To encourage add-on developers to consider this performance hit and optimize their add-ons, Mozilla has started testing the 100 most popular Firefox add-ons and releasing a weekly-updated list of their impact on browser start-up time. Here is a “rogue’s gallery” of the 10 add-ons with the worst impact on start-up time:

1. FoxLingo – Translator / Dictionary
2. Firebug
3. AniWeather
4. FlashGot
5. FoxClocks
6. FoxyTunes
7. Video DownloadHelper
8. FastestFox – Browse Faster
9. Xmarks Sync
10. SimilarWeb – Find the Best Sites on the Internet

The two worst-performing add-ons in the list, FoxLingo and Firebug, add a whopping 76 percent each to Firefox’s start-up time.

As well as publishing the slow add-ons list, Mozilla will also be adding warnings to the Add-On Gallery listing of any add-on that slows Firefox’s start-up time by 25 percent or more. The Mozilla effort to improve add-on performance is not just about “naming and shaming” poor performing add-ons, though,  Mozilla is also providing assistance to developers to optimize add-ons by updating its performance best practices documentation, and by releasing tools to help developers test their products.

The availability of a wide range of useful extensions is one of the reasons I use Firefox; I compiled a list of my favorites here. But Mozilla’s testing data shows that it’s good idea to regularly review the add-ons you have installed and disable those you no longer or rarely use, particularly if they appear on the list of the worst offenders above. Disabling an add-on stops Firefox from loading it, so it will no longer affect start-up time, but keeps the add-on in your add-on manager list so it can be re-enabled when you need it. Firebug, for example, is a really useful debugging tool, but I only use it very occasionally, so from now on I’m going to keep it disabled.

Photo courtesy Flickr user Photo Monkey

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• Why Browsers Don’t Matter Anymore
• What Does the Future Hold For Browsers?

1. Adblock Plus. Gets rid of annoying adverts and auto-playing videos. You can subscribe to filter subscriptions in dozens of languages which can  automatically configure it for purposes ranging from removing online advertising to blocking all known malware domains.
2. Better Gmail 2. Gina Trapani’s extension adds a bunch of useful extra features to Gmail, like hierarchical labels, an unread message icon on your browser tab, file attachment icons and more.
3. Download Statusbar. View and manage downloads from a tidy statusbar, without the download window getting in the way of your web browsing.
4. Gmail Manager. A Gmail notifier for multiple accounts; it allows you to receive new mail notifications, along with the ability to view account details.
5. LastPass Password Manager. A free online password manager and form filler that makes your web browsing more secure.
6. Greasemonkey. Allows you to customize the way a web page displays or behaves, by using small bits of JavaScript. You can write your own scripts, or download one from the hundreds available at http://userscripts.org.
7. Read It Later. Save pages to read later with a click, then  when you have time, access your reading list from any computer or phone, even offline.
8. Shareaholic. This add-on provides an easy way to share interesting links using Facebook, Twitter, Evernote, Bit.ly, StumbleUpon, and more.
9. After the Deadline. After the Deadline is an intelligent grammar, style and spell checker. It works with most web sites.
10. Web Developer. Even if you’re not a web developer, this extension offers a raft of useful features: manage cookies, change up styles with CSS, adjust form options and much more.
11. Awesome Screenshot. Diigo’s handy screenshot tool lets you capture the whole web page or any portion, annotate it with rectangles, circles, arrows, lines and text, blur sensitive info, and then share the output.

What are your favorite Firefox add-ons?

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• What Does the Future Hold For Browsers?
• Virtual Worlds: Trends and Opportunities
• Why iPad 2 Will Lead Consumers Into the Post-PC Era

Customize Your Monitor Setup

The easiest thing you can do is to change your screen settings to become more eye-friendly. This document from Cornell University and this guide from Charles Poynton have some suggestions that you can use as a reference. Some of these include placing the monitor 25 to 30 inches from your eyes, matching the screen brightness and contrast to your work area, and tilting the monitor so that the bottom of the screen is a bit closer to you. Here are some additional factors you should consider:

• Display width. Some people argue that using larger monitors or multiple monitor setups improves productivity. When it comes to reading, though, you have to make sure that the paragraphs you’re reading aren’t too wide. Yes, a 23-inch monitor can be handy, but not when you read blocks of text that stretch out across the entire screen.
• Focus. Though this is more of a problem for CRT monitors than LCD ones, everyone who spends a lot of time reading on the computer should ensure that the text is in focus. Even slight blurring on the edges will strain your eyes, because they’ll attempt to correct the focus themselves.

Use Tools for Easier Reading

Apart from changing your monitor’s settings and position, you can also use tools that make online content easier to read. Many browser add-ons and extensions do this. Examples include the following:

• Readability. This bookmarklet removes the clutter from text you’re reading online. You simply choose the style that’s easiest for you to read, then add the Readability button to your browser’s bookmark toolbar. Every time you click on the button, Readability will format the text on the current page in the style you selected.
• TidyRead. TidyRead is a Firefox add-on similar to Readability, but it gives you the option to change style settings every time you use it. It also has a “Smart Mode” feature that detects article pages so that TidyRead is automatically activated when you open an article page. There’s also a version for Chrome.
• Reading Glasses. This Chrome extension allows you to select the text you want to read and then lets the rest of the page become less visible. It prevents your eyes from being distracted by ads and other unnecessary clutter.
• Reasy. Reasy is a browser add-on based on the concept of Rapid Serial Visual Presentation (RSVP). This means that the text you’re reading will be presented to you one word at a time — kind of like flashcards. The benefit of this approach is that it increases reading speed. Reasy has versions for both Firefox and Chrome.
• NoSquint. Apart from some minimal style edits on a page (such as text color and background), NoSquint is a Firefox add-on that lets you set zoom defaults for the sites you visit. Just as the name implies, you don’t have to squint to read small text or view fine details in the sites you visit.

Of course, none of these tools and techniques will really work if you constantly abuse your eyes. A previous post tackles how we can take better care of our eyes even if our workload requires a lot of online reading. By combining proper habits with the right tools, eyestrain and fatigue from online reading will no longer be an issue.

Share your eyestrain avoidance tips below.

Photo by flickr user Toms Bauģis, licensed under CC 2.0.

Related GigaOM Pro content (sub. req.): Are You Empowering Your Mobile Workforce?

Speed is always an issue, of course. But for me, and many others who use Firefox, its advantage is that it’s really more than just a browser. With the judicious addition of some well-designed add-ons, it can be a tool for managing multiple email accounts, testing and troubleshooting web pages, managing passwords, synchronizing data, and much more.

Other browsers offer add-ons, too, but as far as I know, no other browser has all of the add-ons that I use. Some I’ve written about before, but others are relatively new additions to my toolbox.

• Gmail Manager. I use this add-on constantly. It allows me to manage multiple Gmail and Google Apps Mail accounts without opening multiple tabs or a separate email program.
• Google Shortcuts. I also use a lot of other Google products (like Reader and Webmaster Tools, for example), but find that their URLs aren’t necessarily memorable. This add-on lets me create simple shortcuts to the Google pages that I often visit.
• Firebug and Web Developer. These add-ons are tools that no web developer should be without. They provide a huge range of functions for testing and troubleshooting HTML, CSS and much more.
• 1Password and LastPass. These add-ons manage password data and sync it with other computers, as well as mobile devices like the iPhone and iPod touch. Yes, I probably don’t need two password managers, but each has its advantages, and I really can’t afford to lose the huge number of passwords I have. So I use both; they co-exist surprisingly well.
• XMarks. In addition to passwords, it’s handy to be able to sync browsing history and bookmarks between computers, which XMarks does well. It can also sync passwords, although I don’t use it for that.
• Screengrab and NoSquint. These add-ons make minor, but very useful, improvements to the built-in features of Firefox. Screengrab allows one to take screenshots within the browser, and NoSquint lets one adjust zoom levels on a site-by-site basis.
• All-in-One Sidebar (AIOS). I do like one feature of Opera — the ability for one’s history, add-ons and downloads to show up in a sidebar rather than popup windows. AIOS is a very configurable Firefox add-on that makes for a much cleaner browser display.
• Finally, Adblock Plus.

Of course, as a web developer, I do need to make sure that the sites my company makes are compatible with many different browsers and operating systems. But frankly, I spend most of the day in a browser, and so far, that browser is still Firefox.

What is your preferred web browser?

Related GigaOM Pro content (sub. req.): What Does the Future Hold For Browsers?

Like Google Labs and Facebook Prototypes before it, Twitter Labs will allow developers to test out new features for the site with a voluntary beta community prior to their official release. Not only that, but Labs would allow outside developers to create and work on add-ons and other features that could then become deeply integrated with Twitter itself, instead of just being relegated to external clients that use the API.

The news comes via the Future of Web Apps conference currently taking place in London, where Twitter engineer Britt Selvitelle made the announcement earlier today. Based on the announcement, it sounds like Twitter is planning something in between Mozilla’s Firefox add-ons and Google’s Labs playground for experimental features.

While this is undoubtedly good news for people looking to get something more out of Twitter, I’m wondering if it doesn’t run counter to the core idea behind the service’s success to date. What I like about Twitter is its simplicity, as opposed to the layers and complexity of Facebook. While browsing Facebook is a time-consuming, involved process for me, it’s easy to keep Twitter active in the background all day, popping in and out when the mood strikes while still easily disengaging when necessary.

Twitter add-ons and apps threaten to complicate the process. I dread the day when my tweet timeline is cluttered with survey results and invitations to try out such-and-such disguised personal data mining application. Perhaps I’m being overly fatalistic, but Facebook’s track record shows that such things are possible.

On the other hand, with enough oversight on the part of Twitter, and with responsible API usage, Twitter Labs could open the door to making the service perfectly suited for each individual user. Until evidence proves otherwise, though, I remain skeptical.

What do you think of this announcement?

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• The Near-Term Evolution of Social Commerce
• A 2011 Connected Consumer Forecast
• A 2011 NewNet Forecast

I recently moved to a new computer, which compelled me to revisit my Thunderbird add-ons. Here’s a list of my favorites. I’ve put them into a WebWorkerDaily Thunderbird Collection to make it easy for you to find them all.

AttachmentExtractor: Adds more power to Thunderbird’s attachment management feature. With AttachmentExtractor, you can save all of the attachments to an email to frequently-used folders. You can also save all, delete all and detach all files, rather than having to do it one-by-one.

Enhance attachment management with Attachment Extractor

Attachment Reminder: Most of us will have sent an email from where we have forgotten to include an attachment. Attachment Reminder looks for the presence or certain keywords (attachment, attach, etc.) in the text of your email. If the keyword is present but no file is attached when you go to send the email,  a window will pop up, asking if you need to attach a file.

Check and Send: Checks for keywords in the message body before sending, so can perform the same role as Attachment Reminder; which one you use is a matter of preference.

Contacts Sidebar: Adds a sidebar containing your contacts list for faster access.

Disable Drag and Drop: This genius feature stops you from accidentally moving one folder into another. I’ve had this happen to me before. If you need to move your folders around, disable the feature and then enable it again (you’ll need restart Thunderbird after disabling and enabling).

eMarks: This add-on enables you to bookmark important emails for later reading.

Lightning: Adds a calendar feature to Thunderbird. If you use Google Calendar, Lightning can sync with it, with a little help from Provider for Google Calendar.

Lightning adds a calendar to Thunderbird

LookOut: Have you ever received an email that has an attachment called “winmail.dat” or “body_part”? Sometimes Outlook sends an email and puts the contents in an attached file. LookOut opens up the contents so you can read it rather than go through the complicated process of trying to convert the encoded file into English.

Nostalgy: Improved productivity by creating keyboard shortcuts to instantly change folders, move messages into a specific folder, change between the To, CC and BCC fields, use folder name auto-completion, and more.

Quote Collapse: If you’re bothered by excessive quoting in emails or newsgroup posts, this add-on can help you by automatically collapsing them. You can expand them again by clicking on them.

Signature Switch: An icon appears on the toolbar instant switching between email signatures. You can also set up auto-switching by recipient.

I install new add-ons one at a time rather than a bunch in one sitting. This way I can test each add-on to ensure it works before adding another. Also, before downloading an add-on, remember to verify its compatibility with your version of Thunderbird.

What are your favorite Thunderbird add-ons?

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• Social Inbox vs. The Future of Email
• Infrastructure Overview, Q2 2010

Quick overview for those new to Firefox: Add-ons are little free tools that make your application experience better and easier. Add-ons don’t stop at browsers, either. Email applications like Thunderbird have them, too. They’re very easy to install. Just go to Firefox add-ons, browse, click “Add to Firefox” and click “Install” in the popup window. Once installed, you’ll need to restart Firefox to complete the process.

Here’s my list of current favorites (note: if you like this list, be sure to check out the WebWorkerDaily Firefox Add-ons Collection):

Adblock Plus — No. More. Popup. Ads. Or auto-playing videos. You might also want to download a Filter Subscription. You can still create your own filters to block ads on specific sites.

Better Gmail 2. Two great feature additions for Gmail. Folders4Gmail lets you have labels in folder-like sub-folders. Attachment icons replace the useless paperclips with the icons of the app that the attachment uses. If it’s a Word document, it’ll show Word’s blue W icon. Better Gmail 2 has other good features, too.

Download Statusbar. Get rid of the download pop up box. Instead, downloads appear across the bottom of Firefox where they don’t intrude. When you’re ready to open one, just double-click the relevant filename in the status bar.

Firefox Environment Backup Extension (FEBE). Any kind of backup tool for an application is worth it because it restores data with little effort. This one backs up your add-ons and rebuilds them.

Long URL Please. Twitter increased the use of URL-shortening services. But some of us like to know where we’re going before we click. This add-on automatically expands shortened URLs. Even if you can’t see the full URL, you can mouse over the link to see the full link tooltip-style.

Print/Print Preview. Adds a print icon to the tool bar with a down arrow giving you the choices of Print, Print Preview or Page Setup. I limit printing to stay green. This add-on helps because it ensures I print only what I need and nothing more.

Read it Later. I’ve always saved articles to read later by opening them in a tab and keeping it there until I read it. No, it didn’t lead to having a bunch of open tabs. Because I don’t like many tabs, it compels me to read them soon so I can get rid of them. Read it Later took over the job. The add-on puts a checkmark in your browser. Click the checkmark to add the page to Read it Later, click it again to remove.

Web Developer. I’m not a web designer, but this toolbar has helped me out many times. You can disable Java, Javascript and colors, manage cookies, change up styles with CSS, adjust form options and much more.

Word Count Plus. Anyone who writes web content where word counts matter needs this. Simple tool where you highlight the text, click the icon and see the word count. Now it just needs an added feature to count characters for Twittering outside the box.

Xmarks. A bookmarks synchronizer that works between computers and across networks. I first used it back when it was Foxmarks, but encountered issues. Those issues are now gone, and the add-on comes with more features. It can synchronize passwords, give you information about a web page and create separate profiles. You can have a profile for each computer so you can pick and choose which bookmarks to display at each location.

I’m sure I’m still missing some of your favorite add-ons, but I limit how many I install because Firefox does become a memory hog. So here’s your chance to fill in the blanks.

What are your favorite/most frequently used Firefox add-ons?

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• What Does the Future Hold For Browsers?
• Virtual Worlds: Trends and Opportunities
• Infrastructure Overview, Q2 2010

I recently had the opportunity to talk with two Intuit staff members to talk about Thumbstrips, Fashion Your Firefox, developing for Mozilla, and Intuit Labs.

Tara Tarapata, Group Manager for the Intuit Innovation Lab, and Scott Williamson, Software Engineer and an early developer of Thumbstrips, both gave me the impression that Intuit is an organization staffed by passionate people who are trying to shake things up in software development.

While I did not mention Thumbstrips by name in my initial overview of Fashion Your Firefox, I’ve since come to regret the omission. Since downloading the add-on, it’s become an integral part of my Firefox browsing experience.

Put simply, it allows you to view your history as a visual filmstrip of thumbnails in a pane at the bottom of your browser window. Definitely saves you time time digging for that page you forgot to bookmark when you’re involved in a deep dive and can’t be expected to keep track of every little link that might prove useful. Tara pointed out other uses, including comparison shopping, bug-testing for web developers, and as a live screenshot demo reel for giving presentations.

The add-on itself is only the beginning of the story. If you’re involved in developing apps for Mozilla, a behind the scenes peek at how Thumbstrips became one of the most-downloaded add-ons available is particularly illuminating.

Thumbstrips took its first steps in the Intuit Innovation Labs, a breeding and testing ground for promising ideas and applications in development at Intuit. The Labs allow software end-users to become an integral part of the development community. According to Tara, the purpose of the space is to make sure that the applications that end up in the hands of users has the functionality that they actually need. Using the website’s “Count Me In” feature, you can sign up to become even more involved. You’ll get access to new ideas as they arrive, interact with Intuit software engineers in the development process, and help guide the future of Intuit Labs itself.

From the labs, Scott said the next step was getting listed on the official Mozilla add-ons page. Once they were listed, download numbers skyrocketed. Eventually, Thumbstrips became so popular that the Intuit team decided to apply to become a Recommended app. Yes, that is a developer-initiated process. Thumbstrips was accepted, and now enjoys regular rotation in and out of Mozilla’s Recommended apps.

The last step, the actual inclusion of Thumbstrips in the list of apps featured on Fashion Your Firefox, came as something of a surprise to the add-on’s development team. They’d heard about the launch of the new web app, and were curious to see what was available. Scott actually discovered Thumbstrips’ inclusion when he clicked to expand the “Digital Pack Rat” category. Since its inclusion, downloads of Thumbstrips have gone up 200-300%, up to 400+ daily. Clearly Mozilla’s initiative is sparking some interest.

What’s ahead for Thumbstrips?

Tara says they unfortunately can’t devote much more of their internal team’s time to the add-on, but that’s where the beauty of the Intuit Labs community lies. They hope to open source the software soon, handing it over to interested developers so that it will continue to grow thanks to the efforts of those who helped maked it a reality to begin with. And Thumbstrips is just the beginning. Tara, Scott, and the rest of the Intuit team hope to break new ground in allowing as much of their catalogue as possible to become open source once in-house development stops. With the help of the Intuit Labs community, this could ensure that applications live on, evolving to meet user needs well beyond the lifespan of traditional, privately developed software.

Thumbstrips is available as a free download here. To learn more about or become a part of Intuit Labs, visit intuitlabs.com.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• Virtual Worlds: Trends and Opportunities
• Report: High-Impact Collaboration in the Enterprise
• Infrastructure Overview, Q2 2010

I probably overindulge, in fact. Some people, however, are not using them to their full potential, or simply not using them at all. It makes sense if you just have a clean browser policy, but if you’re not aware of what’s available, then you could be missing out.

Mozilla’s new Fashion Your Firefox web application is designed to make add-ons more accessible, and easier to find and install.

The existing Firefox add-ons page can be daunting. Fashion Your Firefox takes the guesswork out of add-on browsing, grouping them thematically based on over-arching types. Yes, it may be reductionist, but it also saves you a lot of aimless wandering on the add-ons page.

The categories Mozilla puts forward are meant to apply to people in general, but web workers take note: each also represents an industry or professional field.

Finder and Seeker = Research Analyst
StumbleUpon and Interclue are great tools for finding connections and deepening your initial information gathering phase when conducting broad, open-ended search-based research.

Social Butterfly = Networker, Social Media Professional
LinkedIn Companion is valuable for any web professional, but especially for people in the business of being connected. Yoono, Facebook, and TwitterFox are likewise great tools in the socializer’s arsenal.

Shutterbug = Freelance Photographer, Media Buyer
Fotofox is a must have for the online photographer, and Cooliris makes the daunting task of sifting through thousands of photos looking for just the right image for that ad mock-up a much more pleasurable experience.

Digital Packrat = Project Manager, Managing Editor
Make sure you’re on the same page wherever you go with Foxmarks. I can’t count how many times I’ve said “I wish I had that bookmark on this computer” before installing this add-on. Likewise, Delicious.

Rock Star = Musician, Concert Promoter, Agent
Keep track of your own or your client’s music, track similar artists to organize tours, stay on top of trends and manage your audience.

Decorator = Design Professional
Mostly frivolous, but creative professionals sometimes thrive on frivolity. These themes could provide the inspiration needed to generate that layout that’ll wow your client.

Shopaholic = Professional Shopper, eBay Powerseller
eBay as a constant companion. For those of you in this field, I don’t think I need to say more.

News Junkie = Reporter, Blogger
If I didn’t have Wizz RSS reader and Morning Coffee, I wouldn’t be able to do my job. Also, on a side note, ForecastFox keeps my obsessive need for weather updates under control.

Executive Assistant = Well, this one’s kinda obvious.
ReminderFox will help anyone stay on top of things. This is another category great for the obsessive micro-manager.

Now that I’ve translated Fashion Your Firefox for web workers, go out and get downloading.

Add-ons can be overwhelming, so it’s great Mozilla has produced this list, but don’t stop there. As you test these, see what you like and don’t like, and use those “This is nice, but I wish I could…” moments to drive your searches for better, more suitable extensions.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• Virtual Worlds: Trends and Opportunities
• Infrastructure Overview, Q2 2010
• What Does the Future Hold For Browsers?

Making do just got a lot easier thanks to Taglocity 2.0, a plugin which brings some much needed functionality to Microsoft’s Office-based desktop email program.

For freelance and personal purposes, I use MobileMe and Gmail, and I rarely have reason to complain about either (excluding the web-based iteration of MobileMe, which is about as consistent as West Coast weather). Gmail’s labels, recent conversations, and filtering options are especially useful. Taglocity brings that kind of functionality and more to your Outlook inbox, at the cost of a little added weight to an already resource-heavy program.

By default, Taglocity installs a pane to the far right of your Outlook browser, and and additional toolbar.

Through the toolbar you can search filter results, and tag individual emails, which works like Gmail’s labels. There will always be people on both sides of the folder/label fence. I use folders at work and labels at home, and I’m comfortable with both, but I like having the option Taglocity provides to label across and between folders.

Threaded conversations is another feature Outlook lacks that Taglocity enables.

By default, the right pane displays conversations with the sender of the email you currently have selected, along with their contact information, if you have them in your Outlook contacts database. You can switch to attachments view to quickly access all files sent between you and that person, and, at the bottom of the pane, view basic analytics including number of messages sent, received, and CC’d to and from that contact or address.

A key feature Taglocity brings to the table in terms of working with a wider group is Group creation and support. User can create, manage, and subscribe to Groups to manage multi-user announcements and FYI notices. A huge chunk of my inbox clutter is due to staff landing/departure notices, non-essential updates regarding other lines of business, and other distracting material that I can check in my downtime. With Groups this is not longer a problem, as I can choose to “pull” this kind of info when I can review it without disrupting my regular workflow. Groups also lets you share tags and set up semantic subscriptions, so that people who need to know something always get the right info, even if they’re just joining the team and without needing to be CC’d.

Even after only a couple of days, I can’t really see myself using Outlook without the added functionality of Taglocity. And since Taglocity Standard is free, I have no reason to stop. Taglocity Professional is $99, but most users will likely find the feature differences not worth the added expense.

Get Taglocity 2.0 for Outlook now and start streamlining your email workflow.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• Why iPad 2 Will Lead Consumers Into the Post-PC Era
• The Near-Term Evolution of Social Commerce