Firefox Support

Review: Firefox 3.0 has Lots to Like -- and It's Free

The real vision behind Firefox is in the very essence behind the open-source movement. Mozilla is not-for-profit and is completely open with their source code. This means that anyone in the world can check it out, offer improvements or create their own new super-cool software to interact with it. Why do it any other way?

This is a relief, since Firefox 2.0 was more than a little disappointing. It got to the point where Arlene (my trusty assistant) and I couldn't recommend 2.0. This left us in a bit of a quandary. Internet Explorer is a kluge.

Although I consider IE version 7 far superior to version 6, it falls short of the speedy, secure, lightweight Web browser that Firefox promised with its initial offerings.

When Firefox 2.0 was released, there was excitement in the air; however, it proved to be unstable, which has been attributed to memory leaks. Firefox, I am willing to forgive and forget, especially because you did right with version 3.0. I am happy to talk about it and recommend it.

First, this has been the fastest install I've ever known. In a world where software installation means downloading the software, connecting to the Internet, checking the authenticity and only then starting the install, the quick install is appreciated.

Second, you'll notice the slickly designed user interface. Hands down, aside from not crashing, this is my favorite thing. There are things that make sense, like the back button doesn't light up unless you have a Web page to go back to. These are small but intuitive improvements that make me happy.

Maybe I lied. My favorite aspect is the speed of Firefox 3.0. Things are loading much faster. Firefox attributes that to its new Gecko 1.9 platform and a handy memory application that monitors and cleans up unused memory.

You don't care? Me neither. It's fast, and that's all I need to know.

Support for online applications is another great improvement. It's now possible to choose a Web-based e-mail site (i.e.: hotmail, gmail, yahoo) to open when you double click on a Web site.

Live Computer Support and Technical Support is now offered at all hours of the night via chat, Remote, Online and over the phone.

I have fallen prey to the sad little habit of my generation: I never answer the phone, and I talk on it as little as possible.

The real vision behind Firefox is in the very essence behind the open-source movement. Mozilla is not-for-profit and is completely open with their source code.This means that anyone in the world can check it out, offer improvements or create their own new super-cool software to interact with it.

Why? Well, Mozilla states it best: Being open means the next big idea can come from anyone across the world, rather than just relying on a few dozen employees at company offices. Why do it any other way?

Firefox Ctrl+Tab Popup Menu Switcher

The Tab Mix Plus extension has a gem of a feature buried deep within the settings: The ability to turn the Ctrl+Tab key from a direct tab switch into a popup menu that works similarly to the Windows Alt+Tab feature. It'll pop up a tiny dialog window that gives you a list of your tabs, and then on release of the keys will switch to that tab.

I've been using this for a while, but I only realized it's one of those things I can't live without when I actually had to go without it for a few minutes earlier…

To turn on this setting, open up Tab Mix Plus Options, click on Events and then the Tab Features tab. You'll see a checkbox titled "Ctrl-Tab displays a tab list popup menu" which you'll want to select.

Just try it for a while… if you use as many tabs as I do, you'll want to always keep this setting on.

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Installing Windows Media Player Plugin for Firefox

So you just bought a training video and popped it into your computer. You click on the menu in the autoplay dialog and it opens up Firefox, your default browser. Now you are staring at a blank screen. What now?
The problem is most likely because you don't have the Windows Media Player plugin installed for Firefox, so all we need to do is install it.
Note that you'll usually have the same problem anytime you try and view video files in Firefox using Windows Media format, such as .wmv files.
Installation
Just download and run the plugin installer linked below. You'll probably want to close Firefox during the installation.
Verifying Plugin Installation
After running through the very quick installation wizard, you might be curious if the installation actually worked. While the easiest method is to just open a Windows Media video, you can also type the following into the address bar to see the list of loaded plugins:
about:plugins
And you should see the Windows Media Player plugin in the list. You can also see which file types Firefox will use the plugin on.
And now I can view this Windows Media format video file in Firefox…
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Tweak Firefox's "Responsiveness" Config Setting

Tweak Firefox's "Responsiveness" Config Setting

Have you ever noticed that sometimes Firefox isn't very responsive while loading a page? As a frequent StumbleUpon user, this behavior grates on my nerves so I went looking for a solution.

When Firefox is loading a page it uses one of two modes: There's a high priority mode that doesn't pay as much attention to your mouse and keyboard, but loads the page faster. There's also a lower priority mode that interrupts the parser more often to respond to input events. It's even documented at Mozillazine.

What we can do is tweak the amount of time before Firefox switches from lower priority mode back into high priority mode.

Type about:config into the Firefox address bar, and then filter by the following:

content.switch.threshold

Most likely the key doesn't exist yet, so you'll have to set it by right-clicking in the empty area and selecting New \ Integer. Use these values when prompted:

Key Name: content.switch.threshold
Key Value: 1000000

The default value is 750000, or 3/4 of a second. The more time that you tell Firefox to wait before resuming high priority mode, the more responsive the application will feel… but it will obviously take a little longer to load the pages. You could reverse this if you were more worried about speeding up page load time.

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Toolbar keeps resetting in FireFox

Sometimes when we make changes in our preferences or configurationin Firefox, are not saved or remembered by the Browser. Following are the Conditions in which the Browser may not remember tha changes made by you:

Changes that you made to your toolbars do not appear when you restart Firefox.
Changes made to the browser window's size and position are not remembered when you restart Firefox.
Firefox 2:

You cannot save bookmarks.

Cause

These symptoms or errors are caused by a corrupted file, in your Firefox user data, called localstore.rdf. This file is maintained by Firefox to manage some of your local configuration information.

Fixing the problem

To repair this issue, the localstore.rdf file must be deleted. When Firefox is restarted, the file is automatically recreated. This issue can be fixed by using either of the following methods.

No bookmarks are deleted or changed by these methods.

Note: If you have customized your toolbars, any unsaved changes are lost when you complete this fix and restart Firefox. Before you delete the localstore.rdf file, you may find it useful to take note of what you have on your toolbar.

Method 1: Using Safe Mode

Close down Firefox completely: At the top of the Firefox window, click the File menu, and select the Exit menu item.Firefox menu, and select the Quit Firefox menu item.File menu, and select the Quit menu item.
In Windows, click Start, open the All Programs list, and navigate to the Mozilla Firefox folder. In the Mozilla Firefox folder, select Mozilla Firefox (Safe Mode).Firefox 3, Mac OS:

Hold down the Option key, as you start Firefox.

Firefox 2, Mac OS:

/Applications/Firefox.app/Contents/MacOS/firefox -safe-mode

Go to your Terminal and run:/path/to/firefox/firefox -safe-mode

Firefox should start up with a Firefox Safe Mode dialog.

Note: You can also start Firefox in Safe Mode by clicking Start, selecting Run (or use the Start Search box in Windows Vista) and then entering the following in the text field:
firefox -safe-mode

In the Firefox Safe Mode window, select Reset toolbars and controls.
Click Make Changes and Restart.

Method 2: Delete localstore.rdf manually

Caution: This method removes the copy of localstore.rdf in the profile folder. Do not delete the localstore.rdf copy in the Firefox program installation folder by mistake!

From the menu at the top of the Firefox windowbar, select FileFirefox and then select the ExitQuit FirefoxQuit menu item.
Go to your profile folder.
In the folder, delete the file localstore.rdf.

Use Multiple Firefox Profiles at the Same Time

Did you know that you can run more than one Firefox profile at once? This can be extremely useful if you want to test out extensions more easily, create a web development profile, run a slimmed down profile just for Gmail, or if you just want to have a clean profile.
The first thing you'll need to do is create a new profile. You'll need to run the following from a run dialog or command prompt, adjusting the path if necessary.
C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe -profilemanager
Create an extra profile by using the Create Profile wizard, and make sure that each profile has a distinct name. You'll also want to leave the "Don't ask at startup" box checked.
The next thing you'll want to do is make another shortcut to Firefox. You can just copy/paste the current shortcut if you feel like it, then open up the properties page and go to the Shortcut tab.
Add the following to the end of the Target box. As you can see, my profile was named Geek, so that's what I used.
-P PROFILENAME -no-remote
Now on the second shortcut, which I suggest you give a relevant name to, go into the same place except use the profile name for the secondary profile. Make sure you use the -no-remote option!
Now you should be able to use either shortcut to open a new Firefox window specific to that profile. Extensions, bookmarks, themes, will all be specific to the profile, and a new profile will start off at default.
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Show PageRank in Firefox while Google Toolbar is Hidden

I prefer the built-in search box to the full Google Toolbar, but I miss having the PageRank easily visible when I'm browsing around without the Google Toolbar enabled. Sure, you can have it installed and hidden, but then you have to reload the page for the pagerank to show up after you unhide the toolbar.
I'm going to assume if you've read this far that you also have the Google Toolbar for Firefox installed.
To use this extremely quick tip, just right-click anywhere on the toolbars, choose Customize, and then drag the PageRank button somewhere else:
I moved mine beside the address bar, but still easily visible.
Only three clicks required for this and you cant find there many other options which are useful…Like you can change the position of other options in the bar and can add some more features on your toolbar like ….google calender , google maps and many other such options.
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