My Geek Notes

If there is one thing that I can never remember, it’s how to get Java to work in Firefox. Last time I checked there was no functional download-and-install-now popup when a site required it. Correct me if I’m wrong though.

You’ll want to make sure you have Java installed in the first place - I prefer to use the full JDK in case someday I get up the courage to tackle programming something in Java. If you’re running Debian, Ubuntu, or another variant, do the following for the jdk:
(change out jdk for jre if you prefer)

apt-get install sun-java5-jdk

Once Java is installed you can link it into your plugin directory for Firefox with the following command (as sudo or root):

cd /usr/lib/mozilla/plugins/
ln -s /usr/lib/jvm/java-1.5.0-sun-*/jre/plugin/i386/ns7/libjavaplugin_oji.so

You’ll want to restart Firefox for the settings to take affect. Test by going to time.gov and browse to your timezone.

Firefox, Java Firefox, Java

For the last couple of years I’ve used different Firefox Add-ons off and on and now have it narrowed down to 12 that I use almost every day.  I’ve got a screenshot attached at the very bottom showing the Add-on Installation window.  My list is in alphabetical order, by the way, not by popularity.

1. DownloadHelper
The easy way to download and convert Web videos from hundreds of YouTube-like sites. This works also for audio and picture galleries.

2. Firebug
Firebug integrates with Firefox to put a wealth of development tools at your fingertips while you browse. You can edit, debug, and monitor CSS, HTML, and JavaScript live in any web page…

3. Flagfox
Displays a country flag depicting the location of the current website’s server and provides quick access to detailed location and webserver information.

4. Google Reader Watcher
Checks your Google Reader for unread news.

5. Greasemonkey
Allows you to customize the way a webpage displays using small bits of JavaScript. …

6. Organize Status Bar
This extension will enable you to organize your status bar icons. You can now rearrange or remove any item (icon or text) in the Firefox status bar. If your status bar is full and cluttered like mine was, give this a try.

7. ReloadEvery
Reloads web pages every so many seconds or minutes. The function is accessible via the context menu (menu you get when you right click on a web page) or via a drop down menu on the reload button …

8. Screengrab!
Screengrab saves entire webpages as images…

9. SearchStatus
Display the Google PageRank, Alexa rank and Compete ranking anywhere in your browser, along with fast keyword density analyser, keyword/nofollow highlighting, backward/related links, Alexa info and more.

10. ShowIP
Show the IP address(es) of the current page in the status bar. It also allows querying custom information services by IP (right mouse button) and hostname (left mouse button), like whois, netcraft. Additionally you can copy the IP address to the clipboard.

11. Web Developer
Adds a menu and a toolbar with various web developer tools.

12. YSlow
YSlow analyzes web pages and tells you why they’re slow based on Yahoo’s rules for high performance web sites.

Firefox Firefox