Print Book $24.95
Safari Books Online
Print Book £17.50
Looking to Reprint this content?
By Nigel McFarlane
First Edition
March 2005
Pages: 398
Series: Hacks
ISBN 10: 0-596-00928-3 |
ISBN 13: 9780596009281
(Average of 3 Customer Reviews)
Firefox Hacks is ideal for power users who want to maximize the effectiveness of Firefox, the next-generation web browser that is quickly gaining in popularity. This highly-focused book offers all the valuable tips and tools you need to enjoy a superior and safer browsing experience. Learn how to customize its deployment, appearance, features, and functionality.
Full Description
Register your book | Submit Errata
Browse within this book
Cover | Table of Contents | Index | Sample Hacks | Colophon
Book details
First Edition: March 2005
Series:
Hacks
ISBN: 0-596-00928-3
Pages: 398
Average Customer Reviews: (Based on 3 Reviews)
Featured customer reviews
Useful book for all levels of users, August 14 2005
Firefox has been around for several years and most of the hacks in the book are well documented on the web, but O'Reilly and Nigel McFarlane have brought you a book that brings the structure of the program and the usefulness of the hacks into one place.
The power of the “hacks” series is that you can benefit from this book even if you don't have time to read through the whole thing. If you picked up the book to help you with re-branding Firefox, then you can go just to that section. Maybe you are needing Firefox to be a test bed for standards compatibility of a particular web project you are working on, then just read the sections of the book which apply. On the other hand, if you don't know what Firefox is capable of then you need simply to browse through the whole book to see what a powerful program Firefox is.
The book covers a very wide variety of hacks. Many have to do with extensions that can be added onto Firefox. An extension can be considered as a pre-built hack with a nice installer. It is fitting then that many of these packaged hacks are covered in the book.
Outside of just general use of the book for learning what Firefox is capable of, the book has great appeal for web developers. With the extensions available to developers to help in their work, there are quite a few development tools built into Firefox. Not the least of which is its standards compatibility. To know if something is well written one simply needs to view it in Firefox to see how a standards compliant browser renders the underlying code.
The author used several phrases and vocabulary that would not be considered standard English. This is something that a company like O'Reilly, catering to their particular audience, might allow to become lax. Well written and edited books are hard to come by and often go unnoticed. It would have been better had the publisher spent a little more time on the editing of this work. It would be a shame that someone might be turned away from this book and its great content because of poor editing.
With hacks ranging in difficulty from easy to advanced, this 377 page guide will get just about anyone hacking Firefox.
I wish to offer condolences to the family of the author as he has since passed away.
Must have for branding and security, May 04 2005
If you're like me, you've downloaded Firefox to use as your browser then kept promising yourself you were really going to dig into it to find all its secrets. But you never really have time, do you? Firefox Hacks gives you 100 ways to make the most of Firefox. I especially liked the security tips. Everyone should take a few minutes and go through this book's steps on enhancing security. I've also always wanted to know more about chrome and this book gives me 2 chapters on it. If you are going to deploy Firefox with your own branding, perhaps as an internal browser or as a product's help system, then this book is a must. Even if you are only a casual browser user, this book has useful hacks for you.
Excellent!, January 26 2005
This book hasn't even been released yet, and I already love it!
Wait, maybe that's because I contributed to it.
Looking forward to its release...
Media reviews
"Browsing the Internet has changed dramatically from its early days of simple HTML. The browser has become an increasingly important and complex tool. Firefox Hacks is an excellent resource to help understand how to take full advantage of this increasingly popular browser."
-- Bill Crooke, Peninsula Linux Users Group (PenLUG)
"Nigel McFarlane's Firefox Hacks provides keys to understanding the open source web browser Friefox, from customizing its actions and appearance to using skins, themes, integration techniques, and toolbars to increasing security and using preferences. An excellent guide to all of Firefox's capabilities, both obvious and those lesser known."
-- Diane Donovan, The Bookwatch
"It’s an interesting book and if you use Firefox, it would be fun going through these hacks to see if they can help your installation. The best way to do it is to buy the book and try the hacks and modifications for yourself. It is a technical book and not one for beginners."
-- Dave Roman, Greater Cleveland PC Users Group
"While reading this book I was blown away by the sheer number of tweaks and customizations that Firefox supports... if you’re a power user, this is the best book out there on all things Firefox. It’s an excellent resource to make a very good browser even better."
--Mike George, Amazon.com review, July 2005
"Overall this book contains a real mix of content, with material designed to help everyone, from the Firefox newbie to the would-be hacker to the web developer wanting to get the most out of the browser everyone's talking about. For developers in particular there is a lot of useful content packed in these pages. "
--Tech Book Report, July 2005
"By the time I had read them all and tested several of the hacks, this book had become one of my favorite resources on Firefox (my personal browser of choice). McFarlane includes a great deal of valuable information on security, efficiency, web surfing, RSS feeds, and even web development and hacking the interface. Firefox Hacks is highly recommended to anyone wishing to use the browser to its fullest extent."
--Harold McFarland, Readers Preference Reviews, June 2005
"I love with how easy Firefox is to use and how quickly pages load when I use it. These hacks seem to be designed with this basic concept in mind. While right now I'm still learning more about this browser, I know in time I'll get the desire to play around with it even more thanks to this book."
--Todd Hawley, Amazon.com review, June 2005
"No matter which type of user you are, the new book by Nigel McFarlane published by O'Reilly, Firefox Hacks is for you. It covers a wide range of topics, from basic browser usage options to installing, using, and creating custom widgets, extensions, toolbars and plug-ins...Overall, this book is a great resource for anyone wanting to dig deeper into their favorite browser, and the extensibility of Firefox certainly affords the user that luxury."
--Jeremy Flint, ForeverGeek.com, May 2005
"Adding new search tools to Firefox is just the tip of the iceberg of things you can do to extend and enhance the browser. A new book from O'Reilly, Firefox Hacks, shows you how to supercharge your browsing experience...Firefox Hacks is loaded with dozens of tips and techniques that you can apply right away. If you're a Firefox user (and if you're not, you should be), Firefox Hacks is an excellent investment of both money and time. It'll help you get the most out of what is already the best browser available today."
Chris Sherman, SearchEngineWatch.com, May 2005
"At 400 pages, this is a hefty book that is intended for the power users, Web developers and designers, and network specialists. Beginners are welcome, too, but be prepared to reinstall Firefox when you mess things up. Why hack the browser? It's often the little things that annoy or please us most about a software application...Like a kid in a candy shop, I didn't know where to start. As I looked through the table of contents, just as soon as one hack caught my attention, I'd see another equally interesting one."
Peter Lavin, UnixReview.com, May 2005
"Unless you've been hiding under a rock, you've heard about the Firefox browser and how powerful it is. But how do you learn to harness all that power and make it work for you? Get a copy of Firefox Hacks by Nigel McFarlane (O'Reilly). It's the technical manual that doesn't come with the download... If you've made the move to Firefox and want to start learning how to get the most out of it, get this book. If you're a power user, you'll find a lot to like in it. If you're a web developer, you absolutely need it."
--Thomas "Duffbert" Duff, Amazon.com, May 2005
"One thing I like about Firefox is that you can get under the covers with it a lot easier than you can with MIE. There's things you can do to enhance security, smack up your speed, and more. If you're like me, and doing stuff like this cranks your tractor, then I strongly suggest grabbing this O'Reilly release. Filled with enough information to make anybody dangerous, and text to keep you out of danger (if you read that far into each hack), it's chocked full of goodness."
--John "Widgett" Robinson, Needcoffee.com, May 2005
"Certainly an excellent resource for developers looking to extend Firefox and to create content for the browser... What's here is very well written and researched."
--Jack D. Herrington, Amazon.com, May 2005
"This book is ideal for power users who want to maximize the effectiveness of Firefox. You will find user-friendly tips, tools, and tricks to make Firefox a more productive browser, and shape it to your way of using the web. Learn how to customize Firefox, and download extensions, toolbars, and plug-ins; learn how to clear all your web files, cookies, and history with a few key clicks. You will also find information for automating a wide range of Internet activities through use of scripts and registry edits."
--Edward Laskowski, Amazon.com, May 2005
"Overall, this book is a great resource for anyone wanting to dig deeper into their favorite browser, and the extensibility of Firefox certainly affords the user that luxury. So whether you are a bored web surer, web designer, IT professional or experienced programmer, the tips and hacks in this book will help you make a productive switch to Firefox."
--Jeremy Flint, Amazon.com, May 2005
"I use Firefox for JavaScript and DOM debugging, but didn't realize how many Firefox 'hacks' are out there to help you debug and develop web applications...there are plenty of great tips and tools for development and debugging... Another reason to give the authors a nice pat on the back is the fact that (for the most part) the 'Hacks' avoid spending a lot of time with the basics of browsing that have nothing to do with Firefox. Once you get past the first 30 pages (first 10 hacks) it's all great stuff."
--E. Wuehler, Amazon.com, May 2005
"The 100 hacks in this book deal with everything: security; advanced installation techniques; changing the look and feel of the browser and even the Web pages you browse; and more. The hacks often turn out more useful than the original designers imagined. This is a useful resource for fans of Firefox, which can use a good guide to its many powerful features."
--Netsurfer Digest, April 2005
"Firefox Hacks efficiently shows the range of new things you can do with this
browser -- from taking better advantage of unaccustomed user conveniences
all the way to creating your own custom executable...You might be imagining that each hack is a short snippet or procedural "how-to" but what you really get is a lot more. Each hack comes with an education in the technology being used along with tips and alternatives...Keep up with the times. Get the book."
--Brett Merkey, Amazon.com, April 2005
"Nigel McFarlane's book obviously delves into the nuts and bolts of Firefox and what makes it the best browser today (I personally have been using it since 2002), but he goes into so much more... I was a Firefox junkie before I read this book, and only am more so now that I am finished. A fantastic read which I highly recommend!!"
--Daniel J. McKinnon, Amazon.com review, April 2005
"I waited with bated breath for this book to finally be available. Now that it's arrived, I can't think what I ever did without it. If you yearn to take Firefox to the next level, here is your ticket!"
--Blogcritics.org, March 2005
"Firefox Hacks is a powerful collection of 'hacks' that will let you get the most out of Firefox, and at the same time give the most back...Firefox Hacks isn't a user's guide. It is the most thorough and best organized collection of Firefox how-to's available...Reading this book, you'll discover hands-on the brilliance behind the browser. And with a little work on your own, you'll be able to hack an improvement into Firefox worth sharing."
--Brian Burnham, MacMerc.com, March 2005
"With supporters like Nigel McFarlane, this browser will continue to be going places in spite of newsmedia hyperbole…I personally use it on both Mac and Wintel platforms and am part of the 'word-of-mouth' advertising process for it. Despite certain media forces trying to kill it, this book obviously shows that Firefox will continue to be a viable browser platform for some time into the future… Why not get a copy of this book and learn how you too can help make this browser more popular, productive and secure than it already is?"
--Robert Pritchett, MacCompanion, May 2005
"The first of several books on the topic of Firefox hacking (two more are due from other publishers in the coming months) Firefox Hacks sets the bar quite high. The author, Nigel McFarlane, has already written a number of other books and articles on similar topics and knows his subject well.... A Web browser is a much more complex piece of software than you may realize on first examination, and Firefox--with the core Gecko engine surrounded by a large wrapper written in XUL and JavaScript--provides a fertile ground for any number of changes and enhancements. Firefox Hacks does a good job of mapping out the boundaries of this space."
--Tony Williams "Honestpuck," Slashdot.org, March 2005
