This is an early prototype—the .1 release—but even in its infacy, Ubiquity, a Firefox plugin, shows it has the potential to change the way we interact with the web. As it is now, you have to go visit a website in order to use a tool. Like an RSS reader, Ubiquity brings everything you want, when you want it, right to you.

Check it out:

To download the Ubiquity add-on for Firefox, click here.

Mozilla is looking to set a world record for one-day software downloads with the release of Firefox 3, which should be released sometime today is available now at getfirefox.com.

I have been using Firefox 3 for a little over a month now, and it really is a better browser. Better than Internet Explorer by a long shot, and better than Firefox 2, as well. It is quick, lighter-weight, and really nice to use. My favorite feature, though, is the easy extensibility of Firefox with the use of third-party add-ons like Foxmarks bookmark synchronizer and del.icio.us buttons.

I was looking at the numbers for browsers and operating systems for viewers, and thought you might want to take a peek yourselves.

Windows XP is, as expected the favorite operating system. However, you do not favorite as much as the national numbers suggest. I am pleased to see so many Linux users (11%), but a bit befuddled to see only 2% use a Mac. I suppose I do not talk much about Mac-specific technology, although I try not to focus on Windows- or Linux-specific technology, either.

As you can see, Firefox is by far the favorite browser among you, my enlightened readers. Internet Explorer versions 6 and 7 make up most of the rest, with Opera at 1% and older Mozilla and Firefox versions at 5%.

Not using Firefox yet? Get it. It is better than Internet Explorer just for the add-ons, if for no other reason. Lifehacker winnowed a long, long list down to its top 10 Firefox add-ons. The winners:

10. AutoCopy (clipboard helper)
9. CustomizeGoogle
8. Firebug (web development helper)
7. FireFTP (FTP client)
6. Greasemonkey (site-specific script manager)
5. ScrapBook (web clippings library)
4. Tab Mix Plus (tab manager)
3. DownThemAll! (download manager)
2. Adblock (advertisement blocker)
1. Foxmarks (bookmarks synchronizer)

Now excuse me while I go and get the add-ons I don’t already have!

If, like me, you do any serious amount of writing in text boxes online (including webmail, blog commenting, etc.), Textarea Backup is a pretty useful Greasemonkey script for Firefox. It backs up your text area every ten keystrokes, ten seconds, and whenever the text area loses focus. You’ll need Greasemonkey to run it, and then you can install the Textarea Backup script.

[via Lifehacker]