extensions

This Firefox extension should appeal to anybody trying to minimize bookmark and open tab clutter. Read It Later gives you a one-click option for saving the links and keeping track of which ones have been read. It also now sports deep integration with Google Reader, adding little check marks next to blog posts. Clicking one lets you mark it to read later on.

When you first start the extension, it will prompt you to install the two Toolbar buttons that are used to control the extension and manage your reading list. Users can also control adding bookmarks to their reading … Read more

I have banished the Yahoo Toolbar from my PCs. It's not that I have anything against Yahoo. I use many of the company's services.

It's just that for me, the shortcuts on the Yahoo Toolbar don't justify the lost screen space, especially on my 13.3-inch laptop display.

So imagine my surprise when I happened to find the Yahoo Toolbar listed among Firefox's add-ons. (It snuck in when another user of the machine downloaded the Yahoo IM client.)

You might be surprised by the add-ons and extensions that have wormed their way into your copy … Read more

It slows down your browsing. It makes some Web sites inaccessible for no discernible reason. It doesn't even offer you any xiao long bao or pu'er tea for your troubles. But if you want to know what life behind the Great Firewall of China is like, then the Firefox plug-in China Channel is the cheapest and fastest way to experience using the Internet in China without actually being there.

After installation, getting to experience Web surfing the way the Chinese do isn't hard at all. Users have three ways to activate China Channel: via the China Channel … Read more

This free add-on for Firefox and Internet Explorer gives jazz music lovers something to sing about. Jazz Radio is a toolbar that lets you tune in to radio stations worldwide that play songs from the genre.

The bar won't wow or disappoint you with its appearance. A few radio controls allow for fairly quick volume control and switches between stations. You'll have fast access to jazz stations in locations from the United States to the Netherlands, so you can listen to fusion, smooth, New Orleans, and big-band jazz, to name a few. None of the stations tested missed … Read more

So you think you know the best extensions for Firefox? Maybe you do. On the other hand, maybe there are some real gems that haven't yet caught your eye.

Compare your list of Firefox favorites with Tom Merritt's as the CNET Executive Editor runs through his ultimate add-ons. Let's see if you agree.

I've only recently become interested in gesture-based computing. In the past I think it's been an overly complicated affair with too much learning involved, but these days with special hardware like Apple's multitouch track pad and some really fantastic Firefox plug-ins, gesture-based navigation is slowly becoming mainstream.

One Firefox plug-in that's pushing this envelope is Drag and DropZones. It's a mix of keyboard shortcuts and search engines in one simple tool that puts both together in one giant, transparent grid that can be summoned with a single drag and drop. To make it work, you … Read more

When I fired up my Mozilla Firefox browser this morning, I received an unpleasant surprise. I tried my first Give Me Back My Google search of the day, only to be confronted with a 10 search results and a "Next" button for more results. What the deuce?

I haven't seen a "Next" button for Google results in a few years, ever since I installed the CustomizeGoogle extension for Firefox way back when. Along with key features such as ad blocking, secure connections for Google Docs and Gmail, and alternative search-engine results, my favorite feature of … Read more

When Google, Yahoo, or any other major search engine overwhelms you with so many matches it offers more results than dollars in the national debt, ChunkIt might be the plug-in for you. Available for Firefox and Internet Explorer, it "chunks" up your search returns, providing snippets of relevant text.

The add-on splits your browser tab into two vertical sections, the left side with the ChunkIt results and the right with unchunked returns. Clicking on the text of a ChunkIt result loads the text in the right pane, highlights the relevant bit in yellow, and scrolls directly to it. … Read more

Automating repetitive Firefox tasks is one way to save your fingers from undue stress, and iMacros for Firefox is a great way to do it. From a sidebar you can toggle on and off, and you can run, record, and edit macros. Recording is as simple as pressing a button before starting and clicking another to stop. For more advanced tasks you can turn to a set of demos, but the Web site wiki and step-by-step tutorials were easy enough to follow.

While iMacros can theoretically be used to input passwords, best security practices dictate that you shouldn't. Being … Read more