While Firefox might be your chosen browser for its speed, useful add-ons, and open-source culture, it's also packed with many useful built-in features.

We dug through Firefox's endless list of features to find you the best, little-known secrets you can start using right now.

1. Customize search with Smart Keywords
A little-known Firefox feature lets you run searches within any given Web site from the browser's address bar. For example, to search for "TouchPad" within Amazon.com, all you'd have to do is type "amazon touchpad" in the Firefox bar.

To create a smart keyword, head to a Web site and locate the search field. Then, right-click the search field and select "Add Keyword for this search...". Create the bookmark, store it in a folder, and your smart keyword is now enabled. Try it with reference sites like Wikipedia and IMDB for quick access to answers.

2. Open multiple Web sites at launch
Who says you can have only one home page? You can set Firefox to open all your favorite Web sites at launch. For example, I'd like CNET, Facebook, and Twitter to launch every time I open my browser.

In Firefox, go to Options > General. In the home page field, enter URLs separated by pipes. For example "http://www.cnet.com | http://www.facebook.com | http://...." and so on. Then, hit "OK" and relaunch your browser to see the magic happen.

3. Bookmark an RSS feed
If you check certain Web sites frequently, especially news sites, you can create a bookmark that automatically updates with new stories from that feed. For example, Firefox stocks your toolbar with a "Latest Headlines" bookmark, but you can create your own.

Right-click the Firefox toolbar and select "Customize...". Then, drag and drop the RSS logo to the toolbar. Now, head to the site you want to subscribe to and click the RSS button in the toolbar. Then, enter the name of the bookmark and click "Add".

4. Take your settings on the go
Instead of re-adjusting Firefox--bookmarks, passwords, etc.--every time you use a new computer, take all your accounts and settings on the go. This is done by simply installing Firefox on a portable USB drive, and inserting into any computer you use.

Follow this guide on using portable apps, and install Mozilla Firefox on your USB drive. A setup screen will help you transfer all your current browser settings.

5. Master keyboard shortcuts and mouse gestures
Firefox has built-in shortcuts to help you browse a lot faster. For example, there are shortcuts for rotating through tabs, re-opening a closed tab, and toggling Private Browsing. View the full list here.

Firefox has mouse gestures, too. Although they're not as elegant as Mac OS X gestures, they'll become second-nature after some practice. For example, Shift + scroll down sends you back, and alt+scroll lets you scroll by line.

For advanced gestures--like reloading a page by drawing a circle with your mouse--check out the FireGestures add-on.

Are you willing to share your best Firefox secrets? Let us know in the comments below.

Originally posted at How To

Whether you're in the market for a simple conversion utility, or you happen to be a full-fledged media junkie, Media Converter for Android should have you covered. It's easy to use, performs well, and converts pictures, videos, music, and other files into just about any compatible format.

One of the things that makes Media Converter work well is that it actually offloads its duties to a remote server rather than performing them on your device. This means a much more lightweight app and increased support for file formats. On the downside, this also means that you must have a data connection for the app to work. While we don't think this should be a deal-breaker, it is worth noting. Otherwise, we were were perfectly happy with Media Converter's performance. It let us easily convert pictures to PNGs, documents to PDFs, even videos to MP3s. And after converting, we were able to send files via e-mail, or Twitter, and even upload directly to Dropbox.

So, if you're interested in turning your Android device into a Swiss Army Knife of file conversion, we highly suggest giving Media Converter a try. At only $2.99 in the Android Market, we think it's a steal.