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Tranquility: Cleans Up Webpages & Makes Them More Readable [Firefox]

Dave LeClair — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:01:10 +0000

Some websites are filled with so much extra stuff that they can become unreadable. There are adverts, crazy background images, ugly fonts and all kinds of other stuff that make websites hard to read. In some cases, they can be downright ugly. Tranquility is an add on for Mozilla Firefox that is designed to clean up these ugly websites and create a more tranquil reading experience.

Tranquility makes it easy to clean up a webpage. You can either click the icon in the status bar. You can also use the keyboard shortcut CTRL+ALT+T to make things prettier and easier to read. If those weren’t enough options, you can also right click on a link and choose “Tranquility” from the context menu. This will open up a new tab with the page already cleaned. This way, you never have to look at the ugly page to begin with.

Once you have a page cleaned up you can change the font size. You can choose to disable the background image, if it bothers you. Tranquility is a great option for anyone looking for a small way to clean up the Internet and make it a more pleasant place.

Features:

Free add on for Firefox.
Cleans up webpages and makes them easier to read.
Launch using icon in status bar, CTRL+ALT+T or right clicking a link.
Customize font size.
Similar tools: Evernote Clearly, TextOnly, Links In Text-Only Mode, NotForest, Readmeo, TidyRead, Readability, Readable, and AllTextPaper.

Find Tranquility on the Firefox Add On Store

Skip Ads On YouTube: Skip YouTube Ads Easily [Chrome]

Hammad — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 02:01:58 +0000

If you do not like wasting time watching the ads before the start of any video on YouTube, check out this nifty little extension for Google Chrome that will allow you to skip the ad and jump right to the main video.

The extension is totally legit and authentic. It is legal as it does not block the ads but only allows you to skip them manually. This also ensures that you never miss out an interesting ad. However, the tool works only on YouTube and not any other site. The developer has also included a paid version of the tool which allows users to skip ads automatically.

Using the extension is easy and simple. Once you open a YouTube video where an ad plays, a small blue icon will appear on the top of the ad – clicking on it will allow you to skip the ad and jump directly to the video.

Features

Free and easy to use.
Skip ads and save precious time.
Legal as ads are skipped and not blocked.
Paid version available for $4.
Similartools: FlashControl and AdblockVideo.
Also read related articles:

Check out Skip Ads on YouTube @ https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/epbmnbdplhcomkedpjfceakddnbgfjmf?utm_source=chrome-ntp-icon (via gHacks)

FlashControl: Block Flash From Auto-Playing On Webpages [Chrome]

abhijeet — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 19:02:45 +0000

I’m sure you have come across websites on the Internet that start playing those video ads without your permission, or may be a video sharing site that starts playing videos even before you hit the play button. This can be annoying and FlashControl is a Chrome extension that helps you prevent this from happening on Chrome. It basically blocks Adobe Flash Player from playing automatically on webpages. It also offers selective re-blocking and whitelisting of certain sites, so there are options to customize it.

The extension is a Google code project, and works somewhat similar to the popular AdBlock extension that disables ads on webpages. If you are a geek, there are many more options in this tool to play around with.

Features

Block Adobe Flash player from auto-playing on Chrome.
Tab switching mode allows delaying of flash loading.
Whitelist sites, also selectively re-block webpages.
Google code project.

Check out FlashControl @ chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/mfidmkgnfgnkihnjeklbekckimkipmoe (By Abhijeet from Guiding Tech)

Better Popup Blocker: Better Way To Control Popups On Chrome Browser

TehseenBaweja — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 23:01:06 +0000

Even though Google Chrome has a built-in popup blocker, it still misses out on a lot of annoying popups such as alerts and confirmation boxes that may be hidden. Better Popup Blocker is exactly what the name suggests, a tool that blocks popups better than the default tool in Google Chrome.

When a popup is blocked, the icon blinks to let you know. If you want, you can easily allow popups from any site that you consider safe. If you have a few websites that you visit regularly and you want to allow popups from them, just add their URL to the whitelist of the extension. Alternatively, you can also use regular expressions to create a whitelist based on keywords. You can also go into options and select specifically which javascript functions you want the tool to block.

Features:

Blocks popups better than the default Chrome tool.
Choose which java-script functions to block.
Create a whitelist to avoid blocking on certain sites.
Works on Google Chrome 5.0+

Install Better Popup Blocker from Chrome Webstore [Via OptimalCycling]

Evernote Clearly: Simplified & Clean Online Reading Experience

abhijeet — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 17:01:52 +0000

The market for clutter-free reading on the web seems to be growing by leaps and bounds. Instapaper and Readability are already fighting for dominance and suddenly we see Evernote jumping into the fray out of nowhere. It has launched a Chrome extension called Clearly that basically does the same thing – clearing the clutter from a webpage and presenting only the main text and images – albeit with more options. It allows you to select smaller or larger fonts, has three themes (grey background, white background etc) and of course, the clip to Evernote option which could steal the show.

Those who use Evernote a lot should find this useful because it allows them to ditch those other services and aggregate all of their read-later content right inside their Evernote account through the Clip to Evernote option in this extension.

Features

Get a clutter-free web reading experience.
Clip to Evernote integrated into the add-on.
Available for Chrome.
Similar tools: TextOnly, Links In Text-Only Mode, NotForest, Readmeo, TidyRead, Readability, Readable, and AllTextPaper.

Check out Evernote Clearly @ chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/iooicodkiihhpojmmeghjclgihfjdjhj (via Ampercent By Abhijeet from Guiding Tech)

AdblockVideo: Block Annoying Video Ads [Firefox]

MOin — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 19:01:01 +0000

Do video ads get in the way of you and your web content? If yes, then thanks to a free to use Firefox add-on called AdBlock Video, you can effectively block them.

After installing AdBlock Video, you will be able to block all video ads or control which sites they are allowed on. This way you will be able to decide which sites to view videos ads on and which ones to block them on. You will find the add-on’s clickable icon in Firefox’s address bar once it has been installed. This icon is where you can block and allow ads.

Features:

A user-friendly browser add-on.
Compatible with Mozilla Firefox.
Lets you block video ads.
Lets you control which sites to allow videos ads on.
Also read related articles: Banish Social Network Buttons Forever With Adblock, How To Block Annoying Ads in Firefox and Use Adblock To Block Online Ads and Malware.

Check out AdBlock Video @ www.adblockvideo.com (by MOin from Urban Savior)

TextOnly: Read Web Content In Clutter Free Interface [Android]

abhijeet — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 03:01:21 +0000

Reading website content and blogs on the small screen of your mobile phone isn’t usually a smooth experience. If the website has a good mobile version, then all well and good, but if it doesn’t, then reading with all that clutter on a cellphone screen is a pain. So Android users can try out this app, which is basically a browser, called TextOnly.

As the name indicates, it renders content in text-only mode, removing all the clutter from the content. It can also show a list of articles if you enter the feed URL or the Twitter profile URL in its address bar.

The app is currently in beta, and shows a list of popular sites and blogs that it supports. I am not sure if it works only on those sites or every other site, so if you are an Android user, you’ll need to check that out.

Features

Read content in text-only mode on your Android phone.
Free app, supports a lot of popular blogs and sites.
Similar tools: Links In Text-Only Mode, NotForest, Readmeo, TidyRead, Readability, Readable, and AllTextPaper.

Check out TextOnly @ market.android.com/details?id=com.spacenext.textonly (By Abhijeet from GT Mobiles)

MuteTab: Lets You Easily Mute Annoying Ads [Chrome]

TehseenBaweja — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 01:01:45 +0000

It happens more often then we would like, that out of the dozen open tabs, one starts making noises due to an ugly banner ad or some other interactive feature. However, it takes some time and effort to quickly figure out which tab is the culprit. MuteTab solves this problem by letting you quickly mute the tabs.

It installs as a Chrome extension and when the time comes, opens the mute menu with a simple right click. You then have the option to mute the current tab, all tabs that are unsafe and more. A couple of clicks is all you need later to restore the sound. The extension however does not work on flash games or videos, yet.

Features:

Mute the Chrome tabs that are creating noise.
Easy menu to choose what to mute.
Restore sounds with a couple of clicks.

Get MuteTab @ www.mutetab.com [Via Gizmodo]

Swidget: Replace Banner Ads On Sites With Widgets

abhijeet — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 01:01:24 +0000

If you don’t like banner ads on your favorite websites and you want to replace them with something more useful then you might consider trying this tool called Swidget. The term “widget” in its name has probably given you an idea about what it does. It is a browser extension that helps you to replace the banner ads with widgets.

It offers all kind of widgets; be it a weather widget, reviews from Yelp, or a stock index tracker. There are a huge number of widgets to choose from. The add-on works with Firefox, Internet Explorer and Chrome.

The Swidget bar appears over the banner ads and has a drop-down arrow which, when clicked, shows the widgets that you can choose to overlap that ad.

Features

Replace banner ads with all kinds of widgets.
Huge variety of web widgets to choose from.
Browser extension; compatible with IE, Firefox and Chrome.
Similar tools: NotForest, Readmeo, TidyRead, Readability, Readable, and AllTextPaper.

Check out Swidget @ swidget.com (By Abhijeet from GT Mobiles)

Moat: Search Engine For Advertisements

TehseenBaweja — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 01:01:58 +0000

There is a search engine for everything so why not ads as well? Moat is a search engine for advertisements that you can use to search for currently running ads for any brand. Simply type in the name of a brand and Moat will display a collection of ads that are running on various websites. Hovering your mouse over any ad will display it in full size along with other information like the ad size and the size of the swf file behind it.

You can also see the name of the website where the ad was seen last along with the date. Sharing any ad with your friends is made super easy through a unique URL. Moat also has a feature where you can see ads for a random brand and keep refreshing to view a new brand.

Features:

Search engine for ads.
Lets you search current online ads for any brand.
Get information like ad size and the website it last ran on.
Share any ad through a permanent URL.
No registration required.

Visit Moat @ www.moat.com [Via TechCrunch]