The Firefox web browser from Mozilla is by far the most heavily used piece of software on my computer. I use it nearly exclusively for browsing the web and only open up Microsoft Internet Explorer on the rare occasion that I need to go to a page that is not viewable in Firefox (Microsoft’s Windows Update page for example). Now, my love affair with Firefox is the result of a number of factors; the clean interface, the fact that is free, open source software, etc. But, my favorite thing about Firefox (and the thing that will probably keep me from switching to any other browser anytime soon) is the large number of “extensions” (or “add-ons”) that are available for it.
So, What Are Extensions/Add-ons?
The unique thing about Firefox, compared to another browser like Microsoft Internet Explorer for example, is that it is distributed under an open-source license. Without getting too technical, this basically means that the main code that is used to create the program is freely available to everyone and anyone is allowed to modify or add on to that code. This enables people to create alternative versions of the program and also to develop 3rd party software that run as part of/inside of Firefox much more easily. That, basically, is what extensions are; small little programs that, when installed, become part of the main piece of software. It’s sort of like adding on an accessory/upgrade part to your car’s engine. It doesn’t necessarily change the engine or what it does, but just adds to it. Now, other browsers out there do have extensions available for them as well, but as Firefox is the open-source “darling” of the browsers out, there is just a much larger variety available for it as many more people develop them for Firefox as opposed to Internet Explorer.
Why Are Extensions Useful?
So, you are able to install these 3rd party applications into Firefox, but what is the point? You just want to use the internet, right? Well, when Firefox was created, the designers intentionally created it with a very low number of features built-in. This would seem to go against logic to some people. More features are better, right? Well, that is true, but a lot of features can have an adverse effect. Lets go back to the car example again. Suppose you go out and get yourself a shiny new car. This car has a lot, I mean a LOT, of buttons and dials on the dashboard. Initially, this seems great. You’re getting a lot more for your money and, frankly, it looks impressive, especially when all those button are lit up at night. But, after you’ve had the car a while, you find that you really only ever use 4 or 5 of those buttons. Heck, you don’t even know what some of them are for! Now, instead of cool and impressive, all these extra buttons just seem to be cluttering up the dashboard and getting in the way of you easily finding the buttons you really do want, especially when you are driving back from work at 10:00 in the evening and just want to change the radio station! Wouldn’t it be easier if you only had to deal with the buttons you actually used and could get the rest out of the way?
This is one of the reasons why Firefox only comes with the features they think the vast majority of people will need. Those other features might be useful, but they are only used by a small number of people, so why clutter up the software and slow it down with them. The people that need them can just add them later through an extension. This way, you can add the features you want, and ONLY the features you want. No need to have your internet browser clogged up with stuff you never use; slowing down both you and the performance of the software.
This approach also has an added bonus though. Software designers can’t predict every feature that everyone will need or want. There are just too many people out there who use the internet in too many different ways. It would take them forever to figure all the features to develop and add them into the software. With extensions though, this is possible. Extensions are usually designed by the users of the software, not the software developer. If someone decides that feature ”X” would be a really useful thing to be added to Firefox, they don’t have to sit around and wait for the program’s developers to add it on in the next release. They can just do it themselves. Because Firefox has such a large community developing for it, this allows Firefox to evolve a lot faster than another browser like Internet Explorer. The database for available extensions for the current version of Firefox is huge, and it keeps getting larger everyday. I don’t know how many times I have found the need for a certain feature, only to go to Firebox’s website and find an extension that will add this feature already exists.
Ok, I’m Ready To Give These Extensions A Try, Where Do I Find Them?
You can find web pages with extensions for Firefox all over the internet. Many of the people that have created extensions have web pages up for people to download from. I would be hesitant to go out and download a lot of extensions this way though. Extensions are software that is being installed onto your computer, so there is always the chance that the program doesn’t do exactly what is says it is going to do. It would not be difficult for someone to design one that works as a virus, trojan horse or other nasty hacking tool. My recommendation is to go to the Extensions/Add-ons section on the Firefox web page. This is the largest database of available extensions out there and is, for the most part, policed by the users, so the chances of anything installed from here infecting your system are pretty low. From there, you can browse though the extensions by what is most popular and newest or do a search if you are looking for a specific feature.
To get you started though, you can take a look at some of my favorite Firefox extensions. This definitely not the definitive list on Firefox extensions. These are just some of the ones I use everyday that I think you might find helpful when you surfing the web.
