Would you like to have quick and easy access to everything Google with just one or two clicks of your mouse in Firefox?  That is what the Google Shortcuts add-on for Firefox promises to deliver.  The idea here is simple.  This extension will display any or all Google services as buttons next to your address bar or anywhere else you would like for it to show up.

One installed, you can quickly pull up Google Reader, Analytics, News, Notebook, Maps, Mail and anything else that is Google related.  Your shortcuts can also be displayed under a Google icon drop down box, to save on clutter too. 

Now, you might say you do not need access to every Google service out there.  You only need a few shortcuts.  You can easily customize and select which services you can see – and which will be hidden.

Overall, if you are a big Google fan – this is an add-on for Firefox you have to try out.  You can pick up the Google Shortcuts add-on for Firefox on the Firefox Add-ons web site. 

Come on, is it time yet?

If you find yourself asking this question time and time again, it might be about time you picked up the Simpler Timer add-on for Firefox.  This clock and timer, once installed, lives inside your status bar (or toolbar) for easy access.

The built in timer mode has three different functions:

1. Count up from zero.
2. Count down from any time (less than 24 hours). You can set as many
timers as you want.
3. Select a specific time of the day to receive a notification. You can also
specify the day (daily, weekdays, weekends or a specific day).
You can set as many notifications as you want.

The Simple Timer add-on also features a clock mode, that will amazingly enough tell you the time. 

You can pick up this amazing little Firefox add-on from the Firefox Add-ons web site.

I love any add-on or web site service that helps me organize my day to day life and duties.  Being somewhat of an organizational nut, I do have to say one of my favorite Firefox add-ons out there is ReminderFox.  This add-on for Firefox remembers things, so you don’t have to.

Once installed, you can setup ReminderFox to keep track of all your important dates and events.  It could remember your birthdays, your anniversaries, when your bills are due and so much more.  The possibilities are really endless.  The best thing about it is it is running right from the browser, so there is no need to run a separate calendar application. 

If you are looking for a good way to simplify your to do list, or just remember key dates – ReminderFox is your little personal organizer living in your browser.

You can download the ReminderFox add-on from the Firefox Add-ons web site.

It is no secret I am a big fan of Gina Trapani’s line of “better” add-ons for Firefox, so I can tell you I was more than excited to see that they had been rolled together as an add-on collection, so you can grab them all at once. 

Which extensions make the list?

Better Gmail 2 – Add useful extra features to Gmail, like hierarchical labels, an unread message icon on your browser tab, file attachment icons, and more.

Better Amazon -  Highlight Amazon listings with free shipping, automatically enlarge product images, clean up book pages, shorten URLs and more on Amazon.com. Enhances Amazon.com with a compilation of user scripts and styles. All scripts copyright their original authors. Click on the script homepage in the Help tab for more information.

Better Flickr -  Adds collapsible header and sidebar, event title text wrap, colored weekend days, week numbers, and skins to Google Calendar.

Better GReader -  Preview web pages inline in Google Reader, collapse the header and sidebar for more reading area, add favicons to feed subscriptions and more with Better GReader.

Better YouTube – A compilation of some of the best Greasemonkey user scripts for YouTube in one interface.

Go pick up the Better Pack of Firefox Add-ons and find out what is so great about them yourself.

Here are all the Google services you can quickly show or hide via the extension.

You can customize how much space you want to save with the options across the bottom (by making the menu a toolbar or a drop down menu).  You also have the option of a horizontal or vertical menu.  You can then right-click on your toolbar, go to “Customize” and then drag and drop the GButts Toolbar you created on to your toolbar layout – anywhere you might need it.

If you are a heavy Google user – the GButts add-on should be right up your alley.

As far as customization goes, you can change the embed width.  The Google Calendar embed can also be expanded and collapsed as needed.  Also, You can choose which calendars are shown/hidden for each Gmail account.

The last thing worth mentioning is there is a “Quick Add” feature, not available for Google Apps accounts, that will allow you to quickly add events to your calendar.

Want to try it out?  You have two alternatives:

• Pick up the Greasemonkey Script for GmailAgenda
• Download the Firefox Add-on for GmailAgenda

So how does this rank against Gmail’s announcement of adding the calendar in as a gadget for Gmail?  Which do you like better?

Living in your status bar, the extension will pop up with your daily to do list.  It provides you with robust notifications and display of your Google Calendars for today, as well as showing any upcoming all day events for tomorrow.

On the positive side, this add-on for Firefox looks like it would make the perfect companion to the browser (if your a Google Calendar user).  On the bad side, if you visit the official web site for it the author says he’s not supporting it anymore.

Maybe he could hand it off to somebody interested in keeping it up?

Pick it up while you can, the Google Calendar Notifier promises to keep you up to date when it comes to keeping track of your schedule.

I love my Google Calendar, but loading up the official web site each time I want to check it out is sometimes a burden.

Since I use it much more as a to-do list rather than actually setting up events and times I needed a quicker way to access. So I thought, why not figure out a way to open it in the sidebar in Firefox?

Here are the steps to get it done:

1. Create a new bookmark (right-click and select “Bookmark this link…”) for this address or drag it to your bookmarks toolbar:

   Mini Google Calendar

2. Right-click on that bookmark and select “Properties”.
   
3. Check the box that says, “Load this bookmark in sidebar” and you are good to go! I promise you this is a tip that is easy enough for anybody to use and setup.

Now you can access your Google Calendar and upcoming events on your agenda without pulling up a new web page.

Bonus: Check out my previous Google Calendar/Sidebar hack using the iPhone friendly version of Google Calendar. Also you can open Google Notebook to your sidebar too. Don’t forget about adding Google Talk to your sidebar!

This is how you can get it added to your own browser:

1. Browse to http://calendar.google.com/m

2. Bookmark that web page, or drag the link to your links toolbar.

3. Right-click on the bookmark, select “properties” and then click the checkmark for “load this bookmark in sidebar”.

I don’t know about you but this just makes the application a little more usable for me. Big fonts, big colors and a guide of what I need to do over the next few days. Also it acts as a great reminder tool for folks who like to make sure they are getting things done.

The Better GCal extension for Firefox wraps some of the best Greasemonkey scripts into one easy to install extension. Editing the options of the extension allows you to also turn certain features on and off. Here are some of my favorite Greasemonkey scripts that have been included:

• Google Calendar Air Skin
• Collapse the Header and Sidebar
• Colorize Weekends
• Force Secure Connections (via https)

Plus a lot more tweaks and edits you can do.

If you use Google Calendar (or you think you might if a few things were changed around) then I would suggest giving this extension a shot.