Firefox is becoming my OS

November 6th, 2006 by jb

Three web apps that have tidied up my desktop (and cluttered up my browser, but just a little bit thanks to tabbed browsing):

Google Reader - For the past 6 - 12 months I have been using NetNewsWire Lite as my web feed aggregator of choice and have been quite happy with it. The app is fast, free and has a clean, easy to use UI. Recently I ran into a post on digg.com speaking highly of Google’s web-based reader. After tooling around with it for a week or so, I completely switched over to it, a task that took about 30 seconds thanks to some OPML(XML is pretty neat when it isn’t being used as a massive configuration file, ahem Struts…) export/import goodness. The reader doesn’t do anything amazing or new but it is simple and does what I want/need it to do and thanks to Firefox 2’s new web feed handling abilities, adding feeds to Google Reader is easy and painless.

Meebo - Since I’ve switched to the mac I have been itching to use the audio/video messaging awesomeness that is iChat. Unfortunately, iChat only supports the AOL/.mac messenger protocol and over half of my friends use alternative messenger programs so I was forced to run multiple messenger applications (Yahoo!, MSN and AOL/iChat) at once or search for an alternative. The alternative turned out to be Adium and it was a good one but as I mentioned above, the name of the game is tidy up the desktop. A certain worm turned me on to a web-based solution called Meebo after I started my new job and realized my web-nerd-messaging needs could not be satisfied with my lack of admin privileges on my work PC. Like the above web app, Meebo doesn’t do anything new or flashy and it doesn’t do audio/video but it gets the job done inside of a single web browser window and doesn’t require an installation (or admin…).

FireFTP - FireFTP is an FTP client that does its thing via Firefox extension magic. Previously I had been using Cyberduck for my FTP needs but found that it was crashing fairly frequently and was slow so I gladly switched to FireFTP after I discovered it. I really have no complaints about this app other than the occasional annoying Javascript pop-up timeout warnings.


On a completely unrelated note:

Dear Mike McCarthy,

1st and Goal at the 1 yard line down by a touchdown, not exactly the best time for a passing play… You broke my heart asshole.

Sincerely,
dabootski.com

15 comments on “Firefox is becoming my OS”

  1. the Panther said:

    Maybe you’ll be stoked when Parakey launches then.

    I tried warming up to Google Reader but given the recent enhancements to Bloglines along with Jon Hicks’ awesome skin, it’s feeling rather unbeatable right now.

    As for FTP and IM clients, I haven’t given into the browser based versions. Yet. I sometimes use Meebo at work, but for the most part can’t drop FileZilla and Gaim.

    November 6th, 2006 at 2:33 am

  2. the Panther said:

    Hint:
    .commentbox p { margin-bottom: 1em; }

    November 6th, 2006 at 2:34 am

  3. sally said:

    nothing to do with nothing - for those of you who like my dad’s “sayings” like “i was rolling around like a gut shot panther”, and “she was uglier than a bucket full of smashed assholes”, well today my mom and him were “up to their asses in alligators”(with work).

    November 6th, 2006 at 1:57 pm

  4. worm 2 said:

    shhhhhhhhh the cult of mac will attack you for not promoting safari. the walls have ears…

    November 6th, 2006 at 5:31 pm

  5. MUCHNESS said:

    AUGHH WOWW!!!! No kidding. I frickin’ threw everything I was holding when I saw that play (which included a whole bunch of important bills and nonsense). Talk about ridiculous…they just ran that play last time at the goalline and scored on it. Why wouldn’t you run out some clock and score. worthless I tell ya!
    P.S. How’d Litz like Manning’s performance last night? Maybe if Brady’s worthless receivers wouldn’t tip every pass leading it to get intercepted, they would’ve had a chance! Well there’s my bi-weekly comment.
    PPS - Hey Kyle, you would call yourself a SALTY SAILOR…………
    queerbait

    November 6th, 2006 at 10:14 pm

  6. Navy Boi said:

    SEA SALT , WHICH IS HOW I KNOW YOUR GAY CUZ YOU ARE ALWAYS THINK ABOUT MAN GOO OR WHAT EVER IT IS TO MAKE YOU THINK I AM GAY. BURN

    November 6th, 2006 at 10:19 pm

  7. jb said:

    hey navi boi, wanna know how i know you’re a redneck? your email address is northwoods_badger@yahoo.com

    November 6th, 2006 at 10:22 pm

  8. Navy Boi said:

    PISS UP A ROPE

    November 6th, 2006 at 10:29 pm

  9. sally said:

    what’s so bad about being a redneck?? at least they are good for laughs and such… we need that diversity… esto is the city boy, country the loner, jj is living in “extravagent” apartments … (they say something like that on the entrance into the place), and navi boi can go about and kill us some food, and cj can build us some houses. see it all works out jj, it all works out.

    November 7th, 2006 at 11:19 am

  10. jb said:

    Sally, here’s my take on your categorization of the Main Street Posse:

    Esto - hippy

    Country - modern hippy (rocks leather pants)

    JJ - runs this site so must be awesome

    Navy Boi - a naval mistake

    CJ - mountain man

    Sally - mountain wench

    November 7th, 2006 at 1:44 pm

  11. worm 2 said:

    do you like the new meebo look and feel?

    November 10th, 2006 at 11:47 am

  12. sally said:

    hahahaha!!!!close call… there’s no mountain for me… just wench, which once again if you look at the definition of wench it just says “young lady”

    November 12th, 2006 at 7:06 pm

  13. jb said:

    worm2: yes, i do like the new meebo look and feel. pretty blue…

    November 13th, 2006 at 12:10 am

  14. worm 2 said:

    p.s. all the kool kidz use bloglines.com…or at least andy and i do.

    November 13th, 2006 at 11:15 am

  15. svetlana said:

    wanna know how i know that navy boi, sk8r jj, and muchmuscles are all gay? THEY HAVE CUTE LITTLE NICKNAMES FOR EACH OTHER.

    November 28th, 2006 at 9:57 pm

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