
Mozilla Labs' Jetpack: add features to Firefox using only the tech of the Web - uggedal
http://jetpack.mozillalabs.com/
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pufuwozu
I'm impressed by Mozilla choosing to integrate jQuery and the Firebug Console:
<https://jetpack.mozillalabs.com/api.html>

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bobbyi
John Resig works at Mozilla.

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jeresig
It actually had nothing to do with it - I only found out about this the other
week. I'm not complaining, though!

As I understand it, it was more a logical extension of Ubiquity's
functionality and API (Ubiquity uses jQuery to simplify a number of
interactions).

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andreyf
What a beautiful API for Chrome manipulation! Can't wait for it to be part of
the browser. More generally, it's really exciting to see how seriously Mozilla
takes extensions as an integral part of the web experience. It's cutting edge
in a way Chrome and IE haven't really begun to explore.

One piece that's missing for me, however, is the lack of innovation in
sharing/discoverability of extensions. For example, I'd love to be able to
write a quick script for news.YC, be able to share it, and let others discover
it with <5 clicks...

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ieatpaste
I don't see how this is different than Greasemonkey (other than addition of
HTML/CSS). Is this more of a control issue due to Greasemonkey ported to
Chrome?

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pufuwozu
I may be wrong but this extension shows more API's than Greasemonkey does.
You're able to use Firefox's statusbar, tabs and notifications.

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natrius
It has some extra functionality, but it also looks like it has less. There
doesn't appear to be a way to execute cross-domain XHRs yet.

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abi
Use jquery for cross-domain xhr.

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natrius
That's passable, but Greasemonkey does it in a more secure way than script
tags, and it supports more features, like setting headers.

<http://wiki.greasespot.net/GM_xmlhttpRequest>

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jeresig
This isn't using "script tags," it's using the (relatively) new Cross-Site
XMLHttpRequest: <http://ejohn.org/blog/cross-site-xmlhttprequest/>

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natrius
Oh, that's nifty. I vaguely remember hearing about that, but I guess I'm so
used to having to avoid using shiny new things that when the opportunity
actually arises with extension code, it's hard to recall. Thanks for the info.

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johndagostino
A rival to Google's Chrome Extension API?

[http://dev.chromium.org/developers/design-
documents/extensio...](http://dev.chromium.org/developers/design-
documents/extensions/howto)

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makeee
Looks cool, but of course you would need to get potential users of your addon
to install jetpack first. Will be great when/if this becomes a core part of
the browser.

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abi
Yes, but it will eventually become part of the browser once the API is mature.
Most Mozilla Labs projects have the goal of integrating with Firefox whenever
possible (like Ubiquity).

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jokermatt999
Has there been any word on the slated time for Taskfox? Furthermore, has any
real work been done on the work with command name collisions?

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zemaj
I find it ironic that they're targeting "anyone who can build a Web site" &
their first demo is ad blocking!

