I'm a Firefox girl. There are so many useful extensions and add-ons available that make browsing more efficient and enjoyable. This is where Firefox blows Internet Explorer out of the water, I think. The number of ways to customize your browser can be overwhelming. I have quite a few add-ons installed that never get used, or I never got around to using. But, there are some that I use regularly, and have come to rely on to keep me productive and entertained.
StumbleUpon
I discovered Etsy through Stumble Upon, along with so many other fantastic websites. It really is one of the best browser extensions. With almost 10 million members, they are most definitely doing something right. Basically, Stumble Upon is a personalized website discovery tool. It allows you to rate sites (I like it/ I don't like it), and then makes recommendations based on your ratings. There are also some blogging and community features that can be fun. Beware: Stumble Upon can become a major distraction from anything productive you have going on.
Read It Later
Love this! Easily save pages to visit later with just one click. It's much easier than bookmarking, and it gives you access to your reading list from any computer and even your iPhone. I use this mainly for blogging. I wanted an easier way to reference multiple links that I was including in one blog post. This fit the bill. Trying to blog nine different Etsy shops, with photos and links, can be clunky and time consuming. This add-on makes it so much easier and streamlined.
Picnik
A easy to use photo editing tool that runs on your browser. There is an extension that allows you to right click any image and upload it for editing. I like it enough to pay to be a premium member. But, the free version has plenty of editing features to get the job done. Picnik is a terrific free editor.
FireShot
This extension creates screenshots and allows you to easily edit what you've captured. Very useful and has added features most other screen capturing services don't have.
Rescue Time
I just installed this, so I can't say what I think of it yet. But, I'm intrigued by the concept. It basically keeps track of your web browsing and gives detailed data about how (un)productive you are. So far, 57% of my browsing is distracting according to Rescue Time. You are able to customize the way it determines how distracting a website is. For instance, by default, Etsy is considered very distracting because it is a shopping website. But, I am able to customize it so that Etsy falls into the business category, thus becoming a much more productive part of my browsing day. That's what I'm telling myself for now, anyway. Luckily, you are able to pause the browser tracking any time you no longer wish to be reminded how much time you spend being productive.
These are just a couple of the great Firefox enhancements I currently use. Feel free to share any must-have add-ons that you use.
3 comments:
Just downloaded Read It Later and expect I will be using it a lot!
My latest discovery is clippings (http://clippings.mozdev.org/) - save frequently used text to paste into web page forms - very useful for leaving feedback.
And etsyhacks - o yea! - couldn't do Etsy without it! Firefox Rox :-)
Oh yes, Etsy hacks. I'm eagerly awaiting the return of all the hacks since the site changes.
I'll have to check clippings out, thank you.
I've added the Followers gadget to my blog - thanks for asking :-)
Yes, I'm having hacks withdrawal too!
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