The Hindu : Business : Firefox extension modules

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Oct 11, 2004

Business

Business

Firefox extension modules

APART FROM being a fast and secure browser, the feature that augments the Firefox's reputation is the availability of several extension modules that amplify its power and ease of use. NetSpeak takes a quick glance at some Firefox extensions that can multiply the comfort/productivity of its users manyfold.

Target alert extension

On a web page you may find several links pointing to a variety of resources such as a simple HTML page, a PDF file, an image file and so on. But on the web page, they all look the same for a visitor. That is, there is no visual mechanism that explicitly informs the visitor the type of resource a link points to. The Firefox's `Target alert extension' has been created to address this deficiency. Once the extension is installed/attached to the browser, to each link pointing to a non-HTML file, it will append an icon that represents the resource being pointed by. For example, if a link is pointing to a PDF file, you will find a small `Adobe' icon along with the link. For more details: http://www. bolinfest.com/targetalert/.

Delicious extension

The on-line social bookmark manager service, Delicious (http://del.icio.us/), lets you share bookmarks with other users. By accessing the link: http://del.icio.us/your-user-name, you can view your bookmarks stored on the service. If you often use Delicious' various facilities, you may install the delicious extension (http://delicious.mozdev.org/index.html) that helps you access most of its features directly from the browser window.

FireFTP

To upload files on to an FTP server, we use an FTP client program like Filezilla (http://filezilla.sourceforge.net). If you don't want to use a separate program for uploading files, install the extension `FireFTP' (http://fireftp.mozdev.org/) that integrates an FTP client on to your browser.

This extension adds a toolbar, packed with tools useful, generally, for a web page developer. The extension comes bundled with tools for doing a variety of tasks that include disabling cookies, viewing passwords as text, clearing cache, viewing page source, validating HTML and so on. For more details: http://www.chrispederick.com/ work/ firefox/webdeveloper/.

FlashGot

A positive feature of IE, which is not available in Firefox, is the facility to directly invoke download managers from the browser window. The extension `FlashGot' is an attempt to take care of such a deficiency.

FlashGot (http://www.informaction.com/mozilla/flashgot/) allows you to start download managers like LeechGet (http://www.leechget.net/en/) and Flashget (http://www.amazesoft .com/) directly from Firefox.

The extension `Paste and Go' (http://tecwizards.de/mozilla/) automatically loads a web page if you paste its URL from the clipboard. For this, right-click on the address-bar and select the option `Paste and GO'.

Another powerful extension worth a test is the one called `Google preview' (http://ackroyd .de/googlepreview/) that helps Firefox insert small images of web sites along with Google search results. If you want to copy text from a web page without any formatting codes (like bold, italics), add the extension `copy Plain Text' (http://jgillick.nettripper. com/copyplaintext/) on to Firefox.

The extensions described here are just a few among the several ones available. For more information, check out Extension Room (http://extensionroom.mozdev.org/), the site that hosts links to a multitude of extensions. The service provides an RSS feed that can be used to regularly get the details of the new extension being posted on the site.

It is likely that some of you are not satisfied with the extensions created by others and want to create own extensions. If you belong to that class, and would like to learn more about Firefox extension, check out this link: http://extensions.roachfiend. com/howto.php that points to an easy-to-follow tutorial on `How to write Firefox extensions".

Open source think tank

Net has an unparalleled power to harness the resources dispersed across the globe. But for this aspect, innovative computing projects like distributed computing would not have taken off. Exploiting this collaborative potential of the Net, a few projects aimed at generating new ideas/solutions for solving many developmental problems have been initiated. The Thinkcycle (http://www. thinkcycle.org/) project (discussed in this column long ago) that attempts to "harness the knowledge and expertise of skilled people to solve developmental and governance problems" is an example of one such experiment. The Wisdom project that aims to create an `idea development' environment is the latest entrant in this product segment.

A system becomes truly transparent when all its members have some space to participate in its day to day affairs. What we need is a mechanism that facilitates each and every member of a community to air his views and be heard/evaluated by others. In an open environment, where ideas from multiple sources interact, the wisdom that crystallises from such a rigorous interaction will be more valuable. The Wisdom project (http://www.wisdomproject.net/) is an attempt to provide the necessary tools for conducting on-line interactions smoothly.

The project features tools for creating an open source think tank that enables us to "extract wisdom from free and open dialogue". Here, anyone can raise an issue or start a discussion or present a solution.

The service provides the facility for others to evaluate the wisdom of each of the proposed solutions and through this process a natural weeding out of irrelevant ideas/solutions takes place. That is, rather than having a think tank with a few individuals, Wisdom project, if progresses as expected, will result in a democratic, `self-organising', open think tank in which all community members can actively participate.

J. Murali

Email the author at: murali27@satyam.net.in

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