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Firefox Facts

Multi-Colored Versions of Firefox’s Default Theme

Have a love for the default Firefox 3 theme (also known as Strata) but just wish it was all one color? If you find yourself in this proverbial boat - I have some good news.  You now have several different colors to choose from when it comes to using the default Firefox theme.

Marsh Aqua

Mash Aqua - Firefox Theme Preview

Marsh Chrome

Marsh Chrome - Firefox Theme Preview

Marsh Pink

Marsh Pink - Firefox Theme Preview

Marsh Red

Marsh Red - Firefox Theme Preview

Marsh Orange

Marsh Orange - Firefox Theme Preview

Marsh Purple

Marsh Purple - Firefox Theme Preview

Marsh Green

Marsh Green - Firefox Theme Preview

Marsh Brown

Marsh Brown - Firefox Theme Preview

So what do you think of these more colorful versions of the default Firefox 3 theme?

Add Keyboard Shortcuts to Your Bookmarks

Want to have the power of your bookmark collection right at your fingertips?  SiteLauncher will allow you to assign keyboard shortcuts to all your favorite bookmarks.

SiteLauncher in Action

To launch, all you have to do is hit Ctrl+Space (or for the Mac users Ctrl+Alt).  If you want to use it without the graphical launcher above, use Shift+Alt (or Shift+Ctrl for the Mac users).

Some of the best features include the ability to customize the appearance, set the launcher to open in current or new tabs, set the launcher up as your homepage and you can add as many sites to it as you need to.

You can get more information about it via the official web site, and download it via the Firefox Add-ons site.  It is nice to see a good looking and well thought out extension - and this one fits the bill.

Best Firefox Facts of December 2008

What Firefox tips, tricks and reviews did December bring out way?  Well, there is no doubt that Firefox closed out the year doing better than ever.  Here are some of the highlights we shared together here on FirefoxFacts.com in the month of December - one more time.

Useful Firefox Add-ons

Mozilla and Firefox News

Best of the Best Firefox Tools

Firefox Themes

Firefox Tweaks, Hacks and Tips

From everybody at Firefox Facts (which I am pretty sure, that is just me) I want to wish all the Firefox fans out there who come in and visit or subscribe to the RSS feed a very happy new year!

Also, be sure to check out the best web hosting podcasts of 2008 too!  Great list of great shows!

Keep in Touch with Friendbar

Connect with Your Facebook and Twitter FriendsNeed an easier way to keep in touch with your friends on the Web?  You have your Twitter add-ons and your Facebook add-ons.  What about one that promises to connect them all?  That is what the Friendbar add-on for Firefox is all about.

The nice thing here is that it displays a running stream of text and photo updates from Facebook and Twitter right on the toolbar, and allows you to post updates and reply from the toolbar itself.

Some of the features included are:

  • View your Facebook and Twitter updates, right on Friendbar
  • Get a stream of your friends Facebook photos right on Friendbar
  • Roll over the photos to view an enlarged version
  • Click on the enlarged photo (or album name) to visit the photo or albums web page
  • Get an alert when a new message arrives
  • Send Twits and Facebook updates from Friendbar (separately or both together)
  • Automatically create a tiny URL for the web page you are viewing
  • Click on links in text updates to open the link in a new tab
  • Toggle Text updates and Photos on and off

For those people out there having a hard time managing their friends from one web site to the next, this experimental add-on from Firefox can come in really handy.  I would like to see them add support for other social networks down the line - but since this is still a brand spanking new add-on for Firefox, I am sure even more updates are yet to come.

You can pick the Friendbar up via the Firefox add-ons web site.

Firefox Plans to Turn Web Apps into Desktop Apps

Remember Prism?  It was the Mozilla powered application that let you turn any web page into a desktop application.  Not much has happened since it was released, however many other browsers have started looking in that direction (merging the web and the desktop program list).  So what about Firefox?

Turning Web Apps into Desktop Apps

It appears there are plans to include “Prism-like features” into a future release of Firefox.

The plan thus far is to help users discover when they might want to make a web application into a desktop application.  For example, if you use Google Reader a lot - after so many uses, Firefox may suggest to you, “Would you like to make Google Reader a desktop application?” or “Would you like to add Google Reader to your Quick Launch bar?”.

I like the idea - and I can’t wait to see it happen.  How about you?  (Source: Download Squad)

Turn Your Firefox into an Arcade

Firefox Arcade GamesAfter all the stress of the holidays, and before you start getting stressed about taxes - you need a way to relax.  How do I relax?  I play games.  Want to turn Firefox into your own personal arcade?  Here are a more than a few extensions to help you along the way.

PONG! Multiplayer - Play a game of PONG! while you are waiting. (also see the PingPong add-on)

Cards - A collection of patience (i.e. single-player) card games. Included are: Aces Up, Black Widow, Canfield, Demon, Double Klondike, Double Solitaire, Grounds for Divorce, Fan, Forty Thieves, FreeCell, Golf, Gypsy, Klondike, Maze, Mod 3, Montana…

Pacman - The Retro Extension. Yet another Pacman-clone. (Also check out PagMan)

Clines - Clines, a little game. (with dots!)

Mozteroids - Mozteroids is a variant of the computer game classic Asteroids.

Xultris - Xultris is a variant of the computer game classic Tetris.

Snake - Snake is a clone of the popular Snake or Worm…

Xoom - a top-down racing game with simple graphics, but tons of fun.

Red vs. Blue - The goal of this little game is to sort all red dots to left side and all blue dots to right side. Do this as fast as possible.

Froggr - Froggr is a clone of the classic Frogger.

There are tons of free flash games out there too, so to help you with those - I have another add-on that is worth mentioning.  Flash Game Maximizer does exactly what it claims to do.  It maximizes the flash game you are playing to fill the entire browser.   Also, you can’t forget about FireNES, which (last time I checked) allowed you to play tons of old NES titles.

Have any other favorite games you can play from within Firefox?

Pour a Black Glaze on Firefox

If you are in search for a new dark theme to replace your Christmas themed one you got last week, have no fear - I have a good one for you.  Glaze Black is a simple and flat theme for Firefox.  Oh, did I mention it is black too?  You can oooooh and awww at the screenshot below:

Glaze Black theme for Firefox

As you can see, it has a very simple look and feel to it (which is something I like to look for in a theme, personally).  You can pick it up on the Firefox Add-ons web site and be sure to stop by and see the creator of the theme at theme-oasis.org.

As a ‘bit of an extra tip - you can pick up a white version of this same theme here.

Merry Christmas from Firefox Facts

Santa Love the Web Hosting ShowThis year for Christmas, I am doing things a little differently.  Instead of actually getting presents for the thousands of readers we have coming in here daily (or my favorite 5,000 or so that subscribe to the free RSS feed).  I wanted to give you the gift of two of my other projects you may or may not know about.

Mitchelaneous

This is my blog filled with geek candy.  More personal and of the wall in nature, this is my personal spot to rant and rave about any miscellaneous thing that might cross my mind.  From web development help to custom desktop icons - I am sure there is something for everybody to enjoy here.

My Favorite Mitchelaneous Posts of the Year:

You can subscribe to Mitchelaneous.com for free by plugging it’s RSS feed into your favorite news reader of choice.  Here are a few subscription buttons to help you in that process:

Add to Google Reader or Homepage Add to netvibes Add to Pageflakes Subscribe in Bloglines

The Web Hosting Show

The Web Hosting Show is my weekly podcast on and about the wacky world of web hosting.  From news, to help and even some shopping tips - I like to help people get the most out of their hosting accounts - while having a little fun along the way.

My Favorite Web Hosting Show Posts of the Year:

You can subscribe to WebHostingShow.com for free by plugging the RSS feed into your favorite news reader of choice.  Here are a few subscription buttons to help you in that process:

Add to Google Reader or Homepage Add to netvibes Add to Pageflakes Subscribe in Bloglines

Thanks to one and all for making Firefox Facts one of the most popular Firefox blogs out there in the world today.  Hope you all have a happy holiday, and I promise to keep delivering you the best of the Firefox world day after day.

The Colorful Themes of Avant.Garde

I have no clue what avant.garde stands for,  but I do have to say - no matter what you call it, this theme is colorful and unique.

avant.garde Theme for Firefox

I think that the theme creator describes the inspiration for this theme much better than I could do.   So I made a theme based on the humble spiral, and I wanted it to be colorful and fun, but also inherently functional and practical. There are certainly colorful and fun themes out there, and there are definitely practical themes out there, but never both. Why? Or more to the point, why not? As one more surprise to toss in there - there are several flavors of this theme to choose too.

Choose Your Favorite Theme Flavor!

Verde (Green Version) Mandarino (Orange) Lilla (Purple) Blu (Blue) Argento (White) Rosa (Pink) Nero (Black) Classic (as seen above)

Click on the thumbnail above to check out that theme’s page on the Firefox Add-ons site.  They are experimental themes, so you may have to login to Firefox’s site before you can download.  I am looking forwad to seeing more themes by this interesting designer.  Also, interested in hearing what you think about them too.

Trouble Removing a Firefox Add-on?

Need Help Removing Add-ons?Ever have a Firefox add-on that just did not want to leave your PC?  Most of the extensions to Firefox are really easy to remove, however sometimes you run into a situation where one is so bad or tricky, it just doesn’t want to let go.  Here are some of the common ways to remove an add-on from Firefox.

The Traditional Way

The way you usually uninstall add-ons from Firefox is to go to Tools and then Add-ons from the menu bar.  In the next Window, you should see your extensions (if not, hit the “Extensions” tab at the top).  Now click on the one you wish to remove, and hit the button labeled “Uninstall”.  You can do this several times if you need to get rid of several add-ons.  Now, simply restart Firefox and your add-on in question should be removed.

Try Removing the Add-on via Safe Mode

Close out Firefox, and start up using Firefox’s safe mode.  Try to use the traditional steps above then to remove the addon that is bugging you.

Checkout Add/Remove Programs

This might change some (depending on what version of Windows you are using) but these general directions should get you to the right spot.  Click on the start menu (or windows globe) and go to the control panel.  From there, you want to go to the “Add/Remove Programs” settings.  Scroll down this list and see if you see the extension in question here that you can not remove via Firefox.  Some toolbars and add-ons install themselves here, rather than the traditional add-ons menu from inside of Firefox.

Last (but not least) Remove the Add-on Manually

You can also remove add-ons manually, but I would leave this as a last resort.  You will need to navigate to your Firefox profile folder.  Once you make it there, look for a folder called “extensions”.  Inside of that folder, you will see more folders with names that look like random ‘bit of text thrown together.  Each folder represents an extension that has been installed. Go through each folder, and look for install.rdf.  Open that up in your standard notepad program and it should tell you the name of the extension you are looking at.  If you can’t find it, search the install.rdf for the phrase “em:name”.  After that, the name of the extension should be given.  You may also find a few themes inside this folder too.  Once you find an install.rdf that matches that addon you want to remove, you can delete that extensions entire folder.

As you noticed, this pretty much covered things for the Windows people to some extent.  If any Apple or Linux fans want to let me know how they do things, please drop in a comment and share with the group!

Bonus: Check out my weekly web hosting podcast, the Web Hosting Show! - RSS Feed

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