Simplification for web site logins is desperately needed.  Once upon a time, people thought Open ID might be the solution, but it has fizzled out.  Where is the future?  The Firefox Account Manager.

The Account Manager is a prototype that really makes things easy when it comes to logging into your favorite web sites.  You can login and logout, right from the toolbar.

How Does Account Manager Work?

I will let the fine people at Mozilla Labs explain that one:

We are proposing a new standard that Websites can implement, and although it is still an early draft, we’d love for you to check it out. We are particularly interested in feedback from Web developers and site administrators.

If you’re interested in hacking on the add-on, you can check out the source here. The project wiki page also has additional information.

Right now, the prototype they have posted only works with Google, Yahoo!, Facebook, Mozilla Addons, Mozilla Bugzilla, and Get Personas – but with time (they hope) every web site will support this new standard.  You can learn more about the Account Manager concept idea here:

• Account Manager Details at Mozilla Labs

Tell me what you think. Does this new concept excite you, or do you want to see it in action a ‘bit more before you make up your mind?

Ubiquity takes language based instructions and turns them into action, right where you  need them to be.  This video goes a great job at explaining the add-on and showing it in action:

Ubiquity for Firefox from Aza Raskin on Vimeo.

Here are a few more tutorials to get you started:

• User Tutorial for Ubiquity
• Developer Tutorial for Ubiquity

The initial prototype is a little rough, and not ready for prime time yet.  It does show a lot of promise though, and with a little creativity this type of tool could go a long way.  Ubiquity looks to be another amazing tool to add to the many that have come out of Mozilla Labs.

Think of it as mixing the web browsing of Firefox with an instant messenger.  This way you always have your close connections at your fingertips while your out on the Web.  The future roadmap for Snowl looks to deliver:

• support for additional message sources, e.g. Facebook, AIM, Google Talk, etc.;
• an interface for writing and sending messages to enable true two-way conversations;
• an API to make it easier for developers to build new experimental interfaces, e.g. an instant message view.

They have also released a couple of screenshots of the project as it looks now:

Are you excited yet, or is it still too early to tell?  Personally, it does look exciting and there is no doubt in my mind if anybody was to do it right, it would be Mozilla for sure.

Today we are featuring a Firefox extension that Justin Dolske just whipped up called Chromatabs. It colorizes each browser tab to provide a strong visual indication of which site is loaded.

Hey, Mozilla Labs guys and gals, give me more of this type of content. Nice all around.

+ Learn More About Leveraging Human Perception for Happier Tabbing!

This web log presents updates from the new Mozilla Corporation effort, Mozilla Labs. Labs is a place for “exploring the future of the web experience”. The discussion around Labs started with the informed musing of Mitchell Baker, Chief Lizard Wrangler, and the need for prototypes in the Mozilla product development process.

+ Check Out Mozilla Labs!