Ok then, how would you like to see what a webpage looks like behind a link BEFORE you click it?
Alright, you’ve probably never thought about it but hold onto your clicking finger folks because I’m about to explain how you can do exactly that and so turbo-charge your web surfing.
For the topic of my humble scribblings this time is a brilliant Firefox browser plug-in called CoolPreviews, a kind of picture in picture for your web surfing.
One that opens a new window within your present one simply by hovering over a website link, that’s ANY link on ANY page. And when you do open that window, it’s not just for a passive snapshot of a webpage, it’s to interact with that site just as you normally would.
And the point of that is :
- On Google, no more going back and forth from all those search results, now you can preview each one while staying on Google.
- On YouTube, no trawling to a new page, just hover over a thumbnail and watch any video in its own window.
- On sites like Amazon, you can shop twice as fast by shopping in two windows, you could say it’s window in window shopping.
- On News sites you could read about both sides of the story at once.
- On any intriguing link in fact you can lazily preview it without leaving the site you’re on.
- And if your feeling reluctant to click a potentially dodgy link, see where it would lead by safely hovering over it…and therefore not activating the nastiness it could harbour.
But there’s also more to it, too much to explain here but notably a handy bookmarking feature called Stacks, so this time I’m including a handy video explanation/tutorial for CoolPreviews by its makers, the same team behind Cooliris (the topic of my first ever post on here)
It showcases a slightly older version of CoolPreviews, but it does explain most of what you need to know, although make sure you check out the preferences options on your own should you download it.
Because I tell you, I’ve been using CoolPreviews for months and it’s revolutionized the way I’ve surfed the web and while I know I’ve eulogised about other Firefox plug-ins…and I’m sure I will about many more, if you ever only download one, make this it.
You can do so by CoolPreviews website.
CoolPreviews, your window to a brand new way of web surfing.
Xtremis Reaction 