http://shrimpwagon.wordpress.com/2008/09/18/mysterious-firefox-addon-causing-404-errors-authoring-rotatorgif/

I have located the error, finially.  FireFox addon Faves, causes a request to the server when the user is adding the particular page to their "faves."  When the user clicks the faves button, and saves the page to their faves, a request goes out to that server looking for an image named authoring-rotator.gif.

For instance, a person is on www.domain.com and adds to their faves from there.  Then a request goes out to that domain asking for www.domain.com/images/authoring-rotator.gif

I discovered this after seeing a 404 error originating from our own IP address.  Logically, I figured that the only person who uses FireFox that could possibly have an addon that does this is our SEO guy.  I noticed that he had the very page open in his browser.  I ecstatically went out to find him and asked him what he did.  Sure enough, he saved it to his faves via the FireFox faves addon.

I then had him save another page.  Of course, another 404 error request for authoring-rotator.gif came up right away.

I then solved the issue by creating a .gif that is 100x100 with his face on it.  Hopefully, that won't stop people from saving to faves although the gif does not come up anywhere in the faves addone during saving to faves.

I emailed faves.com about this issue.  I asked them why their addon does this and asked if there is any way to optimize for this request.  I have not heard back.  I will be sure to give an update if I hear anything.

Happy LAMPing,

Shªwn

Name of Addon: Pluribo

Bottom Line: Uses a proprietary "sentiment engine" to summarize product reviews on Amazon.com

Why it is Useful:

Amazon is a terrific resource for researching products. But when you're shopping for a product, it can take an awfully long time to read through and make sense of all those user reviews. That's why we developed Pluribo.

Pluribo uses some cutting-edge artificial intelligence technologies to actually scan all the reviews on an Amazon webpage and automatically summarize them down into a single paragraph. With Pluribo, you'll be able to learn not only *whether* people liked a product, but also *why*. Instantly.

How does it work? Well, essentially Pluribo does exactly what you'd do if you had the time: it reads every word, learns what people liked and disliked, and then figures out the key lessons. But, unlike a person, Pluribo does this automatically. So it can fetch you the bottom line at light speed-- freeing up your day to enjoy the finer things in life.

Using the Pluribo extension is incredibly easy. Once you've installed it, just browse Amazon as you normally would. Whenever Pluribo encounters a page with a lot of reviews, it'll automatically compute and display a summary for you.

Where to find it:

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/7348

Name of Addon: iMacros

Bottom Line: Let's you record any actions you create online and store them as a macros for playback.

Why its Useful:

Here are just a few examples of how you can use iMacros to automate your web browser.

(1) Form Filler & Password Manager

With iMacros for Firefox, you no longer need to check the same sites every day, remembering passwords, and filling out web forms. iMacros is the only form filler that can autofill web forms that stretch over several pages. All information is stored in human-readable, plain text files that can be easily edited. Passwords are stored securely with 256-Bit AES encryption. Users memorize only one master password and iMacros remembers all the others, providing a truly automated login experience, that beats the Solution to Enterprise Single Sign-On (SSO).

(2) Automated Download & Upload

iMacros can automate the download of images, files, or entire pages (with or without images). In the other direction, it can automate the upload of data to websites. You can use variables inside the macros and import data from CSV files. iMacros includes a user agent switcher, PDF download and Flash, and ad- and image-blocking functions. When combined and controlled with Javascript, the recorded Macros can script even very complex tasks.

(3) Data Extraction, Web Scraping/Mining & Enterprise Data Mash-Ups

The iMacros EXTRACT command automatically reads data from a website and exports it to CSV files – the exact opposite of filling out forms. iMacros includes full Unicode support and works with every language, including multi-byte languages such as Chinese. You can use this feature to download stock quotes, gather and compare web store prices, and more.

(4) Web Testing

Web professionals can use iMacros for functional, performance, and regression testing of web applications. The built-in STOPWATCH command captures precise web page response times. iMacros also includes support for many AJAX elements.

(5) Social Scripting (Social Bookmarking)

Sharing your favorite iMacros with friends and colleagues is easy. Simply right-click the macro to add it as a bookmark, or select "Run Everywhere" and embed the complete macro in a simple link. You can send the link to others, or embed it on your homepage, blog, or company intranet. Instead of telling your site visitors how to fill out a form, let iMacros do it for them. All the information is stored inside the link as a text string, with nothing stored on our servers, which is why iMacros work on intranets, too. See an example at del.icio.us/imacros/imacro.

(6) Other Uses

iMacros is extremely versatile and can be combined with other extensions such as Greasemonkey, Web Developer, Firebug, Stylish, Download Statusbar, NoScript, PDF Download, Foxmarks, Fasterfox, All-in-One Sidebar, Megaupload, Foxyproxy, Flashblock and Adblock.

Whatever you do with Firefox, iMacros can automate it.

Where to find it:

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/3863

Name of Addon: DownThemAll

Bottom Line: Versatile download manager that allows you to download all the files on a page at once.

Why it is Useful:

DownThemAll (or just dTa) is a powerful yet easy-to-use Mozilla Firefox extension that adds new advanced download capabilities to your browser.
DownThemAll lets you download all the links or images contained in a webpage and much more: you can refine your downloads by fully customizable criteria to get only what you really want.
DownThemAll is all you can desire from a download manager: it features an advanced accelerator that increases speed up to 400%, it allows you to pause and resume downloads at any time and, last but not least, it's fully integrated into your favorite browser!

Where to find it:

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/201

Name of addon - Ubiquity

Bottom Line - A ubiquitous mulifunctional query box pops up when summoned allowing you perform a multitude of actions

Why it is useful -

• Lets you map and insert maps anywhere; translate on-page; search amazon, google, wikipedia, yahoo, youtube, etc.; digg and twitter; lookup and insert yelp review; get the weather; syntax highlight any code you find; and a lot more. Ubiquity “command list” to see them all.
• Find and install new commands to extend your browser’s vocabulary through a simple subscription mechanism

Where to find it:

http://labs.mozilla.com/2008/08/introducing-ubiquity/

Customize Google
I do a lot of research on the Internet, and Google is very important, of course. Customize Google allows for several customizations, from hiding personal information to adding a counter to the results. It really improved my experience using Google.

Delicious
I subscribed not long ago to the service and I really liked it. Very useful to tag websites.

Dictionaries
I write mostly in two languages (English and Portuguese) and having a dictionary installed on FF helps me reduce the number of typos. Search Firefox add-ons for dictionaries in any language.

Fission
Fission combines address bar and progress bar (Safari style). This makes the progress bar more visible and allows for a nice visual effect. My FF has turned into a complete Frankenstein: a cross between Safari, IE, Chrome and FF.

Forecastfox
It has weather forecasts and weather information, such as allergens levels and humidity. It also allows me to set up different profiles, so I can keep track of the weather in other parts of the world (useful if you have relatives or parents in other part of the globe). US and international cities.

FoxClocks
It puts clocks in the status bar. I am usually good with calculating the time at different time zones, but add-on it is just fun - and easier.

Tabs Open Relative
Tabs Open Relative makes all new tabs open to the right of the current tab, rather than at the far right of the tab bar.

Ubiquity
I am trying this extension and I am still trying to figure it out. It's a great solution waiting for a problem. Or for me to change my way of doing things.

Search Engines
Besides Google, I have several others. I recommend adding at least Webster's (it's like having a dictionary at any moment), Wikipedia and You Tube.

Name of Addon: MiniMap SideBar

Bottom Line: Opens a Mapping sidebar that allows to easily access mapping resources.

Why it is useful:

* Map an Address: Drag and drop addresses or links (the view in google/yahoo type) to show on map, which is added to the address list. Manually add an address. Build up a list of locally stored addresses.
* Map a Coordinate: Manually add a coordinate which is added to the address list.
* Preview addresses (highlight text or click address link, then select Map Preview from right-click menu).
* geoDiscovery: The extension will automatically discover geoURL's and in-line geotags and populate the geoDiscovery list as you browse. Alerts you to the discovery via a status bar image.
* KML File: Drag and drop hosted kml file links to show on map.
* Import/Export KML, GPX, minimap xml file, CSV (export only). Import/Export all from Tools toolbar button, export selection from right click -> share location menu.
* The Crosshair and Lat/Lon box: Map has a centre cross hair which displays the latitude and longitude in the top right hand corner of the map.
* Navigation: Map, Satellite, Hybrid, Terrain and 3D Google Earth views. Pan and zoom.
* Address list: Build up a list of locally stored addresses and kml files.
* Directions: Get google / yahoo / microsoft directions to/from an address list entry and/or set a locally stored ëHome Addressí to get directions to/from an address list entry.
* Fire Eagle: access and update your location.
* Tagzania.com: View tagzania.com/near and post address list entry to tagzania.
* Platial.com: View Platial Places entries based on an address list entry. Add an address list entry to Platial Places.
* Google Earth: View an address list entry in Google Earth.
* View locations in Loc.alize.us, Flickr, Panaramio, Geody, Geonames and many more..
* Access and update Fire Eagle location
* Googlesightseeing.com: Drag and drop googlesightseeing links to view the image of interest.
* Localize: Change Google geocoder source to help improve address results, as well as change the maps domain for directions.
* Geohash decoding/encoding.
* Miscellaneous: Toolbar launcher available.

Where to find it:

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/5203

Name of Addon: ReminderFox

Bottom Line: Reminds you of whatever you ask it to, via a small popup in your status bar.

Why it is Useful:ReminderFox is an extension for Firefox and Thunderbird that displays and manages lists of date-based reminders and ToDo's. ReminderFox does not seek to be a full-fledged calendar system. In fact, the target audience is anybody that simply wants to remember important dates (birthdays, anniversaries, etc) without having to run an entire calendar application.

Where to find it:

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1191

It's in the usual place: CopyURL (might take awhile for the page cache to refresh, but it's definitely there).

Name of Addon: RSVP Reader

Bottom Line: Flashes text in a toolbar so that you can read without moving your eyes

Why it is Useful:

RSVP Reader is a rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) utility that will allow people to read text on the web up to 3.5 times faster. It presents selected text one word at a time in the same place at a pace you choose.

Where to Find it:

https://addons.mozilla.prg/en-US/firefox/addon/2149

Name of Addon: fire.fm

Bottom line: Allows you to access your last.fm account through firefox

Why it is Useful:

Fire.fm is your direct access to the extensive music library on Last.fm.
- Listen to music related to your favorite artist or genre, and discover new artists and music in the process.
- Listen to your friend's favorite music.
- Find Last.fm users with musical taste similar to your own.
- Quickly access your favorite stations by just typing a few letters into the location bar.
- The auto-play feature begins playing the last station you played when you closed Firefox.
- And for those that don't like toolbars, you can customize it or remove it if you want. You can move your player buttons to the statusbar, and all the Fire.fm options are available from the main menu as well.
Fire.fm is the perfect accessory for that brand new Firefox 3 you just downloaded. Give it a listen!

Where to find it:

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/7684

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/748

http://adblockplus.org/en/

http://delicious.com/help/quicktour/firefox

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1843

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/60

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1122

http://www.foxmarks.com/

http://noscript.net/

http://fireftp.mozdev.org/

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1419

http://www.downthemall.net/

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/3780

http://flashblock.mozdev.org/

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/2108

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/26

Name of Addon: JetEye

Bottom Line: Adds a Sidebar to your browser which allows you to pretty drag and drop pretty much any online content into it.

Why it is Useful:

Keep track of all the things you find online is hard. Between bookmarks, emails, pictures, videos, blogs, RSS feeds and miscellaneous items you come across every day, it easy to become disorganized. Jeteye lets you easily capture these things into Jetpaks that you can continually update. Keep your information private, share it with friends, let others comment on it or publish it to the world—Jeteye lets you do it all.

Where to find it:

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1508

Name of Addon: Send to Google Docs

Bottom Line: Send Documents (PDF, Text, HTML etc) straight to Google Docs without having to open them

Why it is Useful:

It works with popular file formats like PDF, Excel, Word, PowerPoint and all Open Document formats.  "Send to Docs" can also import HTML web pages in Google Docs provided they have the right extension

Where to find it:

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/8552

Name of Addon: NoScript

Bottom Line: Block any and all scripts from running on a website unless specifically allowed by you.

Why it is Useful:

It allows JavaScript, Java and other executable content to run only from trusted domains of your choice, e.g. your home-banking web site, and guards the "trust boundaries" against cross-site scripting attacks (XSS).
Such a preemptive approach prevents exploitation of security vulnerabilities (known and even unknown!) with no loss of functionality...

Where to find it:

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/722

Name of Addon: SearchWithin

Bottom Line: Allows you use a number of differet search services to search for a term or phrase by highlighting and right clicking on it.

Why it is Useful: Makes searching very streamlined fast and simple

Where to find it:

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/2194

Name of Addon: Split Browser

Bottom Line: Lets you split your browser into multiple windows

Why it is Useful: Compare and view multiple webpages simultaneously. Good for monitoring auctions, comparing stockcharts etc.

Where to find it

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/4287

Name of Addon: WebChunks

Bottom line: Lets you implement Internet Explorer Webslices into Firefox

Why it is Useful: Lets you keep track of live updates to websites in the WebChunk Bar.

Where to find it:

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/8494

Name of Addon: Google Preview

Bottom Line: Shows thumbnails of the landing page.

Why it is useful: Lets you see where you are going before you clickthorough, good for people do alot of web research.

Where to find it:

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/189

Name of addon: Yahoo Mail Notifier

Bottom Line: Get Yahoo Mail alerts in Firefox

Why it is Useful: Allows realtime notification of when you recieve a message

Where you can find it:

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1264

Name of Addon: Gmail Manager

Bottom Line: Let's you manage and monitor your gmail accounts from firefox.

Why it is useful:

• Manage multiple Gmail accounts
• Receive new mail notifications
• Support for Gmail hosted accounts
• Ability to import/export account preferences
• Tooltip with account details and new mail snippets
• One-click access for loading your Gmail account
• Mailto: links detection
• Quick mail compose for Gmail accounts
• Customizable icon placement in the toolbar/statusbar