ChromaTabs Plus 3.0.0 Beta for Firefox 4 is here

• Added support for Firefox 4.x but no longer supports Firefox 3.x. It would have been too confusing and time-consuming to maintain two different interfaces.  Use version 2.3.0 for Firefox 3.6.x.
• Tab backgrounds can now be any solid color, transparent, or anywhere in between to integerate better with translucent Firefox 4 themes.
• Removed choice of solid or clear “close tab” buttons. Now reverts to the Firefox default which is clear in FF4.

The new beta can be downloaded from the Addons site. Scroll to the section labeled “Beta Channel.”

Liquid Tabs 1.3.1

Liquid Tabs has been uploaded to Addons.Mozilla.Org.  You will be able to download it from here.

Here’s what’s new:

• Updated settings window
  • Instead of vague sliders, you can use textboxes to directly specify the time  (in milliseconds) for tabs to open or close.
  • Similarly, replaced the frame rate (FPS) slider with a textbox.  Also added the word “maximum” because there is too much going on in Firefox during page open/close (especially with several other extensions loaded) to guarantee a minimum frame rate.
• bugfix:  Settings would be zeroed out when re-opening the settings window under Linux.
• bugfix: “High Priority” setting was not loaded when the browser loaded.

On Headings, Courses, and Marks

I’ve been a Reddit member for the past 3 years now, but only recently did I discover the /r/StarTrek  subreddit.   I came across a comment about how “bearing 310 mark 215” came up unusually often throughout the different Star Trek series.

“Oh, really?” I wondered.

Lately I’ve been trying to learn to write Android apps but I quickly found that I needed a refresher in Java.   I learned C++ and Java in college, like many CS students, but aside from a short stint with C# at work,  my knowledge of the language has waned over the years.    When I revisited that post on Reddit a few days later, I came up with an idea to bring everything together:

Introducing Liquid Tabs

Liquid Tabs is my newest extension and a continuation of the Smoothly Close Tabs extension I published earlier this year.

Simply put, Liquid Tabs animates the opening and closing of tabs in Firefox.

Give it a spin, and let me know how it goes!

ChromaTabs Plus 2.3 is here

Colorful background not included.  But the colorful tabs are!

With a brand new year underway, and a brand new Firefox out the door, a new and improved version of ChromaTabs Plus has arrived.

• Firefox 3.6 compatible
• Added tolerance when calculating “most frequent” color.  For example, the Google icon should now be green instead of grey.
• Separate opacity/saturation/luminosity values for selected tab, unselected tab, active tab (on mouseover)
• Added option to do nothing if a site icon is missing. The alternative would be to pick a color unique to the site’s domain name
• When coloring based on domain name, offer the option for different subdomains to share the same tab color.
• FIXED: “color is null” error message
• FIXED: No longer need to restart browser or hover over tabs for new appearance settings to take effect.

Visit the ChromaTabs Plus home page for a closer look.

ChromaTabs Plus 2.2

ChromaTabs Plus 2.2 screenshot

I am pleased to announce the long-overdue update of ChromaTabs Plus. 

• Firefox 3.5 compatible
• Can now use the most frequent color instead of taking the average.  You must enable this in the settings. 
• Transparent Close Tab buttons
• Improved compatibility with Tree Style Tab.  The vertical splitter is colored, too.
• Bugfix: Tab colors are preserved when restoring sessions.
• Bugfix: Tabs are colored when using Open Link In New Tab

Download the new release from Addons.Mozilla.org.

Visit the ChromaTabs Plus home page for a closer look.

ChromaTabs Plus is born

I took a break from my Mars 3D hobby this week to bring one of my favorite Firefox 2 extensions into the Firefox 3 era.

Please give it a try and let me know what you think of it!

ChromaTabs Plus Homepage

More 3D Phoenix Mars Lander pictures

Over the last couple weeks, I’ve put together over two dozen anaglyphs from Sol 0 (landing) through Sol 11.  I’m particularly satisfied with the results of this Sol 11 picture:

All the images can be seen in my Flickr set. And Flickr members (free!) can enjoy the images in their full glory–up to 1024×1024 resolution!

Phoenix Mars Lander footpad in 3D: Take 2

This is much better.  Credit goes to this page for the PaintShopPro-specific how-to.

NASA Phoenix Mars Lander in 3D

This won’t be as compelling as those beautiful pseudo-color panoramas that the fine folks at JPL and the University of Arizona will be putting together in the next couple days.  Nevertheless, this 3D image I’ve put together gives you a sense of standing in the northern polar region of Mars and looking down at your feet.  Click on the image to get the full-size version from Flickr.

The picture is composed from images (1,2) captured by both cameras of the Surface Stereo Imager on Sol 0.  I used Paint Shop Pro to merge the images and an old pair of cardboard red-and-blue 3D glasses to test the results.