Eat your heart out, Firefox ! Well, maybe not. Internet Explorer 7 , the current version of Microsoft's browser and the one that comes with Windows Vista, can do a lot of the stuff Firefox can do. One of those things is the ability to handle add-ons (formerly "extensions" in Firefox).

The problem with IE add-ons is that most of them cost money. Finding decent, free ones is hard enough; even searching for free IE add-ons turns up scores of IE toolbars and little else. Toolbars! It seems like virtually every company with a product of some sort has an IE toolbar, evidently trying to capture the success of the ubiquitous Google Toolbar. Do we really need toolbars for casual game publishers, or for jazz radio?

Buzz up!on Yahoo!

We spent hours digging through the toolbars and other freebies to find ten totally free IE add-ons that don't suck. We split them into two categories: Useful Stuff and Fun Stuff. Each entry links to the Windows Marketplace page where you can find more information and a download link for each add-on.

Find as You Type
Hit CTRL-F in Firefox and type a word, and the browser parses each letter and finds the combination of characters instantly, if it exists on the site that you're searching. IE, however, has a lame search dialog box. Not anymore! Find as You Type replaces the IE search dialog with an interface much like that in Firefox, with largely the same functionality.

If you find the sequence punch, but it's not the instance you were looking for, navigate through all instances of your search string with the Next and Previous buttons. Click "Highlight All" to surround each instance with a bright, yellow glow. You can even match the case of the search string you type in if you wish to.

IE7 Open Last Closed Tab
Did you ever accidentally close a tab, and, having no idea what the URL was, doubt if you'd ever find it again? With this add-on installed, just hit ALT-X and the tab you closed most recently will reappear, as if by magic. It's simple and elegant.

IE Snapshot
With this add-on, you can capture parts of pages or entire pages as one of several file types: JPG, GIF, and even PDF. There's nothing to install; just run the executable, punch in the URL you wish to capture, and use the GUI to capture it as you please.

IE Snapshot runs on its own, separate of Internet Explorer—although it does use the browser within its own GUI. A Configuration tab lets you choose the file type and selection specs, and then you're ready to capture single or multiple pages in just a few clicks. IE Snapshot is perfect for creating presentations out of Web pages, or for printing your favorite pages with parameters that you control.

ieSpell
This is a must-have if you rely on spell checkers. Stop looking like a semiliterate dork in the forums with ieSpell, a universal spell checker that allows you to check your spelling in any text entry window.

ieSpell integrates itself with the right-click context menu. Just type in your text on any Web text entry field, right-click it, and click Check Spelling. ieSpell takes it from there, pointing out misspelled words and even making suggestions; it works much like the spell checker in any word processor.

WOT for Internet Explorer
A security program, WOT busts sites that try to assault you with spyware, adware, viruses, phishing, browser exploits, and other unsavory Web tactics. WOT rates sites, and allows you to help rate them, in terms of trustworthiness, vendor reliability, privacy, and child safety. WOT warns you when you try to interact with a site that could be harmful.

WOT uses its users ratings and also other trusted sources to keep your browser from becoming a liability when you hit the wrong site. It even integrates with Google, so that you'll see a WOT symbol next to each link (green for a good site, yellow for caution, and red for don't go there, sister!) Wondering what it stand for? Why, Web of Trust, of course.

FoxyTunes for Internet Explorer
Firefox users love this one, and you will, too. FoxyTunes lets you control just about any media player it finds on your PC. It presents a single, universal media control interface on your Web browser, and you can pump through tracks, choose songs, and perform other playback tasks.

Besides playing your own tracks, you can engage in some real-time music discovery, last.fm style. Just listen to music with FoxyTunes, and it'll learn your musical tastes. Then, click the FoxyTunes Planet button for recommendations. Learn about artists you might never have even heard of through FoxyTunes.

Loki for Internet Explorer
Loki is a little bit different. It's a Wi-Fi powered, GPS navigated toolbar that lets you find the nearest, say, Italian restaurant from your Wi-Fi-enabled notebook—as if the notebook were a Magellan GPS car navigation system. Yeah, it's a strange idea, but bear with me.

Skyhook has what it calls WPS, for Wi-Fi Positioning System, which gives Loki your physical location. Loki incorporates that data into your searches and other Internet activities, up to and including sharing your location via email or SMS.

Give Loki a try the next time you're traveling; you definitely won't need that Magellan.

PicLens for Internet Explorer
PicLens turns Web browsing into a visceral, 3D experience. Just install it, head to a PicLens-supporting site, and click the little Play button on any picture or movie. Suddenly you can browse the site via a virtual wall of photographs, such as this site with pics of my girlfriend, Charlize Theron.

Yeah, she digs me.

The best part about PicLens is those pics are constantly moving as you drag them about with your mouse. Click on one to be taken to its Web page, if there's a site associated with it. After you've experienced PicLens, the rest of the Web will be dull, dry, and old.

YouTube Downloader
This little cheater lets you download video from YouTube , and a number of other, similar sites around the Web. Just punch in a URL and it's off to dig up the video. Convert YouTube video into stuff like iPhone, PSP, WMV, XVid, and others.

You can even convert files after the download process is complete.

Finally, grab those undownloadable videos from YouTube or some other unsuspecting, viral site and make them your own. Just watch out for the MPAA and its power lawyers...

Crawler Fun Ball
Did you really think we'd let you leave without foisting upon you something you can actively play with? This is the one toolbar I let slide, allowing it to run in my browser (unless you count FoxyTunes).

Choose your settings upon installation (basically a bunch of borderline-adware stuff) and launch IE. Suddenly, a ball will bounce all over your desktop. You can grab it with the mouse and whip it about whenever you feel like it.

The rest is pretty vanilla. There's a search bar, customizable of course. There's email settings and other stuff. Entertain your recipients by making them believe you've gone mad—by including email smilies!

But do enjoy the fun ball!

Source: ExtremeTech

Taimur Asad (The Microsoft "Wow" Blog!)