add-on

Performance issues in Safari could be related to third-party add-ons

Safari may experience performance issues, including quitting unexpectedly, running slowly, an inability to download files properly, and other unexpected problems. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms when running Safari, follow these simple steps to help restore Safari's full capabilities.… Read more

Safari 5: Fast like a cheetah, tame like a house cat

After a bit of hesitation, Apple released a major update to its WebKit-based Safari browser on Monday. Safari 5 for Windows and Mac comes with several big feature announcements. There's the new Reader option for streamlining articles reading, broader support for HTML5, default support for searches on Bing, and performance improvements. However, the biggest new feature of them all--Extensions--won't be available until later this summer, and depending on what you're looking for in a browser, Safari can be seen as lacking many helpful options.

The official late summer street date for Extensions leaves many questions up for … Read more

How to set up Firefox Sync (video)

The world first knew it as Weave Sync, but Mozilla has moved Firefox's in-house synchronization project out of its Labs, calling it Firefox Sync to emphasize its connection to the browser and hint at its importance for the future.

The upcoming Firefox 4 will have the add-on's syncing features baked in, but why wait? Download the add-on and check out how Firefox Sync matches up your preferences, bookmarks, passwords, history, and open tabs in this How To video.

After some intrigue, Apple releases Safari 5

Monday's debut of Apple's Safari 5 Web browser was one of the Worldwide Developers Conference rumors that preceded the event over the weekend, and it surprised many Steve Jobs prognosticators that he left the stage without announcing it. Then came an Apple press release on PRNewswire.com, but no browser. Then the press release disappeared, apparently a second stumble following a rare trip-up for Steve Jobs' tightly controlled message machine during the iPhone 4 announcement, and shortly after that the browser made its debut.

Available for Windows and Mac, Safari 5 includes several new features and performance enhancements, … Read more

Grab big pics off Google Images the easy way

If you happen to frequent Google's Images search tool with the intention of grabbing the full-quality version of whatever image you're looking for, you've probably noticed Google makes you jump through some hoops to get there.

In fact, Microsoft and Yahoo do the same thing, but it's with good reason: to offer you the full version of the image without actually visiting the page removes the context of why it's there, and makes the search engines more of a content leech than a beneficial traffic director.

The good news, is that if you feel like … Read more

Firefox tool erases Justin Bieber from Web

Justin Bieber is everywhere. And if you're like so many others over the age of 15, you've seen enough. Luckily, a new Firefox add-on lets you remove all mentions of Bieber from the Web in one fell swoop.

The tool, dubbed Shaved Bieber, evaluates any page a person is browsing and censors all mentions of the teen idol. It works on every site, from Twitter to Google to Wikipedia. People can even go to his personal home page and watch as every mention of Bieber is blocked out.

Shaved Bieber is available in two versions: an add-on, which … Read more

Take Picnik for a picnic with Mozilla's Jetpack

Web-based image editor Picnik, which is now a part of Google, has long been the built-in editor for Yahoo's Flickr photo-hosting service. And if you've found yourself wishing it was just as simple to edit other images around the Web, you're in luck. A relatively new Firefox extension called "Instant Image Edit with Picnik" lets you edit any image on any site, using Picnik--all with little more than a right-click.

The extension was built using a new part of Mozilla's Jetpack API, which lets developers add items to the contextual menu of a user'… Read more

Add-ons make Firefox a social-network powerhouse

It's easy to fall behind the activities of your social-network connections. Before you know it, you've got dozens or even hundreds of your friends' status updates, new photo albums, and site and video suggestions stacked in your network home page. Yoono, the Facebook Toolbar, and TwitterBar are three Firefox add-ons that keep you a little bit closer to the people in your online social circles.

Integrate your social networks with Yoono If you find yourself jumping between Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, LinkedIn, and other social networks, you can view all your network alerts in a single window by adding … Read more

Xmarks adds open tab syncing

Browser add-on Xmarks has introduced a major new synchronization feature over the past few weeks for its multiple browser plug-ins that lets users sync open tabs across multiple browsers and computers. The new feature (download Xmarks for Firefox | Chrome | Internet Explorer | Safari) offers far better control over tab opening than merely forcing all your tabs to appear on all your computers and browsers. Instead, Xmarks politely tells you which tabs are synced under which browsers and lets you open them individually.

Once the add-on is installed, you'll be asked to create an account if you don't have one. … Read more