Fan the Fire

All About FireFox Extensions

What are Firefox Extensions?

Extensions are pieces of software that you install into your Firefox web browser. When you download a brand new version of Firefox, it comes without extensions.


What do these extensions do?

You can consider them to be enhancements that you would like to make to your default browser. You can also refer to them as added features. There are extensions to do just about anything you can think of.


How many extensions are there?

There are thousands of extensions to choose from.


Who creates these extensions?

Extensions can be created by just about anybody. They can even be created by you. There’s no centralized company or organization that creates extensions.


Why aren’t extensions built-in to Firefox?

One of the main purposes of extensions is to give you the ability to customize your browser in your own unique way. Even though there are thousands of extensions to choose from, chances are you will only need, or use, a small handful of them.

One of the goals of the developers of the Firefox is to give you a minimal default browser with which to start with. This reduces the number of possible bugs in the software, and the amount of computer memory that your browser uses.

From there, it’s all up to you as to which extensions you’d like to add.


Do you have to add extensions to Firefox for it to work?

No.

You never have to install a Firefox extension. The browser will work perfectly without them.


Where can I find these Extensions?

There is an official Firefox Add-Ons website located at:

http://addons.mozilla.org

Finding & Installing Extensions

In general, you can find Firefox extensions in two places:

  1. Firefox Add-Ons website
  2. The extension developer’s website

You’ll see the following list on the left side of the page. Click on “Extensions”:





You can then search for an extension based on the category that it would fall into:





Or, you can type in a few keywords (or the extension name) into the search box:





Once you find the extension that you are looking for, click on it, and go to its individual webpage. Each extension has its own page.

Before installing, you should make sure that the extension is compatible with the Firefox version you are running.

You can do so by looking at the “Works with” section of the page:





If you are unsure which version of Firefox you have, please read “Check Your Firefox Version Number”.

You can then begin the installation process by clicking on the “Install now” button:



The “Software Installation” window will appear. Click the “Install Now” button:





The extension will be installed and you will be asked to restart your browser. You must restart before being able to use the extension. Click the “Restart Firefox” button:





After the restart, you can double-check to make sure that your extension has been installed. Go to the top of your browser and click Tools > Add-Ons:

If you see your extension listed in the “Add-Ons” window, you’re all set to start using it:




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The Advantages of FireFox

Three Distinct Firefox Advantages

1. Security
Main point:
• Firefox is the safest way to use the Internet.

Supporting points:
• We start with safety - We engage security experts before we even start development so we can identify and address potential problems before a single line of code is written.
• We build Firefox to be safe - Keeping people safe online is a big reason why Firefox exists. We take security very seriously, which is why we open our development process to allow security researchers to contribute at any point and on any topic. If a critical bug is discovered, we’ll make it public so it can be fixed as soon as possible.
• We actively work to keep Firefox safe - Security doesn’t stop once the product has shipped. We’re constantly monitoring threats and releasing new Firefox updates to stay ahead of the bad guys. Because we’re open source, we have an entire community of users around the world who help us make your web browsing safer.

Other Considerations:
• It’s important to give concrete examples of potential threats rather than just mentioning the abstract concept of “security”. People can easily relate to the ideas of identity theft, stolen credit cards, viruses, spyware and phishing, so explaining how Firefox helps prevent these things is key.
• Specific Firefox security features include anti-phishing alerts, password manager, protection from spyware and automatic security updates.
• The reality is that there are people out there who want to steal your personal information. That’s why we’re constantly refining Firefox with security updates every 6-8 weeks (and more often if a fix is needed to address a critical issue) to stay one step ahead.
• The main reason Firefox is safer is because of our open process, which allows us to identify, acknowledge and fix bugs more quickly than the competition.

2. Customization
Main point:
• When it comes to web browsing, we believe that one size doesn’t fit all.

Supporting points:
• Firefox has the most ways to customize your online experience specifically for the way you use the web.
• Add-ons (small pieces of software that augment Firefox to meet your unique needs) enhance the browser so you can be more productive, have more fun and be more creative online. For example, you can use the 3000+ Firefox add-ons to:
- communicate and stay in touch
- find the best shopping deals
- listen to music
- protect your kids from inappropriate sites
- access the latest news and weather reports
- and much more…
• There are also many different themes that let you express yourself by decorating your browser in a variety of ways.

Other considerations:
• The key challenge is getting people to think about the browser in a new way…that it’s more than just a utility. The browser isn’t just a static window to the Internet, it can be an active part of the Internet itself.
• It’s important to demonstrate the specific benefits of add-ons…the message isn’t customization, it’s why customization makes people’s Internet experiences better.
• It’s also important to remember the audience here…for consumer messaging, we want to focus on add-ons that are easy to explain and have the broadest possible appeal. In other words, this means referencing ones like eBay, FotoFox, FoxyTunes, etc rather than the more developer-centric ones.
• Using a familiar, non-technical analogy to convey a fairly technical concept is a very effective way of communicating the role add-ons can play in your web experience. For example, using add-ons is like designing your living space at work or building with blocks.

3. 100% Organic Software
Main point:
• Firefox is good for you: it stands for openness, innovation and freedom on the Internet.

Supporting points:
• We’re a public benefit, not-for-profit organization devoted to enriching people’s lives by preserving choice and innovation on the Internet (as opposed to being motivated by profits, shareholder value, usage of proprietary technology, etc.)
• We’re a global, grassroots effort - Mozilla’s products are a result of a collaboration between employees, volunteers, universities, foundations and corporate partners. Firefox was created by an international movement of hundreds of thousands of people from wildly different backgrounds, all seeking to develop the world’s best browser.
• Open source means a better browser for the 120 million regular Firefox users. We open up our process to anyone and everyone in order to encourage the innovation and development of exciting new technologies that will keep pushing the web forward and making it a better place for all.

Other considerations:
• The “100% organic software” concept sums up a fairly complex situation using a metaphor people can easily recognize. Organic stands for something that’s better for you, something trusted, something of higher quality…all key ingredients of Mozilla and Firefox.
• We need to focus less on the technical aspects of open source, which is hard for people to understand, and concentrate more on the tangible user benefits - innovation, accessibility, freedom, a better web, etc - to reach more potential users.
• A great example of the power of open source is the fact that Mozilla only has roughly 100 employees, yet is able to compete with some of the biggest companies in the world because of our amazing international community.
• Although the 100% organic concept really applies to the Mozilla organization as a whole, for our consumer messaging we need to show how this process ties back in to Firefox…the organic nature of our software development has created a healthier, higher quality browser that makes the web better for you.


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Make your own Free Easy Favicons

Click for free icon creator:


Now Also Includes Animation and Scrolling Text Options!

Please use a ‘jpg’, ‘gif’ or ‘png’ for the creation.. save it with the many options..

A favicon (short for ‘favorites icon’), also known as a website icon, a page icon or an urlicon, is an icon associated with a particular website or webpage. A web designer can create such an icon, and many recent web browsers can then make use of them. Browsers that support favicons may display them in the browser’s URL bar, next to the site’s name in lists of bookmarks, and next to the page’s title in a tabbed document interface.


The original means of defining a favicon was by placing a file called favicon.ico in the root directory of a webserver. This would then automatically be used in Internet Explorer’s favorites (bookmarks) display. Later, however, a more flexible system was created, using (X)HTML to indicate the location of an icon for any given page. This is achieved by adding two link elements in the <head> section of the document as detailed below. In this way, any appropriately sized (16×16 pixels or larger) image can be used, and although many still use the ICO format, other browsers now also support the animated GIF and PNG image formats.

(replacing ‘example’ with your site info):

<link rel="shortcut icon" href="http://example.com/favicon.ico" type="image/vnd.microsoft.icon">
<link rel="icon" href="http://example.com/favicon.ico" type="image/vnd.microsoft.icon">


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FireFox Detective on Download.Com

The original FireFox Detective is now on Download.Com, easy to install and transparent to current FireFox Users, its a great way to make a statement for the best browser available.
Get it from CNET Download.com!

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Incorporating a Forum into Your Wordpress Blog

If you are thinking about adding a forum to your WP blog, heres some helpful information and some tips.

There are several options here, two main ones:

Integrating External Forum Software:


There are plugins and documentation to use Simple Machines Forum (SMF) and combine your Wordpress userbase and make the two work together, there are at least two plugins available to simplify this procedure. The documentation is extensive and a bit complex.

For other popular forums, (such as phpBB) there are some plugins and documentation, but no complete integration package as far as I can tell.

Integrating Internal Forum Software:

These are more light weight, but provide easy setup and configuration, as they are simply Wordpress plugins..

There are at least two available:

RS Discuss - a beta release without a lot of documentation.

XDForum - in use here, is very easy to configure and blends in well with the overall theme of a WP blog.


Whether you’re looking for a full-featured external forum software (e.g. SMF, Vanilla) to integrate, or just a WordPress forum plugin (RS Discuss or XDForum). Obviously, the latter will be easier to setup, though there are several other factors you will want to consider. Mainly, an external forum software will have an entire community working on it - meaning that they’ll have a whole host of add-ons/plugins which a WP forum plugin won’t have, and your questions will generally be answered faster. External forum software is usually more stable and extendable as well.





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FireFox Detective for Wordpress

Description: this plugin determines if a user is stuck with msie and sends the download icon for Firefox
automatically..

very easy to use, simply put it in wp-content/plugins..

activate it…

if you use Firefox you won't see anything, if you use msie.. you get the 180×60 download button for Firefox..

You can Visit the Amiga Commune, go to the downloads area, and get your copy..

or
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6 GB Monthly transfer PHP Flags manager POP email accounts
3 MySQL databases Automatic installer (29 scripts) Password protected folders
5 Add-on domains FTP account Php MyAdmin
5 Sub domains File manager (browser upload) Clustered servers


We are using a powerful cluster of webservers that are all interconnected to act as one giant super computer. This technology is years ahead of other hosting companies. We combine the power of lots of server symultaneously which creates lightening fast website speeds. Not only is the service extremely fast but it is resistant to common failures that effect ’single server’ hosting, used by most other free and paid hosting providers. If one of our clustered servers were to fail or have a problem, your website will continue to run as fast as ever while the working servers deliver your pages quickly to your visitors!


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Come by and see whats going on at The XChange




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Free and Easy Link Exchange for your Blog or Website

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