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It looks like Firefox 3 Beta will be available in late Autumn, or so itnews says.

New features will include support for running web apps like mail and office suites while disconnected from the Internet, and a new feature called ‘Places’ which is a redesigned bookmarks and history manager.

Probably the strongest new feature – users of Gmail, Docs and Spreadsheets, Yahoo Mail, and Google Apps will be able to totally disconnect from the Internet, and work offline (As long as the application providers comply with Firefox 3’s new API).

Firefox’s current strategy is reminiscent of a failed strategy by Netscape Communications, more than 10 years ago, to make the operating system irrelevant by building an OS within the browser.

I am extremely excited to see how this new functionality will work out, both in the interest of software providers and customers. If Mozilla can pull off the ‘offline apps’ space, it will make for a very interesting future for the Software as a Service model and for the Mozilla Company.

In the meantime, it looks like we still need to play inside a browser. Unfortunate as that may be.

As I am getting ready to close up shop for the week, I chanced upon quite a bit of Firefox news.  Realizing that I haven’t written much about the open source browser recently, I thought it might be a good idea to do a quick, all encompassing piece on them!

• Firefox 3.0 “Gran Paradiso” Alpha 1 now available – Some of the new features include the use of Cairo as the graphics library, Cocoa Widgets on Mac OS X, and improved SVG specification compliance.  You can check out the known issues here.
• Four Essential SEO Firefox Plugins – A good list of the best SEO plugins available for Firefox.  Or you can just download SEOquake and be done with it!
• Firefox Flicks – Want your name in a Firefox commercial that is going to be aired in Boston and San Francisco through the holidays?  If I am not mistaken, the six videos on the home page are the actual commercials that are being voted on!
• Google Reader Notifier Add-on – If you use Google reader, this little plugin is a gem.  Give it access to your reader account and it lets you know when there is a new post in there for you to read!

And if anyone tries the new alpha version, let me know what you think of it.  I might fiddle with it this weekend :0) 

References: downloadsquad.com, 10e20.com, markdbd.com

I have just spent the last 45 minutes looking through the Firefox Add-ons page for one particular extension, which I conveniently forgot the name of..

Now for me to spend that much time searching through a ‘database’ is ridiculous, but this plug in is worth it.  I have an infatuation with reformatting my computer about once every 3 months (to get rid of the garbage), and this extension was a casualty of my efforts.

The extension I was looking for is called “Scrapbook.”  It allows you to take snapshots of entire web pages, in their true form.  The links are still good, and you can even save the child pages of the site (up to two links out I think). 

For the most part, I despise bookmarks because they just pile up, and I never get back to them.  Many times there is a list or something I want to refer to, but I don’t necessarily want to bookmark it.  The web page might change, move, etc.  This is a way to preserve the content but still make use of the links as if it were on a normal, static site.

We are all busy.  Between work, school, separate home computers, and the like, there is a need to have the same access on many different PCs.  I really wanted to write an article on some of the tools out there to make our ‘digital life’ easier.  Hopefully, it will help you get connected while you are on the go!

Before I get into the list, please feel free to write some of the things you use in the comment box.  These are just some of the things I think are absolutely indispensable, but some of your needs are different.  Let me know what you think!

• Mozilla Firefox – I personally like Mozilla.  Some people do, others don’t.  Unfortunately for those that don’t, the following extensions don’t integrate into Internet Explorer :0)
• Google Browser Sync – A Firefox extension that synchronizes your browser settings between all of the various computers you are on.  When Firefox starts up, the sync automatically happens and you get everything from bookmarks to history across all your computers.  Extensions don’t transfer though.
• Google Docs and Spreadsheets – Don’t have a flash drive?  Just type what you need in this Google space and access it from anywhere you are signed into Google.  You can even download your work in Microsoft, Open Office, etc. format.
• Performancing – A full featured blogging application for Firefox
• SEOquake – The most amazing first look, SEO tool there is.  Completely customizable and shows you every SEO parameter of a web page you could ask for.  Also, when you do a Google search, the PR, Index, Alexa Rank, etc shows up below each entry.
• Adsense Notifier – We all love keeping track of our site’s earnings.  This tool automates it and keeps you informed right in your browser.