BP9_2010053_Web2.0T3

FireFox add-ons: Web 2.0 tools to the rescue!

One of the most valuable tools in my Web 2.0 toolbox is really a set of tools: Mozilla FireFox browser add-ons.  In this article I'd like to share a few of my favorites with you and explain why I think they are indispensable.

xMarks - bookmark synchronization across multiple computers...
My office computer is a Windows 7 desktop system, and my laptop is a dual-booted  MacBook Pro running Mac OS 10.6 and Windows 7.  With my free xMarks account, my FireFox bookmarks are synchronized across all three platforms, so I never have to worry about whether that article I found for my action research project was saved on my office computer, or either of the two operating systems on my Mac.

Fast Video Download - download videos from YouTube and other hosted sites...

At my school, faculty often want to put YouTube videos in a presentation, but that's not easy to do with web-hosted video.  FVD makes it easy to download videos for off line viewing and/or inserting into PowerPoint presentations. It resides as an icon in the status bar and automatically detects when videos are available for download.

DownThemAll! - download all files from a web page at once...

To be honest, I don't use this tool all that often, but when you need to download several files from a webpage, it is a major time-saver. For example, the MOODLE learning management system allows for student assignment submissions (uploads). Rather than downloading each file individually, this add-on allows a faculty member to download all of the submissions at once, which is a huge time-saver. Even so, this method isn't without flaws. It is very important that student file submissions are named in a manner that makes them easy to identify for the instructor. If everyone in class calls their file "assignment1.docx" it can get pretty challenging to sort them out.

 Web Developer Toolbar, Firebug, and Colorzilla - must haves for the web developer...
If you develop web pages, these three tools are must-haves. The Web Developer Toolbar exposes web layout and design information about a page right on top of the page, making problem areas and CSS (cascading style sheet) information a breeze to track down.

Firebug is an even deeper dive into the underlying code of page and enables code-tweaking for testing purposes. Changes are saved, but it's a great way to test how changes to web pages affect the appearance of the site without actually editing the page in question.

Colorzilla is simply a color picker that retrieves the hexadecimal code for any color on a web page. It's a great tool for tweaking a design layout. Once I have the hex code for a color I want to change, I can search the page code and replace the color with my own choice fast and easy.

Whatever you need to enhance your web-browsing experience -- FTP services, Gmail enhancements, or media services -- there's a good chance you will find it in the Firefox Add-ons. Check it out!