Feeling that urge to try Google Chrome, but don’t really want to switch away from Firefox? I have found five themes that will let you stay with Mozilla, and still get that Chrome look and feel. Some might say these themes have even made the Google Chrome theme even better.
One of the cool Google Chrome browser features is the ability to pin tabs in the browser by default.
Pinned tabs are shifted to the left side of the tab bar where their tab will be changed to just show the favicon for the web site in question. Thanks to the Pin Tab add-on for Firefox, you can bring that functionality to your favorite browser.
Another neat feature of this Firefox add-on is when you type something in the address bar, or select a result in the address bar while a pinned tab is selected, the address you selected will open in a new tab – leaving your pinned tab alone.
How do you pin a tab?
You can also pin a tab by dragging it to the left of already pinned tabs.
Want to quickly search for more social media or search engine information for any web page or link on the Web? yExplore 2 is an excellent add-on for Firefox that does exactly that, and more.
By simply right-clicking on any page you can find out the following:
You can get more information about yExplore 2 via TwisterMC.com or the Firefox Add-ons web site. It never hurts to do your homework when it comes to looking up more information about web site links or domains out there, and the yExplore 2 extension for Firefox makes that task a whole lot easier.
For more web development add-ons for Firefox, be sure to check out my hand-picked selection of the 10 best tools out there.
Are you a big fan of Google’s custom search feature, which allows you to customize your own search engine to fit your needs? The Custom Google Search add-on for Firefox, in that case, is a perfect companion.
In a nutshell, this extension for Firefox allows you to create, use and mange your own Google Custom Engines from within the Firefox browser interface.
You can pick up the Custom Google Search add-on for Firefox on the Firefox Add-ons web site.
Having seen the phase of toolbar upon toolbar come our way in this browsing generation, many have been labeled as evil space wasters that must be done away with. However, I do have to say not ever toolbar out there is evil. Now I don’t think you should ever become this crazy, but used in the right way they can be handy.
Look at these handy toolbars you can add to Firefox:
So see – not every toolbar is bad. Are there any more toolbars you really enjoy? Don’t be afraid, share with the rest of us in the comments.
I have really liked using some of the former Google Chrome-like themes for Firefox, so coming across Chromifox Extreme 3, I just had to give it a shot. If you were one that was tempted to give Chrome a shot, but didn’t want to leave Firefox behind, this theme is for you.
As you can see, the idea here is to make it look as much like Google’s browser as possible. You have tabs on top, you have those happy go lucky chrome icons, what else could a Google loving web citizen want? I also highly suggest you pick up the Chromifox Companion add-on for Firefox if you want to be able to customize the interface and get that real Chrome look and feel.
By far, Chromifox Extreme 3 has to win praise for being one of the best browser interface translations from one browser to another, don’t you think?
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.
Do you use a lot of Google services? The Firefox add-on, GButts, will help you get quick and easy access to any Google service you want, next to your address bar or anywhere else you might need it.
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.
If you are a user of the Stylish extension, you will love this little tip. I use iGoogle, however I never stay on the page long enough to use the embedded chat they included a while back. However I am happy to say I found a solution.
Install this Stylish user style:
Once doing so, the chat (as you seen in the screenshot above) disappears. To make it work for me, I had to change:
http://www.google.com/ig?hl=ento
http://www.google.com/igHowever, once that was done – it worked flawlessly. An easy hack for a very lovable web page. Got to love these Stylish user styles!
Tired of finding mp3 files on the Web, that have no inline player so you can simply check them out as you find them? Well, thanks to the Lifehacker team you can now use Google’s inline mp3 player to stream any mp3 on any web site.
For those you have Greasemonkey installed, the Google Inline MP3 Player script inserts the Google flash mp3 player next to any linked MP3 file. Want to give it a shot? Go check out the Lifehacker page on the topic, and click there to get it installed.
As a bonus, for those of you who might want the opposite of this, we have the Give me the MP3 user script. Once you install this into Greasemonkey, you can pull the mp3 link out instead of using a flash player that is embedded on the web site you are browsing.
So to play, or not to play – you now have the option to do both!
