Make IE7 more Firefox-ish

I’ve gone on in a previous post about the usefulness of Firefox over IE7. If you have a choice, I reiterate my recommendation of Firefox.

That’s not to say IE7 is a terrible browser; far from it. It does what it’s supposed to do and does it well. Further, there are many environments where Firefox won’t be an option. If that’s the case, here’s something I think you’ll like:

It’s called IE7Pro, and it’s a free add-on Internet Explorer 7. IE7Pro adds many features that make IE7 more Firefox-like. It includes advanced tabbed browsing management, a download manager, spell check for web form entries, quick searching, and more.

Here’s where to get it: http://www.ie7pro.com/

The best feature? In my estimation, it’s the ability to restore a browser crash to the tabs you had open at the time of the crash. This feature alone is reason to switch to Firefox, but if you have Ie7Pro, it levels the playing field somewhat.

Also available is the ability to automatically refresh a tab at a specified interval. If you visit a site that you need to refresh frequently, you might try selecting the tab, right-clicking the IE7Pro icon in the status bar, choosing Refresh Current Tab, and then selecting a refresh interval.

And, like with Firefox, IE7Pro includes a tool that allows you to capture an entire web page to a .jpeg, .gif, or.png file.

In short, give IE7Pro a try, If you’re using IE7 as your primary (or only) browser, you’ll be glad you did.

Save time when browsing with Firefox

Firefox is the best browser available. Period.

Don't take my word for it...feel free to check out any of these reviews from CNET, PCWorld, or InfoWorld.

I've used it on two platforms now (Windows and OSX), and it beats IE and Safari hands-down in terms of features, convenience, and speed.

One of the best things about Firefox is that it's Open Source-based. This means that developers are able to provide free browser extensions, themes, plugins, add-ons, etc. No, you won't use all of them, but some are a godsend.

A couple of examples:

• FireFTP – an FREE, integrated FTP client within Firefox with a great interface. No need for a seperate FTP application.
• IE Tab – a great little status bar icon that can immediately render the current browser page using the IE engine WITHIN Firefox. Great for when you stumble on a page that requires use of IE7 to render properly (I can't think of any, but that's what it's for).
• Screen grab – this is a great one when you're doing research...it allows you to either copy or save a webpage as an image, including an option to save the entire page or just the section currently visible on the screen.

To grab some of these add-ons, use Firefox's Tools | Add-Ons menu. Then just look for the Get Add-ons button and you're on your way.