I Before E...Never Again
College was my first real experience with the internet. Back then, I was all about using IE (Internet Explorer) in the various computer labs all over UNC-Asheville's campus. Besides the few weirdos using Netscape Navigator, IE was the browser of choice, and really the only one I considered an option. And back in that day, it might have been about the only option.
But not anymore. Today, we have a choice. For me, I chose Firefox - the web developer's ideal internet browser. I've only been with BlueTone Media since January, and it took me a few weeks to familiarize myself with Firefox. I was hesitant at first, IE was so comfortable to me. Why change? Then I was introduced to the add-ons of Firefox. Woah. There are several add-on tools that Firefox has that I use on a daily basis. My favorites are:
- Firebug - allows you to make preview changes to web sites without actually effecting the site. I can change widths, colors, font-sizes, text, etc. without screwing anything up. This way, I can figure out exactly what the code for a site needs to be without refreshing a page 50 times. Perfect for web developers.
- MeaureIt - a ruler for your screen. What size do I need to make that image? Measure the space and find out fast.
- Color Picker - with this tool, I can click on any color of a site and get the color code in several different formats. Ideal for matching colors.
- Screengrab! - works similarly to print screen, but I can put a box around the exact area of a screen image I want to copy.
- IE tab - Since we have to make our sites look good in Firefox and Internet Explorer, I need a way to quickly and easily view both. With IE tab, a simple press of the icon changes the engine from Firefox to IE6, so I can see what needs to be changed to make the page look correct in both
