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Firefox Extension Guide and More
Anonymous Coward writes "A comprehensive list of Firefox extensions geared for the average power user and web developer includes description and screenshots of featured extensions. Plus Firefox Hacks and keyboard command guide. Always updated with the latest Firefox extensions, and tweaks."
1 post and its already inaccessible.
No wonder the guy submitted it anonymously.
5. There was no need or demand for this.
This story reaks of one of those Top Ten lists you see in print magazines.
The coral cache has mirrored this site already and works beautifully. If you don't know the URL, it is http://willlangford.com.nyud.net:8090/geekpages/fi refox/ Have fun.
Firefox caches a lot of pages in memory because studies show that the "back" button gets heavy use in average browsing situations. So cacheing recently visited pages improves performance.
No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism. - Winston Churchill
Coral cashe: http://willlangford.com.nyud.net:8080/geekpages/fi refox/ n gford.com/geekpages/firefox/
8 a2de351770c74b9/index.html
:)
Google cashe: http://66.249.93.104/search?q=cache:http://willla
Mirrordot: http://www.mirrordot.com/stories/ae719a80708f8f89
One of them should work for you.
If I have nothing to hide, you have no reason to search me
Firefox is not a "memory hog." It simply uses all the memory of your system in a very effective way. Since modern computers ship with 512MB of RAM or more, Firefox will happily consume all this memory. Firefox *screams* with 16GB of RAM. It also *screams* when you have not so much RAM, although in this sense of "scream" I mean it crashes.
Firefox is also a visionary product, looking forward to the day when the browser is the only application one uses.. if it's not, it certainly doesn't leave much room for other apps.
I mean, seriously, I *heart* firefox, but it's scary when it consistently uses twice as much memory as the traditionally most bloated of all apps, a Java IDE.
There's got to be a better site for Firefox extensions
;)
It's called addons.mozilla.org
If I have nothing to hide, you have no reason to search me
Well.. while the linked site does not answer (/. effect probably), here's my favorite extensions. I try to install only those really useful to my efficiency. Right now, it's really hard to find the best extensions from Firefox's site.
p ?id=10&application=firefox
p ?id=1486&application=firefox
p ?id=220&application=firefox
p ?id=920&application=firefox
t / ;-)
Adblock
https://addons.mozilla.org/extensions/moreinfo.ph
Needless to say, the most important extension to me. But even better with this one: Adblock Filterset.G Updater 0.3.0.3 https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/1136/
TabFX
https://addons.mozilla.org/extensions/moreinfo.ph
while we wait for Firefox 2.0
FlashGot
https://addons.mozilla.org/extensions/moreinfo.ph
but I never really used it on a regular basis
Page Update Checker
https://addons.mozilla.org/extensions/moreinfo.ph
That one should be in the built-in features. Very useful.
And not to forget (not listed on Firefox's website): Bug me not:
http://roachfiend.com/archives/2005/02/07/bugmeno
Very useful for the soul-sucking registration-required articles on slashdot
Cheers.
Animoog.org
The TFA is about Firefox Extensions.
The TFA was quickly Slashdotted.
The perfect moment to suggest the Slashdot Firefox Extension:
Slashdot Extension
Generates TFA mirror links and other handy features...
There are, how about the Extend Firefox contest or CNET download.com's Best Firefox Extensions and Optimizing Firefox.
And this article doesn't even mention ScrapBook even though it has to be one of the most revolutionary ways to organize reference material. Just check it out, it won 'Most Useful Upgraded Extension' in the Extend FF contest.
Perfect is the enemy of done.
i've got no problem with the memory usage. my install hovers around 60-70 megs with ~10 tabs opened at all times. if it starts acting funny and passes the 100 meg mark i just restart it. session saver helps you not give a fuck about that.
Stop Computers/Cars Analogies on S
My Firefox really needs a tweaking... This page is taking all day to load!
Firefox stores plugin information in memory long after the plugin is closed and done being used. Whether this problem can be attributed to Adobe's work or Mozilla's, it's still a problem.
Firefox keeps downloaded items in the download list, even when they're completed. Unfortunately, this can add up quick - so you should make sure you clear out that list frequently. I heard about this and discovered my list was hundreds of items long. It took nearly thirty seconds just to register the download.
There are also memory problems with using a lot of tabs. I used to restart Firefox five or six times a day because it was either crashing or moving so slowly that it wasn't usable.
Finally, I removed most of the extensions I had. The stuff I didn't use on a regular basis or that were further sources of my headaches (FoxyTunes is great except that it caused iTunes to open [and lock FF up)]any time I hit certain key combos).
My solution?
I use Flock and the only extensions I use are Web Developer, AdBlock, and IE View. There are plenty of others, but I decided I can afford to skip them. Also, I find it far prettier than Firefox and any of the skins I've tried.
Just my $0.02, of course, but it might work for you.
There's certainly a way to help with PDFs, namely not to use the plugin at all! You can get Firefox to open the file externally by default. Details on my blog. Alternatively, use the PDF download extension.
Phoenix, Boston, Little Rock, see a pattern?
Inside Firefox. Tools>Options>Privacy>Download History>Remove Files from Download Manager: Upon Successful Download/When Firefox Exits/Manually. Pick your poison, and again...problem solved.
When I used IE, Adobe's horrible Acrobat plugin was definitely the problem. Close a page that was a pdf and the Acrobat plugin would stay in memory (taking a huge chunk of it BTW). I would have to fire up Task Manager and kill the Acro plugin every time.
As to a better PDF reader, may I suggest Foxit PDF reader. Loads much faster, better memory usage etc.
I come here for the love
I use Portable FireFox (and addons.mozilla.org)
I find it preferable to have a no-install zip file than a windows installer and the mozilla site lags waaay behind in providing a no-install version.
[Fuck Beta]
o0t!
So what is an average power user? Did somebody do a survey? (the term average implies some statistics have collected...)
Yep, and this is the most useful script for it: QuickGallery.
Click here to install.
DNA is the ultimate spaghetti code.
Adblock may handle most everything else, but it is still lacking in its ability to handle {Macromedia|Adobe} flash.
The solution is FlashBlock, and it works incredibly well. Not only does it make browsing faster, it reduces the bright flashing 'bunch bush to win $10' ads to whitespace -- tis much easier on the eyes.
For those rare occasions where you actually want to see the flash, just click on the play button that adblock substitutes for the embedded swf.
I would like to see a site that *does not* have a comprehensive list and instead shows something a little more useful, like the extensions that are not in alpha or beta stages, and the extensions that are not the "my first useless geek" extension. A list of good extensions.
I like addons. But I think it still has a long way to go to become user friendly. On the other hand, extensions are generally aimed to more tech-savvy users, because average users may be afraid to try them. Are these sites aiming at the right demographics or leaving out a very large potential audience?
Favorite quote: "
Forecastfox - Get international weather forecasts from AccuWeather.com, and display it in any toolbar or status bar with this highly customizable and unobtrusive extension.
FlashGot - Download one link, selected links or all the links of a page at the maximum speed with a single click, using the most popular external download managers for Windows, Mac OS X, Linux and FreeBSD (dozens currently supported products, see http://www.flashgot.net/ for details). FlashGot offers also a Build Gallery functionality which helps to synthesize full media galleries in one page, from serial contents previously scattered on several pages, for easy and fast download all.
Adblock - One of the best plug-ins ever written. Adblack allows you to block elements of a web page, images, flash, i-frames, etc This will help make pages load faster and with zero ads!
Adblock is a content filtering plug-in for the Mozilla and Firebird browsers. It is both more robust and more precise than the built-in image blocker.
Adblock allows the user to specify filters, which remove unwanted content based on the source-address. If this sounds complicated, dont worry: its not.
Just add a few filters. Every time a webpage loads, Adblock will intercept and disable the elements matching your filters. See?- nothing to it.
Adblock Filterset.G Updater - This is a companion extension to Adblock and should be used in conjunction with it. This extension automatically downloads the latest version of Filterset.G every 4-7 days. Filterset.G is an excellent set of filters maintained by G for Adblock that blocks most ads on the internet. In addition, this extension allows you to define your own set of filters that you can add along with Filterset.G during an update.
Tabbrowser Preferences - This extension provides a comprehensive UI for changing a number of the hidden tabbed browsing preferences in Firefox. It also provides the ability to control how internal and external links are opened in the browser and how the browser will react when links are sent to it.
IE Tab - IE Tab - an extension from Taiwan, features: Embedding Internet Explorer in tabs of Mozilla/Firefox. Note, this will also allow you to run Windows Update also.
Wizz RSS News Reader - News is the new frontier for the web. With the up-and-coming rss and atom technologies, news is becoming easier to read and more accessible, but Firefoxs livebookmarks are rather lacking when it comes to features.
Wizz RSS News Reader is the solution. Over the past year, its evolved into a mature feed aggregator. Although the UI lacks polish, it includes a number of powerful features, such as the watch list, OPML support, and the ability to subscribe to podcasts. The documentation is extensive and the author maintains support forums, so its easy to get help too :)
Viamatic foXpose - The Viamatic foXpose plugin is a tiny little extension that lets you view all your tabs inside a browser window.
Duplicate Tab - Duplicate Tab allows you to clone a tab along with its history.
SessionSaver - SessionSaver restores your browser -exactly- as you left it, every startup, every time. Not even a crash will phase it. Windows, tabs, even things you were typing theyre all saved. Use the menu to add + remove sessions; right, shift, or middle-clickin
Have to say it's a wee bit disapointing the 'OMG Ponies!!' style didn't come with 1.5, but awesome extension nonetheless ;)
Here is a list of extensions that have memory leaks:
y our-memory-usage-in-firefox/
http://tech.cybernetnews.com/2006/04/04/reducing-
Why does FF not free() memory when I close tabs or windows? I can get to a situation where I have closed everything except a blank window and it yet still hogs hundreds of megs of memory.
That may be your operating system's fault. Many OSes assign memory to an application as demanded, but do not reclaim it when it's released - they leave it assigned to that application, so the next time the application demands memory it can just reuse the same block. I believe Windows may do this as a compatibility measure -- it reduces the likelihood of badly-written programs crashing, because there's a better chance that dereferencing a freed pointer will still actually point to valid data.
So, yeah, it sucks, but it's not necessarily Firefox's problem.
Ah, but Firefox does free memory when you close tabs and windows.
It just almost never returns it to the operating system. See, instead of using one of the many well-tested memory allocators available online, they use a custom memory allocator. And the way it works, it only returns memory used at the end of the heap back to the OS.
So, generally speaking, memory Firefox uses will NEVER be returned to the OS. Oops!
Aside from the fact that the server handling that page is obviously ill-equipped to handle any load the list itself starts out with "Forecastfox". Yay. Recommended only for those who want their browser decked out like a walking talking christmas tree complete with blinkenlights. Don't forget to complain about memory use on the forums later.
Me, I like to keep it light:
Adblock plus, Bugmenot, Downthemall, Sessionsaver, Greasemonkey, Tabmixplus.
Optionally Aardvark, Del.icio.us, enhanced history manager, and IEtab.
-- No Sig is a Good Sig
Fasterfox does some nice things and IMO belongs on the list of good extensions..
As far as the author's claim.. In the fasterfox config there is a tab for "Enhanced Prefetching" which comes disabled by default and has the following warning:
That page has some interesting answers on prefetching and seems to show that fasterfox is playing by the rules. I don't think the author has shown much expertise in the extensions field. Also if he's upset at fasterfox for bandwidth wait until he gets the bill from this slashdotting
I was kind of curious about your link titled "Firefox is the most unstable program in common use." Perhaps it was some sort of study; I was interested in its methodology.
But no, it's a link to another posting by you. You cite all sorts of interesting bugs in Firefox, which are bad and wrong, but don't add up to justifying your statement that it's the "most unstable". Clearly many users find it "stable enough", especially at the price ($0), and more usable than the leading competitor (i.e. IE).
By the time I got to posting this you'd already been modded "offtopic", which isn't entirely right: the article is about FF extensions, and you're validly pointing out that extensions make FF even more unstable. You devote a lot of space to a memory bug which does need to be fixed, but debugging details aren't relevant in this forum. Nor is your repeated assertion that FF users are some sort of cult who are intent on covering up the bugs by modding you down.
So you're gonna get modded down, and you're probably going to take that as more proof of your persecution. I wanted to take the time to suggest that if you struck a more reasonable tone in your arguments, focusing more on the bugs and their effects than the ad hominem attacks on FF developers and users, then you might find a more tolerant audience.
I came across this recently, similar to Aardvark. It's CSSViewer which shows in a (large) tooltip, the css applied to an element over which the mouse is hovering.
I found it very useful for closing the loop between code and result.
My mom always said, "Jim, you're 1 in a million." Given the current population, there are 7000 of me. God help us all!
Secondly, I have never heard anybody state that all extensions are unstable. I've seen lists of unstable extensions, but by no means is every extension listed on any of them.
Remember, open source is free as in speech, not free as in bear.
Hmm - actually, looking at the highlights of the first google page, it would appear that everyone that comes up agrees that it's possible to write unstable extensions - hardly the same thing.
Personally, I agree - I have had extensions that seem to cause the browser to crash. When I uninstall them and limit myself to the one or two . . . okay, twenty-eight extensions I have installed that seem to be perfectly okay, I don't have crashes.
Pardon me sir, but your hyperbole is showing.
Pug
An Invisible Entity of Vast Power whose existence must be taken on faith alone: Liberal Media