Web 2.0 Easier, faster, friendlier

Thing 5 - Firefox web browser

June 26th, 2009 | by Aaron Trenorden

Thing 5: Firefox web browser: Webcam Conversation

What is Firefox?

Firefox is a web browser, just like Microsoft’s Internet Explorer , Apple’s Safari and Google’s Chrome web browsers.

Firefox is part of the university’s standard operating environment, so the IT service counter in the library should be able to help people install it if they are having trouble.

Why are we learning about Firefox?

It’s a very cool browser and with the ability to add extensions (which are a kind of tool) to your browser you can turn what was a screwdriver into a swiss army knife.

We are particuarly looking at a few extensions down the track,  these are Thing 6 – the LibX library toolbar and Thing 13 – the Zotero research manager.

Firefox is a browser that can make for information online a little easier.

What you need to do to complete this Thing

1. Download Firefox

2. Add an extension

3. Make a post on your blog about  the suitability of Firefox for you.

How to do the exercise

1. Download Firefox from here

2. This screencast shows you how to add an extension .There are step-bystep instructions below this.

Step by step instructions to add an add on

1. Open Firefox.
2. Go to ‘Tools’
3. Click on ‘Add-ons’
4. Select ‘Get add ons’
5. Click on ‘Browse all add ons’
6. Find your add on by :
   1. choosing your add on from the category on the left hand side; or
   2. typing in the name of the add on your are looking for or some keywords about your addon in the search field
7. Click on the “add to Firefox” button and follow the instructions.
   When you restart Firefox the add on will be available to use.

If you want to try more….

Different web browsers

Opera

Google Chrome

Safari

SeaMonkey

Keyboard shortcuts:

Find -Ctrl F

Open New Tab - Ctrl T

Open New Window - Ctrl N

Undo Close Tab - Ctrl Shift T

Quickly move between open Windows - Alt Tab

Open Address in New Tab (from Location Bar or Search Bar)  - Alt + Enter

Bookmark This Page - Ctrl+D

Select or Manage Search Engines (when Search Bar is focused):
AltUp Arrow
AltDown Arrow
F4

Popular extensions:

Extensions to help you manage your information experience

LibX (Thing 6)

A toolbar that allows you to check Murdoch library resources wherever you are on the web

Zotero (Thing 13)

Zotero is a free, easy-to-use Firefox extension to help you collect, manage, and cite your research sources.

Colorfultabs

Colors every tab in a different color and makes them easy to distinguish while beautifying the overall appeal of the interface.

IEtabs

Opens an Internet Explorer tab in Firefox

PDF download

View pdfs in your browser

Xmarks

Synchronize your bookmarks on more than one computer, also backs them up

Fireshot

FireShot is a Firefox extension that creates screenshots of web pages (entirely or just visible part). Unlike other extensions, this plugin provides a set of editing and annotation tools.

Googlepreview

Inserts a thumbnail of the website with your results

Advanced dork

Gives google’s advanced options from the search bar

Project Gutenberg

Adds Project Gutenburg ( 28,000 free books and 100,000 rare books)  to your search bar

SimplyBox

SimplyBox lets you impulsively Capture, Organize, and Share any interesting nugget you find on the web

Autocopy

Select text and it’s automatically copied to the clipboard

How to add a search engine:

Step by step instructions

1. Click on the drop down menu in your seach bar
2. Click on manage search engines
3. Either type in or select the seach engine from the list
4. Click add
5. New search engine added.

Popular Firefox Themes (Change the way your Firefox browser looks)

How to add a theme

Click on the picture to download the theme:

There are over :

• 300 themes to choose from
• 600 ways to change its appearance
• and thousands of extensions to choose from

… go nuts!

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