FireGestures is a new Firefox extension that enables mouse gestures in the Firefox web browser.

If you've never tried using mouse gestures with Firefox or any other program, FireGestures is a great place to start, offering out-of-the-box functionality along with accessible advanced options.

With FireGestures, you can perform various commands with five types of mouse gestures:

• Mouse Gestures (Move mouse with holding right-click)
• Wheel Gestures (Scroll wheel with holding right-click)
• Rocker Gestures (Left-click with holding right-click and vice versa)
• Keypress Gestures (Mouse gesture with holding Ctrl / Shift key)
• Tab Wheel Gestures (Scrolling wheel on the tab bar)

A default set of gestures is activated upon installation of FireGestures, though you can remap any function to most any gesture. You can also add your own gesture with its own specific function through use of scripts.

We like the FireGestures extension, but we've also become accustomed to having system-wide mouse gestures with programs such as XGestures, and/or the Quicksilver plug-in Abacadabra (with functionality equal to the keypress gestures in FireGestures). Of course those programs are for the Mac only.

We're sure that someone out there has found a good Windows program to implement system-wide mouse gestures...or are we better off with program-specific solutions such as FireGestures?

[via Softpedia]

Okay, maybe saying xGestures is "software we can't live without" is a bit of an overreaction; read on, and we'll let you make the call.

xGestures is a mouse gestures program for the Mac. In case you didn't know, mouse gestures give you the ability to command a program by moving your mouse in tandem with your oft-neglected right-click button (there are other gestures as well, but the right-click button is usually the main trigger). Mouse gestures are as old as the Internet; typically, however, gestures are limited to a specific program (e.g. Opera), and lack the same control outside that program.

With xGestures, you have the ability to assign universal mouse gestures across your entire computer. For example, with xGestures installed, you can hold your right-click button and move your mouse up to create a new Finder window. If you have Firefox open, however, that same gesture will open a new tab. Want to move to the next song in iTunes, but don't want to bring it front and center and click the next button? Simply assign a gesture to move to the next song. (On our machines, you hold down the right-click button, move quickly to the right, and just like that, iTunes changes to the next track).

xGestures is easily customizable, with enough options to make your head spin. Available for a mere pittance ($5) and a guarantee from Download Squad that you'll be wondering how you got along without it. The current version (1.73) has been updated to work with Leopard.

So, is this "software we can't live without?" Maybe that's too black and white. How about "software we would be severely lacking without?" Or possibly, "software that would make for a poorer user experience without?"

Better?