10 Web Developer Firefox Add-ons I Can’t Live Without

One of the reasons I’m a big fan of software and browsers like Firefox is because of plugins. Plugins make the browser truly my own. Because of my work in web development and design, there are plugins I use practically every hour of the working day. I counted 10 of them and they are:

1. ColorZilla – This allows me to quickly find matching or exact color codes from a client’s existing or desired design / logo. No guessing, no searching all over the stylesheet.
2. Firebug – How can I not use this? I practically live by this plugin and have recommended it to many people over and over. Don’t tear your hair out wondering which code controls a link in the style sheet or figuring out where the code for that box is located. Firebug will tell you exactly.
3. FireFTP – Although I use FileZilla to upload large packages, for quick uploads, FireFTP is so darn convenient.
4. Evernote – How does a note taking plugin make it into a web developer’s arsenal? Because that’s where I keep a bunch of code snippets. Instead of bookmarking, which I also do for bigger more comprehensive instructions, but quick and small code snippets are kept in Evernote. I used to keep them GoogleNotebook until they decided to pull the project.
5. IE Tab – Ah just when you perfect the design in Firefox someone tells you the site looks horrible on IE. IE Tab simply makes is easy to switch from Firefox to IE to do quick checks on the design.
6. ShowIP – What a fabulous plugin my fantastic web host recommended. It tells you the IP address of the web site you are currently on. While this may not be of use all the time, but it can be of immense value when you’re switching your hosts’. I use it to help me determine if a web site has resolved to the new host or not.
7. Split Browser – great for working on code, comparing a design on IE (on IE Tab) and Firefox or following a tutorial while you edit the code on the other side.
8. Web Developer – this has quite a few tools in it. Makes it so easy to validate HTML, CSS or your feeds. I love the View Generated Source – some sites try to hide their source code with crazy javascript. View Generated Source shows you the underlying source code – that’s right, forget hiding your source code. Oh I also love the ruler to help me quickly measure box and image sizes. Another thing I love about the tools in this plugin is the ability to display the form details. This means I don’t have to view source and dig around to find out where the form is being sent to, what are the field names and so on. Super handy.
9. Delicious – Uhuh. Remember those longer tutorials? That’s where I keep them so I can quickly jump back to them to refer when I need a refresher.
10. RoboForm – I confess. I don’t know the password to many web sites I log in to regularly. Why should I? RoboForm does it all for me plus its so much easier to when working with multiple clients.

How Does Your Voicemail Sound Like?

Alright, I’ll be the first to admit it. My voicemail greeting for my business, sucks. It’s either a bad recording from me (with kids yelling in the background) or a template greeting by the cell phone network. I never even thought about having it professionally recorded until I came across Professional Voice Greetings.

Their service startst at $34.99 and you can even write your own script for them to record. It’s not only for voicemail but you can use the service for on hold messages too. Don’t forget to add promo messages for your products, web site or blog in your script.

Other places you can find voice talents:

1. Voices.com
2. Voice 123

6 Essentials for Surviving This Economy

There are several things I believe wise families should do to thrive in the coming economic category 5 hurricane.

1. Get out of debt. There are more ways to do this than you realize.

2. Create an online source of income. It’s the best way to generate large amounts of money, although it’s not always get rich quick. There is a learning curve so if you want to prepare for the future, start doing it now, not later.

3. Join an online community. Online communities give you resources, contacts, tools and motivation you may not get locally so join an online community.

4. Move to the country. When inflation rises and your regular bills exceed your income, you’ll appreciate that garden or green house.

5. Be active in a local community. Learn to barter with each other for necessities because hyperinflation is going to eventually make a joke out of the American dollar.

6. Don’t just worry, do something. Worrying doesn’t do anything but give you an ulcer and shorten your life. Then create a plan, take steps to do something different and don’t be afraid to take action. Fear is your enemy. It will prevent you from doing what you need to do in tough times.

Times are changing.

The lifestyle we’ve known was the American Dream.

It’s time to do what President Reagan said and tighten our belts to get our own personal budgets under control, no matter what Washington does with the country.

If you want to learn more about how to do these6 things, consider joining me at our upcoming Protege retreat because that’s what we’ll be discussing.

Yes, it’s a private event, but I can still bring 4 guest families.

If you think you can’t afford it, then you’d better stop right now and realize where your family is economically. If you can’t afford an educational retreat to inspire and educate your family, then you’re living too close to the poverty line.

If you don’t do something different to correct that, you may find yourself in a bigger mess sooner than you’d like.

It’s time to learn how to put that computer of yours to work, along with some of those kids, so that the recession we are facing won’t affect you as bad as it will others.

Pay attention to the signs of the times. Life is changing. YOUR life is going to change.

If you aren’t getting by financially now or if your future looks grim, you’d better do something about it before it’s too late.

This Protege Retreat is my stimulus package for North America’s families.

The experts I’ve invited can help you change your economic situation.

They can help you get out of debt, start a membership site, reduce the years of your mortgage and know what to do in tough times.

Think about joining us in Huntsville, Alabama on April 3-5.

The only way to get there is by private invitation from one of the members. This is yours.
www.RheasProtegeRetreat.com

So many books, so little time…

Rhea!
who would really like to have you join us in Huntsville

New Resource for Audio Clips

Podcasters who want to make their programs sound more interesting have a new resource available to them. It’s iStockAudio – a new offering from iStockPhoto.

There are all different kinds of audio. Music, voice, environmental, etc.

I did a search for ‘kitchen sounds’ and it turned up an audio with the busy sounds of a kitchen. I think this is going to be a fun place for me to poke around and find clips that would add a new element to my podcasts :)