Unfortunately the theme is Windows only. However, with a bit of investigating, I was able to extract the jar file and install it on my Mac.

The theme is pretty good. WALL•E is a bit hard to see behind the address bar and I wish the bar was semi-transparent so that he was more visible. It’s also a bit hefty at over 3MB. Other than that, it looks pretty slick and works well. Nothing to extraordinary, but fun none the less. As it makes its way to 1.0, the theme has a lot of potential to grow into something spectacular.

To get WALL•E in Firefox 2, head over to the WALL•E Addon page, log into your Addon’s account and then download. Or you can click here to link directly to the theme file. If you’re on a Mac, you’ll want to choose the direct option.

Thanks Disney for embracing Firefox themes and I hope to see more!

Ohh and If you haven’t seen the WALL•E trailers, you should treat yourself.

Have you checked out Dromaeo.com?  It’s a Mozilla owned site that runs a set of JavaScripts and test out how fast your browser is.  I tried it on my iMac, 1.83 Intel Core Duo with 1.5 GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM, and found Firefox 3 beta 5 to be the fastest browser.  Oddly enough, Firefox 2 was the slowest, even behind SeaMonkey!

Granted, this is no professional test.  Firefox 2 has the  most extensions on my computer and that could cause slowness.  There are always a lot of factors to take into consideration, but this is what my tests show.

Dromaeo JavaScript Testing

2173.00ms - Firefox 3b5
3499.60ms - Safari 1.3
8193.20 - Camino 1.5.5
10798.20 - SeaMonkey 1.1.8
10859.20 - Flock 1.1
12161.40ms - Firefox 2

Did you run your own tests?  What did you find?

The new theme structure with Firefox 3 is different than Firefox 2.  I knew it would be.  And, at this time, there is nothing out there to help a theme developer know what to change or what to update.  There is a long list of ongoing theme changes, but what does that really mean?  What are the steps to upgrading a theme?

I tried to pull out the Windows default theme and code from that, however it didn’t look or work well on a Mac.  So I pulled out the Mac theme and tried it on Windows.  Amazingly that worked, so it was a step in the right direction.  However, I have no idea if it works on Linux yet and I’m afraid of future compatibility issues.

Then I looked into converting iPox’s buttons to the new toolbar format.  On the Windows side it was pretty easy.  Their theme uses nice 24×24 buttons that matched up pretty well with mine.  On the Mac side, the theme uses mostly the same buttons for big and small, but they are long and the odd shape makes it look way to spaced out with iPox’s buttons.  Additional coding is needed there, or I need to mix and match pieces of each theme.

I then threw in some of my backgrounds and it’s a decent start, but it’s got a long ways to go.

I started the process of converting iPox to Firefox 3, but I doubt I’ll do much until the release clients come out or at least the Proto Mac theme is finalized.  If you notice above, the stop button is blue.  That’s not my issue, it was mis-coded in the Proto theme and who knows what other bugs it has. Never mind, it’s not a coding issue, I just need to learn how the theme works.

Additionally, if someone knows a good way to port Firefox 2 themes to Firefox 3, I’m all ears.

I am excited for Firefox 3, but not to excited about re-working all my themes.  A part of me does like the idea of re-coding them as I hope they’d be better then ever before, but there are a lot of other things I’d like to spend my time on too.

At this time I will tell you that iPox will make it to Firefox 3; eventually.  I know there are a lot of fans out there and I won’t let you down.  I just don’t know when I’m going to do it just yet.

Download the iPhone Socialthing! Sidebar extension. (right click, save links as)

How it works.
1. Download the extension to your desktop. Then go to Tools -> Add-ons and drag ist.xpi to your add-ons window. It’ll install and you’ll have to restart Firefox.

2. Log into Socialthing.com via your main Firefox window. Doing this before hand will make things a lot easier. If you log in through the sidebar, it won’t redirect properly. (Socialthing! developers, please fix this.)

3. Once logged in go to View -> Sidebar -> iPhone Socialthing! Sidbear, or hit control+alt+s, or customize your menu bar to add the Socialthing! button.

4. Enjoy.

The SocialThing! sidebar works in Firefox 2 and 3. Again, all features and programming have all been done by Socialthing! people. I just added the duct tape that makes it load in Firefox.

This is an un-official extension and I provide no warrantee or guarantees. But it works for me on my iMac.

If you don’t want to install the extension, then go to http://socialthing.com/iphone and bookmark that page in Firefox. Then go to Bookmarks -> Organize Bookmarks and get the properties of the iPhone Socialthing! bookmark. Then tell it to load in the sidebar. You won’t get a fancy button or keyboard shortcuts, but it works too.

I’ve also created an iPhone Facebook Sidebar for Firefox that does the same thing for Facebook fans. I almost created a Twitter one too, but then found out there are cooler Firefox Twitter extensions.

I was excited about Mozilla’s Prism application when it first arrived on the scene. But then Fluid came out and I realized how un-polished Prism was.  However, Prism 0.9 is quite a large step forward.

What’s new in Prism 0.9?

The big thing is that it’s based off of Firefox 3.   It’s got the speed and upgrades that the Firefox 3 betas have.  Also us Mac users now get native widgets!  It’s no longer got ugly checkboxes and drop downs.

The Firefox 3 rendering engine alone makes it feel much snappier and more responsive than the first Prism 0.7 release.

The file size has also been cut cut down a bit too. Prism went from 43 Mb to 30 Mb.  It’s still hefty, but smaller.  Each individual site is only a few hundred KB though so that’s good.

Another notable update is the ability to add custom icons.  By default it’ll grab the site’s favicon, or you can select your own image.  These can look much nicer than the old globes.  Hint: Head over to the Fluid Flickr group to grab some great icons to use with Prism.

There is also a Firefox 3 extension.  This will be handy once Firefox 3 goes live as it’ll give users easy access to creating Prism desktop applications.

You can now run multiple Prism programs at once too. There were conflicts before, but now each application is independent and you can run Google Calendar and Gmail at the same time in two Prism applications.  You can even run one Google account in one Prism application, and a separate one in the next.  This is very handy if you have more than one account for any online service.  I tested it with two Gmail accounts and it worked perfectly!

So what’s missing?

From what I can see, the only thing that bugs me is no keyboard shortcuts.  I’m so use to using a shortcut key for back in Firefox, that I use it all the time in Prism.  When Prism doesn’t go back, I get annoyed.

Overall Prism 0.9 is a great update and if this is any insight into what is to come, I can’t wait for Prism 1.0!

I was hoping for an easy transition from Firefox 2 to 3 but I’m not sure that’s going to happen.

Once the betas become release clients, then maybe I’ll start theming.  However, this looks like it could be a complete re-code.

• I’m now running Firefox 3 betas thanks to MultiFireFox.
• MidnightFox was updated the other day with incorrect buttons.  Oops.  That has been re-uploaded and should be made public soon.
• yExplore and GA? have been updated for Firefox 3. Actually, for the beats not the official release.  That’ll happen when the final release comes out.
• Now that I am running Firefox 3, I can start theming it.
• Just started to watch Entourage.  It seems like a pretty cool show.
• Watching the second season of Monk too which is an awesome TV show.
• I’m totally lost on Lost but I love it.
• I’m going to be speaking on SEO and web design next week at the Art Institutes MN.  That’ll be fun since I use to go to school there and I’m not big on public speaking.
• I just bought Delicious Library.  It’s such a great program to keep track of music, movies and games.
• I’m now using MoodBlast to update my Facebook, Twitter, Pownce and Jaiku status’.  I’d love to see this as a web based app much like TwitterFeed so it can automatically post my blog posts too.

That’s what I got at the moment.

MidnightFox has always been a great theme. It’s dark, yet usable and, as stated by others, one of the best dark themes out there. However, I wanted more.

While fixing a few toolbar issue with MidnightFox, I started updating other pieces. I reworked the tabs, the bookmarks, some menus and the the navigation buttons. Taking extero’s icons and leveraging Pixelmator’s menu design, I created much nicer toolbar with icons that ‘pop’ when you roll over them.

MidnightFoxy was first set to replace MidnightFox, however some of the testers were partial to the old buttons. So MidnigthFoxy was born. It’s basically the same theme, only with a more polished toolbar.

There are certainly areas for improvement, but aren’t there always? I’m going to focus my theme updates on Firefox 3 and we’ll circle back with MidnightFoxy when it’s slated for the browser upgrade.

But, for now, it’s available for Firefox 2 and for everyone to enjoy!

Download MidnightFoxy

Currently in Mozilla’s sandbox.

I’ve since been made aware of the issue and included a link to download the theme and extension file directly. Once downloaded, just open your addon’s window in Firefox, drag and drop them in and they should install.

Sorry about the confusion and thanks to those who brought it to my attention.

Granted, it wasn’t designed especially for Valentines day, but it works. PinkHope is actually a theme to help spread breast cancer awareness. It just happens to be a good Valentines Day theme too.

One of the biggest updates were all new toolbar buttons. I used the same icons I have in extero and I took some direction from Pixelmator for that’s the graphic design program I was using. I also tweaked the tabs and a few other areas to create a darker more polished version of MidnightFox.

Before I shock all the current users by releasing an update, I’d love to get your feedback. Do you feel it’s a worthy update to MidnightFox? Or do you feel that this should be a spin off theme all together and leave MidnightFox’s buttons alone?

It’s always best to try things out first, so you can get a real feel for the theme. You can install the latest MidnightFox beta, give it a spin, and leave your comments below.

To install, right click this link and save the file to your desktop. Then open Firefox’ addons window and drag and drop the mf66a.jar file onto the addons window.  It should then install.

Firefox 3 not yet supported.

The iPhone Facebook Sidebar extension opens Facebook’s iPhone page and allows you to keep tabs on your friends, update your status, message people and accept friend requests.

Features include:

• Seeing friend’s updates.
• Updating our status.
• Viewing Friends
• Writing on friends wall.
• Viewing inbox.
• Sending messages.
• Other miscellaneous Facebook fun.
• Works on Mac and Windows. Possibly Linux too.
• Works in Firefox 2.x and 3.0.

The iPhone Facebook Sidebar is accessible three different ways in Firefox.

1. Via an icon in the toolbar. Once the extension is installed, customize your toolbar to add the Facebook icon.
   
2. Via the ‘view menu’
   
3. Or by using the keyboard shortcut ‘Control Alt F ‘ on Mac and Windows.

This extension made possible by the great programmers at Facebook who coded the iPhone application to work with any browser. All features and design elements are created by Facebook and this extension is merely a way to make it easily and quickly accessible for Firefox users.

Install iPhone Facebook Sidebar v0.8

Firefox may pop up a message under your bookmarks bar or tabs bar that says “Firefox prevented this site (www.twistermc.com) from asking you to install software on your computer.” If this happens, click on the “Edit Options…” button and add www.twistermc.com to your allowed sites. Then click the install button again.

*If you can’t get the button above to work, right click this link and save the file to your desktop. Then open the addons window and drag in the xpi file to install.

Let me know what you think by leaving your feedback in the comments below.

Also, thanks to autodafe0728 for the Facebook icon used in this extension. It really looks nice.

Mac users, also check out the similar Facebook Dashboard widget.

When I wrote about Mozilla’s Prism project a while ago, I was very excited for the possibility of bring web applications to the desktop. Since then, a new project called Fluid has popped up. It’s the same ideas as Prism, however is Mac only.

Fluid is a small application that is used to create stand alone applications for web apps. Think of going into your applications folder and seeing Facebook or MySpace. In the end, they are individual web browsers that are created specifically for one website.

Fluid is moving a quite a fast pace and coming up with a lot of nice features. One cool feature that Prism lacks is custom dock icons. Fluid lets you choose an icon for your application, or, if you don’t have an icon to use, it’ll automatically pull the site’s favicon.

Fluid is also starting to tie directly into websites. Facebook, Gmail and Yahoo mail applications all come with un-read message count badges in the dock just like Apple’s mail.

The biggest downside to Fluid is that it only works on Mac OS 10.5. The main application, and mini applications it creates, don’t work under 10.4. This is the only area I see Prism winning. Neither project works under 10.3 either, even though Prism claims it does.

If you are on Windows or Linux, then Prism is a great project to watch grow. If you are on a Mac, Fluid is a great contender. It’s actively being built with new features and updates every week or so.

One thing to keep in mind here is that neither application is complete. Both are still under development and features will continue to change as they grow.

Thanks to those who wrote in requesting the update. It really helps me get a feel for who’s using it.

Prism is basically a version of Firefox with no address bar, no icons, no bookmarks, nothing. It’s just a browser that loads one pre-defined bookmark at a time. It sounds a little weird, but it’s really useful.

When you start up Prism, it asks you for a URL, a name, a few options and where you want to save your shortcut. Then, when you open the shortcut, it loads the website in the Prism browser and you get a clutter free, simple, web application that runs off the power of Firefox.

Prism is cool because it creates a shortcut (or bookmark) that you can add to your applications folder. Then, when you open it, your web application just appears.

The beauty of this is how easy it is to create mini applications for those with less than great organizational skills.

Imagine this, you setup a Google Calendar account for you and your friends to share. However, they never remember how to get there, the login or what’s going on. So, just create a Prism shortcut for them and tell them to open the calendar application from their computer.

Maybe you created a cool ZoHo database application but someone always forgets the URL. Just create a Prism shortcut.

You can also setup a Prism shortcut to go straight to the admin area of a blog. That way a user never has to search for the login link again, they’ve just got to double click on the blog admin application on their computer.

Sure, you’d think that bookmarks in your browser do the same thing, but there are so many people that have no idea how to organize or search their bookmarks. They either don’t bookmark anything, or they bookmark everything and can’t find anything. However, they can always find their applications folder so putting a shortcut in there would be much easier for them.

I use it to keep my Google Accounts separate. I have one I use for Gmail, one I use for branded Google Docs and a third for a shared Google Analytics account. Firefox can’t keep all three accounts separate without logging in and out, but between Prism and Firefox, I have everything under control and easily accessible. Plus, with the shortcuts in my applications folder, my built in search (Quicksliver) pulls them up quickly.

There are a few downsides though. Like all Mozilla applications, it proves to be a bit large at 43.2 MB. I have a feeling that inside Prism is a bunch of theme files and a lot of other useless junk left over from Firefox.

Also, the shortcuts have less than desirable icons. The Prism application has a fantastic icon, but the shortcuts have the standard Mozilla globe. It’s not ugly, but doesn’t go with the Prism theme.

Prism is really pretty cool. Simple idea, but quite handy. Especially for non-techie folks who can’t keep their bookmarks organized. This proves to be a simple and effective way to ensure they have the right URL every time.

As a side note, Fluid just came out. It’s like Mozilla’s Prism but made just for Mac. It looks a bit nicer, but I’m just starting to try it out.

I’ve no formal update plans for Tinseltown, so I’m asking you. What would you like to see updated?

I’ve been running Tinseltown for a few days and there are no major issues that I see. But you may be seeing something that I’m overlooking. So please do share.

Ohh and for those running Firefox 3 beta, Tinseltown probably won’t be available this year. Sorry, but Firefox 3 is just not far enough along for me to start theming it. I may try it out and see how it works though if there is interest.

extero is a gray theme with bright brilliant icons from Jonas. It was created to be just a little bit different, but nothing overboard.

Checkout extero and see what you think.

The Install DMG still doesn’t include an alias to the Mac Applications folder. Come on Mozilla, get this one working please.

Once installed, the new Mac theme doesn’t take effect. You actually have to go download it. But once installed, it looks very nice. (Not sure about the Windows one.)

Bookmarks are integrated better. Simply star a page and it’s added, click the star again to rename it, add tags, put it in a folder or delete it.

More robust bookmarks management that includes import, export and revert options.

New places feature shows up. This is like smart folders or saved searches.

Click on a Favicon in the address bar and you’ll get site information that is usually unknown from a few of my tests. I tested apple.com, techcrunch.com and nytimes.com and all ended up unknown.

There is a new applications area in the preferences to help control how other applications interact with Firefox 3.

As promised, full Aqua widgets for Mac users. And they do look really nice.

When Firefox asks you to save a username and password, a nice browser bar shows up and doesn’t prompt you with a pop-up window

New icon to represent Plugins.

Updated download window with search box and info icons.

Firefox 3 beta 1 is also slightly lighter than Firefox 2.0.x on the Mac. The application is 45Mb as compared to 47.8. Hopefully Mozilla can continue to make it smaller; much smaller.

I’m sure there are other features that I’ve yet to come across. However, Firefox 3 is on it’s way and it’s looking like a nice upgrade.

Have you taken Firefox 3 for a spin? What have you found?

However, with advancements comes a few more bug reports.

1. GA? doesn’t update the status bar icon when switching between windows . Actually this may be a non issue. I’m still thinking that one over.

2. GA? only detects Google Analytics if the code is embedded in the body of the document. If the Google Analytics code is in the head of the document, that that doesn’t count. I’m looking into ways to check all HTML, not just the body copy. However, Google does tell you to put it in the body of the document

Enjoy and let me know if you come across any bugs.

GA? can be downloaded at Mozilla’s Addon site.

yExplore 1.6.1 has been updated and released!

The new version updates the domain URL structure to work correctly with the updated Yahoo Site Explorer. It also adds in support for newer versions of Flock and adds Netscape 9.0 support.

Enjoy!