Firefox Add-On: Pronounce

It's always disconcerting when you begin to read some text aloud to someone and run into a word you just aren't sure how to pronounce. You may often know precisely what it means, or be able to suss out the meaning from the context, but the pronunciation is just a total crap shot.

Well, if said text is in a browser, you're now in business. With the simple little Pronounce Firefox add-on, you simply highlight the word (often double-clicking will do this), right-click the highlight, and choose "Pronounce" from the pop-up menu. If your sound is on, the word is spelled correctly (!) and Mirriam-Webster has it in its dictionary, you should hear a male or female voice pronounce it for you. You can also add a Pronounce button to your Firefox toolbar (from View -> Toolbars -> Customize...) rather than right-clicking if you're really into learning how to pronounce words -- or if you just like looking at the smiley little Pronounce button guy.

I can't say I use this add-on every day, but it does hit the spot when you have that particular need. Install it and try it out on the words below. I'm tossing in definitions in the interest of literacy.

• barbiturate - n. any of class of sedative and sleep-inducing drugs derived from barbituric acid
  
• hierarchical - adj. of the nature of a hierarchy; arranged in order of rank
• nuclear - adj. of or relating to the nucleus of an atom (I just couldn't help myself!)
  
• obstreperous - adj. noisy or difficult to control
• prerogative - n. a right or privilege exclusive to a particular individual or class
• segue - v. move without interruption from one song, melody, or scene to another
  
• sherbet - n. a frozen dessert made with fruit juice added to milk or cream, egg white, or gelatin
  
• wizened - adj. shriveled or wrinkled with age

This one is for all you word nerds out there! Comment with any words you find hard to pronounce!

Heard about it from: net@night podcast, I think
Get it from: Mozilla Add-On library

Firefox Add-On: Adblock Plus

I loooove ads on web pages. I especially love it when they flash, or start a movie, or start playing audio while I'm trying to read something. In fact, sometimes I take advantage of the extra load time they add so I can meditate.

If, in fact, you aren't as excited by banner ads as I am, you can just avoid seeing them altogether with one of the best Firefox extensions out there, Adblock Plus. Adblock Plus uses a filter system to prevent ads from being loaded at all. You won't see them and they won't slow you down. Sometimes it can make some pages look a little odd, but (sarcasm aside) it's well worth it.

Here's an example of the difference it can make:

First you see ads...


and now you don't:



Yay! I'm actually just fine without a "bay land rover" or "data migration software" so I think I didn't miss much.

To add this extension, go to the Adblock Plus page and click the big green Add to Firefox button. After you restart Firefox, you'll be presented with a page that allows you to select the filter you'd like to use. You can create your own filters, but the filters maintained by someone else are a lot less work. Choose the one most appropriate to your geographical region (probably EasyList + EasyElement USA) and click "Subscribe". Voila, you are now 99% ad free. Enjoy!

Let's all thank Wladimir Palant for making browsing the web less irritating!

Heard about it from: Don't remember... in fact, it will be a while before I plow through the stuff I've been using forever
Get it from: Mozilla Add-On library

Firefox: Add-Ons

Last time, I mentioned Firefox extensions. These are little additions to your browser that allows you to customize it in any number of ways, such as blocking out banner ads, integrating web applications or widgets into your browser, or adding snippets of functionality to the browsing experience.

Mozilla refers to these as "Add-Ons" and maintains a library of them on the Mozilla site. You can add an extension right from within the browser. Just go to the page for that extension and click the "Add to Firefox" button. Note that older extensions that have not been maintained may not work with the newest version of Firefox. You'll have to restart Firefox before the extension will be loaded. You can disable or uninstall any current extensions at any time (this also requires restarting) from the "Tools: Add-ons" menu.

These extensions are written by third-party developers (not Mozilla), so some may be more reliable than others. In fact, it's a good idea to install and check out extensions one at a time to verify that you actually want to use it, that it is stable, and that it doesn't have any strange interactions with any other extensions you may have installed. Also keep in mind that every extension you install makes your browser use up a bit more memory and possibly, run slower. It's not a bad idea to occassionally review your extensions and dump any you don't want or need.

Next up, individual extensions I <3! style="font-weight: bold;">Heard about them from: Probably wherever I heard about Firefox
Get them from: Mozilla Add-Ons or from wherever else the developer makes them available