meteo fusion

As part of its attempt to haul Firefox out of its speed slump, Mozilla has named and shamed the add-ons that slow Firefox down the most.

The folks over at Firefox HQ recommend checking the list if you're suffering from slow start-up times, and to remove them if you are. It also recommends uninstalling any add-ons that you no longer use, as they could also be responsible for blocking things up.

So who are the biggest culprits?

• FoxLingo, a translation add-on that James rates pretty highly. As add-ons go, it's a good one, but with all the power of Google Translate just a click away, we're not sure that anyone really needs a translation add-on anymore.
• Firebug, a developer's tool that the average user is unlikely to miss. If you're a professional looking for a replacement,your best options are to ask around on development forums. In the meantime, try Fiddler.
• AniWeather, a cute animated weather forecast add-on. In fact, it's probably the animation that slows it down so much. Instead of clogging Firefox up, then, why not take a look at a nice desktop version? If appearance is high on your list, definitely check out Meteo Fusion or YoWindow - you won't be disappointed.
• FlashGot, a mythical download helper. It's pretty popular, so its inclusion on the list is likely to upset quite a few people! If it just has to go however, you're in luck. Just the other day we wrote an article about the best download helpers, and luckily for you, lots of them integrate completely with Firefox. Check them out here!
• FoxClocks, a little extension that adds a selection of world clocks to Firefox. This is one of the easiest replacements to make - even Windows will let you add multiple world times to the task bar in Windows Vista and 7 (right-click on the clock > Adjust Date/Time > Additional Clocks and add the ones you want). Even if you want a separate app, you're spoiled for choice - what about Clock! or ClocX?

There are 50 add-ons on Mozilla's list, but you're sure to be able to find a replacement if you decide to uninstall. If you're having any problems, let us know and we'll try our best to come up with a solution. Alternatively, you could always make the ultimate replacement - how about swapping Firefox for Chrome , IE 9 or Opera?!

In case you hadn't noticed, summer is on its way (at least, it is here in the Northern hemisphere). This means barbecues, beaches and burnt bits. Or at least, that's what we hope.

If you want to make the most of the good weather then you can turn your PC or laptop into a personal weather station so you know exactly when to plan your outdoor pursuits. There are scores of weather forecasting programs available for Windows, and some are more reliable than others. Here's our top five:

The Weather Channel Desktop is a comprehensive desktop weather station with a bevy of prediction tools. You can get hour-by-hour, weekend or 10-day forecasts, including information about ambient temperature, air pressure, humidity and wind direction. The Weather Channel Desktop minimizes to the taskbar, displaying just the current temperature. You can then open it by double-clicking, or right-clicking to navigate the menu.

Meteo Fusion is an altogether simpler weather forecasting tool. The widget-style application stays open on your desktop at all times, showing you the current conditions outside and giving you an up-to-date outlook for the coming days. You can pimp the app with different themes and change the transparency of the interface, so Meteo Fusion looks really cool even when it's baking outside.

YoWindow is by far the most attractive weather app on the block. YoWindow features a colorful, fully-animated window that displays jaw-dropping landscapes, and changes according to actual weather conditions. It displays the current situation, plus temperature, wind, pressure, and humidity. All these conditions are reflected in an customizable animated background – which you can replace with your own photos.

My Free Weather allows you to view the sky in any city in the world and track local weather. You can track a moving storm & weather patterns via satellite and radar. Naturally, you can also view daily and detailed forecasts, local time and date for any location worldwide, plus alerts for severe weather. It also shows other information such as wind speed and direction, humidity and visibility.

Global Weather 3D is the most scientific-feeling application out of the bunch. Instead of displaying the usual geographic map with weather symbols, the program makes use of an attractive, zoom-able, three-dimensional Earth to show the current position of clouds on our planet, marking their density with a color code. You can display geographical textures, day and night zones, and countries' names.

It's always a good idea to check the weather forecast, especially in autumn when it changes so quickly that you can end up having the four seasons in just one day. Meteo Fusion enables you to have a sneak peek at the weather for the next ten days, providing you with a highly detailed forecast that includes temperatures and precipitation possibilities. Plus, it can be customized with downloadable skins and icon sets.