Mozilla publishes name and shame list of slow Firefox add-ons, cracks down on tardy devs

Firefox slow-addons list
Mozilla, continuing its year-long crusade to speed up Firefox startup and shutdown times, has published a name and shame list of the Firefox's slowest add-ons.

The list is just one part of Mozilla's new efforts to highlight slow add-ons, and to help developers make their add-ons more efficient. Over the next two weeks, 'slow performance warnings' will be introduced in the add-on gallery so that users can see, before installation, which add-ons will slow down their browser. If that isn't enough to spur developers into cleaning up their add-ons, Mozilla has also begun reaching out to developers of slow add-ons with tips on how to improve add-on performance. Finally, add-on developers will soon have the ability to perform 'on-demand performance testing,' so that they can test their add-on before it's deployed publicly.

Mozilla reports that the average Firefox add-on slows down Firefox's start-up time by 10% -- which means, if you install 10 add-ons, you will double your start-up time. On fast desktop PCs that kind of slowdown might be negligible, but on older computers, laptops and smartphones, it could be the difference between a 5 and 10 second startup. Mozilla has obviously realized that while massive performance gains might've been made with Firefox 4, the addition of third-party add-ons can destroy any user-perceived improvements.

In other news, Mozilla says that a future build of Firefox will block the installation of add-ons (such as toolbars) by third-party software. Add-ons and toolbars that are bundled in this way will require explicit approval when you next open up Firefox. Hooray!

Mozilla publishes name and shame list of slow Firefox add-ons, cracks down on tardy devs originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 04 Apr 2011 05:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/04/mozilla-publishes-name-and-shame-list-of-slow-firefox-add-ons/

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Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/L01XLy_huCQ/microsoft-calls-for-washington-to-legalize-gay-marriage

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Adblock Plus developer pokes holes in Mozilla's new add-on performance tests

Wladimir Palant, developer of the most popular add-on in the world, Adblock Plus, is also an active contributor to the Planet Mozilla blog community. Over the last few days, in response to Mozilla's new name and shame list of slow add-ons, Palant has been investigating whether Mozilla's testing methods are actually accurate.

Rather surprisingly, it turns out that Mozilla's numbers could be significantly wrong -- and if they're not wrong, the factors that Mozilla uses to tabulate an add-ons final score should definitely be made more transparent.

In the first set of tests, Palant shows that FlashGot's position in the top 10 is probably due to a fault in Mozilla's testing setup, and that add-ons can perform very differently depending on which operating system they're being tested on. In the second analysis, Palant uncovers an irregularity that doesn't seem to have an obvious cause -- but it could be due to an I/O bottleneck on Mozilla's test machines. Basically, even though performance testing of Read It Later is disabled because of a bug, it still (somehow!) manages to record a 14% slow-down on Windows 7.

Palant concludes both analyses by scolding Mozilla for going public with the performance data before its testing methods had been confirmed accurate. It definitely looks like Mozilla has been more than a little reckless, considering the importance of Firefox's add-on ecosystem.

Adblock Plus developer pokes holes in Mozilla's new add-on performance tests originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 08 Apr 2011 05:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/08/adblock-plus-developer-pokes-holes-in-mozillas-new-add-on-perfo/

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Engadget Podcast 277 - 01.20.2012

The Engadget Podcast believes in the future. And for each future to shine more brightly than the one that came before it, the present must do its part to fill its future with knowledge. Knowing this, we've voluntarily blacked out this podcast with the indomitable Marks-a-Lot of education -- education about education, and the derivatives of nesting education within itself. RIYL C-SPAN, Mad Money, Hackers, Bad Lieutenant. The Engadget Podcast approves this message.

Host: Tim Stevens, Brian Heater, Darren Murph
Producer: Trent Wolbe
Music: La Isla Bonita

02:30 - Apple's education announcement: what you need to know
03:45 - Apple launches iBooks 2 e-Textbook platform (video)
11:38 - Apple announces free iBooks Author OS X app for publishing books to the App Store
16:10 - Apple revamps iTunes U and intros dedicated app (video)
20:07 - Federal prosecutors shut down Megaupload file-sharing site, founders charged
00:30:27 - Samsung wasn't interested in buying RIM, still isn't interested in buying RIM
00:32:02 - Google's Q4 results: $2.71 billion profit, $8.13 billion in revenue, Wall Street disappointed
00:40:30 - Kodak files Chapter 11 bankruptcy, expects to complete restructuring by 2013
00:41:00 - Kodak says smile Samsung, you're being sued for infringing five digital imaging patents
00:47:00 - Apple files German lawsuit against Samsung, targets Galaxy S II, nine other smartphones
00:50:52 - Microsoft's Windows 8 hardware requirements: some good, some not-so-good
00:55:17 - One-quarter of South Korean phone owners have a Galaxy S II, according to Samsung
00:56:35 - Sony dashes Dash development: is Bieber's favorite tablet on the way out?
00:57:08 - Yahoo's Jerry Yang quits the company he co-founded, walks away from Alibaba as well
01:01:15 - Introducing our new liveblog viewer!
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Engadget Podcast 277 - 01.20.2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 Jan 2012 17:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/zS54AO6f_nE/

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Magic Feet Charges Keyboards, Mice Wirelessly

Got a Magic Mouse, Magic Trackpad or wireless Apple keyboard? Hate swapping out the batteries once every couple months? Then you have two options. Quit whining (free) or buy the Magic Feet charger from Mobee (€150, or $194). The Magic Feet is an inductive charger for your Mac peripherals. It comes with a battery pack [...]

Source: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/01/magic-feet-charges-keyboards-mice-wirelessly/

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Microsoft Pushes Washington to Legalize Gay Marriage [Microsoft]

Microsoft, along with Nike and RealNetworks, believe Washington's failure to recognize gay marriage has gone on long enough. So they've called out the state government, pushing for legislators to pass the two gay marriage bills currently circulating through their chambers. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/L01XLy_huCQ/microsoft-calls-for-washington-to-legalize-gay-marriage

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T-Mobile's 'Nudge, nudge' bonuses revealed

Walk into any T-Mobile store and dither a bit and you'll find a cavalcade of freebies thrown in. The operator's outlined an "under the counter" bonus to coax fence-dwelling customers to open their wallets. Upgrade to "Unlimited-Premium 5GB" or "Unlimited-Ultra 10GB," wink at the cashier and tap your nose three times (we made the last two up, we admit) and a $15 "Mobile Hotspot" and $5 "MobileLife Album Plus" could appear in your package. In the corporate missive TmoNews scooped above, the company wants to keep these as a secret sweetener, but will add both if you request them directly. We'd suggest you pull your finger out, because when everyone starts asking for them, we can't imagine it sticking around for long.

T-Mobile's 'Nudge, nudge' bonuses revealed originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 Jan 2012 11:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/20/t-mobile-secret-data-bonus/

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The Most Exuberant 404 Error Ever [Humor]

You will never be happier to get a 404 error than if you land on this one from a Russian construction company whose web engineers clearly have a sense of humor. The stick figure dancing is delightful, and the dude bobbing his head along is the icing on the cake. Add it to your best 404 pages list. And you can turn the music off, but you shouldn't because it gets even better towards the end of the song. Dosvedanya everybody! More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/94IZXAUI5PM/the-most-exuberant-404-error-ever

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