September 4, 2008 at 1:36 pm Post Author: Giania Tags: blogging, browser_speed, debate, description, firefox, gawkermedia, gmail, Goodies, google, google chrome, google labs, ie7, Internet Toys, irc, lifehack, linux, news, Opera, picture, plugins, plug_ins, RSS, structure-of-the-internet, theory, this ·
I realize that everyone’s probably already sick to death of hearing about Chrome, but I thought I’d chime in anyway.
Here’s a memory usage shot of Chrome versus Opera.
Click the image to see the big picture
It’s not really a fair comparison, as the same things aren’t open, but I realized that with the way I have Opera configured, it couldn’t be a fair comparison anyway. I have around 50 RSS feeds, one mail account, and at least one IRC channel which all contribute to the overall memory load Opera exerts on my system. That said, this shot was taken with 3 actual web page tabs open in Opera, and 3 browser extra tabs open (IRC, details for one feed, and the transfers window), and only Gmail and the about:memory pages open in Chrome.
Opera in this instance is using less memory. (WHOOO VICTORY!) Hardly a scathing indictment of Chrome’s use of system resources, as if I had Gmail open in Opera the memory usage stats would undoubtedly be much in favor of Chrome. Which in my mind is simply a strong argument in support of the idea that browser speed is absolutely predicated by the way the browser is used. A new install of Firefox will always be faster than one with plugins added. A new install of Opera should be faster before all the extra features are configured. IE will be faster without toolbars. Etc, etc. The base speed tests and resource usage tests that browser superiority enthusiasts look to for support of their favorite browser (in theory) only indicates the speed or resource usage of the browser at its optimum settings, meaning regular users may never notice a difference between browser speeds or system burden.
The operating system certainly plays a factor as well. Having played with Opera on Ubuntu lately, I noticed that the Windows version of Opera (9.52/9.51) is more stable and less demanding than it is on Ubuntu (7.10, Gnome). If anyone has an advice on how to make Opera and Ubuntu (or more to the point, Flash, Opera and Ubuntu) play nicer together, I’m open to suggestion. I’m actually rather new to this “linux” thing.
Incidentally, I found out about the about:memory feature via Lifehacker. If you haven’t done it already, I strongly suggest using the about:internets (yes plural) feature. :D
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September 4, 2007 at 9:34 pm Post Author: Giania Tags: alpha, experiment, Goodies, Guides, Help the Author, kestrel, my-opera, Opera, plug_ins, widescreen_display, wiki ·
Earlier today I posted the following question:
Incidentally, if anyone can help me figure out how to get my panel display to look like the one shown at the Breeze skin creator’s site, please let me know. I’ve poked around and haven’t found anything like what they’re talking about.
And then I answered my own question by downloading the Kestrel Alpha! The positioning of Panel shortcuts above the mini-browser area is a 9.5 feature, not a hack that I couldn’t figure out. Scratch that! It was merely a feature I had overlooked until now.
To get the Panel display to look like the one below, do the following:
1 - download one of the Breeze skins for Opera
2 - go to Tools > Appearance
3 - in that menu, go to Toolbars and click on the area which contains your panel links.
4 - Select “Placement” as Top
5 - select “Style” as Text Only
6 - Select “Wrapping” as Wrap To Multiple Lines
Hit OK and suddenly you have nearly 25% more width to your panel viewing area!
So the links shown here, like “bookmark”, “mail”, “contacts”, etc are all panel shortcuts, and can all be displayed above the panel display area by a simple display change in the new Opera! It’s a really nice way to conserve screen width, and it doesn’t really cut into the vertical view at all, except on the mini-browser area. Since panel content is generally designed to fit in small spaces anyway, this shift doesn’t hurt at all. If anything, it helps for certain sites which aren’t necessarily meant to be panels, like BugMeNot.
More feedback on Kestrel as I have a chance to play with it. Edit: Hopefully with better information, and not just gross oversights!
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August 21, 2007 at 12:21 pm Post Author: Giania Tags: Articles of Interest, browser_speed, firefox, google, news, Opera, plug_ins, search, structure-of-the-internet, wiki, yahoo ·
In a 4 page article on The Register’s buzzard-bedecked website, writer Andrew Orlowski sits down and drills Opera’s CEO and founder Jon von Tetzchner.
They discuss the issues of compatability and the speed at which web technology grows and where Opera rates with all of it. (See the HowToCreate.co.uk Browser Speed Comparison if you’re curious on how some of the new Opera versions rate for general speed.)
Read the rest of this entry »
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