-
RSS
In the first part of this series, I talked about how the StumbleUpon, Map This, and Answers add-ons enhance the Firefox browsing experience. Today we’ll explore three more add-ons that quickly, easily, and freely improve your web surfing (and there are many, many more available at addons.mozilla.org!)
SlimSearch
Searching is perhaps the most common activity on the Internet, so streamlining this process can significantly accelerate your online browsing. With the SlimSearch add-on installed (a two-click procedure, like most add-ons,) you no longer need to open up a new tab or window, load Google, and then copy & paste or type your query in the search box. Just right-click on the word or phrase you’d like to research and choose SlimSearch from the contextual menu.
You can then select any one of the following resources, and a new tab will open with the requested result.
- Google Normal Seach
- Google Exact Phrase
- Google Dictionary
- Google Images
- Google News
- Froogle
- Google Finance
- Google Local
- Google Maps
- Google Video
- Google Scholar
- eBay
- YouTube
- Urban Dictionary
- Wikipedia
- IMDb (Internet Movie Database)
- Netflix
Cooliris Previews
With Cooliris Previews installed, when you mouse over a link, a small blue box appears just to the right of your cursor. Mouse over that blue box and…
…a window instantly appears with the link’s destination inside, no clicking necessary.
You can click away within this new window just like it was a browser, but once you move your cursor outside the window’s borders, it will disappear and you’re still on the page where you started.
All-in-One Gestures
I use this add-on every time I surf the Web, and yet I’m only partly familiar with its capabilities. Basically, it allows you to use your mouse to navigate the Internet. Doesn’t sound all that impressive, but it is. By right-dragging with your mouse to the left, you’ll go back one page; to the right, you’ll go forward; up opens a new tab; down goes to the next tab.
You can use mouse gestures to execute just about any browser-related action (as the All-in-One Gestures options window partially shows here)…
..but even if you just use it to go forward and back, as I usually do, you’ll be browsing much faster and more effectively.
-
Support Barack Obama
