Slashdot Mirror
Firefox Secrets
Craig Maloney writes "By now most readers have probably heard about Firefox, the Open Source browser that poses a serious challenge to Internet Explorer. They've probably even installed it on a few machines, and no doubt have customized it pretty much to their liking. They're pretty comfortable with how it works in their day-to-day browsing activities. Plus, Firefox is pretty open, and about:config, extensions, and themes have many pages dedicated to their use. What more could there be to Firefox? Firefox Secrets is a collection of tips and tricks to help wring out that last kernel of performance from Firefox, with specific ways to increase users productivity with Firefox. It also contains plenty of tips for new Firefox users to guide them to learning what Firefox is, and how it can improve their browsing experience." Read on for Craig's review.
Firefox Secrets
author
Chean Chu Yeow
pages
297
publisher
Sitepoint
rating
8/10
reviewer
Craig Maloney
ISBN
0-9752402-4-2
summary
Firefox tips and techniques for new and experienced users.
Firefox Secrets presents the material in a well thought out manner. Each chapter starts with a specific task in mind, with helpful tips in performing that task listed throughout the rest of the chapter. In the chapter entitled "Revisiting Web Pages" (something we are all bound to do at some time in our lives), Firefox Secrets starts the chapter with sections on importing bookmarks from other programs, creating new bookmarks, and using the bookmark manager. (Pretty basic stuff which most Slashdot readers have no doubt mastered). The power, though, lies in the rest of the chapter, where the book lists out how to add a bookmark for a group of tabs, how to create several types of keyword bookmark, how to use the bookmarks tool bar, and how to use the bookmark manager and sidebar. It then talks about Firefox's RSS and Live bookmarks, and how to create them using the RSS icon, and create them manually. Finally the chapter finishes off with the cookie and history managers, as well as the password manager. Each section is described in detail with clear directions on how to use the feature, and clear explanations on why readers would want to use the feature.
Expert users need not worry, though, as this book has plenty for them too. One of the more powerful features of Firefox are the Extensions, which allow incredible recognizability in Firefox. The chapter on Extensions starts with an introduction to what Extensions are, and why they're so important. Next the author describes installing an extension, and uses the miniT extension (an extension that allows drag-and-drop tab placement) as a sample extension to install. The author begins by directing the browser to the extensions site, installing the extension, and configuring the extension once the browser has recognized it. From there the author discusses installing from sites other than the Mozilla Extensions site, installing from a local file, and using the extensions manager to track and configure extensions. As someone who has installed many extensions that proved less than useful, or prevented Firefox from even starting properly, the next section on uninstalling and entering Firefox's safe-mode could prove profile-saving. (I have had several occasions where knowing about safe-mode would have saved me a half-hour's work in rebuilding my profile). The author moves from this introductory material to a list of his personal favorite extensions. Unless the reader has an RSS feed tuned to the Mozilla Extensions site, there's bound to be several extensions that the reader will find useful. (I downloaded the Spellbound Spell Check, and Download Status bar extensions during the course of this review).
Of course no book on the secrets of Firefox would be complete without mentioning about:config. about:config holds a treasure-trove of configurable options for Firefox, many of which are not self-evident without a guide of some form. Firefox secrets does not provide a comprehensive look at about:config, but instead shows what about:config is, shows how to use it, and presents a few neat tips that can be set by about:config. Other somewhat hidden preference features include the .css and .js files under the user profile. Firefox Secrets quickly glosses over some key tips, such as CSS examples for marking unread tabs, and shifting the sidebar to the right. Also included are tips for customizing the user interface, and incorporating web development features which developers will no doubt find extremely handy in their daily development rituals. The book finishes off with best practices for downloading and using the Firefox nightly builds, and what sorts of issues to expect.
Some people out there may feel that Firefox Secrets doesn't offer any tips that can't be found on the web. It's a fair assessment that some of the ideas presented in the book should be pretty routine for expert Firefox users. However, unless you have RSS feeds to every Mozilla development site, and maintain an encyclopedic knowledge of every configurable doo-dad and Extension, you'll likely find many good tips and best practices for enhancing your browsing experience. I'll admit I was skeptical this book would provide me anything of value, and I've been pleasantly surprised at how insightful this book is. Firefox Secrets balances between beginning users who have yet to install their first extension, and experts who want to take their browsing to the next level."
You can purchase Firefox Secrets from bn.com. Slashdot welcomes readers' book reviews -- to see your own review here, read the book review guidelines, then visit the submission page.
Firefox Secrets presents the material in a well thought out manner. Each chapter starts with a specific task in mind, with helpful tips in performing that task listed throughout the rest of the chapter. In the chapter entitled "Revisiting Web Pages" (something we are all bound to do at some time in our lives), Firefox Secrets starts the chapter with sections on importing bookmarks from other programs, creating new bookmarks, and using the bookmark manager. (Pretty basic stuff which most Slashdot readers have no doubt mastered). The power, though, lies in the rest of the chapter, where the book lists out how to add a bookmark for a group of tabs, how to create several types of keyword bookmark, how to use the bookmarks tool bar, and how to use the bookmark manager and sidebar. It then talks about Firefox's RSS and Live bookmarks, and how to create them using the RSS icon, and create them manually. Finally the chapter finishes off with the cookie and history managers, as well as the password manager. Each section is described in detail with clear directions on how to use the feature, and clear explanations on why readers would want to use the feature.
Expert users need not worry, though, as this book has plenty for them too. One of the more powerful features of Firefox are the Extensions, which allow incredible recognizability in Firefox. The chapter on Extensions starts with an introduction to what Extensions are, and why they're so important. Next the author describes installing an extension, and uses the miniT extension (an extension that allows drag-and-drop tab placement) as a sample extension to install. The author begins by directing the browser to the extensions site, installing the extension, and configuring the extension once the browser has recognized it. From there the author discusses installing from sites other than the Mozilla Extensions site, installing from a local file, and using the extensions manager to track and configure extensions. As someone who has installed many extensions that proved less than useful, or prevented Firefox from even starting properly, the next section on uninstalling and entering Firefox's safe-mode could prove profile-saving. (I have had several occasions where knowing about safe-mode would have saved me a half-hour's work in rebuilding my profile). The author moves from this introductory material to a list of his personal favorite extensions. Unless the reader has an RSS feed tuned to the Mozilla Extensions site, there's bound to be several extensions that the reader will find useful. (I downloaded the Spellbound Spell Check, and Download Status bar extensions during the course of this review).
Of course no book on the secrets of Firefox would be complete without mentioning about:config. about:config holds a treasure-trove of configurable options for Firefox, many of which are not self-evident without a guide of some form. Firefox secrets does not provide a comprehensive look at about:config, but instead shows what about:config is, shows how to use it, and presents a few neat tips that can be set by about:config. Other somewhat hidden preference features include the .css and .js files under the user profile. Firefox Secrets quickly glosses over some key tips, such as CSS examples for marking unread tabs, and shifting the sidebar to the right. Also included are tips for customizing the user interface, and incorporating web development features which developers will no doubt find extremely handy in their daily development rituals. The book finishes off with best practices for downloading and using the Firefox nightly builds, and what sorts of issues to expect.
Some people out there may feel that Firefox Secrets doesn't offer any tips that can't be found on the web. It's a fair assessment that some of the ideas presented in the book should be pretty routine for expert Firefox users. However, unless you have RSS feeds to every Mozilla development site, and maintain an encyclopedic knowledge of every configurable doo-dad and Extension, you'll likely find many good tips and best practices for enhancing your browsing experience. I'll admit I was skeptical this book would provide me anything of value, and I've been pleasantly surprised at how insightful this book is. Firefox Secrets balances between beginning users who have yet to install their first extension, and experts who want to take their browsing to the next level."
You can purchase Firefox Secrets from bn.com. Slashdot welcomes readers' book reviews -- to see your own review here, read the book review guidelines, then visit the submission page.
In the old days of Slashdot, that would've been "Most readers have probably worked on Firefox" Sheesh, this place really is on the way down.
While I can understand writing a book about a web browser, shouln't it be a webpage that teaches how to use it interactively?
Some people out there may feel that Firefox Secrets doesn't offer any tips that can't be found on the web. It's a fair assessment that some of the ideas presented in the book should be pretty routine for expert Firefox users.
This is a hardcopy book to be sold in bookstores to normal people.
It makes the information plainly available to lots of people.
Disable back/forward caching in about:config:
browser.sessionhistory.max_total_viewers 0
Enables trimming Firefox memory usage when you minimize all Firefox windows:
config.trim_on_minimize true
Though there is a section on about:config and the .css & .js files, is there any information here that could not be found with 2 minutes of your time and google? I doubt it. And, this book, unlike the information you can find using google, will be out of date in a matter of months.
<shrugs> I'm not saying this book is bad.. I'm just saying that the author of this review doesn't seem to understand what an "expert" is. From the review, I see little here that most /.'ers won't already know.
/dev/random
At the point at which it becomes a language called English, apparently... It's to (sic) hard.
Seriously though, there's more automotive performance enhancement parts out there than there are firefox plugins. Does that make it hard to drive a car?
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
The thing to keep in mind that the target audience for this book is not going to be a a power-user who reads Slashdot.org twice-daily and hooks up a webcam to watch the office coffee maker from their cubicle.
This is the sort of book that you put in your parents, relatives, or friends stocking to introduce them to Firefox and make it super-easy for them to get started.
- The Publisher.
http://sitepoint.com/books/firefox1/ (4 Free Sample Chapters Available).
P.S. The book includes a CDROM with Firefox, Thunderbird, and all the extensions mentioned in the title.
_______________
add {
extension:ridiculous body kit
extension:Big-Ass Wing
extension:18" rims w/spinners
extension:ground effect lighting
extension:thumpin' stereo
extension:in-dash DVD player
extension:VTEC sticker
extension:fake boost gauges
extension:fire extinguisher (fake, to hold your Ecstasy/weed)
extension:remote starter
extension:suicide doors (or scissor doors)
extension:wiper fluid nozzle lights
extension:extra chrome
extension:calvin peeing on something sticker
extension:some type of rear window sticker proclaiming you to be a bling-bling homey
extension:some type of sticker with kanji on it (that you can't read)
extension:Momo or Recaro seats with multi-point seatbelts (which you don't wear)
extension:under-dash LED or neon lights that plug into the cigarette lighter (for that touch of class)
}
et voila, a ricer Firefox!
I think they call it 'Flock.'
Windows moderators bring on the OT mods all you want, the *nix-running mods will appreciate this shit.
Actually, writing technical books is a terrible way to make a living, when you consider the money earned versus time spent ratio.
how to invest, a novice's guide
-Firefox could have stopped the Kennedy assassination, had it not slept late that day
-Firefox has a secret button that converts all your web requests to look like you're using your company's timekeeping system
-Firefox killed a hobo with a brick
I am a SeaMonkey developer. I fix SeaMonkey bugs, a small number of Gecko bugs, and a very small number of Firefox bugs.
Mozilla developers refuse to consider bugs that bug reporters cannot characterize completely.
You have to understand that we get a HUGE number of useless bugs filed - bugs that say "Huge memory leak", and claim that it's easy to reproduce, or bugs that claim large amounts of CPU usage and again claim it's easy to reproduce. Just because it's easy to reproduce for YOU doesn't mean it's easy to reproduce for US. Additionally, many users use extensions, which basically invalidate their bug reports since we can't possibly debug under the effects of the many changes extensions make, ESPECIALLY if we don't know what extensions and versions of extensions you're using. A report that doesn't completely explain a problem is not necessarily bad if the user is helpful enough and provides good answers when we ask them questions, but too many people file bugs and then can't give us the answers we need.
See this Slashdot comment: Leadership problem? See this list of excuses:
1) Maybe this bug is fixed in the nightly version.
MANY bugs are fixed every day, and it's very aggravating to spend hours of our time tracking down a problem only to find that it was fixed already. It takes the user 5 minutes to try a nightly. I think asking the user to get a nightly build is reasonable.
2) Yes, this bug exists, but it isn't important.
Many bugs that are filed aren't important to 99.99% of the userbase.
3) No one has posted a TalkBack report. (If they read the bug report, they would know that there is never a TalkBack report, because the bug crashes TalkBack, too.)
I would hope that isn't the normal case. I haven't catualy heard of situations that crash talkback anyway (other than maybe flaky hardware).
4) If you would just give us more information, we would fix this bug.
If we don't see it, and you don't give us more info about it, how do we fix it? Read your mind? Other magic?
5) This bug report is a composite of other bugs, so this bug report is invalid. (The other bugs aren't specified.)
Ask what bugs.
6) You are using Firefox in a way that would crash any software.
Example?
7) I don't like the way you worded your report.
If you file a bug that says, "You guys are idiots, you write shitty software that leaks 500MB", you get what you deserve. If you use awful grammar and difficult-to-read style, well, why do you expect us to put hours into fixing a bug when you don't bother to spend 5 minutes properly reporting it?
If you can't write in English (or a language one of the developers understands), it can be very difficult to figure out what the problem is.
8) You should run a debugger and find what causes this problem yourself.
That's not a nice answer, but sometimes developers don't have the time to fix the problem. You're free to pay somebody, but if you want it done for free, you might have to do it yourself.
You have to remember that people have their own lives - SeaMonkey comes after school for me (the 1.0 beta release would have happened a few hours earlier if not for a final exam I had that day, which I had to study for over the weekend). When I'm fixing bugs, it's at the expense of playing games, seeing a movie, studying, or doing something else fun. Fortunately for you, I happen to find it interesting enough to do it anyway, fixing not only bugs that interest me personally but bugs that other people want fixed. The least you could do is say thank you, rather than bitch that I and people like me are not doing enough free labor for you. For developers who are paid, many have specific tasks assigned to them, and need to complete those tasks before they work on other things.
I'm not saying there aren't problems that need to be acknowledged, but many common complaints are ignorant and/or unreasonable.
My server