Brain Assassin » browser

Batch Install Firefox Add-Ons

JC — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 20:44:43 +0000

Ever since Mozilla has introduced Collections I wanted to be able to install a complete collection with one click. These add-on collections created by Mozilla or users are displayed on the Mozilla website but they do not provide an easy way to install a complete set. Massive Extender is going to change that. Massive Extender is a brand new – read: experimental – add-on that extends Mozilla’s Add-on Collector by adding batch install capabilities.

Every add-on in a collection is included in batch actions by default. You just tick the check box of the extensions you’d like to add to your browser. The number of extensions marked for installation is displayed in the lower right corner of the header of the subscription window atop the displayed add-ons contained in the collection. Now all you have to do is to click the Install button and you’re done.

While this add-on may not serve any purpose during daily operations it will certainly come in handy after the installation of Firefox or the creation of a new profile. This is a wonderful idea! Massive Extender will certainly become part of my extension. After all, it’s possible to disable it if you don’t need it. What’s your take on this extension? Will it become part of your add-on collection too?

After the Deadline: Advanced Spell Checking with Firefox

JC — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 15:25:16 +0000

Over the last few days I’ve tried a new Firefox extension called After the Deadline. This extension is a grammar, style, and spell checker which does a better job than the built-in proofreading mechanism in Firefox. Actually, I’ve always considered OSpell for Opera far superior and I desperately wanted the same features in Firefox. Until recently no extension or user script could offer the same functionality.

With the introduction of After the Deadline things changed. It’s unobtrusive and it doesn’t slow down Firefox (Yes, I’ve already decreased the value of extensions.spellcheck.inline.max-misspellings to 50 or so). Anyway, AtD provides a small icon in the lower right corner of text areas which you click to check the text it contains. It also has a nice options dialog and the latest version (1.11) fixes a few bugs. Check it out!

New Password Manager in the House

JC — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 17:50:50 +0000

During the last months I got ever more irritated by the password manager implemented in Firefox. If you want security, you have to assign a master password. Of course, you have to enter it at least once, if you want to make use of the manager directly or via interesting add-ons like Secure Login. This add-on adds a button that acts similar to Opera’s wand. Well, I didn’t much like Firefox’ password manager because you would have to synchronize your databases if you need your passwords in more than one location – at home and at work, for instance.

A few weeks ago, I stumbled over a password manager called RoboForm. I didn’t have time to check it out back then, but I did today. And let me tell you: I like what I’m seeing! After a little configuration it works like a charm. All you have to do is to get an online storage service you’re going to use to sync files. That’s it, you’re done. Of course, you still have to enter your master password once but that’s the price you pay for security. By the way, you don’t have to set a master password.

Anyway, RoboForm stores and manages your passwords, enters the information automatically or manually, and stores different identities with lots of additional information. You can trust it with your credit card or banking account information. It’s quite flexible and easy to use. I already love it. Best of all, it’s free. Well, sort of. I won’t save much information at all after the 30 day trial. Let’s see if I can get my hands on something similar or if I have to acquire some licenses. I know, I know, I could use KeePass for free but this tool isn’t designed to act like a filler …

Firefox 3: A Quick Tour

JC — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 16:14:11 +0000

Firefox 3 has been released yesterday – and all the download servers have been overloaded in just a few minutes. If you haven’t already downloaded the overhauled browser, you can do so here. Just in case you’re wondering why you should upgrade I’ll present a few good reasons. The new Gecko 1.9 rendering engine and quite a lot of tweaks contribute to significant performance gains, i. e., it launches and runs much faster. The JavaScript interpreter works faster too, and the browser delivers an improved memory handling. The new address bar, now dubbed Smart Location Bar, makes it easier to find the sites you recently visited, and allows for a better bookmarks handling. The Bookmark Manager is now called Places Organizer and is more intelligent than ever before. Finally, the Download and Add-On Mangers have become more powerful too. There are more features, of course, but these are the most important to me.

After installing it, I tried to get all my plug-ins to work. Luckily, ever extension I have in use has already been upgraded to work with version 3.0 of Firefox, which has been in development for roughly 3 years. By the way, version 3.1 is already in the works and should be released at the end of the year. It will incorporate a few features that didn’t make it into Firefox 3.0. As I was writing, every extension was available for the new version – save one: Mouse Gestures, one of my favorites. A fast search on Google provided a solution to this particular dilemma – Mouse Gestures Redox.

Now for a few performance tweaks. I do have a user.js file because that’s how I make sure that my Firefox installations on different computers really are the same. In addition, I only have to make a backup of this file and most of the settings are safe: in case of an upgrade (I always do a clean install) or if I have to format my PC that’s one file to copy. Anyway, there are a few lines I had to add to my existing file:

user_pref("browser.urlbar.search.chunkSize", 500);  // Default: 1000
user_pref("browser.urlbar.search.timeout", 50);     // Default: 100

These two preferences made the drop-down menu offered by the Smart Location bar more responsive. With the original settings I experienced a small lag when opening the menu.

user_pref("browser.urlbar.maxRichResults", 12);

This preference controls how many items are shown in the drop-down menu. 12 is the default, by the way.

user_pref("ui.submenuDelay", 0);

Here’s the delay between hovering over a menu option with a submenu and the submenu appearing specified in milliseconds. I don’t like delays there.

user_pref("browser.blink_allowed", false);

Blinking elements? Never gonna happen with this line.

user_pref("browser.fullscreen.animateUp", 0);

Firefox 3 now automatically hides toolbars and the tabstrip when entering full screen mode. When these elements are hidden for the first time, they slowly slide upwards until you can see them no more. That’s annoying and with this line you’ll never gonna see it slide away. Move your mouse to the top of the screen to get the toolbars back.

Of coure, there are many more settings to play with. If you want to play a little more with them, you should head over to Mozilla’s Knowledge Base, where a lot of them are explained in more detail.

Opera 9.5 Alpha is out in the wilds

JC — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 10:46:09 +0000

The next iteration of the famous browser has been released to the open. It’s version 9.5 and it’s still in its alpha stage. Nevertheless, it’s working well and the browser indeed is incredibly fast. Just how fast it really is can be seen on this site. Opera 9.5 (code-named Kestrel) doesn’t quite add enought features to justify a version number bump but contains some very welcome improvements. It’s faster than ever before and Opera claims that the user interface has also received significant optimizations. The integrated BitTorrent client has been reworked and plenty of refinements have been added. Moreover, there are new features like Synchronization or Full History Search. Moreover, there’s full CSS3 support.

It’s a fine release and I really like it, even though it’s still an alpha. I tried Opera before but being a heavy Firefox user I couldn’t quite get myself accustomed to it. Things have changed now and I’d like to give you some assistance in using Opera, especially if you’re used to Firefox.

Most Firefox users are quite fond of their Add-Ons who add new functions to the browser (Extensions) and allow the user to customize (Themes) the browser’s appearance. Of course, Opera does support extensions and themes as well. Skins can be downloaded from Opera’s Community Page. As far as extensions are concerned, things are a bit more difficult here. First, you should check out the official Widgets page. Second, there’s a really helpful list for those coming from Firefox. It contains 150 popular Firefox extensions and information on their Opera counterparts. You do like the spell-checking feature offered by Firefox? No problem, Opera has it too, and, quite frankly, I do like this implementation far better.

Extensions Update

JC — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 16:24:00 +0000

If you’re using Firefox you’ve surely heard of something called Extensions. These add-ons – as the term extension already suggests – let you extend and personalize your Firefox installation. There is lotta crap out there, though, which transforms the task of finding good extensions into a real challenge. I’ve already listed the extensions I use here. Now it’s time for an update since I got my hands on some new extensions providing me with ever more features I really like.

First off, I installed the All-in-One-Sidebar, which makes – properly configured – many options more easily accessible. Additionally, I don’t need the Slim Extension List any more; the AiOS takes care about that too.
Next, I stumbled over locationbar². The author claims that it reduces the spoofing risk but that’s up to the user, I guess. However, the other features are of more interest to me and the latest version finally allows the user to change some settings.
If you’re reading a lot of news or blog posts you have to know about Paragrasp. This extension adds a highlight to the paragraph you’re currently reading and allows you to comfortably navigate a site by moving the highlight. No more getting lost in long articles and multiple tabs, I promise.

Doesn’t sound like much and it probably isn’t, but everything works fine for me. One day I’ll try this extension which is rumored to synchronize even extensions which would be the best way for me to eliminate different browser configurations at home and at work. Have fun

Firefox 2 is released

JC — Wed, 25 Oct 2006 09:13:00 +0000

Why should you upgrade? Let’s see. They claim to have improved tabbed browsing which is true. Most of the new features were already available to Tab Mix Plus users. However, it’s a step in the right direction which is always welcomed. You’ll also find a built-in spell checking similar to the spell checking in MS products and integrated phishing protection. There’s an improved Add-ons Manager unifying extensions and themes into one interface and a brand new Search Engine Manager. Finally, there’s a session restore feature as well as Live Titles and it uses less memory than its predecessor. Overall the browser has changed its look and feel but remains still practical for everyday use.

If you don’t mind that some of your extensions may not be compatible this time get a copy and see for yourself. You’ll find extensions and plug-ins at the usual place – that is to say right over here. If you’re looking for a build for the Windows x64 platform this is the place to go. A 64-bit enabled build with the final release should be available soon. I have already posted some information on good extensions so have a look at them first. Luckily, Tab Mix Plus, which is my favorite extension, is already available for Firefox 2, among others, of course. Well, it’s only a dev-build but I don’t mind since it still works like a charm.

My Firefox extensions

JC — Mon, 02 Oct 2006 12:43:00 +0000

Just yesterday a friend of mine told me – after some words on browser wars – that he doesn’t have a clue about what exactly extensions are. After I told him he wanted to know whether there are some noteworthy extensions available. After referring him to the official Add-ons site and to the Extension Mirror I thought I could list my own personal favorites here. And here we go (they’re in no particular order, though):

I absolutely love Adblock PlusFilterset.G Updater. With all the huge amounts of annoying ads I don’t want to live without this particular extension.
Controle de Scripts enables me to place restrictions on JavaScripts. This extension is a must-have!
The next one, CustomizeGoogle, ist quite attractive if you use Google as your main search engine. It allows you to block ads and spam and adds extra information.
Dictionary Search has proven useful many times. Simply select a word you want to translate and, et voila, via the context menu you got a translation. One of the most handy extension ever to have been written.
The Download Statusbar extension allows the user to keep track of ongoing and completed downloads in an additional statusbar or in the form of an icon displayed in the normal statusbar. Very useful, indeed. I don’t like the implemented download manager one bit.
I always liked Opera’s statusbar displaying lots of information. With the Extended Statusbar I get exactly what I want (speed, percentage, time and loaded size).
Here’s one of the first extensions I have employed – the very popular Mouse Gestures. This extension makes keyboard, menus and toolbars almost useless by letting the user execute commands by drawing gestures with the mouse.
With the help of the Slim Extension List the items on my extension list are shorter and sorted.
The Stop-or-Reload Button is on the very same site. This one makes the Stop and Relaod buttons behave like a single one.
The Tab Mix Plus extension greatly enhances Firefox’s tab browsing capabilities. There are more settings to change than you might have dreamed of. Once configured, your settings can be saved away.
You want to know where this hyperlink is going? Target Alert is the right extension for you. It shows visual cues for the destination of links.
At long last, there’s the Update Notifier. This one notifies you when updates are available for your extensions and themes.