Writers Note: Since writing this blog in January 2011, I have totally ditched using Firefox and started using Google Chrome. Look for a new blog coming soon about my thoughts on use chrome especially with as a independent insurance agent.
We have quite a selection of Internet browsers that we can use now days. I use a collection of several. I am required to use Microsoft Internet Explorer with many insurance related sites simply because that is what they require. Our agency management software at GoVaughn.com Insurance (AMS360 by Vertafore) will only work inside of IE. Hopefully that is going to change soon.
Insurance company websites such as the Progressive foragentsonly.com site are another example of ones that will only work in IE. The insurance industry in general seems to be uniquely woven into the Microsoft Internet Explorer experience to many agents dismay.
The Google’s Chrome Internet browser seems to be working quite well for me. It is fast and looks like a browser I will be using more of in the future.
The browser that I use most often is FireFox. Below are some add in programs that work in conjunction with FireFox. Many even work with Google Chrome but none of them work with Microsoft IE (Internet Explorer). Check them out and let me know which ones you like.
Add-on’s are programs that help your browser do and look the way you want it to. Many times they are free and quite beneficial. Below are a collection of several that I like and use inside of FireFox.
Adblock Plus stops advertisements from appearing on your pages. Sweet and simple. Regain control of the pages you like and not be annoyed by obtrusive online advertising.
IE View – Lets you make FireFox your default browser but then when a site requires IE it will automatically switch to IE and load the site. Example when we need to run our Vertafore Management System AMS360 the site only works in IE. If we type the url in FireFox it automatically invokes IE and loads the site in IE. https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/35/
Readability a simple tool that makes reading on the web more enjoyable by removing the clutter around what you are reading. This is also nice when you want to print a book like PDF of just text on a blog or site. https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/46442/
Screengrab captures what you can see in a window, entire page or just a section. Saves webpages as images either to file or clipboard. https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1146/
Smart Bookmarks Bar this little tool hides bookmarks names and just shows icons so you can squeeze more in. Bookmark names will be displayed on a mouse over. https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/4072/
Easy YouTube Video Downloader Ever need or want to download a YouTube video? This handy tool allows you to do so. It is updated often and works quite well. I use it a lot for church media work. https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/10137/
What are some that you like? Do you use other browsers? Which ones and why? I seem to be totally over using IE (Internet Explorer).
I think its pretty frustrating that so many insurance companies still do not use open standards. We are a sagitta shop and would seriously look at google docs if sagitta integrated with it.
At the office we have IE as our primary browser on all the terminal servers for all insurance stuff but we also have chrome and firefox. I have heard quite a bit about rocksalt and I personally use flock some.
You going to Nationals in April?
Thanks for checking in here Ryan. Haven’t made up my mind about AMSUG NetVU Conference for 2010. It is expensive and cost is really not equal to the benefit the past few years. Also I don’t like that they do not provide free WI-FI to the conference participants.
Ryan thank you for your comments. I am still up in the air about attending Vertafore/NetVu Conference in Orlando in April 2010. The costs verses the benefits are not as high as they once were.
I’ve totally abandoned FireFox for Chrome. IE is so bloated that I wish we could do without it. I have doubts about tunneling as it adds yet another layer but I’ll try it w/ Chrome for 360. My main prob w/ Chrome is the way it uses Flash. It just goes all gunky and stops working sometimes. Sure, rebooting fixes things, but why should we have to do it?
I agree National is not what it was once but I’m going anyway on the off chance that I can make one need heard.
Second on ditching FireFox for Chrome. Once upon a time there were add-ons that I really loved in FireFox, but performance in Chrome and lack thereof in FireFox have made me switch. IE I use for all things carrier/vendor related. If roboform was all set in chrome, I would only move to IE for what wasn’t working. LastPass is a good password keeper alternative, but I won’t move to that for work stuff at this point for collaboration reasons. (another great, free, password tool BTW that isn’t browser based, but has an IE plugin is KeePass)
My favorite Chrome extension – ‘Clip to Evernote’. If you are not an Evernote user, become one. It will integrate w/ you PC, iPhone, Android phone, etc. The ‘Clip to Evernote’ allows you to take a website and create a new note as a URL link or a web clip. I love the web clip for getting a snapshot of that page so that I can read/refer to offline. Good Stuff!
And – another for frustration with the insurance industry and browser standards in general. So many of our problems stem from Carriers requiring goofball trust permissions, are you on the IE version of 2 years ago, etc. Bleh.
~Michelle
Thanks Michelle! I really appreciate your input.