lovinglinux

Extensions for Opera and Chrome

2010-10-25T01:49:00.002-02:00

I have received several e-mails asking if I could provide versions of some of my extensions for other browsers, specially Chrome. Although I have been reluctant to do it, I have been playing with the new alpha release of Opera 11, which support extensions, and already started to port some of my extensions to it. Since the extension framework of Opera is similar to Chrome, I will be providing extensions for both browsers.

The first extension to be completed was AskUbuntu, which is already available for download. More extensions coming soon. Stay tuned!

FlashVideoReplacer reaches 100.000 downloads!

2010-10-03T08:22:00.000-03:00

Today I'm celebrating a milestone. FlashVideoReplacer has reached the mark of 100.000 downloads. It is by far my most popular extension, followed by FLASH-AID with 30.000 downloads. Both extensions were initially released 4 months ago.

This milestone is definitely a big incentive and the result of almost 2 years learning XUL and Javascript programming. When I started developing Firefox extensions, by the end of 2008, I was totally clueless about software development and coding, but I'm feeling more comfortable every day and I'm very excited about my future releases.

I have a lot of ideas for new add-ons and I'm currently developing 3 extensions that will certainly compete with FlashVideoReplacer for a spot on my most downloaded extensions list. They are a replacement for the experimental FoxMediaCenter, which I decided to terminate, and will provide many interesting features for movie and TV series fans.

I would like to thank all my extensions users, the Ubuntu community and Mozilla for the great support I have received so far.

Programming Firefox extensions is awesome!

Firefox 4 Customization: Tabless Browsing Experiment

2010-08-27T14:15:00.001-03:00

Firefox 4 Beta 4, which was released this week, introduced a new feature called Firefox Panorama (formerly TabCandy) that is revolutionizing tabbed browsing. Probably inspired by KDE workspace activities, Firefox Panorama allows you to view and organize tabs in groups through a drag-and-drop dashboard.

Before I can show you how I'm using Firefox Panorama in order to have a tabless experience, watch the video below. It explains the concept and shows how Panorama works:

I have been experimenting with Firefox 4 customization in several different ways, in order to achieve the perfect tab browsing experience for my needs. Until today, I was satisfied with Panorma combined with SpeedDial, TabScope and Tree Style Tab.

Although the workflow on that experiment was much better than my previous setup, I wasn't 100% satisfied. Besides, Tree Style Tab extension is not working with Firefox 4.0b4. So I decided to try something really different, like having no tabs. I'm not talking about opening everything in new windows. That wouldn't be good for performance, because of many extensions I have. Additionally, I would need to rely on KDE for switching between windows, which defeats the purpose of Firefox Panorama. I'm actually talking about hiding the tabs and using only Firefox Panorama. You can see the experiment result in the video below:

It looks great, but there are a few problems with this approach. For instance, having hidden tabs prevents the access to the tab context menu and I wanted to be able to select the desired tab from a group without having to switch to Panorama dashboard.

So I have combined a few extensions in order to achieve what I wanted, without compromising usability. First of all, I used Compact Menu 2 to hide the Menu Bar, without losing access to the menu itself and used the following Stylish script to easily hide the tabs:

Then I used Context Bookmarks to add the Bookmarks drop-down menu to the main context menu and made the Bookmarks toolbar invisible, which can be easily done from the toolbar right-click options. In order to retain the ability to access the options from the tab context menu, I moved them to the main context menu using Menu Editor:

After those modifications and some additional cleanup, my main context menu looks like this:

At this moment, my Firefox 4 interface is already slick and clean:

As you can notice, there is only one toolbar and the status bar. Although I have many extensions and buttons, I'm trying to educate myself in order to avoid the need to use the toolbars. I have recently realized the context menu provides a much easier access to features I use on a daily basis.

You probably also noticed that I don't have Back/Forward and Stop/Reload buttons. This functionality is accessed not from the context menu, but using FireGestures. I don't like to use the keyboard for navigation. Besides, FireGestures allows me to easily open navigate between tabs, go back and forward, create new tabs, access Firefox Panorama and tab previews:

Firefox 4 Customization: Tree Style Tabs Experiment

2010-08-27T14:14:00.000-03:00

Since I started to test Firefox 4 Beta, I have been trying new extensions, in order to replace those that are not compatible with it yet, and also revisiting some old ones that I didn't pay the deserved attention in the past. As part of my customization experiments, what I try here is to combine tree style tab browsing with Firefox Panorama (formerly TabCandy) in order to change the way I interact with tabs.

During this experiment, which obviously resulted in adding several extensions to my already huge collection, I have "discovered" some real gems and my browser looks completely different from how it looked like a week ago. Most importantly, my workflow has changed completely, thanks to a few extraordinary extensions and new features available in Firefox 4.

You can watch a short demo below, that shows how I'm combining TabCandy, with SpeedDial, TabScope and Tree Style Tab, to completely change how I browse the web.

I must thank SilverWave for recommending Tree Style Tab. This extension screenshots on Mozilla site aren't very appealing to me, so I thought it wasn't a nice extension and never tried it. But after installing it due to SilverWave recommendation, I realized how awesome it is. I guess this is a lesson about judging something by it's cover.

Firefox 4 Customization Experiments

2010-08-27T14:11:00.002-03:00

This is the first of a series of customization experiments I'm doing with Firefox 4. In each experiment I try a totally different interface arrangement and workflow approach, using themes, scripts and extensions. The objective of these experiments is to find the perfect setup for my needs and to demonstrate how powerful Firefox is in regard to customization.

Here is my first setup:

In this approach I'm not worried about screen size and I take advantage of almost all toolbars in order to accommodate the most important extensions buttons and tools. As you can see, I have a lot of them.

I'm not using Gnome. My current KDE 4.4 style for Gnome applications is QtCurve Klearlooks and the Firefox theme I'm using is QSQ, which is for Windows only. I was able to install it by disabling compatibility check.

I have also applied some changes using the custom Stylish script below:

This script basically changes the height of the toolbars to make the buttons fit nicely.

There are two other Stylish scripts that I use. The first one combines the Reload and Stop buttons and the other one changes the appearance of the Add-ons Manager. Although the new Add-ons manager has it's merits, I find difficult to work with it, due to the excessive amount of scrolling needed and because I can't easily identify which extensions are enabled, disabled or have compatibility issues. I have 77 extensions installed and 28 are disabled due to incompatibilities. You can see the difference below:

Before:

After:

As you can see, my Menu Bar is hidden, making the interface more like the new Windows UI. I was able to achieve that with version 3.2.0a2 of Compact Menu 2 extension, which replaces the menu with a button.

Another change that is not apparent in the screenshot is that my bookmarks menu is compact, so I can place buttons close to it if I want. I was able to achieve that with Compress Bookmarks Bar extension.

There are two other extensions I use that reduces clutter in menus and status bar. They are Organize Status Bar and Menu Editor, which works with compatibility disabled. The first one works flawlessly, but the second interferes with the tab context menu, preventing it from showing.

Before:

After:

Before/After:

On the left side of my status bar you can see more info than usual, due to Extended Statusbar extension. There is also a command line launcher, provided by version 1.0.6 of my FoxRunner extension. Search engines are not visible, but hey are tweaked with Organize Search Engines, that allows to organize your search engines into sub folders.

Meet the next generation of Firefox extensions

2010-08-14T13:27:00.004-03:00

Amplify’d from ubuntuforums.org

Jetpack is the next generation of Firefox extension framework, which is similar to Google Chrome extension model in many ways, but with the addition of several clever features and tools. Basically, it's Google Chrome extensions with steroids on top of Firefox's powerful extension API.

Below you can find some interesting videos explaining what is Jetpack and how it works:

If you want to start developing Jetpack extensions, you don't need to download the SDK. You can use the online Add-on Builder, which is looking really great so far. Nevertheless, you might want to take a look at the SDK documentation to understand how Jetpack works.

Links:

Jetpack Home: https://jetpack.mozillalabs.com/
FAQ: https://jetpack.mozillalabs.com/faq.html
Add-ons Builder: https://builder.mozillalabs.com/
Discussion Group: http://groups.google.com/group/mozilla-labs-jetpack
Wiki: https://wiki.mozilla.org/Labs/Jetpack
Other Resources: http://groups.google.com/group/mozil...resource-links Read more at ubuntuforums.org

TabCandy has arrived!

2010-08-14T07:51:00.005-03:00

Mozilla has included the so anticipated TabCandy feature into the development build of Firefox 4 and it should be available on the next beta release.

Amplify’d from www.downloadsquad.com

Mozilla bolting Tab Candy on to Firefox 4 today

Aza Raskin's Tab Candy is one of the slickest additions to Firefox we've seen in quite some time -- you may remember Erez stating that it's going to revolutionize tabbed browsing. Mozilla's certainly excited about the project, and they had previously announced that it would be added to the Firefox 4 code at some point in the future.

Today's the day, according to a tweet from Mozilla's Mike Beltzner: Tab Candy is becoming part of mozilla-central and should be making its debut in one of the upcoming FF4 beta releases.

If you'd like to play with the new builds early (as always, these are for intrepid testers only), you'll find them in the latest-mozilla-central directory on Mozilla's server.
Read more at www.downloadsquad.com

Firefox 4 will revolutionize tab browsing!

2010-07-31T06:53:00.003-03:00

Firefox 4 will bring a new concept called TabCandy. I don't know what to say about it. I'm speechless.

More info:
http://www.azarask.in/projects/tabcandy/#home
http://techcrunch.com/2010/07/23/firefox-tab-candy/

Discuss:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1542777

Give Feedback to Mozilla:
http://feedback.mozillalabs.com/forums/56804-tabcandy

Firefox 4 Beta Feedback

2010-07-21T00:40:00.007-03:00

Mozilla recently released the first beta version of Firefox 4. Although is probably too early for using it on a regular basis, specially if you have tons of extensions installed, is a great opportunity to help shape the next generation of the best web browser.

Mozilla included with the browser a feedback extension, that allows you to easily send your opinion about Firefox 4. There is only two options to select from the feedback menu: "Firefox Made Me Happy Because..." and "Firefox Made Me Sad Because...". When you select one of those, a custom web page is displayed, where you can specify your choice.

The most interesting feature is a dashboard that shows how many users are happy and sad, along with the messages and other statistics.

When you submit a feedback, Firefox detects the browser page you are viewing at the moment and automatically adds a tag to your submission. When browsing the dashboard, you can see the stats for specific features by using the search tool. For instance, you can type add-ons manager, to see what other users think about the new redesigned interface of that tool.

This is a great opportunity to show what you like and don't like about Firefox 4 and also to report problems with the beta release.

So grab your beta version and start submitting feedbacks. You can easily test Firefox 4 without affecting your default user profile and Firefox installation with FoxTester extension for Ubuntu Firefox.

Add-on security vulnerability announcement

2010-07-13T20:03:00.008-03:00

One malicious add-on and another add-on with a serious security vulnerability were discovered recently on the Mozilla Add-ons site. Both issues have been dealt with, and the details are described below.

Firefox 3.6.4 with Crash Protection Now Available

2010-06-22T19:37:00.005-03:00

Today, Mozilla is happy to release Firefox 3.6.4, the latest security and stability release for Firefox, used by nearly 400 million people around the world to browse the Web. This release provides crash protection for Windows and Linux users by isolating third-party plugins when they crash

Pioneer One: the first free and legal BitTorrent "TV" series

2010-06-17T00:16:00.004-03:00

While Hollywood is trying to sue or disconnect the Internet of millions of people to prevent unauthorized movies and TV series downloads, some people realizes the potential of BitTorrent and that there is a huge demand for free, easily accessible content that can generate revenue streams - the first free and legal "TV" series distributed exclusively through BitTorrent is available for download.

Download

Only the pilot has been produced with a small budget from donations. Nevertheless, you can help support the production of the next episodes, by making a small donation and helping to spread the series to friends, family, co-workers and blog readers.

You will receive some extras depending on the amount of your donations. Those who donate $100 will also see their name in the credits of an upcoming episode.

Also don't forget to seed it as long as you can.

Mozilla Survey: Tell us about your add-on experiences

2010-06-03T01:02:00.003-03:00

Mozilla is conducting a survey to know what users like and dislike about add-on practices. For example I don't like when an add-on automatically opens the developer site after an update. Although this can be useful and not a problem when installing a single add-on, sometimes I install several add-ons in a row. So when I restart the browser, there are several new tabs with sites that I don't want to visit.

Please take the survey and help make Firefox add-ons better for you.

Read full article...

Firefox Sync Graduates from Mozilla Labs

2010-06-01T12:53:00.002-03:00

I have noticed that Mozilla Weave Sync extension got a new name a couple of days ago. Today I received some good news in the Mozilla blog feed: it will become a feature of Firefox in an upcoming major release.

We are excited to announce that the “Weave Sync” project from Mozilla Labs has officially graduated and is now being incorporated into the Firefox roadmap. “Weave Sync” is now named “Firefox Sync” and the service will become a feature of Firefox in an upcoming major release. Until then you can download Firefox Sync as an add-on.

See full article

Browser Speed Test

2010-05-13T13:30:00.002-03:00

The test measures the time necessary to launch the browser, open a web page completely and close the browser completely.

Before initiating each test, the browser cache was deleted.
All browsers used had clean user profiles and were vanilla distributions.
Tests were conducted with a fast web site and a slower one.
The completeness of the page loading process was determined by the browser status message and by visual observation of the content, thus being subjected to imprecisions.

This is for entertainment only. Make you own conclusions.

Mozilla Add-ons Updates

2010-05-13T10:14:00.006-03:00

Mozilla is changing how they deal with experimental (unreviewed) extensions, in order to provide a safer experience to add-on users.

Since you can also download my extensions directly from my web site, I have decided to re-brand my download channels and include some useful information about what type of versions you are getting, in order to provide a safer and better experience.

You will find 3 types of extension download channels on my site: Stable Channel, Beta Channel and Development Channel.

Stable Channel

Includes only extensions that have already been reviewed by Mozilla and approved for public download. These are considered safe for beginners and are automatically updated through Firefox add-ons manager when a new version is available. Nevertheless, when a new version is released, it takes a few days before Mozilla editors can review it, so these versions include a [pending] tag above the download links.

Beta Channel

Includes pre-release versions of extensions that already have a stable channel. They are not reviewed by Mozilla and are updated independently from the stable channel. This means when you download an extension through a beta channel, you will continue to get automatic updates, but that only include pre-release versions. In order to get only stable updates you need to re-install a version from a stable channel.

Development Channel

Includes only extensions that are under development and are not reviewed by Mozilla. These are considered unsafe for beginners and are not automatically updated through Firefox add-ons manager when a new version is available. So it is strongly recommended that you follow the extension Twitter or the RSS feed to get informed about new releases.

Get updates via RSS, Twitter and Buzz

2010-05-11T08:05:00.003-03:00

You can get updates about my extensions, tutorials and other blog posts via RSS, Twitter. You probably already noticed that each extension and tutorials have their own blog site now, but they also have their own feeds.

See the list of available feeds at http://lovinglinuxblog.blogspot.com/p/feeds.html

Firefox Tutorials site is up!

2010-05-10T17:53:00.002-03:00

The Firefox Tutorials site is on-line. I still need to add the Troubleshooting section, but most of the content from the old site is already available.

The content has been revised and improved a little bit.

New sites and new domains!

2010-05-09T09:42:00.010-03:00

As you can notice, I'm currently in the middle of the process of migrating to a different server/domain due to performance issues on the old server.

Each extension I develop now has it's own blog. All redirections should be in place later today, but I strongly recommend to update you bookmarks a well.

Sorry for the inconvenience. I'm sure my sites will be much faster from now on.

Ubuntu Lucid Lynx 10.04 released!

2010-05-09T09:23:00.004-03:00

Time to spin-up the FTL drives.

Home | Download | Release Notes | Discussions

KDE 4.4 is awesome!

2010-05-09T09:01:00.000-03:00

I have been using KDE 4.3, over a command-line installation of Ubuntu, for a few months already and yesterday upgraded it to KDE 4.4.

I was already very happy with 4.3, but KDE 4.4 is truly amazing. Among the things I liked the most is the new tabbed windows feature, that allows to group and switch windows just like Firefox switch tabs.

I have to admit that I didn't explore Kwin before, because I was addicted to Compiz, so I'm not sure which features are new. But I have already ditched Compiz and found that Kwin is not only simpler to configure, but also provides all the features I used the most, like Window Picker, Window Rules and Place Window Compiz plugins. You can create rules for each application/window directly from it, in contrast to Compiz, that requires to enter the CCSM and switch between several plugins.

I'm also finally grabbing the concept behind the activities, which allows me to have different wallpapers and different widgets associated with each virtual desktop. This very useful for those who like too many widgets. Not to mention the dashboard, that can be display it's on widgets or the widgets of the current desktop/activity.

..and it looks damn good!