Mozilla launches super-simple Firefox customizer

You and your geek friends may love trolling the Mozilla site for Firefox add-ons, but the lineup on the site can be overwhelming. To simplify the add-on market, Mozilla has just launched Fashion Your Firefox, a tightly edited version of the add-on library with a very simple installer.

The catalog contains nine categories, such as "Finder and Seeker" and "News Junkie," each with fewer than five add-ons. If you want products in the list, you can select several. When you're done making choices, you can install them all at once, instead of one at a time as you have to do with the standard add-on directory.

Add-ons for the Fashion Your Firefox lineup are chosen by Mozilla staffers, based on their evaluations of functionality and ease of use, taking into account proven popularity.

I found the Fashion Your Firefox store extremely easy to use, but far too limited. On the other hand, the default add-on directory is a bit overwhelming for newbies. I hope to someday see a mama bear directory that is more comprehensive yet still easy to use.

And as long as I'm on the topic, I propose that Mozilla allow add-on developers to charge for their products through the Mozilla store. According to the announcement for Fashion Your Firefox, over 1 billion add-ons have been downloaded. If downloads continue apace, and even if only a small percentage of the add-ons are paid, that's a lot of potential revenue for developers.

No time to shop for add-ons? Use this edited selection.

See also: Foxiewire, and Download.com's Add-on directory.

[kdwinnell]

Excellent point to further support the developer community in this category. As a company (www.brandthunder.com) that has built its product and services almost exclusively on Firefox, that'd be a tremendous boon. We've demonstrated our ability to convert users over to Firefox, it'd be great to have those efforts reciprocated.

[matho53]

Well you could charge for it...
But normally what will happen is the open source community ends up writing their own version...
Then you have two projects and one of them "re-invented the wheel".
Not the best use of human resources if you ask me.
Although the competition may spur on better enhancements in either add on.

Personally I'd be disappointed.

[epiac1216]

I'm afraid I don't agree with you regarding charging for Add-ons. The trend is to have a free Internet. The money is in ads paid by companies who promote their products and services. Do you pay when you watch a program in ABC? No, of course not. If you start charging for Add-ons, you will kill the best thing Firefox has, which is customization.

I don't think Mozilla will buy your idea.

[darkmax1974]

Charge for add-ons.... developers will love it, users will hate it. And if users hate it, what will happen? Mozilla is likely to scrap the idea after a short trial, hopefully before it loses its hard-fought market share.

In all honesty, if Mozilla's add-ons weren't free, I'd have stuck with IE those many moons ago. And I believe I speak for the greater chunk of the browser-user population, especially those in Asia (probably the largest population of users).

[Xp54321]

*Charge* for it?! That's madness! If the addons were charged for Firefox's market share would plummet like a stone! Those fun free addons are a very important reason why Firefox is one of the best browsers. Charge for them and everyone just leaves. Where's the revenue now?

[MafiaPenguin]

Go Fast Dial

[MMcCubbing]

Instead of charging for the add-ons, if a developer insists on financial compensation, utilize registrations or memberships to have various feature levels. Basic features would be free and users could, if they desired, pay for more advanced features. This has been done for a long time, both in computer programs (registering codes) and websites (premium memberships).

Of course it would be up to the developers to decide which path is right for them and their product.

[magicmaster]

MMcCubbing's proposal is simply better than that of the blogger, since the moment a free software became commerical, the users simply do either of things: (1) Find a free equivalent (2) Look for older version, which is free. Many websites already gave the users the option to filter out paywares; apparently, people are increasingly seeking freewares before committing to paywares.

[mnl1121]

If devs start to charge for add-ons, i doubt they will get as many downloads as they do right now. While many would say thats fine, there still making their money, its also not fine as it will making something pay-for instead of free, which should be free. Firefox is free, why should add-ons be free.