OStatic

I love the tabbed browsing feature in Firefox so much that it's not uncommon for me to have upwards of 20 open at a time. Unfortunately, several of them are often blank pages because I've forgotten where I was planning to go once I open them.

I've always wished that Firefox would intuitively know that if I highlight an address on a Web page and open a new tab, it's probably because I want to map it. Apparently, I'm not the only one longing for that feature. Mozilla is developing an extension that takes its best guesses about why you've opened a new tab in your Firefox browser.

This week, the European Commission announced its preliminary satisfaction with a settlement offer proposed by Microsoft that would end an antitrust battle that has been simmering for over 10 years. Microsoft General Counsel Brad Smith posted a response that said: We welcome today?s announcement by the European Commission to move forward with formal market testing of Microsoft?s proposal relating to web browser choice in Europe. We also welcome the opportunity to take the next step in the process regarding our proposal to promote interoperability with a broad range of our products.?

As Smith alludes to, a big part of the proposed settlement has to do with Microsoft including a browser ballot window in Internet Explorer that lists a broad array of browsers and allows users to choose which one to use. Opponents of that proposal, including Mozilla and Opera, have criticized the fact that the ballot screen is found within Internet Explorer, which is still bundled with Windows, and the fact that any alternative browser must be downloaded, which many users will be too lazy to do. So why are Mozilla and Opera being so reticent in the wake of the European announcement?

Firefox 3 has private browsing features built right in, but if you're running an older version it doesn't mean you have to give up your privacy altogether. Here are five Firefox extensions that will keep your browsing discreet and private no matter what version of Firefox you're using:

TrackMeNot - This extension runs in the background as you browse and periodically sends out random queries to search engines so your actual searches get lost in the crowd. Your search activities stay hidden so sites like Yahoo! and Google won't be able to gather any meaningful data from your visit.

It seems like it was only a few weeks ago that Mozilla added the 10,000th design to its Personas gallery of Firefox browser skins. Oh, wait. It was only a few weeks ago -- May 14th, to be exact. Not bad for a project that only launched in March. This week, a mere four months after Personas opened its digital doors, there are now 20,000 different designs available for tricking out your browser's header and footer.

It's not too late to get in on the act and have your own handmade Persona added to the gallery. Mozilla's templates and explicit instructions make it dead-simple to create and submit one in a matter of minutes. How easy is it? Well, I haven't got a lick of design talent whatsoever and I was able to put one together that won't scare small children. Read on to find out how.