Adam Kuban: Kublog

This is this first in what may be an ongoing series of posts in which I detail the tools I use to blog.

I guess I should tackle the tool I use most often, my browser. I’m on a Mac, and I know Safari is faster, but for me, Firefox has it beat for two good reasons: add-ons and the ability to easily view selection source code.

Add Ons

There are a variety of add-ons and plug-ins you can install on Firefox to help you do more. I find them helpful but not super necessary. I have the Greasemonkey add-on installed, which in turn allows me to run certain scripts. For instance, on Flickr, Greasemonkey allows me to use Auto Page, an enhancement that eliminates the “next” links on Flickr and just allows you to scroll infinitely, loading new photos as you approach the bottom of the page.

At one time or another, I’ve used the following add-ons, but since starting this post as a draft, I’ve pared down so Firefox runs faster. (My discontinued add-ons are in italics):

• TwitterFox: A handy in-browser app that lets you Twitter from Firefox. I like it because it can handle multiple Twitter accounts with easy switching among them. (This is my No. 1 most-used add-on at the moment)
• Google Toolbar: A variety of tools I rarely use. I mostly like it because it reveals the Google Page Rank of whatever page you’re on
• StumbleUpon toolbar: As far as I know, this is the only way to really use StumbleUpon
• Web Developer toolbar: I rarely use this in my professional blogging, but it helps me dig into the stylesheets for Kublog
• Flash Video Resources Downloader: Helps you download the Flash video file for many different video players. Useful in helping pull down video so you can load it to your own video-sharing account
• Pearl Crescent Screensaver Basic: Allows you to take a snapshot of an entire web page—even the stuff “below the fold.” I have since replaced this with Paparazzi
  

View Selection Source

Anil Dash showed me this trick. You can simply highlight a block of text, links, and/or images, and right-click and select “View selection source” from the right-button menu. This gives you the source code of what’s highlighted. Handy if you’re copying out a selection with links or formatted text, because then you don’t have to bother inserting links back in. Safari does not have this, and I tell you, kids, it’s a true time-saver.

My officemate Raphael gets on me about how Safari is better and faster, and he’s probably right. If you can get by without “View selection source,” then you might want to go with the Mac-native option, but the time this one feature saves me is enough to keep me hooked on Firefox.