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Building a Better Mozilla With Plugins

Ant writes "Wired has a story on how to improve Mozilla and Firefox web browsers with various plugins/extensions (XPI installations). It lists some of the extensions that have been rated highly by Mozilla users like BugMeNot. One of them not listed and my favorite is PrefBar."

36 of 429 comments (clear)

  1. Why prefbar is not listed by Enry · · Score: 5, Informative

    From the prefbar web site:

    It does not work with Mozilla Firefox

    1. Re:Why prefbar is not listed by the+unbeliever · · Score: 4, Informative

      er.

      I'm running PrefBar in FireFox .9.1...

      PrefBar 2.3 RC2 - works with Firefox, and has many new features

      Granted, it's a "release candidate" but it works just fine..

    2. Re:Why prefbar is not listed by Stibbons · · Score: 4, Informative

      PrefBar 2.3 works with Firefox: installer link

      --
      Life is like a great big funhouse, just without the fun
    3. Re:Why prefbar is not listed by ccweigle · · Score: 3, Informative
      I'd like a plugin that allows cookie modification on the fly. Now that'd be useful!


      Permit Cookies is almost this.

      It doesn't let you fix up just any cookie on the fly (so cookies coming through from ads can't be adjusted "on the fly"), but you can bring up "allow, block, remove" with a key press. You can change the cookie it's going to adjust (say if you know the ad server), but there's no list of cookies accessed for this page, just the current server in an edit box.

      I should say I'm using 0.2, so it's possible that it does more already, or that there are plans to do more.
  2. RadialContext by MORTAR_COMBAT! · · Score: 4, Informative

    my favorite extension is RadialContext, basically gives you mouse gestures for Mozilla and Firefox.

    --
    MORTAR COMBAT!
    1. Re:RadialContext by mrright · · Score: 3, Informative

      I also like this very much. But it is not just mouse gestures. It is a radial menu that can be used somewhat like mouse gestures.

      But since you get visual feedback it is much easier to memorize the gestures than with "invisible" gestures".

      It is hard to describe, so just check it out.

      --
      Private property is the central institution of a free society (David Friedman)
  3. What? No Adblock? by FeetOfStinky · · Score: 3, Informative

    I can't believe Adblock isn't listed. It even works with Firefox 0.9, despite rumblings I've heard to the contrary.

  4. missing adblock by fireduck · · Score: 5, Informative

    any article about firefox that doesn't mention adblock and the best filters to use is seriously lacking.

  5. Mouse Gestures by southpolesammy · · Score: 4, Informative

    By far, I find the mouse gestures extension to be the greatest addition to Mozilla. This borrowed feature of Opera will certainly and permanently change the way you browse websites.

    --
    Rule #1 -- Politics always trumps technology.
  6. W0t? by tanveer1979 · · Score: 4, Informative

    Slow news day, eh? The Article is low on substance. This page has much more details. Looks like the wired article has copy-pasted and not done any real work. The actual article should have had listed quirks, what do the extentions actually do, rather than pasting text from mozilla extention page.

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  7. Adblock. Simply amazing. by Tuxedo+Jack · · Score: 4, Informative

    Works with 0.9, blocks anything (hate to admit it, but I've used it on OSDN for Doubleclick crap), and allows for selectivity in blocking.

    http://adblock.mozdev.org

    --

    Striking fear in the authors of godawful fanfiction, I am here, appearing in darkness, Tuxedo Jack!
  8. Flash Click to View by Spoons · · Score: 5, Informative

    My favortie Mozilla plug-in is Flash Click to view. It blocks all those annoying flash ads and puts an icon in its place. If you want to view the Flash ad/game/movie whatever, you just click the icon and it loads. It makes browsing the web just a little more bearable.

    1. Re:Flash Click to View by afidel · · Score: 4, Informative

      Also by the same author is the really cool nuke anything plugin. It allows you to remove any HTML element from the currently rendered page.

      --
      There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order. Starting now.
  9. Re:My two cents by Dios · · Score: 5, Informative

    You know.. its easy really

    Go to
    Edit - Preferences - Navigator - Downloads.

    Select the option to open a progress dialog.

    Then works just about like IE.

  10. Launchy not mentioned by gemal · · Score: 5, Informative

    Launchy enables you to open links and mailto's with external applications like IE, Opera, Outlook, GetRight.
    Works in: Mozilla and Mozilla Firefox and Mozilla Thunderbird Launchy Homepage

    --
    Henrik Gemal
    gemal.dk
  11. Re:magpie by Alranor · · Score: 5, Informative
    Also useful for those onehanded browsing sessions are

    Linky

    Extension is a very simple addon to the context menu that provide you with the following:

    * Opens all links in a selection in new tabs or windows
    * Finds and opens link in plain text in a new tab or window
    * Opens all links on page in new tabs or windows, etc.

    and

    JumpLink

    The Jumplink extension allows you to skip through redirect links and jump directly to the target link


    Why do I get the feeling the Slashdot community may find these of some assistance ;)
  12. RC2 works in FireFox by smoking2000 · · Score: 5, Informative
    Also from the Prefbar Website (near bottom of the page):

    PrefBar 2.3 RC2 - works with Firefox, and has many new features
  13. Re:magpie by wfberg · · Score: 4, Informative

    Magpie also includes tools for adjusting a site's URL by incrementing or decrementing the numbers in it ... This is a good extension for those who do a lot of research online.

    Yup. I find this priceless while "researching" the webs many sequentially numbered jpegs.


    If you're stuck browsing sequentially numbered jpegs at work using internet explorer (or you just don't use extensions), you can also use Jesse's bookmarklets.
    Just drag them to your bookmark bar!

    --
    SCO employee? Check out the bounty
  14. Wait... by KillaKen187 · · Score: 5, Informative

    noone has mentioned Aaron Spuler's Single window which puts all those annoying pages that spawn a new window into a tab instead... just a wonderful plug-in

  15. Super DragAndGo by Kupek · · Score: 4, Informative

    I've just started using Firefox, and the best plugin I know of for it is Super DragAndGo. If you drag a link to empty space on the webpage, that link is opened in a new tab. It's so simple, but it's the best new web browsing feature I've seen in a long time.

    1. Re:Super DragAndGo by barcodez · · Score: 4, Informative

      If you have a middle button (sometimes combined with the wheel) try clicking a link with that - it opens in a new tab!

      --

      ----
  16. flash click to play by fermion · · Score: 5, Informative
    The most useful xpi I have found is Flash Click to Play, formally and still listed as Flashblock. It lets me install Flash, which is becoming increasingly necessary in this image driven world, while letting me filter out the 99% of flash content that are gratuitous, ads, or simply bad animation.

    BTW, Camino does not install this automatically, but is relatively simple to go into your chrome folder and hack it yourself.

    --
    "She's a scientist and a lesbian. She's not going to let it slide." Orphan Black
  17. Bookmarklets by Robotron2084 · · Score: 5, Informative

    Bookmarklets are an underrated way to extend the usability of Mozilla, Firefox and even IE.

    http://www.squarefree.com/bookmarklets/zap.html

    I have 'zap plugins' and 'zap images' in my personal toolbar to stop strobing ads and flash on a page-by-page basis. Works great!

  18. FlashBlock by Dalroth · · Score: 3, Informative

    FlashBlock! That is the BEST plugin EVER created! Everybody who has Firefox installed should also have this plugin installed.

    Bryan

    1. Re:FlashBlock by Hollins · · Score: 3, Informative

      now that adblock handles flash and other embeds, it has become capable of filtering just about everything. I no longer need FlashBlock. Since adblock can handle regex filtering, I find myself becoming obsessed with trying to filter that last 0.1% of ads that get through while keeping a short filter list.

      Also, the article calls Mozilla 'stripped down', which is absurd. It has tabbed browsing and pop-up blocking by default, putting it light years ahead of the market leader.

  19. Re:And this is why I still have to use Opera by danheretic · · Score: 3, Informative

    Not quite. It has "tab browsing" out of the box, but not the "Tabbrowser Extensions" plugin. Tabbrowser Extensions is MUCH more powerful and feature-rich.. something like 40 different options to set rather than the 3 found in 0.9.

    I was disappointed enough that I reverted back to 0.8 so I could have my tabs the way I like them.

  20. Re:At least by PeterPumpkin · · Score: 3, Informative

    IE5 is increasing? Wha? From the link in my sig:

    IE5 usage:
    April 2004: 10.1%
    May 2004: 9.2%
    June 2004: 8.3%
    July 2004: 8.1%

    Were you reading the chart backwards? ;)

  21. Re:I don't get it by BrokenHalo · · Score: 5, Informative
    I was going to moderate on this topic, but since a couple of people have mentioned the business of installers, I'll forego that and set the issue straight (or at least definitively crooked).

    Firefox for linux (with gtk+ and xft) comes with an installer. Just extract the tarball and run firefox-installer in the extracted directory and it will behave essentially the same as any winbloze installer. If you want an rpm, I'm sure google will find one if you're that desperate.

  22. Re:I don't get it by blkwolf · · Score: 3, Informative

    The default install is a self contained binary. All you have to do is untar/gzip and run firefox from the new firefox directory.

    Personally I just untar into /opt/firefox and create a link in my window manager. When I want to upgrade or try a different version, wipe out the directory and untar a new one.

    Also the reason Mozilla does it this way, is it makes it super easy for any of the distro's to create an install package for it. They dont even have to compile the app if they dont want. So if your really missing that rpm to install, complain to your distro for not releasing one yet.

  23. Re:My two cents by the+unbeliever · · Score: 3, Informative

    Download Sort is what you're looking for.

    Hope that helps.

  24. My extensions. by guidryp · · Score: 3, Informative

    Flashblock: Absolute must have stops the all singing dancing net, but lets you use it if you must.
    http://flashblock.mozdev.org/

    Preferential: Lets you change every option, not just the subset that they think you need. Lets me kill gif anims for one thing.
    http://preferential.mozdev.org/

    Tab Browser extentsion: The only current way to get true single window mode.
    http://white.sakura.ne.jp/~piro/xul/_tabext ensions .html.en

    Adblock: Block annoying adds that get by above measures. I leave them alone if the don't blink/anim and flow in my text. One of those and they are gone. For some reason newegg flash adds were escaping flashblock so, I adblocked *newegg*.
    http://adblock.mozdev.org/

    Nuke anything: Sometimes a site will serve ads from the same place as usefull image so I don't want to filter. This lets me knock out anything from the page temporarily.
    http://ted.mielczarek.org/code/mozil la/

  25. Re:Why no adblock? by seasleepy · · Score: 3, Informative

    Er.... You mean this Adblock? The one that's currently the second highest rated extension for Firefox on Mozilla Update?

  26. Re:At least by rendler · · Score: 3, Informative
    mozilla, despite no official gmail support, had no problem.
    Gmail does support Mozilla, even Firefox:
    .......
    * Mozilla 1.4 and newer (download: Windows Macintosh Linux )
    * Mozilla Firefox 0.8 and newer (download: Windows Macintosh Linux )
    .......

    --

    *shrug*
  27. Re:At least by Dreadlord · · Score: 3, Informative

    Mozilla already has a large developer community, almost all of the extensions at Mozilla Update are developed by the community.

    An extension developer can submit their extension to Mozilla Update and directly link to the XPI from their homepage.

    Or they can provide a downloadable XPI file, the user has to open it (from File > Open), and it'll be installed.

    So there is no automatic installation, and the avarage user can't be tricked to click yes for an installation dialog.

    --
    The IT section color scheme sucks.
  28. Re:At least by JimDabell · · Score: 5, Informative

    So there is no automatic installation, and the avarage user can't be tricked to click yes for an installation dialog.

    Are you sure about that? That security hole won't be fixed until Firefox 1.0.

  29. No, it is not a valid comparison. by Ayanami+Rei · · Score: 3, Informative

    Extensions in the classic MacOS sense are like kernel modules or plugins. Extension in the Mozilla/Firefox sense are augmentations of the application (usually demand loaded) so they don't significantly impact stability or load time, as far as I can tell. An extension could be implemented in a lot of ways, whether simple or complex. Generally they can't overwrite anything, so they hook into the existing API, and Mozilla provides a pretty vast one.

    Mozilla/Firefox don't come with any extensions at all. They are perfectly useful without them. Moz/Firefox may directly incorporate features of popular extensions in later versions, but they cease to be extensions at the point, and are considered part of the application proper.

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