Yoono for Firefox

CNET Editors' review

by: Polina Polishchuk on July 22, 2010

Like its desktop counterpart, Yoono for Firefox lets you access multiple social accounts all in one spot. With the capability to chat on AIM, Yahoo, and Live messenger while surfing your Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr accounts, this Firefox extension is a good choice for people who enjoy constant social updating.

The Web version also supports YouTube, LinkedIn, Friend Feed, and Google Talk. The interface is extremely similar to the desktop version; all of the functions for social Web browsing and Yoono's columns are the same as we had mentioned in our Yoono for desktop review. However, the Firefox version adds extra widgets to the mix. After setting up the social accounts you would like to use with Yoono, you can add six different widgets to maximize your Yoono experience.

With the music widget, Last.fm radio will stream from your Yoono side-bar at the left side of your browser screen. Note that you must be logged into your Last.fm account to use the widget. Unlike desktop Yoono, Web Yoono supports Gmail, Yahoo, and Live in its e-mail widget. This is useful when you need to look at your mail in the side-bar as you interact with your online friends. The news widget connects to your Digg or Google Reader account and streams your feeds. Clicking on each post will enlarge it, while there is an option to open the feeds in a separate window. Once the Web notes widget is installed, highlighting text and right-clicking will add an extra option to the menu: "add to a Web note." Right-clicking on pictures will also show this option. All of your notations will be stored in your Yoono Web notes. The final two widgets, Shopping and Discovery, are not too useful. They are supposed to pull up items and information relating to what you are viewing in your browser. However, the results are often random and simply pulled up because of a particular word. Nevertheless, Yoono for Firefox still has the widgets and the desktop version does not.

Other differences include the option to change Yoono's background color and a sharing feature where you can share an entire page or just a highlighted portion with your online buddies and updates. Choosing this Web version over the desktop one is a matter of personal preference. While the desktop Yoono has its own application, the add-on version holds its account columns in the tab-bar of your browser. It is nice to have your social Web exactly where the rest of your Web browsing occurs, but some may feel like they want these two separate.

Disclosure: Last.fm is a part of CBS Interactive, which also publishes CNET Downloads.