While I have always known that other web browsers such as Firefox 3 and Opera are far superior to Internet Explorer, I have never made the switch from the Microsoft programme.

First Cogitum Co-Citer, free text acquisition software, does not work with other browsers. Secondly I just could not be bothered to make the switch.

I have very simple needs on the Internet - information, rather than chit chat or the multimedia 'experience'.

I did not have the need or the time for all the bells and whistles offered by the other browsers - until now.

Firefox 3, the latest version of a browser that is challenging the Explorer dominance, makes it much more easier to surf the Internet, and collect and classify information. What is more, the Clipmarks plug-in collects information in much the same way as Cogitum Co-Citer but has an additional advantage. Clipmarks stores the information on a personal space on the Internet, created for you when you register the free plug-in.

As a person who sometimes works from three computers during the same day, and is sometimes on the road, having access to this collected information in one spot is a big bonus.I no longer have to agonise about where I have stored a particular piece of information, or about integrating what I have collected on three different computers.

However, the downside is the Clipmarks site is not yet user friendly, and you have to go through some unnecessary clicks to get to your stored text. You also have to make some unnecessary clicks to ensure that your text does not end up on Clipmarks' public blog space.

I am sure the people behind this useful feature will implement a system of user defaults to cut down on the time it takes to store and retrieve text. Another missing feature is the ability to publish collected text as a clickable html page, which can be stored on a computer for reference.

The developers should make these changes fast, or users will go elsewhere.

Clipmarks works in Internet Explorer as well. However with the additional features available on Firefox, why not use the Ferrari instead of the Ford?

Another plug-in I like is Hyperwords, which has already started a buzz on the Internet for its ability to turn text and other features on a page into searchable items. Hyperwords (www.hyperwords.net) turns selected words or phrases into hyperlinks of a sort.

Frode Hegland, the man behind Hyperwords, says his aim is to improve how networked computers help us learn, think and communicate, a bold statement.

"I assert that we don't interface with computers - we interface with information - and people - increasingly through the mediated information environments of networked computers," he writes on his aptly named site www.liquidinformation.org

" I feel that this connection - this flow - between people - information, and tools can benefit from becoming more liquid."

I also quote the following, because the concept sounds similar to what

other developers are trying to do in creating the ''semantic web''.

"In order to make informed decisions in the course of solving problems together, it's not enough to rely on automated systems - we need to get the right information into our heads," Mr. Hegland says. "To this end I believe in giving the knowledge worker an environment where he or she can more flexibly navigate through information, change the way it's portrayed and relate it to other information."

You be the judge on whether Mr. Hegland has achieved this goal by making the web more controllable and interactive in a way that boosts your productivity online. Hyperwords is currently only available as an add on for Firefox.

Another add-on that has raised a buzz is PicLens, which turns your monitor into a 3-D viewing platform for images and videos. Using PicLens (www.piclens.com), videos on YouTube are suddenly transformed into a scrollable matrix on a screen. Click on one, and it begins playing.

The software, which bills itself as providing "immersive views across the eeb" makes it easier to visualise and sort large quantities of multimedia data. The feature currently also works with Amazon.com

"Neat" or "Cool" as we used to say in the early days of the Internet.

These are just some on the notable add-ons that make Firefox a great browser. Of course all the other browsers will soon come on board with many of the features. But with a library of some 5,000 extras such as these, Firefox is the one to beat.

Send any comments to elamin.ahmed@gmail.com