And that's intentional. The Firefox designers set out, from the beginning, to build a bare-bones, lean-as-possible Web browser that would provide only the basic Web browsing functions. Then they created hooks that allowed developers to write extensions to Firefox that would customize the browser to the users' tastes.

That customization is part of the genius of Firefox. I wish all personal-productivity application developers took the same approach. Imagine how much less bloated Microsoft Word would be if Microsoft just provided a half-dozen essential formatting tools -- just enough to write a business letter or school paper -- and then provided downloadable add-ons to do all the other things that people use Word for. This is part of the reason that Firefox is part of my roster of essential free and cheap Windows tools ( which includes one tool that's not so cheap: X1 Desktop Search.

I've been using Firefox for about a year now, since well before its Version 1 release in November. In that time, I've accumulated a stack of 14 extensions that I consider essential to using Firefox:

1. RadialContext replaces the standard context menu, the one you get when you right-click, with an innovative, and very useful, circular one.

2. BugMeNot bypasses compulsory registration at Web sites by linking to BugMeNot.com. When you come to a Web site that requires compulsory registration, you go to the BugMeNot Web site and it provides you with a username and password that'll work. The Firefox extension automates the whole process, but anyone using any browser can go to the Web site and pick up a username and password for a site they want to visit.

Many people consider use of this tool to be dishonest. That's a conversation for another day.

3. FireFoxView. If you're looking at a page in Internet Explorer, you can right-click, select FireFoxView and the page will come up in Firefox.

4. IEView. Same as FireFoxView, but backwards. If you're looking at a page in Firefox, right-click, select View This Page in IE, and the page comes up in Internet Explorer.

5. FSLT. Stands for Focus Last Selected Tab. If you close a tab, the last tab you were looking at before that will come to the front.

6. Session Saver. Shut down your browser with tabs open. Re-open your browser. The same tabs appear.

7. ForecastFox. Get weather information and forecasts displayed in your browser window.

8. Add Bookmark Here. A convenient way to add bookmarks.

9. Flashblock. Replaces Flash objects with a button. Click the button to view the Flash.

10. Copy URL+. Copies a document URL to the clipboard, along with the title and highlighted text.

11. TinyURL Creator. If you're looking at a page with a monstrously long URL, TinyURL will generate a shorter one, suitable for e-mailing, posting to Usenet, telling someone orally, or writing down on a piece of paper.

For example, this is the URL for the Mapquest entry for my company's headquarters in New York:

http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp? searchtype=address&country=US&addtohistory=&searchtab=home &address=600+Community+Drive&city=Manhasset&state=NY&zipcode =11030

Run it through TinyURL and it becomes

http://tinyurl.com/b5o7h

As with BugMeNot, TinyURL Creator simply automates a process anyone can do, from any browser, by going to the Web site TinyURL.com

12. DerBrowserTimer. I love this. It has absolutely nothing to do with Web browsing. It adds a simple timer to your Firefox browser. You can count up, like a stopwatch, or count down, like an oven timer.

I was looking for many months to find a simple Windows desktop timer like DerBrowserTimer. I was surprised how hard they were to find. I found many timers, but they were all too fancy, did far too much, and were too confusing. DerBrowserTimer is just right.

13. Autofill. Automatically fills out HTML forms.

14. FireFTP. An FTP client for Firefox.

For a guide to Firefox, including a review, customization tips, and more extensions, try The Pipeline Guide To Firefox.