Fun with Firefox
Firefox recently renamed their “plugins” to “change-arounds”… but regardless of the name change we thought we’d compile a list of some pretty useful software to add to your browser and enhance it’s functionality.
Firebug: View CSS, HTML, and Javascript live on your web page.
MeasureIt: Find out the pixel width and height of any element on a website.
TwitterFox: Installs a little twitter button on the bottom of your browser. Just click it to view your friends updates and add your own instantly.
ShareThis: Instantly update text, pictures or video to any of your friends through email, Facebook, Digg and more!
Fission: Adds the progress bar to your address bar, making it more visible.
Scribe Fire Blog Editor: Allows you to easily update you blog.
FoxTab: A 3-D tabbed browsing extension, allowing you to sort through your tabs visually.
Tab Renamizer: Don’t want your boss to know your on Facebook? Rename your tabs using this plugin!
Personas: Change the look of your browser with hundreds of artist created designs or create your own.
Shazam!
Ever hear a song but don’t know what it is? I can’t count how many times I’ve gone mad trying to remember the name of some band, or song artist. Well Shazam seems to have provided us with a solution! If you can’t find a friend that knows that song you’re after - then call 2580 from your mobile phone. Hold your phone up to the music to record a clip and Shazam will send you the details via text message!
Now all they need to do is give us the ability to purchase and download the song as soon as it’s found!
Your network operator standard charges apply. In addition, Shazam charges £0.50 (approximately $0.90CAD) if the tune you send in is recognized, and if it’s not then no charges apply.
New ways to search…
It seems we’re moving away from text based search results and into a more visual future.
Viewzi - Search results are displayed in clean text boxes, and on rollover show a screen capture of the website.
Searchme - Is a lot of fun! Mimicking the iTunes Cover Flow look, users can easily scrub through screen shots of their search results.
SnapTell Browser - A new browser to download on your iPhone. Take a picture of a book or video game with your iPhone and upload it to Snaptell to learn more about the product or buy it. More info…
TinEye - Upload an image, or cut and paste the URL of an image and TinEye will show results of other websites with that image - edited or not.
Other creative search engines:
PicClick - Enter a search for something you want on Ebay and Amazon and PicClick will display your search results in thumbnail form.
SeeqPod - An index of found music on the web. Search for a song or podcast and stream it live on their website. You can also create a free account that will allow you to save and share playlists.
Briteclick - A browser add-on that let’s you right click a word on the web and search for maps and prices.
The look and feel of a magazine… on the internet
I was given the assignment recently to look for a page turning software – also known as an “online publishing platform” for your magazine or work – to transform paper publications into an interactive online presentation. Lately I have seen this type of animation on major newspaper websites, but I hadn’t given much thought to it past the initial surprise of how “cool” it was to flip through the online paper.
After doing an initial search, one of the top listed programs was by Zmags. Zmags offers two types of online publishing platforms – or what we will call OPPs – the Publicator Express, and the Publicator Pro. Both are essentially the same, but with a different price tag and different features. Each of them allows you to design online issues within the program and publish them. At first glance, it has a clean and simple design, and the pages lift nicely in the corners, but the price tag starts at $45/per month, and can therefore be costly.
Next on the search list was WildFlip. WildFlip offers its clients the choice of having your online publications made for you, or creating the books yourself. Creating these flip books yourself requires a bit of Flash knowledge, and I would not recommend this route to anyone that has not used Adobe Flash before (see the Manual before purchasing this product to get an idea of what is expected). 
What is unique about the WildFlip program, is the page flipping itself — you can flip almost half of the page around and view what is on the next page. This is unlike any of the other sites I have seen, where most just flip the tip of the corner, and not much of the other page can therefore be seen. Another feature is that you can add video, audio, and interactive features to your pages. To view an example, click here.
Another site, called Digi-Page, had a completely different flip effect that seemed rather odd to me, but still had a clean design. The whole side of the page lifted slightly, and no further animation was allowed. I wish I could say you how much these pages were, but I found their website hard to read, and after about 20 seconds of looking I gave up.
After a bit more searching I also found the PageGangster. Their website offers you the chance to upload your PDF file – no conversion to JPEG or SWF required – to view what your publication would look like. After uploading your file, and inputting your email address, PageGangster will send you an email with a link, username, and password to your online publication. This link will be active for 7 days, during which time you can decide whether or not you want to purchase it. Each publication that you upload and purchase is $199US.
In the end I chose WildFlip. I found that the animation of the pages was far more outstanding than the others (See example, here), and in the end I can customize everything from background to buttons using Flash. If you are unfamiliar with flash, PageGangster is next on my list. It’s as simple as attaching a document to an email. Keep in mind that the price is per magazine with PageGangster, where as WildFlip is a one time cost.
Related Links
Interesting Forum
