No one mentioned Xmarks (almost all browsers) to sync bookmarks and tabs between browsers
OneNumber (chrome) which checks for Gmail, GReader, GVoice and wave for updates.
Then I would recommend Boomerang for Gmail (both FF and Chrome) that allows you to postpone an email to send to whenever you want.
Google Dictionary (chrome): double click a word and it shows you the definition - really unobtrusive
Lazarus:Form recovery (chrome) - if you were typing some text in a textArea/field and the browser crashes it can easily put the text back in when you open the page again.
Rapportive for Gmail (chrome, but i thinks it also works in FF) - shows you details about senders, social networking accounts, etc
Stop Autoplay for Youtube (chrome) - great if you like to open many videos in tabs and dont want to hear them play all at the same time
Adblock - After using it for a while, it becomes impossible to NOT use it, and still retain focus. Every page contains something that is fighting for your attention when it's not in use.
Firebug - Incredible client-side development tool.
Show anchors - Reveals anchors (<a> tag) in the page, making it easy to make more precise links into pages.
Tamper data - Makes it possible to modify browser requests before submitting them to the server. Great addition to Firebug as a development tool.
I used to have a lot more extensions installed on Firefox, but right now all I actually use is:
AdBlock Plus, Download Statusbar, and Tab Scope.
Although one personal 'hack' almost counts: I moved the bookmark toolbar up next to the system menu, to use up all that space and give me quick access to all the sites I read. I have about 14 folders up there, and the Readability bookmarklet. I'm nervous about FF4 because I don't know where I'll be able to put my bookmarks...
That last one is awesome -- thanks for pointing that out to me.
To add one I haven't seen on here yet, Switchy!, which lets you quickly switch proxy settings under Chrome. It supports SOCKSv5, which last I had checked before I started using it there was no easy way to do with Chrome.
I forget what it is called, and am on my mobile now, but I use one which loads the next paginated page below the one you are viewing, so hacker news becomes one long page for me. only loads the next age when you get down the page. love it.
also one to tweet the page I am viewing. I use twitter as more of an annotated favorites/bookmark list than anything else: twitter.com/liamjford
I think I'm the only person that doesn't use adblock.
Anyways on chrome: ireader, google reader "note in reader", hckr news (never noticed what it does though), and delicious. Using the dev channel build of chrome.
On FF: Treeview, someone on hn suggested it to me and I'm really hoping something similar comes to chrome. I'd use firefox more but still experience it memory leaking/crashing too much.
Firefox:
- Firebug (my life wouldn't be same (or sane) without it)
- Remove cookies for site (one click to remove all cookies for current domain, essential when developing cookie based sites)
- FireGestures (lets you go back, reload, close tabs, etc. by preconfigured right click gestures - a feature invented by Opera I believe, I can't browse without it)
- AdBlockPlus (I hate to admit this but a news site I visit frequently is so loaded with flash ads that my machine almost becomes unresponsive upon visiting)
Chrome:
I try to find the same extensions as for Firefox but:
- Firebug lite was missing the "Net" panel last time I checked
- I haven't found a gestures addon that doesn't suck
- I haven't found a remove cookies for site add-on
So migrating to Chrome has been quite hard for me.
Web Developer Toolbar,
Firebug,
DownThemAll!,
ColorZilla
Frankly, all I ever use Firefox for anymore is testing/development and big or multifile downloads (DownThemAll! is kind enough to autosuspend and resume with the often wonky wifi I'm usually connected to).
Chrome:
Web Developer Toolbar,
Readability,
Flash Blocker
The version of the Web Developer Toolbar for Chrome is extremely limited, but it fills a few holes in the built-in developer tools. I'd love to have a download manager comparable to DownThemAll! for Firefox, but the Chrome API prevents most of the features I like from being implemented. Oh, well.
I don't use Chrome (privacy issues), but for Firefox,
* Flashblock
* Greasemonkey
* Firebug
* It'sAllText (which allows the use of an external editor)
* A few mostly inconsequential ones, like IdentFavicon, etc.
I find that flashblock takes care of most of my ad-blocking needs, and the rest I can do with a local DNS server. The re-emergence of badly behaved Javascript (Remember when all we had to worry about was scrolling/blinking text and alert() boxes? Those were the days.) is what prompted me to install Greasemonkey; I've got a little script that wipes iframes and kills window.XMLHttpRequest, for example
Which one? You do realize it's open source so if you found anything we're not aware of by looking at the code please do tell. Also do you own a mobile phone? Because if you care about privacy, a mobile phone is much worse than chrome.
Chromium is open source, Chrome includes Google's special sauce. Now, I don't think Google is abusing this privilege, but I just wanted to point out the difference.
Google is a company that makes money by knowing everything about people, and then presenting ads to them. A browser is a great way to be able to follow a user wherever they go, even after they leave Google's sites. I'm not the op, but I block google analytics for the same reason.
I'm not as worried about sneaky things on the client side as I am about what they're up-front about. The URL bar sending everything I type upstream, for example. And I can turn my phone off any time I might be worried, in much the same way I can avoid using Chrome when I might not want to give Google data, which happens to be always.
To sort of explain, the whole concept of "privacy" as Google sees it is a little creepy to me. I realize that I may be overly cautious or paranoid, but I don't see any comforting counter-examples. I got rid of my Android phone on discovering that I couldn't have contacts or calendar entries that didn't get sent to Google in one form or another, and the Google Maps application wanted me to agree to allow location data* to be sent upstream even when I wasn't using it. Eric thinks we should just change our names. None of this sits well with me at all.
Even if they have no intentions of misusing data (which is stretching it), what they retain is still subject to subpoenas, leaks, hacks, or willful violations like Google Buzz (arguably unintentional) or the case of their SRE David Barksdale. Three people can keep a secret if two of them are dead, etc., and machines and the people who operate them have not had a good track record on safeguarding other people's data.
* The application did specify that the data collected would be "anonymous", but didn't say how that was ensured. Between Google's skirmishes with the EU over how they "anonymize" their search logs (spoiler: they don't, last I checked; they keep the cookie-tracking data and scrub the last octet of the IP) and their recent privacy issues with two different SREs don't inspire any confidence.
I have a lot, but Ultimate Chrome Flag is my favorite.
The reason it's my favorite is because it displays in the URL bar the pagerank of the site I'm on. It's like an instant credibility check whenever I'm browsing or reading an article. In fact, browsing without it (say on my phone or in my newsreader) now feels like an incomplete experience.
My favorite extensions in Firefox are tied, Firebug and the Web Developer Toolbar. I'm sure if either got a full-fledged extension in Chrome, it'd probably be my new favorite extension.
I wasn't sure where it got the PR (though I assume it's from one of the many 3rd-party services, since the PR is fairly well known). So I went digging. I found this in the extension source code:
this.getQueryUrl=function(){
var b = "http://toolbarqueries.google.com/search?client=navclient-auto&hl=en&ch="+getGoogleChecksum(this.domain)+"&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&features=Rank&q=info:http://"+this.domain;
}
Also, this is what the extension says about privacy [1]:
This extensions's privacy policy is no different than WOT or any other service or extension that is designed to bring you information on the sites you are visiting. Example, when you search on Google, it will always track your IP.
It doesn't access your private data. Chrome shows a warning for all extensions that access browser tabs.
It turned out I couldn't live without Ubiquity. Still under development, although officially it's on hiatus.
The Add-On Compatibility Reporter, so I can run edge versions of extensions.
Firemacs (for sensible Emacs bindings)
TabKit (tabs on left side and tree style, with grouping and so on) and Ctrl-Tab (LRU tab switching, plus thumbnailed tab display and switch to tab by name-typing). All other tab organization systems pale in comparison.
And the rest: NoScript *
Firebug *
Web Developer Toolbar *
Greasemonkey *
IETab *
Vacuum Places DB
I'm usually making my own commands. I'm often making extra search commands. I use some of the clever integrations with maps and mail as-is.
For me it's the right interface for all kinds of pages that I would have to surf to, find the box, then enter some input. Instead, I just highlight text, ctrl space, type a word, and hit enter.
Extension Gallery Inspector (Invaluable if you want to know what an extension is going to do BEFORE you install)
TackyNotes (I should note that I don't really use this, I just have it installed because I wrote it. I suppose the fact that I don't use it is a good indicator of why I've lost interest in developing it. They say it's best to write software to fix a problem you have or someone else has and I think that kind of missed the mark.)
Firefox:
Firebug, Pagespeed for finding slowdowns in my pages.
WebRank toolbar for when I'm too lazy to open Market Samurai.
Chrome:
Eyedropper for stealing a color.
Nofollow eyes to make sure my pages aren't wasting pagerank.
SEOQuake for when I'm too lazy to open firefox/MS.
Ultimate Chrome Flag. I like seeing ips/locations/etc.
Chromed Bird for my twitter accounts that are for business.
AdBlock, FlashBlock, Readability and Instapaper. The web is an obnoxious assault on the senses. There is some useful stuff in between all those flashing billboards and neon lights so I block all of the distractions that I can. I wish there was a SocialNewsBlock plugin to get rid of all of those damn buttons everyone puts on their sites, too.
I know Readability is a bookmarklet but your comment made me search the FF add-ons for a Readability add-on that was applied to every page I visit automatically.
I use many of the ones people have mentioned here, but in Firefox. Can't switch to Chrome because it doesn't have a good implementation of two of my favorite add-ons:
Stumbleupon - for whenever I need a distraction that even HN can't fullfil
Colorzilla - For getting colors of web pages; use this about a dozen times a day
I couldn't live without Tree Style Tabs, which is one of the main reasons I haven't switched to Chrome either.
I'm in exactly the same situation - I literally cannot stand to use a browser without that extension anymore, especially on a widescreen computer. I've tried to move over to Chrome, but the lack of that extension is the single blocking issue for me.
Step one when I get a new computer is to install Firefox; step two is Tree Style Tabs. Anyone that hasn't tried it is really missing out...
Just for your information, I noticed a few weeks ago that there is a beta version of Firebug for Chrome.
Instead of Web Developer I use "Web Developer" in Chrome, which is quite similar by features, but is not shown as a toolbar as in Firefox.
What is the FF extension called that lets you type to search the addons you have and also lets you see a text list of all the addons you have (enabled and disabled). I used to have it but I switched computers...
Since I like a fast, non-cluttered, browser I have only one addon installed in Chrome. "No More Tabs" protects me of opening 40+ tabs and telling myself all the time "Don't close it, you might need it again!"
... and a shameless plug for Compass, a Firefox/Chrome/Safari add-on I wrote that adds a "table of contents" to various e-commerce sites to help you find stuff faster. Search for "compass" on the various extension galleries if you're interested.
Different at work and at home. Of the ones not already mentioned here my favorite is Add Bookmark Here. Adds some very simple functionality that is sorely missing.
It irritates me no end that the Chrome developers refuse to implement this. (And yes, in googling around on the topic, I did come across a blog post by someone involved explaining that this is a design decision on their part and not an oversight.)
As a workaround, I'll open a subset of most active tabs in a second window. Tabs I am actively switching between as I'm doing my work.
Then, I'll end up closing the Windows in the wrong order and have the subset saved for restoration rather than the full set.
Please, Chrome devs, just make MRU tab switching an option, regardless of what you personally think about it. It is a common work occurrence to need to frequently switch between different pairs or small sets of tabs within a larger context of numerous references/tabs.
P.S. Extensions can't substitute the behavior, because a security measure -- so stated -- Chrome no longer allows browser default shortcut keys, e.g. Ctrl Tab, to be hooked and overridden.
P.P.S. I'd welcome suggestions for good substitutes that use a different key combination or another paradigm that's easy to tolerate.
There's also one called Ctrl-Tab that does the same, and also allows you to alt-Q (or is it Ctrl-Q) to give you thumbnails of all open tabs, then switch to tab by name (Emacs iswitchb style).
After the Deadline - Version: 1.2
Check spelling, style, and grammar in your browser
Boomerang for GMail - Version: 0.5.0
Allows you to schedule messages to be sent or returned at a later date.
Chromed Bird - Version: 1.8.5
Chromed Bird is a Twitter extension that allows you to follow your timelines and interact with your Twitter account.
ChromeMilk - Version: 0.9.6
Access your Remember the Milk tasks right from your Google Chrome toolbar
Docs PDF/PowerPoint Viewer (by Google) - Version: 2
Automatically previews PDFs, PowerPoint presentations and other documents in Google Docs Viewer.
FastestChrome - Browse Faster - Version: 3.1.2
Save time and enhance your productivity! Get quick definitions, auto-load next pages, search faster, and more.
Google Calendar Checker (by Google) - Version: 1.0.3
Quickly see the time until your next meeting. Click the button to open your calendar.
Google SSL Web Search beta (by Google) - Version: 1.3
Use Google Web Search and Suggest protected by SSL.
Google SSL Webcache - 谷歌加密快照 - Version: 1.21
IE Tab Classic - Version: 0.9.5
Internet Explorer inside Chrome
Mini Google Maps - Version: 1.0.2
Google maps in a click away.
OmniTweet - Version: 10
An experimental minimalist Twitter Client for Google Chrome.
PostRank Extension - Version: 0.1.4
Filter your Google Reader inbox with PostRank to find and read what matters. Or enhance Digg, Reddit, & search with PostRank.
Rapportive - Version: 1.1.1
Making email a better place
Secbrowsing - plugin version checker - Version: 1.7
Periodically checks that all your plugins are up-to-date.
Secure Login Helper - Version: 1.2
Attempts to help you login to sites using SSL if possible.
Send using Gmail (no button) - Version: 1.11.4
Makes the Gmail webmail your default email application (original Google extension repackaged without toolbar button, safer links)
Sexy Undo Close Tab - Version: 6.17
Undo your closed tabs (cleaner version) + new features
Stop Autoplay for YouTube. - Version: 0.10.7.30
Stops YouTube autoplay but allows pre-buffering.
Unsubscribe for Gmail - Version: 0.34
Rid your inbox of unwanted email subscriptions with the click of a button!
WiseStamp - Email Signatures for GMail, Google Apps and more - Version: 2.0.3.0
Empower GMail, Google Mail & Google Apps emails with dynamic email signatures. Add Twitter, Facebook, Digg and more. Multiple HTML signatures support.
I don't understand. You use all popular Chrome extension?
My intention is to find out the extensions that hackernewsers use, not the popular extensions. Of course there will always be some intersections, but I doubt everyone here uses all popular extensions, and I doubt no-one here uses some good but unknown, unpopular extensions.
OneNumber (chrome) which checks for Gmail, GReader, GVoice and wave for updates.
Then I would recommend Boomerang for Gmail (both FF and Chrome) that allows you to postpone an email to send to whenever you want.
Google Dictionary (chrome): double click a word and it shows you the definition - really unobtrusive
Lazarus:Form recovery (chrome) - if you were typing some text in a textArea/field and the browser crashes it can easily put the text back in when you open the page again.
Rapportive for Gmail (chrome, but i thinks it also works in FF) - shows you details about senders, social networking accounts, etc
Stop Autoplay for Youtube (chrome) - great if you like to open many videos in tabs and dont want to hear them play all at the same time