The Mozilla Firefox web browser has a really annoying safety feature where the version control system for Add-Ons (aka Extensions) won’t allow them to be installed on a higher version of Firefox than they’ve been tested on and approved for.

In theory this is a very good idea. The thought is that when new versions of Firefox come out, older versions of Add-Ons may not be compatible with the changes in the browser, and may then cause errors or system instability.

In reality most of the changes to the browser itself in dot releases (eg. from 3.0 to 3.1) are relatively benign and they rarely change anything related to most Add-Ons. This is not an issue if you only use add-ons created by proactive developers because they are generally quick to release compatible versions shortly after the browser update is released. But not all the time!

I have discovered two ways that you can get around this problem, and in my experience doing this over the past two years, I have never yet had an add-on that is marked as incompatible that didn’t work with the latest official and beta Firefox releases.

Here’s how you can do it yourself:

1. Install the Add-on Compatibility Reporter: “After installing this Add-On your incompatible extensions will become enabled for you to test whether they still work with the version of Firefox or Thunderbird that you’re using”. You can also report back to Mozilla whether there are any problems or not. This is a quick and easy way to make officially incompatible extensions work with your version of Firefox. I have only just started using this tool, so I don’t yet have any good data on how well it works.
2. Hack your Add-Ons: The Add-Ons available from the Mozilla Add-On Repository are simply container files (similar to .zip or .msi files) that contain a bunch of other files. You can use 7zip to open those containers, and then use a text editor to edit the “install.rdf” file contained within to change the version control information. Here’s a step by step tutorial:
   • Find your desired add-on from https://addons.mozilla.org/
   • Right click on the “Add to Firefox” link and save the file to your desktop
   • Install 7zip
   • Right click on the .xpi file you downloaded to your desktop, choose “7zip”, then choose “Open Archive”
   • Right click on the file “install.rdf” in the 7zip window, choose “Edit”
   • In your text editor search for some code that looks like “3.0.*“.
   • The number indicates the maximum version of Firefox that the add-on is officially compatible with. Edit this number to be something larger than the version you are trying to use it with. For example, if you are using Firefox 3.5, change this code to “3.5.*“
   • Save the file and close the 7zip window. Choose yes when you are asked if you want to update the archive.
   • Drag and Drop the .xpi file onto a Firefox window, and follow the prompts as required.

That’s it, you’re done. After restarting Firefox you should now have your favorite extension up and running again!

Note that while I have never had a problem in over two years of doing this, there is a risk that you could corrupt your installation of Firefox. You do so at your own risk and please don’t hate me if you have problems!

Good luck and be sure to let me know how it works out for you!

Amazon has announced a new version of the very popular Kindle eBook reader, officially called the Kindle DX Wireless Reading Device. The new version of the device has access to Global Wireless services and is available in over 100 countries.

The major difference between the new product and the older version is the size of the screen; it was upgraded from 6 inches on the earlier Kindle to 9.7 inches on the DX. It has storage capacity for over 3500 books and lots of other really cool features. The 6-inch Kindle is already the bestselling product across all of Amazon, and I expect that the Kindle DX will also be extremely popular.

The 9.7″ Kindle DX with Global Wireless is available for pre-order for $489 at www.amazon.com/kindledx and starts shipping on January 19th.

There are over 400,000 Books in Kindle eBook format available for download at Amazon!

I was playing around in the Split Toning panel in Adobe Lightroom the other day after reading a blog post over at the X=Blog called “Making the Split – Split Toning for the rest of us” when I recalled an idea that I had previously considered that would make it easy to change the sky in an image from white to blue, but had never acted upon.

Split Toning is most commonly used in Black and White photography, and certainly the most well known use is to create Sepia toned prints. These are those old fashioned style images that have a relatively uniform brown (sepia actually) color cast across the entire image. There are many other uses, but most people have never heard of them.

Quoting from the X=Blog article I referenced above, the Lightroom Split Toning panel is very simple, and “all it really does is produce a uniform color cast over an image’s highlights, shadows or both.” You don’t have to do anything to the shadows if you only want to impact the highlights, or vice versa.

For example if you have an image that includes a white (or very light) sky that you would really rather be blue, you can apply a uniform blue color cast over only the brightest parts of the image, called the highlights, while leaving the shadow areas alone. This will predominantly affect the white sky, but may also impact any other light colored areas of the image. This trick also works very well if you want to make water in your images look more blue if it is white or gray (possibly due to glare or reflections of a white sky).

Example Images:

The first example is an image where I used the effect to turn a white sky blue, as described above.

The second example is an image where I used the effect to add a little bit of blue to the water to give the image some punch. This use is much more subtle, but I love the power that it adds to my toolkit!

“OD Vivid Sky” Lightroom Develop Presets – FREE

I have created a series of Lightroom Develop Presets that make use of this effect, and I’m providing them here for free for your downloading pleasure. There are three different strengths to make your skies Blue, and another three to add a sunset glow to your images. Note that these presets are just starting points and you may have to salt them to taste to make them work with your images.

In particular you may find that anything in your image that is on the lighter side of average will end up with a color cast. to help combat that I have also provided a free Local Adjustment Preset called “OD De-Bluify” that you can use with the Adjustment Brush to counteract the blue color cast in specific areas of the image. I used this to De-Bluify the Swainsons Hawk in the first example image, but did not use it on the power pole. If you look you will easily see the blue color cast on the effected areas of the pole. This may bother you, or it may not. It’s up to you whether you feel the need to fix it. I also used it to clean up the Red-necked Grebe in the second example image.

Download the Free Lightroom Presets

• OD Vivid Sky (Develop Preset)
• OD De-Bluify (Local Adjustment Preset)

Each of these downloads includes a readme file that includes some information on how and where to install these presets. For more information you can simply do a Google Search for “Install Lightroom Presets” and you will surely find dozens of articles that will help.

Please feel free to ask questions or provide some feedback about how you are using these presets, or if you have any suggestions to make them better!!