Dramel Notes: reviewing

At the end of each year, most people enjoy reviewing notable events for the previous 12 months. With that in mind, we are taking a look back at Firefox for 2015.

Which new browser features were added? Which MakeUseOf posts for Firefox stood out? Which helpful add-ons were recommended? Here is a wrap-up of these noteworthy items as we say good-bye to another year.

New Firefox Features in 2015

Every year users hope and look forward to new browser features. This year Firefox incorporated several changes and here is a list of just some of them along with the month they were released:

Firefox Hello was introduced for real-time video chatting with friends and coworkers (January)
New sharing features were added making it easier to connect and stay connected (July)
A fresh look for Windows 10 and safer add-ons were implemented (August)
Firefox for iOS was released worldwide for mobile users (November)
The new Tracking Protection feature was added for more private browsing (November)

3 Must-Read Firefox Posts

Switching From Chrome: How to Make Firefox Feel Like Home – For those who decide to make the full change from Chrome to Firefox, Joel Lee takes you through helpful ways to feel comfortable with your decision.

The piece begins with reasons for making the switch that include privacy, performance, and personalization. It then goes on to assist you with how to transfer your data from Chrome to Firefox. If you are interested in a different theme and would like to change the tab scrolling, this helpful article has you covered there as well.

Update Firefox Now! Or a Security Flaw Can Steal Your Local Files – Back in August when Mozilla issued a critical update to address a security flaw, Mihir Patkar jumped in to help users through it. This article describes the steps that need to be taken, how to perform them, and why it is so important.

The piece then goes on to explain why other browsers might be safer. For those who might believe they should stop using Firefox all together, the article explains that Mozilla took steps immediately to remedy the issue.

How Easy Is It for a Chrome User to Switch to Firefox Today? – For users who are still on the fence regarding the change from Chrome to Firefox, Mihir Patkar provides a useful piece. Using his own experience with the two popular browsers, you can easily see what you would miss with Chrome by making the switch.

From extensions to Chromecast support, the value of add-ons is discussed. Then, with a wrap-up, mention of the browsers on mobile devices, and a challenge to readers to try the switch for one week, the article prompted many opinions in the comments from users.

Standout Firefox Extensions in 2015

As with other browsers, MakeUseOf checks out many add-ons throughout the year to find the best ones. From productivity to social networking to security and more, here are some of the best Firefox add-ons we used in 2015.

13 Essential Firefox Addons To Begin 2015 – To get your year started right, Mihir Patkar provided a terrific list covering various categories of add-ons. Here are some of those helpful tools:

Privacy Badger for improving privacy and security
Tab Grenade for turning tabs into a list on one page
Fokus for highlighting text on a page
Download Plan for scheduling links to be downloaded later
Profilist for switching profiles quickly

7 Great Customization Add-ons for Firefox – For those who love to customize their browsing experience, I put together this list with a nice selection to spruce up Firefox and here are just a few:

Personas Plus for adding an fun theme or attractive skin
ColorfulTabs for turning tabs into different colors, manually or by domain
Classic Theme Restorer for bringing back features of previous Firefox versions

6 Great Social Sharing Extensions for Firefox – Social sharing is simple with this list of Firefox add-ons that I created to help keep users stay connected which includes:

AddThis for sharing to social media sites as well as Gmail, WordPress, and more
Buffer for sharing to Facebook or Twitter using a scheduler
Pinterest Pin Button for quick uploading of images to Pinterest boards

Completely Secure: 11 Must-Have Firefox Addons For Security – When it comes to security, having reliable tools is key to keeping you safe and Joel Lee has a great list to help, including these five items:

HTTPS Everywhere for secure browsing by forcing HTTPS all the time
Ghostery for blocking Web trackers
Blur for data collection blocking and management of passwords and payment details
BetterPrivacy for protection of long-term super-cookies
Bloody Vikings! for using temporary email addresses for miscellaneous signups

The Best Firefox Add-ons of 2015

From security and productivity add-ons to articles that assist you with the switch from Chrome to Firefox, MakeUseOf is here to help. These popular posts and useful extensions are the ones that really stood out for Firefox in 2015 and there will certainly be more to come in the new year.

What are your favorite new add-ons for Firefox? And which of our Firefox articles did you enjoy the most this year?

Image Credit: Gustavo Frazao via Shutterstock.com

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Personal development and productivity are on a lot of people’s minds around this time of year.

Whether it’s because they’re reviewing the year behind or looking forward to the one ahead, your friends and loved ones very well may be thinking of how they could do a little better in 2016.

And if you want to help them out, these nine gifts are great ways to be supportive!

Listography: Your Life in Lists ($14)

Journaling is a great exercise, but not everyone has the patience to write out reflections long-hand, or even in short form. Listography is like a journal, but it’s made completely of lists, and aimed at helping you write down important things and moments from your life (it’s pitched as a sort of highly compact autobiography).

The highlight of the lists are the hilarious illustrations which should help to motivate your moods as well. In fact, the pages are so pretty, they will compel you to write your lists more thoughtfully.

There’s also My Reading Life in Lists, Exploring the World in Lists, All I Hope to Do in Lists, and several other fun options.

Give the gift of memory this year with Listography!

Boogie Board Jot LCD Writing Tablet ($30)

Did you know that doodling can be a highly creative and beneficial activity?

Whether your friend or loved one is a doodler, a list maker, a note taker, or just someone who likes to have a pen in their hand, the Boogie Board Jot is a cool, fun way to let them jot as much as they want without using up paper. The writing tablet is great for drawing, leaving reminders, making and tracking lists, and saving notes to your phone with the Jot app.

The included stylus can even be used as a stand for displaying your creations and ideas. Or you can just use the magnets to mount the doodle board for display.

Gratitude and Bucket List Journals ($15–25)

Another great journaling or list-making gift, these handmade, twine-bound journals are great for helping people keep what’s important in mind, whether that’s what they’re hoping to accomplish in their lives or what they’re grateful for already having.

Both can be personalized with the recipient’s name, making it an even more personal gift. The Twine Bindery shop on Etsy also has a lot of other cool paper products that make awesome gifts, too.

Lumie Bodyclock Sunrise Alarm Clock ($139)

A lot of uber productive people in history have taken advantage of the early morning hours to get things done (here are a few examples). If you know someone who has trouble getting up in the morning but would like to be one of those people, the Lumie Bodyclock’s sunrise simulation will be a big help.

A gentle sunrise full-spectrum lamp, FM radio, and six different sleep sound effects that includes white noise to lull you to sleep at night makes this a great sleep-cycle enhancer. (I used a Lumie lamp to fend off seasonal affective disorder while living in England, and I can vouch for how awesome they are.)

If you’re feeling rather crafty, you could actually make your own sunrise alarm and give it as a gift!

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People ($9)

It seems almost cliché to put this on the list, but this book is a a perennial bestseller for a good reason. With useful real-life advice on how to change your perceptions, manage your time, act with initiative, and think positively, this book will help anyone on their quest to become a better person, whether they’re just starting their personal development quest or they’ve been working on it for a long time.

Habit 1: Be Proactive
Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind
Habit 3: Put First Things First
Habit 4: Think Win/Win
Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood
Habit 6: Synergize
Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw

~ Stephen R. Covey

Agendio Custom Planner ($35– $45)

A custom planner can be a big help to anyone trying to get and stay organized. Agendio’s planners come in three sizes and multiple formats, and each page can be customized with different types of labels, checkboxes, lines, lists, schedules, and other sections you need to make a planner that contains absolutely everything you need.

You probably won’t know what your friend or loved one will want in their planner, so you may want to give them the gift of cash to be used for an Agendio planner (at least until Agendio starts offering gift cards, which I’m told will be soon).

Bend Your Brain ($11)

This book of brain puzzles from Marbles (one of the greatest stores of all time) will keep your friend or loved one’s brain in great shape. Part of personal development is learning to think in new ways and to flex mental muscles that haven’t been used in a while, and Bend Your Brain will do just that.

The puzzles in this book focus on the five key brain categories: visual perception, word skills, critical thinking, coordination, and memory. Give the gift of better brain function this year!

Ebook Subscription (~$120)

You’ve probably noticed that many of the personal development and productivity gifts listed are books — that’s because reading is an absolutely great way to improve oneself! If you don’t know which book to get as a gift, or you want to go beyond just giving a single book, an ebook subscription is a great gift.

There are a number of different services to choose from—check out the article linked above and choose the one that seems best.

Help Friends or Loved Ones with Your Gift

Sometimes the best gifts help their recipients help themselves. In this case, they’ll help your friend or loved one on their quest to be a better person. Whether that means being more educated, more disciplined, more organized, or just more productive, these gifts will help.

What are your favorite personal development gifts this year? Will you be giving any gifts like these? And what’s on your own Christmas list? Share your ideas in the comments below!