Great Firefox Add-ons
2 min read

Great Firefox Add-ons

With the recent switch to Firefox I thought I'd share some nifty add-ons I've used in Chrome but is also availble to Firefox. So enough with the introductions, let's see some great extensions.
[![](http://supermekanismo.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/firefoxlogo.png?w=300)](http://supermekanismo.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/firefoxlogo.png)
[ ](http://supermekanismo.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/firefox-512-noshadow.png)
**Fox Tab vs Speed Dial vs Fast Dial**
[![](http://supermekanismo.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/firefox-512-noshadow.png?w=300)](http://supermekanismo.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/dial2.jpg)
These three extensions add a fast access to your sites you frequent. Here's the lowdown on the three. Hit the links for the downloads.
[Fox Tab](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/foxtab/): 3D effects, adds visual tab switching, kind of slow
[Speed Dial](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/speed-dial/): Fast, Customizable, able to create groups of links, looks butt-ugly
[Fast Dial](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/fast-dial-5721/): Fast, limited to 1 page worth of shortcuts, isn't butt-ugly
Personally I would have chosen Speed Dial for its customization options but it just looks ugly, I'm using Fast Dial for now.
[](http://supermekanismo.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/dial2.jpg)
[ ](http://supermekanismo.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/dial2.jpg)
**Downloads Tab**
If you hate the window that pops out after you've downloaded a file, this extension puts the download in a new tab (a feature of Chrome I love). [https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/downloads-in-tab/](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/downloads-in-tab/)
**Better GMail**
If you frequent GMail, you might notice that there's some stuff that needs improving. This extensions adds some cool things like hierarchical labels, row highlights and much much more. [https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/better-gmail-2/](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/downloads-in-tab/)
**AdBlock Plus**
One of the most popular addons, this one blocks those pesky annoying ads. This one's a mixed bag for me. It's really useful but sometimes goes in conflict with some other extensions so see if this one is okay for you. Oh by the way, after you install this extension and restart FF. Close the bar on the bottom that it adds.[https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/adblock-plus/](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/adblock-plus/)
**InstantFox**
This one is just pure awesome. I used to have a button to search YouTube automatically bur this one ups that concept. Once you install this add-on, if you want to search Google just hit "g [keyword]" right in your awesome bar and it'll hit up Google. You can replace g with y so it auto-searches YouTube. The only downside is that you could already do this with FF itself, this just simplifies it.  [https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/instantfox/](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/adblock-plus/)
**Stylish**
This is another awesome extension. As I've shown in a previous post, this one skins or changes the look of the website you're currently viewing. So you can give Facebook or YouTube a makeover.  [https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/stylish/](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/stylish/)
There's a ton more addons so just head over to the addons site and try a bunch. Enjoy!