Once installed, the extension adds a new “Snooze” button to the Gmail interface, as shown above. Hit the button, and a drop-down menu appears, enabling you to choose a snooze period from five minutes to four hours, or to be reminded about the email on a specific day or at a specific time:

When the snooze period is up, the extension will then play an alert sound and pop up a desktop notification, reminding you about the email and (optionally) marking the email as unread. In the notification, there are handy links to open the email or to snooze it again:

It’s a simple idea and it’s implemented well. However, it only works on Chrome, so if, like me, you also tend to read your emails on mobile devices it may prove less useful. I’d love to see this as a Labs feature in Gmail itself and have it available on multiple platforms. Note that despite its name, Snooze Your Email for Gmail also apparently works for Yahoo Mail, although I haven’t tried it.

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Once installed, Trails stores the text and images that you clip onto pages that it calls “spreads.” These are viewable in a sidebar  (via View->Sidebar->Trails or a keyboard shortcut). You can create as many spreads in your booklet as you like, and they can be can be set up as one-, two- or three-column pages.

Adding content to your booklet is done via some new Firefox context menu items: As you’re browsing, highlight some text or select an image and right-click to select to add it to your booklet. Before text is added to the spread, it pops up in a window giving you the opportunity to edit it. Content can be deleted and edited after insertion on the page, too. Trails automatically puts the URL a particular snippet or text or image came from below each piece of content on the page, as well as recording the time and date that it was clipped on.

Once your booklet is complete, it can be printed, exported in PDF format or published to the Trails Public Library online.

As a note-taking tool, Trails is nowhere as powerful and flexible as more full-featured, multi-user solutions like Evernote or OneNote.  However, it does fit seamlessly into a Firefox-based workflow, and as the booklets that it creates are nicely-formatted and can be exported as a PDF, it makes for a very easy way to share well-presented research with colleagues or clients.

Trails can be downloaded from the Mozilla Add-Ons repository.

(via ghacks)

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The new View Later functionality is baked into the browser UI. As you can see in the screenshot above, the “View Later” button — a clock icon — sits next to the familiar bookmarking star in the address bar. Clicking that button adds the current page to the user’s View Later list, which can be accessed from the right-hand strip on the browser. The items are displayed as a searchable chronological list; each item is displayed with an excerpt and thumbnail image for easier scanning. From the demo I’ve seen, it’s a very slick implementation:

Unfortunately, the View Later tool currently doesn’t sync with other popular “read later” tools like Instapaper or Read It Later, nor does it have mobile access, which may limit its usefulness. One of the reasons I like Instapaper is its ability to save articles while browsing on my Mac to catch up with later on my iPhone. However, as the data is stored in your Facebook account, View Later will sync between RockMelt installations on different machines, and Vishria says mobile access could come in a future version.

The browser also gets a redesigned Twitter app. It now makes use of Twitter’s Real-Time API for near-instantaneous updates, and also has a redesigned UI which makes it much easier to access @ mentions and direct messages (DMs) via new tabs. The new interface looks very reminiscent of Tweetie/Twitter for Mac; Vishria describes the changes to the UI as making the app “more Twitter-y”

RockMelt’s integrated Facebook chat has also been improved, with a new unobtrusive chat bar along the bottom of the browser window, which allows users to hold multiple chat conversations simultaneously. Chat windows can be “torn off” from the chat bar and placed onto the desktop, making the browser into a much more capable chat client.

The browser has been updated under the hood, too: It’s now based on the same version of Chromium as Chrome 10, which should make for a snappier experience.

The new beta will start to roll out to users April 1.

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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?

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Last week, Internet Explorer 9 was released, and while Firefox 4 is due to be officially launched today, you can already download it from the Mozilla FTP site (UPDATED: it’s now launched, and you can download it from Mozilla). Luckily, so far, we haven’t seen any major issues with the new browsers, but there have been reports that some widely-used tools will need to be updated.

With that in mind, here is a short list of tests you’ll want to make when a new browser becomes available.

• Test your website(s). Make sure layout and interactive functions operate correctly, including content management systems, contact and feedback forms, styles and links.
• Test your collaboration tools. Web-based project management, screen sharing, conferencing and collaboration services should be updating themselves continuously, but you should check your intranet and any tools that have been built or are being hosted in-house.
• Test add-ons and extensions you and your colleagues are using. When you upgrade Firefox, it will check your add-ons and update or disable any that aren’t compatible. But you should also check the add-on developer’s website to see if there are beta versions available. And some add-ons may no longer be needed. After the controversy regarding hacking tool Firesheep a few months ago, I started using a Firefox add-on called Force-TLS that connected me to websites using HTTPS when possible. Firefox 4 has the appropriate technology built in, so Force-TLS is no longer needed.
• Test social media tools you are using. Especially check custom pages that you have created on sites like Facebook.

You’ll probably want to keep copies of old browser versions handy, since a lot of users don’t upgrade right away. This can be tricky, since some browsers, such as IE, don’t allow you to install two different versions on the same machine; virtual machines and browser testing services can be handy.

How do you test new browsers?

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The web development company that I manage maintains a series of machines so that we can check the sites we design in a multitude of environments. But if such a setup isn’t feasible for you, you might want to try one of these options for cross-browser testing.

Browsershots

This web-based service is simple and offers a comprehensive set of browsers. If you need to know how your site will look in some very obscure browsers (including the text-based browser Lynx, and a few others that I’ve never heard of) on just about every operating system variant, Browsershots can help.

I asked Browsershots to display its default selection of 63 browsers. The app gives you an estimate of how long it will take for the screenshots to show, which wasn’t very accurate. Many of the shots appeared within a couple of minutes, and most were available within half an hour. The final three images never did appear; I gave up after three hours. The screen displays clickable thumbnails that expand to 1024 pixel wide PNG files that you can save locally.

Browsershots is free, but you can purchase “priority processing” to improve load time for $29.95 per month.

Spoon Browser Sandbox

This web-based service tries to go further than just providing screenshots by offering interactive views from several versions of Firefox, Chrome and Opera. Spoon says that “Microsoft has asked us to remove Internet Explorer”. Unfortunately, none of the browser emulations seem to work on Macs at all, in either Safari or Firefox. And despite Spoon’s claim that their service runs with “no installs,” Windows users must install a plugin for their system to work in Firefox, IE or Chrome.

Spoon’s browser sandbox available at no charge, and is just part of a larger library of apps that can be run virtually. It also offers self-hosted server options for enterprises.

Browserling

This service is also web-based, but provides an interactive view of browsers running in virtual machines. Some of the IE variants that the service supports actually seem to be rendered using IE Tester.

The service is in beta, and when I tried Browserling, it appeared to be having some technical problems, and their virtual machines were crashing a lot. But the concept is a good one, and I hope the company gets the kinks worked out.

Browserling is free during the beta period, and can be used for 90 seconds per session without registration; that’s not much time, since the service’s virtual machines take a while to boot. But you can also register at no charge, which will give you access to five-minute sessions.

Multi-Browser Viewer

Multi-Browser Viewer combines installed Windows software with a subscription. I haven’t tried this product, but it offers 22 browser versions, including IE6, IE7, IE8, Safari, Chrome, Opera and Firefox. It also offers five mobile browser simulators, including iPhone and BlackBerry, plus screenshot creation for over 60 Mac, Linux and Windows browsers.

It has several pricing plans, starting from an access plan good for 14 days at $29.95, or you can buy the software plus a one-year subscription for $139.95 (subsequent years are $99.95). A 14-day trial is also available.

Other Options

If you don’t need the comprehensive options above and are running Windows, you might want to try the IE Tab add-on for Firefox or Chrome, both of which simulate Internet Explorer in other browsers. You can also try the IE Tester software used by Browserling.

To make sure that your site looks good on mobile devices, check out the emulators for such popular mobile web browsers as:

• Mobile Safari (iOS, web-based)
• Android Browser (local install)
• Opera Mini (web-based)
• …and others

Of course, many other factors affect website usability, including:

• Operating system
• Screen size, resolution, and orientation
• Installed fonts
• Plugins such as Flash and JavaScript
• Processor speed
• Available memory

so the tests above should be supplemented with as much real-world testing as can be arranged.

How do you test websites?

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The Mac version, meanwhile, is still in beta. I hope it makes full release soon, as its speed, coupled with Opera’s impressive feature set, could see it replacing Chrome as my primary work browser.

Have you been using Opera 10.5? Let us know what you think of the new browser below.

So what might the future hold for browsers? In my latest Long View over on our subscription research service, GigaOM Pro, “What Does the Future Hold for Browsers?“, with comments from Chris Wilson (Microsoft), Chris Blizzard (Mozilla) and Bruce Lawson (Opera), I look at where this new browser war might lead, and the battlefields that it will be fought on: innovative new technologies, browser performance, security and privacy, and the ability to browse from multiple, diverse devices.

How do you think browsers will change over the next five years?

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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?

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I’ve been using the beta for some time now as my everyday browser. In my experience, the beta of 3.5 has been far more stable than 3.0, particularly when I have large numbers of web apps open, so I would recommend switching to 3.5 RC1 if you’re not using it already, even though it’s not the final version.

I ran the new RC1 through the Sunspider JavaScript benchmarks. It appears to be about 12 percent faster than beta 4, scoring a time of 2200 ms compared with beta 4′s 2500 ms, but as I didn’t run the tests in parallel you should take that with a large pinch of salt. While it’s not quite as snappy as Google Chrome (by far the quickest browser available, which scores 1500 ms, according to my benchmarks), this new version of Firefox is still a very fast browser. This improved performance, coupled with the ever-increasing bandwidth available to users, should give developers much more scope to create powerful web apps with desktop app-like capabilities — leading to many more useful web apps becoming available for web workers.

Have you switched to Firefox 3.5 yet?

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The Google Chrome team has announced a new version of the open-source browser, touting up to 30 percent performance increases on JavaScript-heavy tasks. I’ve taken it for a spin, comparing it to Firefox 3.5 Beta 4, which also has very fast JavaScript performance thanks to its TraceMonkey technology. The new version of Chrome does indeed work faster than the Firefox beta at this point, and the performance is another way that Google’s browser is maturing and innovating.

Google is putting its money where its mouth is on the performance increases in the new Chrome. If you go to this web page, it will automatically start running a series of seven separate JavaScript-centric browser benchmark tests. You can paste the same URL into Firefox or another browser, and compare the result to that of Chrome. I got significantly higher numbers (higher is better) on all the tests with the new version of Chrome, as compared to Firefox 3.5 Beta 4.

The performance increases in Chrome come from an update to its V8 JavaScript engine, as well as a new version of the open-source WebKit rendering engine. It’s worth noting that Firefox 3.5 will be coming out in a Release Candidate version in early June, with the final version due shortly after that. The final version may outperform Chrome in JavaScript tasks, as both Mozilla and Google are targeting improvements there. As far as the latest beta of Firefox goes, though, Chrome performs faster. It also continues to have the advantage of running tasks within tabs as separate applications, which means far fewer browser crashes. However, Chrome does not yet have anywhere near the ecosystem of useful extensions that Firefox has.

You can download the new version of Chrome here. If you’re already running Chrome, you’ll automatically be updated to the new version.

What do you think of Google Chrome?

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We’re constantly talking about ways of dealing with information overload, so it’s a happy day when a tool can truly make a difference. Today, that tool is Idea Shower’s ReadItLater.

Along the same lines as InstaPaper, LaterLoop and others, ReadItNow is simply a Firefox add-on that helps you save a list of pages for later reading. Better than regular old bookmarks, it’s for those pages you want to read when you have a moment but maybe not keep around forever.

ReadItLater has been around for over a year, but this week with version .99, it got insanely useful. I understand why other sites have been talking about it so much.

You can read and save pages on any computer, any platform, even a mobile device (yes, an iPhone). If it’s not a Firefox-based browser, you can use a bookmarklet to save your page.

There’s an offline caching feature so you can catch up on your reading even if you don’t have an Internet connection. Great for plane reading.

You can sort your reading list by Quality (aka PostRank, formerly AideRSS), so you are sure that you are reading the best stuff first.

You can toggle something called “Click to Save Mode” so when you’re flying through your Netvibes or Digg pages, you can quickly collect those sites that interest you and skim them later. I’ve gotten into the habit of loading Netvibes first thing in the morning, opening the pages I want to read in multiple tabs and working through them throughout the day. Doing this in ReadItLater makes much more sense.

The new Google Reader integration is simple and well done. Click the check to add the post to your reading list, without having to actually load the page just yet.

The only bug I found is that it’s not 100% compatible with all 3rd party Firefox themes. If it’s not displaying properly for you, try switching back to the default theme.

Happy Halloween!

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The comic runs through a bunch of interesting features: process-isolated tabs, a new Javascript engine tuned for large, complex applications (like, oh, GMail), UI innovations, an “Omnibox” that resembles Firefox’s “Awesome bar”, and more. The new browser is supposedly built on top of the Webkit rendering engine. Although this could be a (very elaborate) hoax, I’m inclined to believe it’s for real: the URL for Google Chrome is returning a custom 404 page, rather than the one Google uses for random words. I’m sure I won’t be the only web worker hoping to see a release here sooner rather than later.

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The record came despite its downtime for about two hours after site visitors overloaded its server. At its peak, the server was said to be serving 17,000 downloads per minute. Mozilla’s CEO John Lilly has a blog post that will give you more figures about the first 24 hours.

Downloads came from various parts of the globe, led by the United States, Germany, Japan, Spain, and Britain. The previous version of Firefox was downloaded just 1.6 million times in the 24 hours after its launch.

Mozilla said that Guinness World Records is reviewing the world record attempt and may take a few days before confirmation.

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