There is some good news floating around about the future of web browsers. As of today, web browsers rely on native code plugins to display PDF files, like Adobe’s PDF reader or Foxit reader. However, this is about to change.

Fortunately for all of us, the web is quickly embracing the new technologies, and thanks to that, guys at pdf.js team plan to create a Firefox extension aka a built in PDF reader which uses HTML5 to render the documents.

The good news?

This is not the Firefox exclusive software. Actually, pdf.js is an open source project which can be embraced by pretty much everyone, including other web browser vendors.

So here you have it. What are we waiting for?

[Thanks, Daniel Hendrycks]

Snap Links

A must have in my list. Tired of clicking links one by one? Install Snap Links and open multiple pages instantly.

Download Helper

Bypass download counters and automate download process. As simple as that.

Image Autosizer

A neat little extensions which not only allows you to disable automatic image fit to screen but also customize other options.

Easy Translation

This is by far my most favorite translation extension for Opera web browser. No text selection is necessary, just hit the icon and site is automatically translated via Google Translate.

NotScripts

Do you miss NoScript like Firefox extensions in Opera? Turns out, you can now block JavaScript in Norwegian web browser too!

Anything else? Let us know!

Mozilla has likely taken this step to ensure that its browser remains speedy even with the inclusion of extensions in the hope of staying competitive.

With browser performance being a big issue even for Microsoft these days, Mozilla hopes to encourage developers to optimize their extensions so that they don’t affect browser performance too much.

The organization has further plans in that regard, such as automated performance tests on the 100 most downloaded extensions as well as warning users who are about to download an add-on that will decrease performance by more than 25%.

To view a list of the top 50 extensions that cause a slow startup, click here.

What this extension intends to do is give users of Google Chrome the ability to weed out content farms (sites that boast data of questionable quality). As users do this, Google will collect such information in order to provide better search results in the future by no longer allowing such sites to show up.

Source: TrustedReviews

Asa Dotzler, the Director of Community Development at Mozilla Corp. has raised a fair question:

Why do I have these plug-ins in Firefox? I don’t think I ever asked for any of them

There are quite a few plug-ins that make little to no sense, for example:

Why would Firefox ever need a Google or RockMelt Update? Furthermore, why is it okay to install all this malware for the big guys like Apple or Google?

P.S. They are enabled by default.

The wait is over. Opera Software has just released the alpha build of Opera 11 web browser.

The good news: it brings a little bit more than just extensions support.
The bad news: as of this moment, Opera extensions catalog is down.

Including already announced extensions support, alpha build also introduces:

- Opera Presto 2.6.37 engine, offering hundreds of bug fixes, enhanced Web Standards support as well as performance improvements and Websockets support.
- A new mail panel and bookmarks bar
- Enable plug-ins only on demand
- Updated installer

P.S. It looks like upgrade page has not been updated as well, as it still displays Opera 10.63 information after installation.

Update: Extensions catalog is now up.

Download Link: Opera 11 Alpha.

TabSense is a Firefox Tab Candy inspired extension that allows you to group your tabs into separate categories.

Install, click on the icon or simply press Shift+Ctrl+S and you are ready to go.

Future versions are also set to include tab movement, search and other features.

Thanks to Nox for the news tip.

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Today, Apple has released two web browser updates: Safari 5.0.1 and 4.1.1 that fix AutoFill security vulnerability reported back in June.

In addition to stability improvements and other bug fixes, version numbered 5.0.1 activates extensions that were reveled within the first Safari 5 release.

Changelog
Extensions Gallery
Download

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Furthermore, Firefox 4 version will no longer require browser restart after installation is finished.

There are also more changes planned for 1.3 release, see roadmap for more details.

Thanks to Nox for the news tip.

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You can now send links from your web browser directly to your Android device using Cloud to Device Messaging service.

As for other platform users, there is always a mail.

Download.

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