Do you use Firefox? Do you use Facebook? Then there’s good news for you! As of version 17 Firefox now comes with “Social API” which will make it possible for social network features to be accessed straight from Firefox.
Right now it only does Facebook but should eventually include most other major social sites such as Twitter. It makes Firefox a bit like Flock used to be back with Flock 2 before they released the disappointment that was Flock 3.
[Editor’s note: this review was written by Freewaregenius contributor Carbonize. Check out his tech blog here].
So what do you get for Facebook? Well for a start you get your friends list in a sidebar so you can chat with them without being on the Facebook site. You also get extra buttons
in the toolbar. You get four buttons to be precise. The first is the options which lets you hide/show the sidebar or switch off the Facebook integration. You then get
buttons for friend requests, messages and notifications exactly as you do on the website. The buttons work exactly the same as the website as well giving you a clear indication if you have any new notifications/messages/requests and how many.
Clicking on them opens a little box exactly the same as on the website. You also get little pop ups in the bottom left if you get a notification whilst you are browsing.
To enable this you need to go to the official Messenger on Firefox Facebook page and click the Turn On button (see below).
If you try this or if you already use Firefox’s new social features then please share your opinion/experience in the comments section.
