I use the internet every day. I'm what's called a
"Power User". I rarely have less than 30 websites and programs
open at the same time. I like to multi-task and to accomplish things as
fast and as efficiently as possible. I HATE waiting unpurposefully, and
when things don't work how I think they should. In pursuit of these
ideals, I have found several exquisitely exquisite ways to enhance your surfing
experience:
Rule #1 is use Firefox.
or Chrome
· Firefox features: click here for a quick tour of its features--trust me, if you plan on browsing the web for any portion of your life, it is worth your time!. It's faster, safer, and has built-in spell checking and session restore. And thirdly, my personal favorite, it is more customizable. Below is a list of extensions to Firefox that makes browsing blissful:
· Firefox Add-ons.
o McAfee SiteAdvisor is an essential program: It helps protect you from bogus and otherwise harmful websites that would like nothing less than to steal your money or identity, fill up your computer with viruses or spyware, or even just spam you. If a site has any one of these problems, chances are SiteAdvisor will know, and will warn you about it. It installs a small green status bar at the bottom-right of your browser that changes color depending on the site's threat level. It even integrates with Google searches -- just look for the green checkmark.
o Google Toolbar. Searching is the wave of the future. I do it constantly. I am of the opinion that almost anything, if it is truly worth people knowing, is already on the internet in some form (and often for free!) if one can only find it. Luckily, Firefox has the Google Searchbar built into it, but why stop there? The Google Toolbar gives you one-click access to Gmail, GoogleMaps, Image Search, youtube, and other types of search. It even fills out forms FOR you and saves recent search terms in the toolbar. One need only click on the words to find them in the current page (Ctrl-F also works swell).
o Another spiffy add-on is StumbleUpon. It integrates into googles searches and gives you a star rating for each site that other users have liked.
o Next up is Tab Mix Plus. This magnificent micromanager unlocks untapped utility in your tabs and makes your browser bow to your every whim. It contains dozens of options that allows a whole new level of control. Some of my favorites include opening a new tab as another instance of my current tab, a memory that keeps of track of the order I bounce among my tabs (so that if I close a tab, I go to my most-recently-visited tab rather than just the tab that happens to be next to it), and, when, I have more 12 sites open at once (which is most of the time), it stacks them on top of one another (instead of the annoying slider bar that covers up my most used sites!). Want to open a link and not navigate away from your current site? Hold Ctrl when you click on it. Absence of this add-on adds to the entropy of the world.
o Download Statusbar. Hate that box that pops up each time you try to download something, taking up valuable space in your taskbar? Yeah, everyone does. Or should, because there is an angelic alternative in the form of the Download Statusbar. It shows all of your downloads, each with their own progress bar, in a nice little row at the bottom of your browser. Open them as you need them, or clear them when they're done.
o Other Useful Add-ons:
§ Xmarks, a utility that saves your bookmarks for use on any computer
§ DownloadThemAll!, an app that speeds up and even lets you pause and resume those huge downloads.
§ VideoDownloader lets you some download internet videos onto your hard drive.
§ ColorfulTabs just adds a splash of color to your world.
§
Better
Gmail 2 is an absolute must have if you use gmail (which lets you send
text messages to cell phones for FREE).
Remember, with as will all programs
in our digital world, play around with all
the options within them to get them just right for you!
-Here is a site that is a collection of images that the Church has put out that are free for blogging and related uses.
