Toolbars are everywhere. Google has one, and so does Yahoo. These
days, it seems like nearly every Web site or shareware program offers a
toolbar or add-on of some sort that integrates into your browser. So
what's the catch? Unless you run Internet Explorer, they probably won't
work for you. Users of IE have long had the ability to add a plethora of
toolbars to their browser, with fewer being available for Netscape and
next to none that are compatible with everyone's favorite open-source
browser, Mozilla.
Until recently, if you were a Mozilla aficionado and wanted to use
toolbars, you were simply out of luck. In true open-source fashion,
however, coders have begun altering toolbars to work with Mozilla and,
in many cases, even creating Mozilla-only toolbars from scratch. In this
month's edition of Windows Advisor, we'll take a look at four of the
best toolbar add-ons for Mozilla and discuss how to make them work for
you.
Google Bar
Users of IE have long been able to add a special Google toolbar to
their browser, while the rest of us have felt shunned. Microsoft, move
over. Thanks to a bunch of talented programmers, the Google bar now
works with Mozilla. Search newsgroups, track down images, and even save
searches for later--all without ever leaving your toolbar.
The toolbar doesn't work perfectly yet--a few bugs have been found,
such as a problem with not saving the history, but for the most part the
program works great. If you do a lot of Google searching (and who
doesn't?) this an essential add-on for your browser.
Yahoo Companion
While the Mozilla version doesn't (yet) offer all the features of
the official add-on, it's a boon for Mozilla users who are addicted to
Yahoo. Using the toolbar, you can access Yahoo mail, bookmarks, weather,
news, and all of the various Yahoo search options. Though not complete,
what is here seems to work flawlessly, performing just as quickly as
does the official companion on IE.
StumbleUpon
StumbleUpon is one of the few tool bars made to support Internet
Explorer, Netscape, and Mozilla equally. At its most simplistic,
StumbleUpon is a random site generator. Click on the "Stumble" button on
the toolbar and you're taking to a random site on the Net, where you're
given the opportunity to rate (thumbs up or down) and review it.
But it's also more that that. Everyone who joins gets his or her own
spot on the network, to which they can upload a photo, add links to
their favorite sites, and post comments. You can even see lists of folks
who rated sites in a similar manner to you, and that's where things get
interesting. Depending upon how much time you want to invest in the
concept, you can use this addictive new tool bar to make new friends,
find recommendations for sites you might enjoy, or just have fun hopping
to random sites.
Mozilla Amazon Browser
More than just a toolbar, Mozilla Amazon Browser (MAB) actually
allows you to perform searches against the American, British, German, or
Japanese version of the Amazon.com product catalogue and see the
results--complete with price, availability, reviews, and cover
photos--from an interface within your browser. And because you don't
actually have to visit Amazon to do searches, the results are nearly
instantaneous.
You can save your searches, customize exactly what information you
receive, and more. If you purchase a lot of items from Amazon--or just
want to use Amazon for reviews before purchasing elsewhere--this toolbar
is an amazing resource. About the only thing it won't do is purchase
your favorite books for you.
