6 Must-Have Firefox Extensions for Enhancing the Apps You Use Most
by Sam Dean - Apr. 16, 2009Comments (2)- Related Blog Posts
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Here at OStatic, we've often covered the most useful extensions for Mozilla's Firefox browser. The extensions, of course, are what make it such a compelling browser to use. There has been a general trend among Firefox extensions toward extending the way the browser helps you get more out of the applications that you use all the time. In this post, you'll find six of the best examples of these app-helper extensions, which you can grab and install in minutes. Whether you use Google, Gmail, Facebook, Twitter, applications on mobile devices, or popular development tools, you'll find top-notch, efficiency-boosting extensions here.
Shareaholic: A Bridge to Your Social Sites
If you frequently use social networking sites, try the Shareaholic extension. It lets you avoid using buttons, boomarklets and other navigation tools when you simply want to share content on sites such as Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Digg, StumbleUpon, and more. It was a Grand Prize Winner in one of Mozilla's own Extend Firefox contests.
 
Gmail Manager: It Makes Life in E-Mail Much Easier
Are you a Gmail user? This post has an excellent roundup of 22 Firefox extensions that can make you more productive and more efficient in Gmail. Among the extensions covered, Gmail Manager, seen below, is a great extension that I use. It's especially useful if you manage more than one Gmail account, as it lets you do things like import and export preferences between accounts.
 
Googlepedia: Going Beyond Google Searches
If you're a regular Google user, and especially if you do any blogging or writing online. Googlepedia is a teriffic Firefox extension to add to your arsenal. It gives you a dual-pane view of Google search returns and returns from Wikipedia, as seen below. I often find that the way it expands the information in front of me reduces the amount of time I spend sifting through Google search results.
 
Xmarks: The Uber-Synchronization Extension
The long-standing Foxmarks extension was one of the most beloved of all Firefox extensions, and is now renamed and enhanced as Xmarks, plus it works with other browsers now. It's one of the best ways of all to keep your bookmarks and passwords synchronized across your computers, mobile devices, and applications. You can also use it to keep track of what other people are bookmarking.
 
iMacros: For Automating Online Tasks in Any Application
While some Firefox extensions enhance what you can do in a single application, the iMacros extension is the best one I've ever seen at automating virtually any iterative set of tasks you perform in any online context. I supplied a screenshot-driven virtual tour of how to quickly get started recording and creating your first macros with it here. You can start automating tasks and becoming more efficient with your online applications in about five minutes with iMacros. It's especially good for creating "Smart Bookmarks" in Firefox, which execute tasks instead of just going to sites.
 
Firebug: A Developer's Best Friend
Firebug is one of the most beloved of all Firefox extensions among developers. We covered it here. It's a great debugger for HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, where you can work directly within Firefox and it's a great complement to any other development tools you use.
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