Functionality trumps size. "It's tiny" should not be the only criteria for inclusion. I'd pay more attention to the total number of extensions. Remember, FF must load and initialize each upon startup. Back in the FF 1.X days, I had an "Everything including the Out house sink" profile that had 115 extensions. (I did it mostly to see if I could, and the "production" profile was a lot slimmer.) It took 45 seconds for FF 1.X to load and initialize, on a reasonably fast machine at the time...sc0ttman wrote:Tech Toolkit sounds like a good tool, I think I will look into it. I hope it's not too big!DMcCunney wrote:Mel Reyes created an extension called Tech Toolkit to assist in managing extensions and themes. One of the things TT can do is turn off [extension] compatibility checking, so you can successfully install an older extension and test it.
If it doesn't work, you can uninstall it again. If it does work, you can right-click it's entry in the Add-ons list and select Make Compatible to turn off the incompatibility message.
Meanwhile, I'd suggest making NoScript a part of the default Firedog install. It blocks script activity from any site not in a user maintained whitelist, and can block JavaScript, Java, Flash, and Microsoft Silverlight.
You can provide the functionality of Tech Toolkit manually. You need to download a local copy of the XPI file, open it (it's a Zip archive), extract and edit the Install.rdf file with a text editor to change the values for oldest and newest versions of FF it will run in, save the altered Install.rdf back into the XPI, then do a local install. This process is called "bumping", and it was a popular sport when FF 2.0 came out, to see which older extensions would work and which were broken by underlying changes.
Tech Toolkit simply makes it more convenient, and has other features like automatically saving a local copy of the XPI in a designated directory when you install an extension from the Add-ons site. You don't have to go online to retrieve another if you create a new profile, or trash your old one and have to rebuild.
I use the following in FF 3.5: (List created by Tech Toolkit. Italicized descriptions by me.))Also, I'll probably include noscript as default in Firedog 1.3.. Although most extensions I've included are much smaller. However I do understand its usefulness for many.
Anyone have any advice, requests or suggestions for Firedog 1.3?
Generated: Wed Jan 20 2010 14:18:51 GMT-0500 (Eastern Enabled Extensions: [11]
- All-in-One Sidebar 0.7.11
Comprehensive sidebar control, so you can do things like open the Add-ons and Downloads windows in the Sidebar.
- Brief 1.2.5
RSS feed reader. I used to use Sage, but that has issues under 3.5 and hasn't been updated in a while. For FF 2, I still prefer it.
- CuteMenus - Crystal SVG 1.9.3
Icons for just about every menu item.
- Ghostery 2.0.2
Display "tracking" cookies
- Gmail Notifier 0.6.4.1
Status bar icon to notify of new Gmail and automatically log in to read it.
- Greasemonkey 0.8.20091209.4
Run arbitrary JavaScript (called UserScripts) based on the page you are viewing. Many UserScripts exist.
- Image Zoom 0.4.2
Image size manipulation I think should be built into FF.
- MR Tech Toolkit 6.0.4
Tech Toolkit, mentioned previously.
- NoScript 1.9.9.36
Block all scripting activity unless the site is in a whitelist.
- Stylish 1.0.7
Run arbitrary CSS (UserStyles) based on the page being viewed. I don't use AdBlock. I substitute Stylish with Ad Blocking Filterset P. Filterset P defines a large number of ad server sites, and simply doesn't render content served by them. It's not as comprehensive as AdBlock, but it doesn't impose the overhead of actively scanning each page with JavaScript looking for ads to block. It can also be used to modify the look and feel of FF itself.
- Tab Mix Plus 0.3.8.2
Comprehensive tab control. Want to force everything to open in a tab? Tab Mix Plus is your friend...
Of the above, the absolute necessities here are All In One Sidebar, Brief, Greasemonkey, Image Zoom, NoScript, Stylish, and Tech Toolkit.
Add Chris Pederick's Web Developer toolbar and Joe Hewitt's Firebug as must-haves. If desired, add Rob Ginda's JavaScript Debugger and the DOM Inspector (which I think is still bundled with FF 2, but removed in FF 3.) There are others, but those are crucial.I'm also thinking of making a Firedog for web designers (for myself more than anything) - basically Firedog, with a load of the great web development addons for FF2.
Of the list you currently include, I might omit things like FasterFox. It's a GUI to modify preferences, and you can get the same effect by going into About:Config and tweaking. You simply need to know which preferences to tweak and what value to set them to. I don't see a point to loading and initializing an extension every time you run FF that you essentially only use once.
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Dennis