My must-have extensions for Firefox

Despite the features available in Opera and despite the improvements in Microsoft's Internet Explorer 7 (still in beta), Firefox remains my default browser. The tabbed browsing is handy, but everyone has that now. Even Microsoft in IE7. What really makes Firefox the standout is its ability to be use extensions that provide functions and capabilities far beyond what the basic program provides. The key to extensions is that they allow all users to create a browser that exactly meets their needs.

At the office, I have only a few extensions. At home, my list is somewhat longer. At the right is my list of extensions. Here's why they're there.

Document Object Manager Inspector is installed automatically if you choose the "developer" installation. Talkback is automatic for all users and it allows you to report problems when Firefox crashes.

Adblock Plus makes it possible to remove annoying ads while keeping ads that you might want to see. Ads that pop up, spin around, or do other things that I consider to be out of bounds are gone.

Leet key transforms text so that it appears that a 13-year-old script kiddie typed it. But it also handles ROT13 encoding, which is still used occasionally.

The JS Console Extras extension is helpful for those who write Javascript and need to know what the script is doing.

HTML Validator uses the W3C's HTML Tidy analyzer to examine websites (yours or anyone else's) to report coding errors. This is primarily a developer's tool, but it's something that can help any user to determine why a page isn't displaying properly when something goes wrong.

Yes, I have a Gmail account . I don't use it a lot and it's helpful to have a notification program running that tells me when a message is waiting to be picked up.

ColorZilla is another tool that's mainly helpful for designers and developers. If you want to match a color that's on a website, this extension offers an eyedropper tool that shows the color value in various coding forms.

Everybody needs Copy Plain Text! When you copy text from a website, it's copied with HTML coding. Some applications offer a "paste special" function that eliminates the coding. For those that don't using Copy Plain Text makes the process easier than it would be otherwise.

I did an entire program on Stumble Upon. This is either the most fantastic example of serendipity that I've ever seen or the greatest time-waster ever invented. You'll probably enjoy it if you install it. But it will take your time.

Google is a superb search engine, but the company seems to be willing to accept advertising money from anybody who's willing to pay. This extension allows you to eliminate Google's ads.

Forecastfox gives you immediate information about current weather conditions, the forecast for the next several days, and any current watches or warnings.

UI Tweaker will allow you to change Firefox's toolbar and other aspects of the program so that it works the way you want it to.

If you encounter a website that has a lot of images that you want to download, DownThemAll is what you're looking for. I haven't used this extension yet, but someday I'll encounter a need for it.

JS View is a developer's tool that allows you to examine Javascript and CSS files that are in use on a website.

Yes, Firefox is generally considered to be safer that Microsoft's Internet Explorer, but it would be safer still if you could enable Javascript on just the websites that you trusted. That's exactly what NoScript allows you to do. Visit any site and you'll immediately know where any embedded Javascript is coming from. This is an extension that everybody needs.

And that's just what I use

Your needs will certainly be different from mine. You'll find several hundred Firefox extensions on the Mozilla website in several large categories. Add the ones that fit your needs.

Excellence in customer support: Easier said than done

Cellular providers continue to be in turmoil. Churn is endemic despite the companies' best efforts to create barriers. We recently added a 3rd phone to our family plan and that required extending our contract with the carrier for 2 more years. Leaving will cost us $200 per line, so the company is essentially guaranteed that we'll continue to be customers for 2 years. This is a bad way to create loyalty, though, because it doesn't create loyalty. It creates servitude

Fifteen or twenty years ago, I said that cellular phones were a great idea for people who lived in Los Angeles and lived in their cars, but who else would want one. I've had a cell phone for at least 10 years and, although I don't use it often, I'd hate to be without it. I went to the hardware store to buy a toilet seat and discovered that there are two main sizes: round and oblong. I thought I needed a round one, but I wasn't certain. One quick call home confirmed that round was right.

Far more than half of Americans have cell phones. I know a few people who don’t yet have one, but they’re in the minority. And most of the younger people I know have no “home” phone. They have just a cell phone. Those who are married have two. But no home phone. Why should they have a home phone? They’re rarely home.

Despite this, cellular providers continue to be in turmoil. Churn is endemic despite the companies’ best efforts to create barriers. We recently added a 3rd phone to our family plan and that required extending our contract with the carrier for 2 more years. Leaving will cost us $200 per line, so the company is essentially guaranteed that we’ll continue to be customers for 2 years. This is a bad way to create loyalty, though, because it doesn’t create loyalty. It creates servitude.

The company I currently use (T-Mobile if it makes any difference to you) provides adequate service, but the only way it can gain my loyalty is through the use of contracts that exact heavy penalties if I leave. Wouldn’t it be better, I wondered, if these companies generated loyalty by doing things that would encourage customer loyalty?

Apparently not.

We wanted to add a third line to our family plan, so I called T-Mobile and explained the situation: My phone is due for a “free” upgrade, but the phone I have is fine. May I use the “free upgrade” to obtain a 3rd phone and then activate it to add a 3rd line to the family plan? The answer was yes and the person I spoke with made the appropriate notations in the record.

Later, when I called back to order the phone, the person I spoke with took the order for the phone and then told me that I’d need to speak with the “activations” department. She transferred me to that department, but the person I spoke with said that she couldn’t help me until the phone arrived. “The phone will ship with a SIM card?” I asked, and I was assured that it would.

It didn’t. The phone arrived without a SIM card. Cell phones don’t work without SIM cards.

I called T-Mobile again and explained the situation. “Of course the phone didn’t ship with a SIM card,” my representative said. “It’s an upgrade and upgrades don’t come with SIM cards.”

After a few more transfers, I was speaking with someone who seemed to understand the problem, but who then connected my call to the sales department so that I could order another phone. Fortunately the customer service person had remained on the line. “Wait!” I said. “I already have 3 phones – the one for the primary line, the one for the secondary line, and the one I want to add. Why do you want to send me a 4th phone?” The support person disconnected the sales person.

Sheesh! And I thought we had been speaking the same language.

Eventually I convinced the support folks that all I really needed was a SIM card, that I understood there would be an extra $9.95 (why not say $10?) charge per month, and that there would be an activation fee. By then I had spent nearly an hour on the phone with T-Mobile over several days.

In the process, I learned that the customer service people can see my record but that sales people cannot. Apparently this is because T-Mobile trusts support people not to steal my identity, but feels that sales people are likely to do so. It’s still unclear what “activations” people can see.

T-Mobile later told me “At this time, the USPS website shows that they have received the package but have yet to post the date of delivery. Please check later today or tomorrow for updated information on your package at the USPS website.” But the USPS website actually said, “The U.S. Postal Service was electronically notified by the shipper or shipping partner on May 23, 2006 to expect your package for mailing. This does not indicate receipt by the USPS or the actual mailing date. Delivery status information will be provided if / when available. Information, if available, is updated every evening. Please check again later.”

This is the same kind of support I received from Sprint, and it’s one of the reasons I’m no longer a Sprint customer.

Subsequent messages from T-Mobile referred to me as “Adam”, thanked me for using T-Mobile, and explained that they understood my frustration because I had not received the SIM card but noted in the same message that I had received the SIM card (which is something I’d mentioned in a previous message to them.)

“Also William,” the message went on, “I have visually reviewed your account and am noting it to ensure that I’ve provided you with excellent customer service today.” Other than “visually”, how else would someone review an account?

The message continued, telling me that I had 791 minutes remaining, noting that the writer is happy I’m getting “the most from your T-Mobile service”, and a reminder of how I can see how many minutes I’ve used “no extra cost.” Several additional paragraphs later, it finally ended with “Thank you for choosing T-Mobile, William. We appreciate your business.” To this, I could only reply “Have a nice day and I hope that I have provided an excellent customer response.”

Do companies really think that these kinds of nonsensical annoyances convince customers that the company cares?

Each telephone conversation I had with T-Mobile included a question from the T-Mobile side, “How’s your day going today?” I considered responding by saying, “Not too good. I was mowing the lawn and I accidentally cut off my left foot,” just to see what the response would be, but I’m too polite to do that.

If you’re in a position to have an effect on “customer-facing” communications, get rid of the scripts. Give your employees permission to listen to clients, understand them, and respond appropriately. Some of us appreciate it when our questions are understood and and the response is actually based on what we asked.

The right way

That same week, I checked on my Quality Paperback Book Club account. I had missed one of their notices and they had shipped me a book. I had returned the book and I wanted to find out if they had credited my account for the returned book. They had, but I noticed that I had missed yet another notice and that another book was on its way to me.

I’ll return it and they’ll credit me, but there must be a better way to do things! So, keyboard under hand, I composed a note to the customer service folks the Friday evening before Memorial Day: “Is there a way to change my account so that books aren’t automatically shipped? Another order has slipped through and I’ll have to return it. This costs you money and annoys me.”

A mere three hours later, I received a response. Most, if not all, of the response is a form, but it’s a well written form that exactly addresses the problem, states the solution, and goes on to provide additional useful information that I didn’t think to ask for – unlike the T-Mobile form replies that include long sections of useless blather.

Here’s what Quality Paperback Book Club’s Meghan 192 said (my comments are in red):

Effective immediately, your account has been placed under a new service plan. Under this plan, you will not be sent automatic shipments. You will continue to receive the club mailings; however, you no longer have to return the Reply Form in order to refuse the Main Selections. This exactly addresses my concern and tells me the problem has been solved exactly as I requested.

When you wish to place an order, simply complete and return your Reply Form. You may also use our automated answering service or the club website to place your order. (Please note that special sale offers may only be offered through the mail.) This part explains how I can order a book now.

Thank you for letting us know that you are returning a recent shipment. As soon as we receive the return, the charges will be removed from your account. Please allow up to four weeks for us to receive your return and credit your account. This sets my expectations for how QPBC will respond to the book I will return.

If you receive a statement for the returned shipment within this time period, please don’t be concerned. It just means that the statement was prepared before your return was processed. If a subsequent statement does not reflect the correct balance, please notify Customer Service at that time; include the product title and date of return. And finally, this section tells me that I may see an invoice. I could fault Meghan 192 for including this paragraph because I pay by credit card and the charge is put on the card when a book is shipped, so I never see an invoice.

And that’s it. No blather about wanting to “meet and exceed” my expectations. No hoping that “I have addressed all of your questions and concerns”. No discussion of “World Class Customer Service” (and why does T-Mobile capitalize that?)

Just answer the customer’s question. Resolve the problem. Stop. QPBC understands that when a customer has written with a question or a concern, that customer doesn’t want to be told about “world-class customer service”.

All the customer wants is for the problem to be resolved. Take a look at your business from the customer’s perspective; you may not like what you see.

Nerdly News

Are your fingers small enough to use this computer?

I started seeing computers that were about the size of a deck of cards a couple of years ago. They were prototypes that sometimes worked and sometimes just sat there overheating. I remember seeing one with a keyboard and large monitor plugged in. It had a small LCD screen built in and a soft keyboard that appeared on the screen. Interesting idea, but the technology wasn't quite ready for use outside trade shows.

Now Sony has the UX Micro.

If you must have a keyboard and a mouse, or if you have fingers like mine, this might not be a good choice for you. But if portability is essential to you, Sony will have what you want on store shelves before the end of summer. It's available now for pre-order at $1800.

The UX Micro has an Intel Core Solo Ultra Low Voltage processor inside, giving near-desktop performance in a package package that weighs about about 20 ounces. Remember when portable computers weighed 20 pounds and had a suitcase handle on the top?

The UX Micro runs Windows XP Professional and has a 4.5-inch touch screen as well as a small fold-out keyboard shown at the right for text entry. There's also built-in Wi-Fi, but this feature works only with Cingular's cellular network. Sony has also included a fingerprint scanner that can be used to secure passwords and data.

Oh ... and of course there's a built-in camera -- 1.3-megapixel -- with the lens on the back. There's another camera on front for those important video conference calls. Inside the box is a 30GB hard drive and enough battery power to run the thing for about 1/3 of a transcontinental flight.

ISPs meet with DOJ

Internet service providers and the Department of Justice met in New York this week to talk about ways they can cooperate to identify people who use the Internet. The stated purpose it to find a way to track down people who trade in child pornography or who are suspected of terrorist activities. The technology could, of course, be used for other purposes, some of which worry privacy experts.

One approach would possibly avoid legislation by having ISPs strengthen their own retention procedures. The proposal might have ISPs preserve information about which IP address users were assigned for 2 years or more. Currently the procedures vary from one ISP to another. The companies generally work with law enforcement investigations now.

Annoying legal disclaimer

My attorney says I really need to say this: The TechByter website is for informational purposes only. I assume no responsibility for its accuracy, although I do my best. The information is subject to change without notice. Any actions you take based on information from the radio program, the podcast, or from this website are entirely at your own risk. Products and services are mentioned for informational purposes only and their various trademarks and service marks are the property of their respective owners. TechByter cannot provide technical support for products or services mentioned.