sandnsurf

The toolbar search is a great way to channel your searches in one simple step.
I use the search bar to search individual sites to glean specific information. I am very taken by alternative means of search trying to utilize the visual, auditory, tactile and kinaesthetic facets of intelligent pixel-person interaction. Really looking forward to sharing some more individual and in depth information on all my favourite alternative search engines - but for now, here are my favourite toolbar search add-ons.
Additional search engines can be found from your favourite search/networking sites or from the Firefox Search Engine web page.

1. Standard search using traditional search engines: e.g. Google and Yahoo
2. Visual search with alternative search engines: e.g. Quintura, SearchMe and Yoozilla
3. Semantic search with Hakia
4. People search with Spock, LinkedIn, Xing and ZoomInfo
5. Audio search with SeeqPod and Stumbleaudio
   

Search is an area of special interest of mine. I am particularly interested in the advancement of search from web 1.0 through 2.0 and into the semantic web 3.0 era.

But, lets take it slowly.

First lets look at some simple features to enhance your Firefox 3.0 searching experience with Google. The Google toolbar comes as a standard with Firefox (up in the top right hand corner). There are lots of ways to enhance your search experience and refine your search results with this toolbar - but for now lets just look at Google Search

You will all be familiar with the standard Google search bar found on iGoogle, thet Google home page and the Google search bar - but how can one enhance the search, refine the results, preview the web pages and explore additional sites?

Google Preview
This Firefox add-on inserts 'preview images' (thumbnails) of web sites, amazon.com and .de products into the Google and Yahoo search results pages. When you click on a GooglePreview enhanced amazon.com or .de search result and actually purchase a product, you support the further development of GooglePreview and help cover the cost of the servers. Read more or download the application from the Firefox add-on page

Customize Google:
CustomizeGoogle is a Firefox extension that enhances the standard Google search platform. Additional search results are available from links to Yahoo, Ask.com, AllThWeb, Live, Lycos, Technorati, Feedster, Wikipedia, Bloglines, Altavista and A9. The ability to perform the same search query across multiple search engines yeilds some interesting results!
This add-on is also able to be configured to remove unwanted information like ads or spam. All features are optional and easily configured. Take a look at the CustomizeGoogle website or download directly from Firefox.

Surf Canyon:
Brilliant little invention to assist in uncovering the information you need from your search without having to leaf through the top 10 pages of your Google, Yahoo, MSN or Craiglist.
Each search result you visit which has associated results 'deeper' in the search results list will display a small symbol, and by clicking on the symbol you can increase the depth and relevance of your search. For more information check out the beta version on Firefox.

Many of the Add-ons I use are specifically associated with search engines, networking sites, aggregaters or tagging tools. Each of these will be demonstrated and discussed in later blogs.

For now I just want to cite a few of my favourite tools for use with the Firefox 3.0 browser.

Here is a great image viewer:

CoolIris (formerly known as PicLens)
Great Add-on for Firefox, Internet Explorer and other browsers.
PicLens transforms your browser into a full screen, 3-dimensional viewing platform
Stunning experience for viewing online photos and videos with a rotating "3D Wall".
Watch the demonstration and then add the application
Brilliant for Facebook, Flickr, picassa, photobucket, google images and many other photo galleries. Just click on the little grey arrow which appears over the images you want to see and you're away with the full 3-D wall of images.
To close the full screen view just hit the 'escape' button

Enhanced Tab Functionality

Undo closed Tabs:
One of the great features of the newer web browsers (especially Firefox 3.0) is the ability to open new web pages in 'tabs' within the same browser (rather than opening up a whole new browser window)
This is useful if you want to

• Open new web page to enter a new website address (ctrl + t)
• Open a new web page to search using the toolbar (ctrl + t)
• Open a hyperlink from within the page you are reading - in a separate webpage (hold the control key (command key on a Mac) and then click the desired hyperlink
  

However, the one infuriating things with tabs is when you accidentally close the tab down. Undo Closed Tabs is a great little gadget allows you to re-open the closed tab with one simple click.

Dealing with multiple tabs
Obviously one of the problems of the tab system (apart from accidentally closing the wrong one) is the need to quickly identify which tab to open next. There are three helpful solutions

• Firefox Showcase
• Ctrl Tab
• Faviconise Tab

Firefox Showcase
Great way to quickly and easily review all the tabs in either a fixed screen format or in a sidebar view. Explanation and Add-on download available from Firefox add-on page.
Note: once the showcase application has been downloaded to your Firefox - you still have to find somewhere to put the 'icons' to use the applications functions.

• Go to the top menu bar and select 'view'
• Scroll down and select 'Toolbars'
• Then select 'customize' from the bottom of this list
• Drag the icons you want to your Firefox toolbar
• I use the 'showcase sidebar' and the 'showcase tab targeting all windows'

Ctrl Tab
Simple navigation pane which uses ctrl + tab (cmd + tab on Mac) to allow quick navigation through multiple tabs with ease. Nice visuals. Alternatively you can use ctrl+shift+ a (cmd+ shift+ a) to have the display fixed on your screen before you choose the web page to view. Simply go to the add-ons page to download or read more.

Faviconise Tab
Simple and neat way to reduce the size of your tabs to just the size of the favicon. Easy to use and very effective when used in combination with the other programmes to assist in tab searching. Check out the direct Firefox link

So, you have successfully installed Firefox 3.0 - but what of customisation I hear you cry

Add-ons are extensions to the Firefox framework which are designed to enhance your browsing experience. Personalisation allows you to choose from a vast array of tools - but be warned - customisation can come at a price and if you become too greedy your add-on collection will clutter your interface; your toolbar will extend to fill your entire browsing field and ultimately your browsing speed will suffer

How do I customise my Firefox with an add-on?
First you need to find the add-on. Either

1. Find the specific add-on from the Firefox site or from the 'add-on reviews' from this blog
2. Use the 'tools' menu in the toolbar of your Firefox browser
3. Use the 'add to Firefox' button from a participating site/network
   

1. The Firefox site is vast and the huge number of add-ons can be confusing and at times conflicting. I find the best starting point for a general application review is to go to the 'recommended Firefox add-ons'. This provides a constantly evolving list of the top add-ons. I frequently review this list to see what's new.

2. Using the Tools menu is a simple and effective way of maintaining your add-ons, plug-ins and browser themes

• From the top toolbar of your browser - select 'tools'
• Scroll down the menu and click on 'add-ons'
• This will open a separate window for all your add-on needs
• 'Get add-ons' - search for and add a specific application
• 'Extensions' - lists your current add-ons and allows you to maintain them (install, uninstall, disable and alter add-on preferences)
• 'Themes' - allows you to alter the appearance of your Firefox browser (warning - some of these themes are beautiful but can really slow down the browser speed)
• 'Plug-ins' - auto-filled with most of the tools you will need to explore the web through Firefox

3. When using certain social/professional networks or web applications, an option to install the Firefox toolbar add-on will appear. Simply click the 'add to Firefox' button and you will enter the installation phase.

Firefox Add-on Installation
In most cases a separate window with the installation instructions will appear. By clicking on the 'install' button the add-on will be installed.
After each installation you will be presented with a 'Restart Firefox to complete your changes' option. I generally wait until all my new add-ons have been chosen and then click the 'restart Firefox' button and wait with eager anticipation to watch the pixels dance in delight with their new Firefox toy....

The Firefox 3.0 browser is quick, efficient and highly customisable. It uses far less system resources and has far more security features than any other browser. Whether you are operating a Mac or a PC it is definitely worth installing and giving it a trial . After all it is CNET’s Editors' Choice for best Internet browser
Unfortunately Firefox 3 does not support Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Me or Mac OS X versions 10.2 and earlier

So how do I get started?
Mozilla produces the Firefox browser along with othe useful internet tools. Simply go to the Mozilla homepage hyperlink to start the download process or access language specific Firefox 3.0 downlaods here.

Save the Firefox download to your documents folder. I like to keep a track of all the programmes and applications that I download and use in a folder (My Computer Programmes) so that I can reference them later and back them up when switching to a new computer or installing on a laptop.

Run the firefox programme and locate the icon on your desktop or toolbar

You are now ready to start exploring the web with the firefox torch

So, you have a computer - your personal portal into the land of aggregated pixels – the ‘information super highway’. Depending on the computer you own, the gateway to this exploratory adventure will be guarded by any one of an array of ‘web browsers’.

Firstly determine which computer you own….
Most people will either own a PC or Macintosh (Mac).
The first computer produced by IBM was called the PC (personal computer) and the title has always been synonymous with Intel microprocessor compatible personal computers to the exclusion of all other types of personal computers such as the Macintosh range of computers.

The alternate option is a Macintosh computer. Introduced by Apple computer in 1984, Mac computers host a graphical user interface (GUI) that makes it relatively easy for novices to use the computer productively. All models since 1994 are based on the PowerPC microprocessor. More recently the battle lines have become blurred but for the sake of this blog you either have a PC (Microsoft windows XP/Vista based) or a Mac.

Which Web browser should I use?
Your Web browser (browser) is a software application which locates and displays web pages. There are a plethora of browsers available, some operating system specific and others generic.

PC users will be presented with Internet Explorer as their standard browser and Mac users with Safari. The two most popular browsers are Internet Explorer (Microsoft) and Firefox (generic). Both are graphical browsers and can display graphics as well as text and present multimedia including sound and video through additional plug-ins.

'Browser choice’ is very personal. I choose to run different browsers for different purposes. Each browser has unique benefits depending on the operating system you are running and the tasks which you are performing with the browser.

On a windows based PC I run Firefox 3.0 with the native Internet Explorer running only when media plug-ins for Firefox 3.0 are not currently available.

On a Mac I run Firefox 3.0 as standard, Safari (Mac generic) as back up and Flock for social network interactions. Additional tested browsers of note include Chimera and Opera .

Overall Mozilla’s Firefox 3.0 is my favoured browser with it’s large range of add-ons, rapid cold and warm start up times, general functionality and high level of integration with the social and professional networking tools I will be describing in later blogs.

Over the next couple of blogs I will review how to download and install Firefox 3.0 and review the best application add-ons for maximum efficiency of browser utility.

The sprites have collated and are dancing in front of you, taunting you to join their fun.

Currently you control their harnessed power to communicate moderately effectively with colleagues and friends through the medium of email; perform the occasional web search and throw a sheep at somebody on Facebook….but they can do more, so much more

Through the next series of posts we will look at simple and effective strategies to harness the power of the pixels; claim your web profile; search and network more effectively

Unleash the power of the pixel

FairyDancer and Sandnsurf - hand in hand will lead you through the pixel land

Dancing with the pixels will talk you through the black art of virtual networking; hold your hand through the haka; instill your nationalistic tendencies in the glorious game and inspire you to share your wisdom with the world - through the art of tagging

Enjoy the ride, the skip and the jump of dancing with the pixels