It used to be the case that bigger was regarded as better, but in recent years there has been a downward trend when it comes to the size of laptop screens. The popularity of netbooks and the like means that there are a huge number of computer owners working with relatively small screens, and this can make browsing the Internet something of a chore. It is something that LessChrome HD 2 can help with.

LessChrome HD is a free extension that is available for Firefox, and once installed it does everything it can to maximize the amount of screen space that is given over to displaying websites. You wonder how this is different from working in fullscreen mode, but after spending a few minutes using the extension, it quickly becomes clear.

The problem with using fullscreen mode in Firefox is that you need to either press a key or activate a menu option to instigate it. Once the mode is active, the whole of your screen is occupied by web pages, meaning that there is no room to display application navigation elements such as the address bar -- to access these you will need to activate the same toolbar option or press a key again

LessChrome HD is different in that it hides the bookamrks toolbar and the toolbar containing the address bar and navigation buttons. This in itself saves some space, but even more is gained by moving tabs up to the Firefox title bar. Should you need to access tabs, they are always available, but other, less frequently-used screen elements are hidden. They are not far away though; all you need to do to temporarily re-show the address bar and bookmarks toolbar is to hold the mouse over a tab for a fraction of a section -- as soon as you move the mouse away, the toolbars are hidden once again.

Whether you are working with a small-screened netbook or simply want to benefit from distraction-free web browsing, you can download this free extension by paying a visit to the LessChrome HD 2 review page.