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3 Open Source Productivity Tools for Safari

Apple's open source browser Safari doesn't always get the love it deserves. That's probably because in its original state, Safari isn't as inviting as Mozilla's Firefox browser with all its native bells and whistles. Nevertheless, Safari has a cadre of loyal fans.

Productivity is the buzzword these days so if your browser of choice can't help you power through your to-do list each day, then it's not very useful. If you've been lukewarm over Safari because you think using it will impede your workflow, then try these handy productivity add-ons before giving up on the Apple browser altogether.

Safari AdBlock - Even if you're not tempted to click on advertisements on the Web sites you visit, those creepy dancing people hawking mortgage loans might be driving you to distraction. Install AdBlock with a couple of clicks, then let it do it's thing. Page load times might be a wee bit longer with the app turned on, but these before and after screenshots by its development team should convince you it's worth the wait:

Creammonkey - GreaseMonkey, the grandaddy of all Firefox extensions, lets users install scripts to customize the look and feel of Web sites. Creammonkey is its stately cousin that does the same thing, but for Safari. Dream up your own tweaks or choose user-submitted scripts to enhance your browsing experience on Flickr, display RSS feed from their original Web sites, and more. If you can't bear to part with your favorite Greasemonkey scripts from Firefox, the GreaseKit plugin lets you use them in Safari, too.

Read It To Me - This small but useful app uses Mac OS X's native text-to-speech capability to create audio files from content-heavy Web sites you visit in Safari so you can listen to them at your convenience. It may not seem like a big deal, but think how much time you'll save listening on your commute home to a collection of posts from your favorite blogs, instead of finding time to read them in the middle of a busy workday. Because you never read your favorite blogs -- like OStatic -- during work, right?

• firefox
• mozilla
• Apple
• plugins
• extensions
• Adblock
• Safari
• Greasemonkey
• Read it to Me
• Creammonkey

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