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Get quick shortcuts to all things Google with Firefox addon

Posted: 05 Jul 2010 10:34 AM PDT

Google started of as a website which basically was all about searching things online. I even wondered a couple of days ago if Google is used by me out of sheer habit. I thought about all the Google products I must say there are a few which I use almost every time I am online.

We use Gmail, Google Docs, Google Maps and so much more with Google. I personally end up being signed into Gmail from where I look for jump-points to other services like Documents, Reader etc.

Google Shortcuts is a Firefox add-on which really allows us to visit a page of our choosing with ease. It looks like the screen shot below.

About Google Shortcuts

The add on is pretty nifty as once installed it can be customized to show some icons next to the address bar. If that is a problem you can set it to a drop down menu like I did in the image.
I could edit the URL of a particular shortcut which can be useful for adding email jump page with Google apps.
I could select which page I wanted in the drop down from a host of options. I think I stopped counting at thirty.

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I guess another alternative is Google toolbar but I think a drop drop icon is so much cooler. Do try it out if you are using Firefox, download Google Shortcuts addon and install it. Do drop in your comments with your views on if this helps you.

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Is Firefox losing the battle of the browsers in the long run?

Posted: 05 Jul 2010 05:39 AM PDT

When I started writing for Devils’ Workshop last year, I wrote a post about how the pie is shrinking for Internet Explorer when it comes to the browser market. In those days Internet Explorer market share had fallen from heady 70′s down to mid 60′s when it come to the percentages. The one browser gaining momentum was Firefox and closely on its heels was Chrome.

I decided to check some stats on Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer when it came to their market share for the month of June 2010 and the stats threw up some interesting trends.

Credits: MarketShare

Some of the things that stand out are that Internet Explorer’s share is at 60.32%. This is actually better than a month ago but over all if you compared it to last October it is quite disappointing when it was about 66%.
The interesting part comes reading the Firefox and Chrome numbers. Chrome in the last 10 months has probably doubled its market share from 3.17% to 7.24% now. Firefox has not grown much but seems like plateauing out as in October 2010 it had 23.75% is now only at 23.81%.
I think this has been mainly due to Chrome being a real competitor and is pretty much as good as any other browser. It has added the options of syncing bookmarks and settings. It has added extensions support and that has led Chrome to grow with lightening speed.

Good news is Mozilla Firefox 4 will probably spruce up the browser and really give us something amazing to work with. But Firefox lacks the solid support of a internet giant which Chrome enjoys.

With Chrome OS expected later in the year I think in all probability Firefox is in trouble over the long run.

What are your thoughts about Firefox and its growth prospects overall? Do let me know through your comments.

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