accessorizing software.
I just switched to Firefox after using Mozilla full-time for about two years. The Firefox people have done a great job. Where Mozilla had some rough edges, Firefox is often better. In particular, extension management is better in Firefox.
Side note: for power users (read: "control freaks") like me, open architectures are the best. I like my Treo, but I like it a lot more thanks to all the third-party stuff I'm running. Emacs feels like Notepad without all my tweaks installed. My iPod is kind of limited and... that's the way it stays. Oops, not extensible. Apple wants to nail it right out of the box.
Anyway, extensions are pretty much the reason I switched: too many Firefox-only plugins out there. As it turns out, Firefox is better overall and it was time to abandon Mozilla anyway.
The only thing missing: extension synchronization between machines. I keep three computers in sync (work machine, desktop, laptop) and that means installing the same dozen extensions by hand on each one. C'mon, somebody write a tool that synchronizes entire Firefox configurations. I don't have time.
List time! Here's the Firefox extensions I'm digging.
- Googlebar - I just like it better than Firefox's integrated search. And I gotta have an "up" button.
- Web Developer toolbar - Lots of goodness. Essential if you do web work.
- del.icio.us - Post pages to del.icio.us with a right-click.
- Bloglines Toolkit - Nice way to add pages to a Bloglines account.
- Weatherfox - Seems corny but I like it. Much less craptastic than any of the "Windows tray" weather apps I've tried.
- Download Statusbar - I never liked the Download window much in Mozilla, and I don't like the Firefox one either. This is better.
- ieview - Adds a "open this page in IE" menu item. Good for those few remaining broken pages, or for testing your own stuff.
- TinyURL Creator - Easier than the bookmarklet I've been using. You never actually see a TinyURL page; the generated URL just gets pasted into your clipboard.
- SpellBound - This rocks: a full-blown spell checker for web forms (like, say, blog entries). I like to think that it's named after the AC/DC song, but sadly, it's actually named after a Siouxsie and the Banshees song.
- text/plain - Open non-hyperlinked URLs.
- Basics - I honestly miss Mozilla's "open new tab" button at the left side of the tab bar. Nobody knows why. But now I'm okay.