My favorite new homepage
Since I started using the computer I have always used Firefox and made iGoogle my homepage. I loved it and I was faithful to it.
Then I read a piece on my very favorite website of all time make use of.
It was in an article entitled "MyFav.es: Create Minimalist Start Page With Favorite Website Icons " which can be found here.
I always trust anything written by this great group of people. I have been turned onto many sites that I never would have found on my own. It was about the same time the article above came out that I was getting tired of iGoogle as my home page. I was looking for something different.
I have written a post on a firefox add on that I swore by called morning coffee. I realized it was something similar to morning coffee that I was looking for in a start page.
I found it in MyFavs.
When it first came out one could have 4 "links" on their homepage such as this.
With the background choice of "Lights On"
or "Lights Out."
I tried it and loved it for its simplicity.
Now they have come out with more options (sites) to choose from and the ability to make your own site button to use.
I have now added several sites. I know it was meant for simplicity, but for me THIS is simplicity.
I am hooked on it.
The ability to add your own sites has made it perfect for what I want in a start page. They now also offer several backgrounds, different ways of having your buttons on your page. You can choose colors for the buttons you are making with your favorite sites.
The 2 pictures below are from my homepage. I switch the background every couple of days just for variety.
On my top row I have the usual sites except I made the star link to make use of the site I am writing about.
The next row is Stumbleupon, Picasso web albums and the next two are to Gamehouse and Bigfish games. I check these sites on a daily basis, as they offer a new game everyday and I will admit, I have several.
The orange O is for the "Orange County Register" the newspaper from southern Ca. that I grew up on and still read on a daily basis even today.
The next row is my most used. They belong to my blogs at blogger. Without navigation bars on most templates these days, it's a hassle to write, edit and check your posts.
First you have to go to blogger, then to your dashboard, then to which blog you want to post on (I have 4) then to design. All to get to the "add and arrange page elements" page where you can add a picture, HTML, or gadget. What a process!
Not anymore!
I have the S linked to "Scroll Dust Woman's" add and arrange page.
The D is to the "add and arrange page elements" page to "A Daily Laugh."
The J is for this blog "Just my day blog."
These simple buttons have brought a lot of the joy of blogging back to me. I hated having to go through a gazillion clicks to just add a picture or edit my posts.
The last button W is to a friend of mines blog called Woodsterman.
A blog I can now just do a "check it out thing" with one simple click.
Myfav.es has made my Internet usage a much more enjoyable experience.
I also want to add that you can make changes to your sites/buttons right on your page. You don't even need to leave it!
Now THAT'S simplicity!!!
What do you use as your home page?
Which one is your favorite?
My list of Firefox add ons I have to have
Since becoming a die hard firefox user, I have found some extensions that either I love because they are fun and others I wonder how I ever lived without! So today I thought I would just tell you about a couple I really enjoy.
For looks I use Colorful Tabs It is exactly what it says it is. The tabs are in different colors. For me it is easier to see, adds color and changes the appearance of your interface. No more just blah!
Another which is my personal favorite as far as looks goes is called Any color With this add on you can personalize your theme. I just love this extension/add on. They have preset colors, or you yourself can actually customize them. This is my most recent find and I use it daily. I have found myself looking out my window knowing the calendar says it is spring, yet I see snow and cloudy skies and since I am on my computer quite a bit, I will change my theme color to say pink, or light blue. Right now as I write this post I have it set to the most beautiful dark green color. I just love this fun add on.
Another which is my personal favorite as far as looks goes is called Any color With this add on you can personalize your theme. I just love this extension/add on. They have preset colors, or you yourself can actually customize them. This is my most recent find and I use it daily. I have found myself looking out my window knowing the calendar says it is spring, yet I see snow and cloudy skies and since I am on my computer quite a bit, I will change my theme color to say pink, or light blue. Right now as I write this post I have it set to the most beautiful dark green color. I just love this fun add on.
This next one is such a simple one. Called Reminderfox This is how it is explained if you were to click the link provided above.
"ReminderFox displays and manages lists of date-based reminders and ToDo's. ReminderFox does not seek to be a full-fledged calendar. In fact, the target audience is anybody that simply wants to remember important dates (birthdays, anniversaries, bills, etc) without having to run a whole calendar application. ReminderFox makes sure you remember all of your important dates via easy-to-use lists, alerts, and alarm notifications."
and just like it states that is exactly what it does. I have mine in my status bar and have added important to me birthdays, anniversaries, etc. I also use it if I happen to hear a commercial about a program on T.V. that sounds like something I would be interested in. Which is GREAT for me since I do not really watch T.V. rather it is on in my house all the time so I hear it. Just like "Survivor-Tocantins" I write about this season. I probably would miss it every week if I did not add it to my Reminderfox application.If you are on the web and you read something you would like to watch, read, do later, whatever, you can click on this and add it right then and there. You will never forget something like that again with this simple handy little add on.
Now after doing that and then posting to my blogs, checking out my facebook and doing a little tweeting on twitter, checking and replying to my e-mails I want to know just how long have I been on this damn computer today? With Time Tracker I can do just that with a glance. I have mine in my status bar and I can tell you that at this moment today, March 26th, I have been on the internet 2:09:30 . I love this little add on. Now when the hubby says "You have been on that computer for 8 hours straight," I can laugh and bring him over and show him that men do indeed exaggerate when I show him it has only been 1 hour 15 minutes!
LOL!!!
Ya gotto love it!
Now for my personal favorite since using Firefox. I really do not know how I ever lived without this one! It is called Morning Coffee. With the click of a little coffee cup icon, I get my tabs set up for me that I have pre set with what I want to go to when I log onto my computer. So for me personally I have it set to my igoogle homepage, from there my google mail, then I have twitter, facebook and then my blogs. You can set it up to a daily basis, weekly etc. I was raised in Orange County Ca. Their newspaper the Orange County Register has a couple days in it I always look forward to reading. So I have 3 different days when my tabs automatically get set up to the newspaper link. I also have it set to woodworking links on certain days of the week. This add on is really cool. I am not a morning person, so when I log on, I don't have to do any thinking about where I want or where I need to go on the internet, It simply does it for me.
Again I love all these and they are MY personal favorites, but maybe you may want to check out a couple, and without a doubt my Morning Coffee, really is my morning coffee. I don't know how I would start my day without it!
Again I love all these and they are MY personal favorites, but maybe you may want to check out a couple, and without a doubt my Morning Coffee, really is my morning coffee. I don't know how I would start my day without it!
I would love to hear from others that may have favorites not listed here. I am always game for trying something new out. Whether to make my day one of more color, or to make it easier, or to be able to tell the hubby "it has not been two hours (and show proof)" I would like to hear what works for you!
