrolling of content.