Google recently changed the way your search results look and feel with a little more navigational help. If you are not digging the new left hand sidebar on your Google search results, and you want to remove (or just hide) it, I have two great solutions for you to try out.
Firefox makes for an awesome instant search tool for any web site out there that has a search box enabled on it. When you mix searching in the location bar with keywords for bookmarks, you will find yourself searching at least ten percent faster. Join me today, as I show you how you too can master keyword searching in Firefox.
Do you like how Google’s suggest feature works in the Firefox search box? I do. I just wish my favorite online realtor, Amazon.com, provided the same functionality for it’s own search. You too? Well, you are in luck – because I just tracked down the tool for the job – Amazon Search Suggestions.
This is the best way to add Amazon search suggestions to the search box in your browser. Having the suggestions in hand, you will really be able to speed up your shopping. This is much better than the default Amazon search, for one obvious reason – the suggestions you get. Not only does this provide you with a quicker way to search. It also helps with catching spelling mistakes and saving keystrokes.
You can pick up this addition to the Firefox browser over at the Firefox Add-ons web site.
Facebook seems to quickly be outgrowing the other social networks by leaps and bounds. It is hard to find a friend that hasn’t switched over to it from the other social networks like MySpace and the like. So with that said, why not grab a toolbar that will help you get a little more out of your Facebook usage and help you stay connected with your friends even better?
TinEye claims to be the world’s first reverse image search engine. Rather than typing in a phrase and looking for a picture, you type in a picture and get other pictures like it – or something like that. Thanks to the TinEye add-on for Firefox, you can get instant image searching done right from the browser.
Here is a little more about TinEye from it’s developers:
TinEye is the first image search engine on the web to use image identification technology rather than keywords, metadata or watermarks.
When you submit an image to be searched, TinEye creates a unique and compact digital signature or ‘fingerprint’ for it, then compares this fingerprint to every other image in our index to retrieve matches.
TinEye does not typically find similar images; it finds exact matches including those that have been cropped, edited or resized.
Once installed, you can right-click on any image, and select “Search Image on TinEye”. When you do, you’ll be taken to an TinEye web page, that will display your search results.
It might not be a tool for everybody, but I do find the idea of reverse image searching very interesting and fun to play with. You can learn more about it at TinEye.com.
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.
Looking to make drag and dropping a little more functional in Firefox? The Firefox add-on QuickDrag will let you load URLs, do web searches and more just by highlighting text, grabbing it and dragging it to the right location.
Here is what QuickDrag looks like in action, as well as more details on how you can use this great extension for Firefox to speed up your browsing.
Now, some might look at this add-on and say that is not much, however after you start using it, you really start to realize how much more functionality this adds – just be adding a few tweaks to the browser. For more help, you might also check out the author’s FAQ.
You can pick up the QuickDrag add-on via the Firefox Add-ons web site.
Another jewel in the ruff I discovered when browsing around the Mozilla add-ons site was SmarterFox. What does this add-on to the browser do for you? It helps make browsing the web just that much faster…and smarter!
Where are the features? Here are some of the thinks I liked about this awesome add-on to your browser:
There is definitely a lot of browser tweaking to be loved here. It is that type of extension that does many things well, instead of focusing on doing one thing really well. So if you would like to kill several birds with on stone – this is the pick me up your browser has been looking for.
Want to give it a shot? Pickup SmarterFox on the Mozilla add-ons site and let me know what you think. Has it helped you browse the Web any faster or smarter?
The idea of having a Firefox extension that gives you content related to what you are looking at is nothing new really, however I have found a Firefox add-on that will help you get it done in a new and exciting way.
Headup underlines words on pages when you browser. When you hover over those words, you get relevant content from popular web services.
Technically speaking, they “presents you with textual and rich media content related to the objects and terms it identifies on the pages you browse.” Here are a few more examples from their web site:
Use Headup’s ability to recognize objects and relationships to discover all kinds of information quickly and effortlessly. Here are some examples:
- Discover which of your friends like a particular band and gain access to the band’s videos and lyrics.
- Find blog posts and stock news about a company and discover which of your contacts work there.
- Get alerted about your friends’ birthdays and see which books they’re likely to enjoy as a gift.
Overall, I have to say it is an interesting idea – and a cool tool. Sometimes these semantic plugins kind of confuse the general public, so I would really recommend playing with Headup to see if it is right for you. You can pickup the Headup add-on on Headup.com or the Mozilla Add-ons web site.
We have looked at the ten most popular search extensions for Firefox, however we can not overlook the many popular search engines you can add to the Firefox search box.
Most Popular Search Plugins for Firefox *
Roll Your Own Search Plugin
Want to roll your own search plugin using any web site search box out there. That is an easy task to accomplish with the Add to Search Bar extension. If you want to “do it by hand” you can also create your own plugins with this handy tutorial from the Mozilla Developer Center.
More Search Plugin Databases
Now with those mentioned, you can’t mention the search engine box without mentioning the MyCroft project. There you can find a search engine plugin or search provider that you can quickly add to the Firefox search box.
To check out their most popular search engines, be sure to check out the Top 100 listings.
What tools and plugins do you use to keep your searching in order?
* – Yes,I left Google off the popular plugin list, cause everybody knows about Google.
