Dear Lifehacker: I use Firefox and have my bookmarks toolbar on the same “line” as the back/forward buttons and Awesomebar to save space. However, my bookmarks always collapse into a drop-down list. How can I stop this from happening? Signed, Bookmarks Go Bye-bye More »
Firefox only (Win/Mac/Linux): If the new social features in Google Reader are cluttering up your reading space, you can use a simple user script to get rid of that “Liked” feature. More »
Gmail Redesigned, the dark-skinned theme that’s part of the popular Google Redesigned Extension, has been released in a 3.0 version that adds more message space, reduces in size by half, and supports newer Gmail features. More »
Firefox with Greasemonkey or Stylish: Google Reader’s recent redesign did streamline its interface, but ever-resourceful reader Dustin wants to maximise the feed reading area even more with his new “Absolutely Compact” user style. Google Reader Absolutely Compact packs even more text onto the screen than Google’s new default look. Be warned: you’ve got to be a heavy keyboard shortcut user to enjoy this one, since the style strips away much of the interface. It also kills much of the whitespace in headline-only view, which can make scanning a bit harder on your peepers. Before you go install Greasemonkey or Stylish to try it out, compare before and after screenshots.
Globex Designs releases version 2.0 of their Gmail Redesigned skin which fixes over 40 bugs and is speedier than ever. Expect an update to the Better Gmail 2 extension with the new Redesigned 2.0 version to hit your browser sometime tomorrow.
Firefox with Stylish or Greasemonkey: The talented designers who redesigned your Gmail are back with that similar look for Google Calendar. The Google Calendar Redesigned user style is now available for download as a public beta, and gives your GCal that slick look you’ve come to love in your inbox. After the jump, get a few full screenshots of what your GCal looks like wearing the Redesigned style.
You’ve seen how Google Reader’s iPhone interface fits oh-so-nicely into your Firefox sidebar, and now the How-To Geek shows how you can make it even more compact and useful. Using some bookmark digging and the Stylish theme-ing extension for Firefox, you can remove Reader’s blue border and header, change the font sizes, and reduce the feed displays to headlines only. Hit the link for individual or compilation Stylish scripts that make Reader even better on the side. Tweak Google Reader iPhone Edition in Your Firefox Sidebar [The How-To Geek]
If you’re using Google’s experimental keyboard shortcuts, auto-complete functions or other interfaces, you might have noticed a little yellow survey primer that sometimes sticks around long after you’ve offered up your answers. The How-To Geek points to a DIY Stylish script for Firefox that always hides the yellow box. Head to your Google search page, click on the Stylish status bar icon, choose “Write style” and “For Google.com,” then enter the following:
@namespace url(http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml);
@-moz-document domain(“google.com”) { #exp_msgs {display:none !important;} }
For detailed instructions and more Stylish work-arounds, head to the Geek’s site. Hide That Annoying Google Experimental Search Survey Box (in Firefox) [The How-To Geek]
Firefox with Stylish: The Gmail Redesigned user style—which requires the Stylish extension to use—skins Gmail with an attractive, well laid-out, and completely overhauled look. Everything in the Gmail Redesigned interface is darker and a touch sleeker than the default Gmail interface, which hasn’t changed all that much since Gmail launched four years ago today. Right now the developer is issuing updates to this style almost every day. Once Gmail Redesigned is complete, we hope to add it to the rest of the Gmail skins in an upcoming release of Better Gmail. Gmail Redesigned [Userstyles.org via UneasySilence]
