Favorite Firefox Add-Ons

I'll admit it, I am a Firefox junkie. Although I do use IE occasionally, Firefox is use for all of my regular browsing. I also have Opera Browser installed. I really don't use it, but I do like the interface. One of the main reasons I won't switch is because I like my Firefox Add-Ons so much.

I'll give a quick rundown of the add-ons that I must have. There are actually not that many that I use. My preferences over time have changed, but the functionality these tools provide really help enhance my browsing experience.

I guess the easiest way to go through this is list each add-on one by one. I'll just work my way down the list one by one.

First, and probably most important, is FoxyProxy. This is a simple proxy selector that sits in the bottom right of Firefox. It is very powerful, but I only use it in a very simple regard. I couple this with Hamachi and FreeProxy. This setup encrypts my internet browsing traffic between my laptop and my desktop computer where it actually is sent out unencrypted. This is especially useful here on campus because to get Vista on the wireless, the connection is unencrypted because of incompatibilities.


Next on the list is IE Tab that simply makes a tab in Firefox use Internet Explorer. This is especially useful when visiting website that don't render properly in Firefox. (The Speed School of Engineering official website comes to mind.) You can see the difference between having the Firefox engine and the IE engine running in the below screen capture.


This is probably my favorite of all of my add-ons I use. PermaTabs can freeze Firefox tabs so they can not be closed and are there when it launches. I have three tabs that are ALWAYS open. They are Yahoo Mail, Digg, and Facebook. I know it would be simple just to leave them open, but having them this way assures they will not get mixed in with all of my other tabs that always seem to pile up.


Moving down this list we come to the sad story of how Vista has affected my life. TabEffect is a simple little add-on that performs a 3D spin effect every time you switch tabs. There was really no actual usefulness in this add-on, it just looked great. I actually had a few people ask how I was making the tabs in Firefox do that and pointed them toward this add-on. The problem under Vista is that the effect flashes a white screen after the tab rotates. It was just annoying enough for me to disable the add-on, but I can't bring myself to remove it.

Next on the list is Talkback. Nothing major to see here so I'll move on to the last item on the list.

I was a very frequent user of Yahoo! Toolbar at one time. I have since used it less and less. I could probably get away without using it but all of my old bookmarks are stored in Yahoo! Bookmarks and it is still nice to have those. I sometimes click the Yahoo! Mail button at the top if I need to reload the Yahoo! Mail page, but other than that it goes unused. I don't even need it for the search bar because Firefox has one built in that has even more features that Yahoo!'s.


My favorite add-on is definitely PermaTab. It has really changed the way I browse the internet. I'm a little more efficient and I definitely frequent my email, Digg, and Facebook more than I should, but I'm not hurting anyone.

I really need to search for some more add-ons that will help enhance my browser even more! (I promise you that is not as lame as it sounds... maybe it was just a little lame. Compared to the fact I wrote this entire blog entry about add-ons, it definitely wasn't lame.)

(VIDEO) Bill Gates Shows Off Microsoft's Touch Table

Billy Gates was on the Today Show this morning showing off his fancy new table. Want to see it in action rather than just in photos? Check the video for all sorts of goodness of it being used for all sorts of applications, such as playing with photos, wirelessly pulling photos off a camera, and ordering and paying for food using credit cards.



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The new Microsoft Surface Announced

The launch of Microsoft Surface marks the beginning of a new technology category and a user-interface revolution. Surface, Microsoft’s first surface computer, provides effortless interaction with digital content through natural hand gestures, touch and physical objects. Surface computing breaks down traditional barriers between people and technology.



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New Speed News Editor & Tablet PCs

I thought it seemed appropriate that I post at least a small bit about me becoming the new Speed News Editor. I just stepped into the position and am working frantically to get out my first edition. It is definitely going to be a lot of work but I think I am up to the challenge.

One of my first orders of business is getting a WordPress installed on the school's server. I do note the irony because I use Blogger for my personal blog. The website for Speed School Student Council will have copies posted of each edition I release. Also, I plan to use the blog to post smaller articles (more frequently). One of the first orders of business is to get some information about Tablet PCs from the prospective of students posted.

Good thing this is being imported into Facebook because I have a request for those who I tagged in this message and anyone else who may have a tablet who I forgot to tag or is not my friend on Facebook.

If you could get some type of write up, just a few paragraphs, about how you use a tablet, problems you faced, and general tips. It would be nice to have this from as many people as possible so they could all be posted on the website (which doesn't exist yet) to help those incoming freshman.

It would be nice to have what exact tablet you have, what classes you have used it in, and just any other information you think would be helpful.

There is no rush but it would be great if any of you could contact me and tell me if you will be able to do this. I'll post more information once things start falling into place.

One of my goals is to increase the online aspect of Speed News and if anyone has any suggestions it would be awesome if they could send them to me.

Dicewars: Better Than Risk?

I found this on WiiArcade (a great website for flash based games that work on the Wii browser). Dicewars is basically a simple version of Risk. The concept is that a map is randomly generated and then dice are placed on the board. You get to pick your number of enemies (between 2 and 8 total players). However, this is only a single human player game.

The game play is very simple and mostly automated. Basically, you select one of your piles of dice and attack a neighbor. The two piles roll all of the dice (the piles are capped at 8) and if the attacking player has a higher number they get the property and move all of their dice (except one) into the land they conquered. It is typicall not a smart move to attack a pile that is larger than yours. Equal piles are a little under half the odds but smaller piles are almost always a good bet of winning. After a player ends his turn they get additional dice equal to the number of connected properties they have.

This results in several different strategies. The most important aspect of the game is to connect all of your properties each and every turn. It would probably also be important to note that you play as the purple/blue player (depending on your screen). The strategy I typically use is to try and be aggressive enough to take the best area of land, typically a corner or long strait, and then defend my borders. I do this by paying attention to where I attack to form the fewest number of enemies until I build up enough forces. Also, I typically try to avoid enemies who are much more powerful. It is not a good decision to attack a area, even if it is an easy win if you will "invite" the enemy to attack land that you need to help reinforce.

Play Dicewars Here

I'll also note that the above is a picture, not the actual game if I confuse anyone.