jemjabella

My Own Little Browser War

If you'd have asked me lately what browser I'm using, the answer would have varied on an almost daily basis. I've been trying to find THE perfect browser for me but each one has pissed me off in varying degrees of time...

• Firefox - my browser of choice since about 2005ish (possibly longer? it was still Firebird back then). I know, crazy long time to be loyal to a piece of software. Why did I ditch it? Because the latest version seemed to be causing memory hogging issues, instability, etc
• Chrome - my browser of choice for about 2 weeks. Why did I ditch it? Chrome's add-ons are not as good as Firefox and the lack of NoScript was annoying. Google need to stop blocking the technology that is required to make a NoScript version for its browser.
• Namoroka - the unofficial 64-bit build of Firefox. My browser of choice for a few months. Why did I ditch it? Lack of Flash support, didn't like some Firefox add-ons. Otherwise speedy and less hoggy than normal Firefox; I would have stuck with it if it hadn't required me to constantly open Opera/Chrome to play Flash stuff.
• Opera - 10.61 is much less irritating than previous version of Opera, and although it seems to use more memory than Firefox overall it's faster opening and at rendering web pages. I like the integrated IRC client. Why did I ditch it? Widgets run as separate programs, instead of like FF add-ons. Some web pages render incorrectly. Doesn't save login details for sites properly.
• Flock - yuck! Didn't even use it for half an hour. Why did I ditch it? I found it buggy and annoying. The Facebook sign in thing didn't work and it was bloated with crap I didn't want or need.

So where am I now? Well, it occurred to me this morning that I upgraded my RAM not long back (from 2GB to 4GB) so I'm giving Firefox another spin. If it doesn't work out for me now, who knows where I'll go from here... the future looks Internet Explorer shaped, and I'm not that insane!

Update 31 Aug: After posting this last night, I discovered the whole Opera key login thing and how it remembers passwords. I'm now back in Opera :D

No, I don't want your shitty add-ons

What the hell is it with software companies thinking it's OK to bombard you with additional junk packaged up with their programs already?

I finally got 'round to buying Windows 7 for my laptop (after finding it plain awesome on my AA1) so did the whole back-up files, etc and reinstall malarky yesterday afternoon. This meant that I had to re-download Firefox, Thunderbird, etc. Nearly every piece of software I've wanted to install has tried to give me extra crap on top.

Downloaded Foxit and it tries to install a browser toolbar, do something with the Ask search engine, and spam me with bloody eBay shortcuts on my desktop (even after I've told it I don't want them, it asks again!) Avast anti-virus now comes with Google Chrome (which I was planning on installing anyway, but that's not the point) and then Adobe installs a Firefox plugin, download manager extension and tried to get me to add some McAfee shit on the download web page too.

I always customise every step of the installation process with EVERY application I install, so no fear of ending up with unnecessary bulk, but your average user isn't going to bother with that. It's no wonder people complain about their Windows boxes getting bogged down with bloat.

DO NOT WANT!

Optimising Windows 7 for the AA1

I finally reached the end of my tether with Linpus on my netbook last week. Although it has the potential to be a nifty, quick operating system, it's so restrictive that it makes the iPhone look good ;) Despite there being guides detailing how to unlock certain parts, remove unnecessary bloat etc, any power user soon gets itchy fingers trying to have things their way.

So, I considered my options... and decided to go with Windows 7. Ubuntu do a nice netbook remix but I've seen Win7 on Karl's netbook and have been fairly impressed. Not wishing to just fangirl over another Windows OS without even trying it I got him to flatten Linpus and put it on a few days ago. Colour me impressed. Bearing in mind that the default spec of the AA1 is a single core 1.6GHz Intel Atom with 512MB RAM, it fairly nips along with the whole Aero kit and kaboodle turned on — transparency, special effects and everything.

With that said, a few small optimisations later and this thing is flying. I'd even say (without benchmarking, you must understand) that it's faster than Linpus. So, what have I tweaked and what should you do?

• Turn off Aero — it looks good but with only 512MB RAM you do notice the difference between having it on and off. No need to go back to Windows 95 effects though, the Win7 Basic theme is fast and still looks shiny. You can take this further by telling windows to Adjust for Best Performance in the control panel, but I like to customise each option.
• Install Chrome — Chrome is a much faster browser than the rest on offer. It's not my first choice normally but I ran Firefox under Linpus and it crippled the netbook.
• Turn off the browser cache — as I have a relatively speedy connection, it's faster to fetch images/etc from the server each time than wait for them to be written to the SSD. HOWEVER, this is not ideal for long term browsing because it kicks the arse out of web servers, and bandwidth limits. Karl has an alternate solution that makes use of portable Firefox and relocating your cache folder, I'll get him to write it up.
• Disable services — don't do this if you don't know what you're doing (insert proper disclaimer here). I personally disable the Firewall (our router has one built in), Windows Search, Windows Updates, etc. You'll find help with which services do what job elsewhere on the 'net.
• Use ReadyBoost — I've an 8GB SD card which I was using for extra space on Linpus, although I didn't necessarily need it (I only use it for IRC and coding when Izz is asleep on my lap or on the boob anyway) so I have dedicated 2GB of it to ReadyBoost. I can't tell yet if this has made any positive difference, but it can't hurt, right?

With all that said, Windows 7 is definitely netbook friendly. Considering the trend of OSes and programs getting more bloated with each version, it's odd to be running something so new and actually noticing a positive speed difference. I'm considering buying the cheapo XP upgrade version and popping it on the Dell, too.

Your Operating System is a Tool

With all jobs, you find professionals with a preferred set of tools. A surgeon works best with a scalpal rather than a hammer; a carpenter with a plane rather than a bag of plaster mix. Sometimes, these tools come in different forms... a rubber mallet is still a hammer, but is better for jobs where a softer 'hit' is required; likewise, you wouldn't eat your dinner with a garden fork.

Like hammers, forks, planes, an operating system is just a tool. Irrelevant of which one you pick, it's purpose is to facilitate the use of programs and the completion of tasks. It manages your hardware and generally makes things work.

After some to-ing and fro-ing, weighing up my options, etc; I have decided that my tool of choice — my operating system of choice — is Windows XP. Linux may be the swiss army knife of the OS world but it's no use if you have to spend 3 hours trying to get the blade out (make the damned menu work). It's no use if it comes with pliers when you really could do with a pair of scissors (running Wine or a VM just to play an old game).

Fed up of feeling hemmed in, and out of control of my own operating system, I reformatted and reinstalled WinXP yesterday morning. I like to know what my OS is doing at any exact moment, and I don't running Ubuntu. Sure, it's giving up, but I don't mind being a Microsoft bitch if it gives me my peace of mind back.