Linux is one of the operating systems that has seen a constant upturn in popularity for over a decade. The reasons that made Linux such a popular operating system are its stability, robustness, cost, support from community, and speed of computing it offers. However, few people falsely believe that there is a dearth of applications that run on Linux or Linux is not as feature rich as other popular operating systems, such as Microsoft Windows. The reality, there is a wealth of software applications, plug-ins, widgets etc. available for Linux for the people who know how to find and use them.
Following are few crucial plug-ins for the Firefox browser that comes bundled with various Linux distributions:
Adobe Reader: This is required for allowing you to view, read, and print your PDF documents right within your browser without downloading them to the hard disk.
Adobe Flash Player: Flash player enables your browser to display the animated and non-animated clips developed using Adobe Flash software. Indeed, there are several websites that require your browser to be equipped with Adobe Flash Player plug-in for their optimum usage and display.
Java: The Java plug-in for Firefox is required for running a number of Java-based applications and applets from within your Web browsers. Certain Web based applications such as online games require your browser to have the Java plug-in installed for their correct functioning.
QuickTime: Apple QuickTime plug-in is required for enabling your browser to play video and audio clips in a variety of multimedia formats.
Windows Media Player: Microsoft Windows Media Player plug-in is also one of the important plug-ins that are required for real time streaming of the multimedia content (such as video and audio) into your browser window.
Similarly, there are numerous plug-ins that can boost up the utility of your browser. Most of these plug-ins are often available as freeware and/or open-source software though few of them are also sold commercially by various vendors.