In this blog, I talked about five reasons to love Firefox. Number two was “Customization” and I thought since this was such a fantastic feature of Firefox, I should write a blog dedicated to just this benefit.
Add-ons are made possible because of open-source code (if that means squat to you, then I suggest you read this blog for more info.) A programmer can see how Firefox was built (the code used) and then write their own code, their own add-on, that can be downloaded and added onto Firefox, making Firefox adaptable to every person instead of being stagnant–the same program for every person in the world, no matter what they actually want.
On Sunday, I was sitting at my computer, just browsing around looking at random sites, when I thought, “I haven’t checked out the add-ons for Firefox lately. I should go look them up.” I clicked on Firefox Add-Ons page, and started at the top. Two hours later, having gone through every single add-on Firefox offers (there are over 900 of them,) I had downloaded exactly fifty add-ons. I counted. When I restarted Firefox, I could not believe everything on my screen. I had lost track of what I had downloaded (after two hours, it’s hard to remember what you’ve done!) and had downloaded several duplicates. I also downloaded several add-ons that after using them, I decided that perhaps I didn’t love them so much after all. I deleted a half dozen or so add-ons, but kept the rest.
The idea behind add-ons is that if Firefox builds a small, lean browser, it will run quickly and efficiently because it will have nothing to slow it down. Then if people want to download extras that make their browsing experience unique for them, then they can. Since adding fifty add-ons, I have found that it takes significantly longer for Firefox to boot up (perhaps five to ten seconds longer) but once it’s up, there has been no discernible difference in speed.
One extension that I didn’t think would be such a big deal but has actually been rather cool is the clock I downloaded that keeps track of how long I’ve been online browsing. When I have Firefox open but I am in another program, like Open Office, writing a blog, then the timer pauses. Once I focus back onto Firefox and start browsing again, the timer starts back up automatically. It restarts every morning. It has made me more cognizant of how much time I am spending online, and keeping me on track fairly well. Since I tend to get sidetracked easily, this has been a big help to me. Yeah, it’s a pretty small and insignificant add-on, but to me, it’s been pretty cool to have.
And that, in a nutshell, is why Firefox is so awesome. The customization feature can’t be beat! If you want some more ideas of add-ons, what they do, how useful they are, and some pointers about the best ones to use, don’t miss the tomorrow’s blogs, where I post 15 different add-ons that will make your browsing experience better. If you have extensions you use that I missed, or any feedback in general, make sure to drop me a note below!