Is it fair that other companies can install unrequested plugins to Firefox?  It is happening right now, and there is not a lot we can do about it.  Asa Dotzler brought this topic up in one of his most recent blog posts and I do think it is an interesting debate.  The three big tech giants out there find it ok to add things to Firefox without asking me first.  Google does it.  Microsoft does it.  Even Apple does it. 

Here is meat and potatoes of the complaint from Asa’s post:

Why do Microsoft, Google, Apple, and others think that it is an OK practice to add plug-ins to Firefox when I’m installing their software packages. When I installed iTunes, in order to manage my music collection and sync to my iPod, why did Apple think it was OK to add the iTunes Application Detector plug-in to my Firefox web browser without asking me? Why did Microsoft think it was OK to sneak their Windows Live Photo Gallery or Office Live Plug-in for Firefox into my browser (presumably) when I installed Microsoft Office? What makes Google think it’s reasonable behavior for them to slip a Google Update plug-in into Firefox when I installed Google Earth or Google Chrome (not sure which one caused this) without asking me first?

I have to agree with him, I do not think this is an ok behavior at all.  When installing any type of software to Firefox or to my computer in general – companies should be open and honest when doing so.  Make sure people know what they are getting and well, they shouldn’t be evil.  When you stop and think about it, Apple, Microsoft and Google all have their own browsers now too. 

What is to stop them from doing something bad with their Firefox plugins to make themselves look better?

The add-on in question will save pages for you to read later with just one click.  When you have the time to check it out, you can access your Read it Later list from any computer or phone. As you save things, it syncs it to your profile on the Read it Later website.

Some of the features of the Firefox add-on include:

• Save pages to a reading list to read when you have time.
• Offline reading mode lets you read the items you’ve saved for later on the plane, train, or anywhere without an internet connection.
• Sync your list to all of your computers, at work or home.
• Sync your list to Read It Later apps for iPhone, iPod, iPad, Android and more.
• After reading, bookmark pages on your preferred bookmarking service or share them with friends.
• Click to Save Mode lets you quickly batch a reading list just by clicking on interesting links.
• Text view strips away images, ads, and layout from articles and presents them in an easy to consume way.

Personally, I have been using Instapaper, for some time, to get this same task done.  However, Read it Later does offer a little more functionality – so I might have to switch my “reading list/bookmark saver” down the road.

You an lean more about the Read it Later service at readitlaterlist.com and you can pick up the Read it Later add-on from the Firefox Add-ons website.

Some of the most noticeable changes include:

• Bigger fonts/easier to read posts and pages
• Better search, dropped Google Site Search
• Simplified the navigation too, you can easily jump from categories to related "facts" to the next post in the archive all with one click

I really hope you enjoy the new look, and tell your friends to come visit too.  Thanks for reading Firefox Facts, and there will be plenty more Firefox tips, themes, add-ons, tutorials and more in the future.

Anything else you’d like to see? Leave a comment and let me know!

Unlike other eBook deals, you get an extra perk with this setup.  You can download both the digital eBook version, or head over the the official page for it and pick up all five chapters as audio downloads too.  I wanted to give to you the best of both worlds.  The topics covered in the eBook cover all aspects of the web hosting world:

• Moving from Web Host to Web Host
• Getting going with your own Ecommerce Store Online
• How to Find a Job in the Web Hosting Industry
• Best Methods and Tips for Setting up a New Blog
• The Ever Popular Handy Guide to Domain Names

Download the PDF and let me know what you think.  Also as far as distribution goes, please feel free to share the link to download it to anybody and everybody you know.  This is a project of mine I have been working on getting together for some time now and I want everybody to know it is free of charge.

To tune in to the Web Hosting Show, be sure to check out WebHostingShow.com, subscribe to the RSS feed or add us to your iTunes podcast subscriptions.

• 600 Million Add-ons Downloaded from Mozilla
• Firefox 3 Beta 3 expected early next week
• Firefox 2.0.0.12 Released
• Make Firefox Start Faster with a Preloader
• Easily convert Greasemonkey scripts into Firefox extensions
• iGoogleBar: Google Apps Bar with iGoogle Gadgets
• FoxyTunes joins Yahoo!
• Better YouTube Firefox Extension
• About:IceCream?
• Too Many Tabs? Firefox Add-ons to manage a TAB JAM

Firefox Media of the Week

(I was cheering for the Firefox to take down the stick man!)

Last September Foxkeh was born and we collected ideas for his name from over 7,000 community members. He was named Foxkeh after FIREFOX and SUKE, the suffix of common boy’s name in Japan (e.g. Daisuke Matsuzaka.) Since then, he has appeared in the VOX Banner Contest, a time chart document, an nonfiction novel on the history of Firefox, monthly wallpapers, a series of promotional videos, and much more.

+ Go Say Hello to Foxkeh! | Get Foxkeh Wallpaper!

Textarea Backup – This one is actually a Greasemonkey script that will backup what you type into any large text field, so you don’t have to worry about your message getting lost. The backup should be transparent so if the page is reloaded for whatever reason, be it browser crash, unintended exit or a forgetful website, the previously entered text will be restored.

StumbleUpon – Need something to write about or some random inspiration for your next big post? StumbleUpon can be your new best friend then when it comes to finding topics to write about or cover. Just start stumbling on a topic that interests you and let the creativity flow to you.

Dappad Notebook Sidebar – It is always good to have a few notes you have written to yourself while you are blogging away as well. This extension gives you access to an entire sidebar of personal notes you can store, edit, and save.

Have any other good blogging Firefox related tools?

I know a lot of folks have a problem with getting this done – so I have posted what I went through to get it done on my own personal blog (no splogging there!) to hopefully help others in need.

+ Read More About Why You Shouldn’t Steal My Content!

• The Firefox Extension Guru’s Blog
• Mozilla Links
• Spread Firefox
• Asa Dotzler’s Blog
• Blake Ross’s Blog

Have any that I might have missed? Drop in, give a comment and share it with the rest of your Firefox friends.

The release of Performancing Firefox 1.3 brings a whole new dimension to the free open source blog editor. By making PFF extensible via the Themes and Addons API’s, and opening up the source code via subversion, we’re putting the blogosphere’s favorite editor where it belongs, in the hands of it’s users.

[Learn More About Performancing!]