Hello you wonderful IP people, here's the firefox stuff I promised

Ok folks, here's how to run firefox the fun way!

First of course, ya's gots to get yer firefox.

http://www.mozilla.com/firefox/

read the simple rundown on that page and be blown away, firefox is that great!

Now, you can click on the tools tab to get extensions, (it's just that easy!)
You can also go to the popular extensions site

https://addons.mozilla.org/search.php?app=firefox&appfilter=firefox&type=E&sort=downloads

at this site, you can easily select the top 15 or so with confidence (as they apply to you). Additionally it is their official site, so you can trust it more.

The site below has a more focused route for telling you about extensions that do specific jobs (try them both, hit control + T enter a new tab and bring them up next to each other, welcome to tabbed browsing!!)

http://www.econsultant.com/i-want-firefox-extension/index.html

here's the official list of "Fred approved" firefox extensions.

IE tab: runs native windows explorer in a firefox tab

NoScript: ad/popup/script blocker

Fasterfox: makes it go faster, no brainer!

Adblock: ad/popup/script blocker

AdblockPlus: ad/popup/script blocker (I know I get redundant, I also don't get viruses!)

pdfdownload: use it for those .pdfs I told you about

del.icio.us: best extension here,, you are using del.icio.us aren't you?! Aren't you?! (hint, put me in your network if you do any tech research whatsoever! ( freds4hb, it's always how to find me))

bugmenot: gets you stealthily into la times, etc. helps when you don't have a subscription, kinda bad, but sometimes I just want the info.

aspator: patent nirvana! Use it, or waste lots of time, your choice.
videodownloader: nuff said

sessionsaver: did your firefox crash? So what! Just turn it back on and you're right back where you were! A real lifesaver! Beats the crap out of history.

googlenotebook: sign up for a gmail account (duh) then go get into googlenotebook, make notes on sites just for yourself, they stay with you across platforms since they're used by logging into google, it's a real help for simple notes, even when you're away from your machine! (think shared notes at home, work, or on the go with a laptop you can always access)

tabmixplus: nice for viewing multiple tabs at a time

stumbleupon: great time waster/random good site generator


I hope that helps!!

Also here's a quick rundown of what I use on a daily basis.

Office
Adobe Creative Suite
Firefox
itunes (ok, I'm a sucker for old time radio, just stream it people, it's freee!)
titlebarclock (just handy lightweight, free, and helpful)
convert: converts any units, really helpful! http://joshmadison.net/software/
Rhino (here at work)
solidworks at home (it's the best thing ever for 3d modelling!)
Palm pilot (duh) been using it since 1996, I'll change when,, ok I won't.
google earth (note to self: put globe in trash)

seriously the only other big help I can give you is to use del.icio.us!!! It's so powerful, and by using the extension to add a tag in firefox, it just does so much to organize what you're looking for (and yes you can keep them private just by clicking the checkbox for private)

I hope I've helped!!