extensions

Avoid ordering goods from third-parties on Amazon with this crafty add-on for Chrome and Firefox.

If you're concerned about the shipping or packaging methods that other companies use, this is a great way to avoid buying from those companies. When you are looking for particular items, only the ones that Amazon has for sale will appear. Keep in mind that while Amazon does have a lot of items for sale, you may not be able to find every item you seek. Here's how to get started:

Step 1: Add the Shipped and sold by Amazon extension&… Read more

Still in rough development, a new extension for Google Chrome puts in your hands a useful power tool for separating your data from Facebook apps of dubious origin. Called OOptOut (download), the add-on by Chad Selph helpfully lists above the Facebook header for you any permissions that a newly-installed Facebook app requests.

Check boxes next to each let you toggle the select permission. Keep in mind that this extension isn't for casual enthusiasts. Disabling permissions can prevent an app from functioning properly. A gaming app that wants your location data may seem strange at first, but it's possible … Read more

Need to connect to and control a Mac from your PC? One quick and easy solution can be found in Google's Chrome Remote Desktop feature.

Released as a beta early last month, the Chrome Remote Desktop extension lets you connect to one computer from another directly through the browser. From there, you can control the other computer using your mouse and keyboard.

Of course, remote desktop software is nothing new. Microsoft includes its Remote Desktop Connection in Windows. It also offers a Mac version of the software, but that one only lets you connect to a PC from your … Read more

If there's one important feature missing from all the major browsers, it's the ability to know at a glance when you're being tracked, and with a single click by whom.

That would make the free Ghostery program the one extension you need whether you use Firefox, Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Safari, or Opera.

As I mentioned in my post on "do not track" options, a key source of revenue for Web services of all types is the sale of the Web activities of their users. Data about when people use their services and how they … Read more

Despite having laptops, tablets, and smartphones, sometimes you want or need a hard copy of something from the Web.

Unfortunately, most Web sites are packed with miscellaneous junk that you don't need on your printed pages. That's why there's a Chrome extension that lets you pick which parts of aWeb page you want to print--saving ink, paper, and--most importantly--money.

Head over to the Chrome Web Store and install Print Plus.

Step 1: After the install finishes, open a Web site that you'd like print information from.

Step 2: Click the icon for Print Plus near the … Read more

Mozilla has decided that when it comes to Android devices, performance is more important than the wealth of add-ons that can be used to customize Firefox.

Yesterday, Mozilla Director of Firefox Engineering Johnathan Nightingale announced on a mailing list that Firefox will move to Android's native user interface, ditching the XUL technology that's been in use by Mozilla since before there even was a Firefox.

"Firefox on Android is a critical part of supporting the open Web, and this decision puts us in a position to build the best Firefox possible," Nightingale said.

Firefox is widely … Read more

Cinemas dim the lights during showings to help eliminate distractions, making it easier for you to focus on what you came to see. With media sites like YouTube, it's easy to become distracted by the other content on the page like the recommended videos or comments sections. And let's face it, not all videos look good in full-screen mode due to low resolutions. Wouldn't it be nice if you could dim the lights on the rest of the page to cut out the distractions? Well, there happens to be an add-on for Firefox and Chrome that does … Read more

Months of work on "chromoting" have reached fruition with Google's release on Friday of a new Chrome extension to let a person on one computer remotely control another across the network.

The Chrome Remote Desktop beta version, which arrived Friday, is a browser-based equivalent of remote desktop software for conventional operating systems. Such software is handy for IT administrators managing employees' machines, people taking care of their relatives' computers, or individuals getting access to their own machines from afar.

"Chrome Remote Desktop BETA is the first installment on a capability allowing users to remotely access another … Read more

Apple's TextEdit program is a convenient utility that allows for quick viewing of various basic text formats, including standard TXT and RTF formats, as well as other ASCII text documents such as property lists, HTML, and programming and scripting codes. Many people have come to rely on TextEdit for making small and quick changes to files, but recently some have encountered a problem in Lion's version of TextEdit in which the program does not seem to handle file name extensions properly.

MacFixIt reader "Edward" writes: