There's a pretty cool extension for Firefox that lets you see previews of links in a pop-up window when you mouse-over. Note that you can have it add a little icon next to links when you mouse-over them, so that it's easy to keep out of your way if you don't want them. It's an alternative to opening tabs for links that you want to check out. Something to consider.
http://www.cooliris.com/index.php?s=home