Customer Reviews

Firefox Secrets: A Need-To-Know Guide

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Quite a few Firefox books have made their appearance on the market, and I have the chance to review yet another one... Firefox Secrets by Cheah Chu Yeow. Although not the first to market, it does a good job given the right audience...

Contents: Introduction; Introducing Your New Favorite Web Browser; Essential Browsing Features; Revisiting Web Pages; Dressing Up Firefox; Personalizing Firefox; Tips, Tricks, and Hacks; Web Development Nirvana; Living On The Edge; Index

Yeow does a nice job explaining why Firefox is a desired alternative to IE and why you should be using it. In addition to explaining all the different features in the menu, he also goes into some of the more popular browser extensions you can download and install to customize your browser experience. That's one of the huge advantages of Firefox over other browsers, and it's an area that can't be overlooked. There's also a fairly high level coverage of how the browser can aid your web development efforts based on the built-in debugging tools and the high adherence to web standards.

If you already have a Firefox book, this one isn't going to add much new information for you. Also, if you're wanting to dive into all the esoteric settings with about:config, this also won't get you there. But if you haven't yet switched to Firefox, or if you've switched but haven't taken the time to explore all the power that Firefox gives you, this book would help you out quite a bit...

I found this book to be a great resource for beginners who are new to Firefox, or an individual that wants to learn more about why they should immediately stop using IE and make the switch! 'Firefox Secrets' is well written with an easy style, not assuming that you are an experienced user, instead it takes the approach that you are new to the joys of using the best browser in the world. Mr. Yeow introduces the reader to the basics of obtaining Firefox, and then quickly goes into the #1 difference that makes Firefox fantastic - tabbed browsing. After explaining what tabbed browsing is and how it can be configured to fit your needs, Bookmarks are examined and then Themes are discussed.

For anyone that is a little bit familiar with Firefox, a look at how to install and configure some of the best extensions on the web is a worthwhile venture, and finally the Author talks about tips/tricks and the available web development add-ins out on the web.

I especially found the web development section to be the most handy. I was already familiar with the outstanding Web Developer extension and have used it for some time, but there were also links to an advanced Javascript debugger, along with other tweaks that the author recommends to improve the web browsing experience.

If you are an expert at Firefox you probably won't learn much from this book, but for any new user or someone who would consider themselves an amateur, I would recommend picking this up because it's very likely that you'll pick up something new -- whether a trick you did not know about or a hot extension, it's unlikely that anyone but the most experienced of users isn't going to learn something new from this text. I found this to be an enjoyable and easy read and I think you will find it worthwhile to peruse as well.

**** RECOMMENDED

I received my copy some days ago and I'm really satisfied with the book. IMO this book is targeted at both newbies and long time users of FireFox. I for one am using FireFox since it's early days (Firebird..) on all my computers and on different Operating Systems (Windows & Linux) and I consider myself an expert, nontheless I was still able to get some new infos out of this book (especially the chapter about extensions, etc). FireFox is a fantastic browser and I love the whole Extension-approach as it's a lean mean browsing machine in it's basic setup which can be configure, at the user's discretion to an all-around everyday browser.

Hat tip to Chu for this excellent book!

I was a little unsure if a browser warranted a book at first, but after reading it my mind changed completely.

If I may use an analogy, I would say this book covers more than just the tip of the iceberg.

A very easy to understand (especially for a non-programmer) explanation of why those like myself (Casual user)to the programmer/developer could use this browser and it offers the expandability those who want more crave.

Also, step by step instructions for a layman are also included... It even has a disk for you to install from! I really enjoyed reading this book, and a little humor was thrown in for good measure, definitely worth a read.

This is the first Firefox book I've read, so it won't have a comparison to any of the others -- as a few books hit the market soon after Firefox started nipping at Internet Explorer's market share of the browser market.

Chapter 1 kicks off the book with an introduction explaining why Firefox is a first-rate browser and how to install its Windows, Mac, and Linux releases. "Essential Browsing Features," the next chapter, reviews tabbed browsing, searching, downloading, and other features.

I've used Firefox prior to the v1.0 release and I've picked up a few tricks in this chapter. The tips go beyond entering keywords into the search box or changing search engines. However, I found an error -- the book says to left-click on a selected word on any Web page and run a search on the selected word - It's right-click, not left.

"Revisiting Web Pages" dives into bookmarks and how to get the most out of your bookmark file. The tricks explain how to quickly find a Web page that is hidden in your bookmarks somewhere, and you don't have a clue what it is called and the keywords aren't giving you what you want. Also covered are RSS feeds, Live Bookmarks, and memory tools such as using history, managing cookies, using the password manager, and clearing tracks.

Many people love Firefox because it's customizable. One way to make it your own is by changing the theme (look and feel). "Dressing up Firefox" explains how to find and change themes.

Another way to get what you want out of Firefox is through extensions, covered in chapter 5's "Personalizing Firefox." Yeow shows multiple ways of installing extensions and using the extension manager. The chapter works through the extensions the author recommends (he provides a good selection) and how they work.

Intermediate Firefox users most likely want to jump ahead to chapter 6, "Tips, Tricks, and Hacks" and maybe chapter 7, which is for Web developers. Chapter 6 looks at about:config and how to modify preferences through its interface. Then Yeow shows where to find the user's profile, and covers what files are included in the profile and what they do. Find great tips on how to mark unread tabs, shift the sidebar to the right, and disabling annoying 1996 Web site features like blink and scrolling marquee.

"Web Development Nirvana" highlights the tools that come with Firefox for developers and which extensions make development easier including LiveHTTHeaders, Web Developer Toolbar, and Greasemonkey. The book closes out with troubleshooting and information about browser's nightly builds.

The book only has minor shortcomings. The tips and warning sidebars text is smaller than the rest of the book's contents. It might be difficult for some people to read.

While it's nice that a bonus CD came with it, it's outdated (v1.0.3 and the current had already surpassed that by several minor releases. It also has Thunderbird 1.0.3 and the current version as of this review's writing is 1.5 Beta 1.). At least, it doesn't increase the book cost and gives newer users an easier start as they don't have to worry about downloading files. But the site says it's a [...] value. No CD costs that much and none of the stuff costs anything.

It's a well-rounded book written in a friendly and easy going style that should get new users up-to-speed and provide experienced users with tips to maximize the Firefox browsing experience. The book helps you discover this mighty browser outside of what comes in the box or download. The companion Web site has sample chapters available [...].

This book shows how to use all the features, extensions, and tricks available in Firefox. It is loaded with tips and advice on everything from customizing your browser, to being more productive in your web browsing, to searching the web more effectively. Although distributed in the USA, this terrific book comes to us from Australia, where the author lives.

Had a quick look at the book. I like it. I have recently moved most of my browsing efforts to Firefox, and had some issues with the change over. This book helped me quickly locate what I was looking for and answered my issues right away. I did not get the chance to look at the CD that came with the book, but the layout and the read-ability of the book is great.

If you have not already switched to FireFox or Mozilla for the added features like tabbed browsing, then you should for the added security it gives over hole-ridden IE. While the Mozilla browser (merged with their e-mail in the Mozilla Suite) is a good browser with many of the features of FireFox, FireFox is the more advanced. This book explains the FireFox browser to the novice and gives the techie more insight and power for customizing an already good browser.

Let me give you just one example. My ISP's webpage for creating your own website is framed with fixed frames. Trouble is the latest version does not fit my screen, so the sort by date button is hidden. I have about 40 pages on my personal website, so sorting by date is very important to make sure the latest page on my computer is the latest page on the website. With FoxFire Secrets I learned how to set the layout.frames.force_sizability parameter to true and resize at will.

This is a nice title for those of you switching to Firefox. It enables you to get the most out of Firefox. Sitepoint points out that it publishes fun and easy-to-understand texts and this one is as easy as it gets....though it's not that easy to read.

But for those of you who are tired of IE's problems, constant updates, etc. this title helps you get the most out of Firefox right away.

Nice title...

Much of the book will be of interest to only a few readers. The basic usage of Firefox as a browser to go to a website is so simple as to scarcely warrant a book. Instead, this is mostly a book for those of you who design websites and write HTML. You can use Firefox to change CSS rules, or constrain JavaScript objects in the browser page. Or edit the DOM of a viewed document.

For programmers writing HTML, a very useful extension lets you see the headers passed between the browser and the website. Useful in debugging HTML forms, or to see if HTTP redirects are working properly, for example.

There is a section on Greasemonkey. Which has attracted some attention in the open source community. It lets Dynamic HTML be applied to the web page loaded by Firefox. So the page can be changed in virtually any manner, before Firefox actually displays it. The only problem is the complete absence as to the potential peril of this. Instead, the book maintains a gee whiz attitude towards Greasemonkey. It should also warn that a cracker could use it to manipulate and fool a user who comes along to that computer and uses Firefox. Imagine this computer being in a public library or cybercafe and you can see the potential for abuse.