Hard News by Russell Brown

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Hard News: Safari 4 beta: seriously quick

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  • Morgan Nichol,

    No Chrome on the Mac for a while yet, unfortunately.

    That strikes me as retarded. Given it's based on webkit, shouldn't it be about the easiest port ever?

    Maybe it's something to do with the process per tab thing.

    It'll be interesting to see how the two measure up -- although the first few benchmarking efforts seems to suggest that Safari 4 is faster than anything, ever.

    Chrome will steal that. Then Opera will claim they had it all along too. Hippies.

    Auckland CBD • Since Nov 2006 • 314 posts Report Reply

  • Lucy Stewart,

    This works very smoothly on a 2.4GHz iMac, but I wonder if it'll be so sweet on a Windows PC, or an older Mac, especially one with not much memory installed -- the beta is presently hogging a lot of the 2GB I'm packing. We'll see how it goes when I have 100 tabs open.

    Well, that rules it out for me then. I have to make a concerted effort to keep fewer than 100 tabs open in Firefox, generally. If it wasn't for the goodness that is Session Manager, I'd go nuts every time it crashed from memory-hogging (i.e. about once a week.) And, yeah, I have an old computer (1.6 GHz single core, 1GB RAM) but Firefox does the same thing on our desktop and that's significantly newer and faster. If they've managed to avoid the memory problem with the new version of Safari, that will be *ace*.

    Oh, and I generally find the problem is less ads (except for the Herald website and their &$%$^ auto-play videos) and more embedded video clips, which are often auto-loading and pretty much everywhere these days.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 2105 posts Report Reply

  • Rich of Observationz,

    How on earth do you find stuff in 100 tabs? I find it's getting cluttered over about 5. If I find anything I expect to need to refer to I favourite it (in Google, so I can see it from home/work).

    Back in Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 5550 posts Report Reply

  • Neil Graham,

    I have a somewhat ...erm... other than normal way of thinking. My attention span is pretty poor but I seem to be able to deal with many many things about as well as one or two. Consequently I tend to have a decent number windows open.

    Right now I have 61 tabs on this version of Firefox, A mere 5 on the Linux box, and 28 tabs on Safari on the Mac. (three monitors, one for Each of OsX, Ubuntu, WinXP) and some Synergy magic to in the darkness bind them.

    As for finding things, I think it's a spacial awareness thing. Like a messy room (which this room well qualifies) I still know where things are.

    I'll be interested in how the new Safari works out, I have a PPC mac mini with 1 gig. Some of the new things do indeed make it chug.

    Christchurch • Since Nov 2006 • 118 posts Report Reply

  • Sacha,

    Yes, spatial awareness is what I was thinking - I know it's the tab next to that other one, about halfway along the row. Mind you, I could just get onto installing a feedreader and my browsing behaviour might change.

    Ak • Since May 2008 • 19745 posts Report Reply

  • Zippy Gonzales,

    100 tabs? Can't wait for wetware eh?

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 186 posts Report Reply

  • Jason Kemp,

    I went to have a look at the Foo videos on the media 7 blog and the TVNZ site insists on wanting to load some kind of Windows media extension. As I'm on a Mac using Safari I find this a bit disconcerting. (Pretty sure that only works on a PC meaning the Foo vids are PC only?)

    Is there a way to view them on Safari & Mac ?

    Have been trying to switch to Mac for the last year but that kind of thing makes it hard.

    I used to be able to watch Media 7 videos on the Mac but haven't checked the new season so hope that is OK.

    Over n the PC which I still have to use for some things I've found that Firefox 3 sucks even more memory than it used to and so have been using Opera mostly which I like. The short cuts dialer feature sounds very similar to that new Safari feature.

    I understand from various web groups that the Firefox problems are known and they are trying to sort this out.

    I did try Google Chrome for a while but its update process killed my system and so I uninstalled it for now.

    Really what most of us want is a browser that takes the least overhead and allows us to use some other programmes. Some of us obviously more than others.:)

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 368 posts Report Reply

  • Jason Kemp,

    Just checked Media 7 / on demand still works on the Mac

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 368 posts Report Reply

  • Gareth,

    I don't like the "tabs on top". My mouse doesn't expect them to be there... too easy to close one by mistake, but the window overflow cascade is much nicer.

    No problems with Mail here, but I'm not running any add-ons/hacks. And it is fast...

    Bucolic in the backblocks… • Since Jan 2008 • 269 posts Report Reply

  • jon_knox,

    big thumbnails of my 12 most-visited sites

    Again an old Opera feature. Configurable. 24 works well, 30 is looming large.

    Hmmm...Opera users hippies & weirdos. I would have thought both of those terms were badges of honour to the Mac crowd, especially any from Grafton.

    What's the matter Morgan, is the stench of Broadway getting to you?

    Belgium • Since Nov 2006 • 464 posts Report Reply

  • kmont,

    Am I the only person that dislikes the Powershop banners? Especially the one with the plugs that seems to capture my cursor with a tractor beam.

    I like those ads, both of 'em (I even clicked through and the design of the site is nice too). What I hate hate hate is flashing side banners, they can feck right off.

    wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 485 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown,

    I went to have a look at the Foo videos on the media 7 blog and the TVNZ site insists on wanting to load some kind of Windows media extension. As I'm on a Mac using Safari I find this a bit disconcerting. (Pretty sure that only works on a PC meaning the Foo vids are PC only?)

    You;ll be needing the free Windows Media components for QuickTime. Works perfectly.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Lucy Stewart,

    How on earth do you find stuff in 100 tabs? I find it's getting cluttered over about 5. If I find anything I expect to need to refer to I favourite it (in Google, so I can see it from home/work).

    Having the tree-style tabs feature enabled helps a lot; it lists the tabs down the side, and threads them when you open links on a page. Because they're only one line of text in a list, you can usually see thirty-odd tabs at once, and if you're threading by subject (you can drag them into threads as well) then it's easy to keep track.

    Basically I like it because it means I can switch between things and come back to them later without waiting for re-loading. I keep all my favourite pages open and just refresh them when I need to. It's a habit, I suppose; I like it better than bookmarks. The memory useage tradeoff is generally worth it.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 2105 posts Report Reply

  • Jason Kemp,

    You;ll be needing the free Windows Media components for QuickTime. Works perfectly.

    Thanks for that tip Russell. It does work and so I can now watch those Foo videos. Might be good to have that tip somewhere on the Media 7 blog.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 368 posts Report Reply

  • BenWilson,

    AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) - applications like GMail and Google Docs that run various forms of editor and the like in the local browser.

    This wasn't really anticipated when Javascript was invented.

    I guess not, but still, I'm doing pretty much exactly what GMail does, using AJAX for my own mail server, and seriously, it still doesn't need to be that fat. Fat must just be back in fashion. I guess steadily rising hardware resources leaves a lot of fat to be soaked up by something, and why should Microsoft get it all?

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 10657 posts Report Reply

  • TracyMac,

    Mmmm, of course, all the other major browsers are developing new and improved Javascript engines as well.

    As for Chrome, maybe I'll give it another go on my home machine, although it's useless in the enterprise - it doesn't remember how to log onto a proxy between sessions, for a start. Also, not having extensions means no ad-blocker. I'm afraid that's a must these days (except for well-behaved sites like PA). Nice interface, except the compulsory anchor underlines drives me nuts.

    I've never experienced any lag opening Firefox, though. I'm pretty selective with the add-ons. Delicious bookmarks, Gmail Manager, Download Statusbar, the Aussie dictionary and Adblock Plus.

    Canberra, West Island • Since Nov 2006 • 701 posts Report Reply

  • Tom Beard,

    I've tried Chrome at home, after getting fed up with Firefox freezing quite often when loading a new tab (even with only 2 or 3 tabs open!). It's generally nice, but I've found that when you're switching between a few tabs with Flash in them (e.g. YouTube), the renderer flickers annoyingly and seems to render some bits before others.

    One of the most annoying process hogs, I find, is Twitter: after it's been loaded for a while, it gets slower and slower, especially when typing in an update, and it can take seconds for my text to appear in the text entry box. Similarly, Facebook's home page isn't too bad, but anyone's actual profile gets hopelessly sluggish. I've noticed that on Firefox, but even more so at work, where we're forced to use (*sob*) IE6.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 1040 posts Report Reply

  • Steve Barnes,

    (So it'll probably turn out Chrome stole it from Opera. But who uses that besides a few complete weirdos?)

    WooHoo, I'm a complete weirdo. Chrome is excellent but old habits die hard. Things I like about Opera. Tabbed browsing, Opera had it long before Firefox. Notes, until you've used it you wouldn't know how much you need it. The "insert Personal" menu item, great for form filling and bits of code like quotes or inserting url links and the like. Speed Dial, a bit like your "Big icons" but you can set them yourself as opposed to the system flagging your "most used" pages (try getting rid of that accidentally visited pron site glaring at the first person that fires up Chrome in the morning) The built in eMail client M2 and heaps more.
    Having said that there are things that bug me. Like the contact and bookmarks format (.adr) that is so like impossible to export to another client without converting through a third party prog. and the mail format (.mbx) that is, well, even worser.
    So, I'm kinda stuck with it like an old relative that just wont die.
    If I were looking for a good setup today I would be going for Google Chrome and Evolution for windows. I already use Evo. on my Linux box an am quit impressed, Outlook look out.
    :-)

    Peria • Since Dec 2006 • 5521 posts Report Reply

  • Morgan Nichol,

    accidentally visited pron site

    Accidentally?

    If I were looking for a good setup today I would be going for Google Chrome and Evolution for windows. I already use Evo. on my Linux box an am quit impressed, Outlook look out.

    I don't use an email client for any of my personal/biz email, only for the day job. Been Gmail all the way for a couple of years now.

    Such a relief not to run Outlook at home anymore. And just not even really having to think about it at all. It's just wherever I am.

    And if you're addicted to a client, it works there too - I even have Gmail running in pine on one of my debian boxen.

    Auckland CBD • Since Nov 2006 • 314 posts Report Reply

  • giovanni tiso,

    I even have Gmail running in pine on one of my debian boxen.

    So what? I have Simfest operating at full schtlup on top of my ratatouille.

    Wellington • Since Jun 2007 • 7473 posts Report Reply

  • Mark Harris,

    Would that be open sauce?

    Waikanae • Since Jul 2008 • 1343 posts Report Reply

  • giovanni tiso,

    Of course. Bernaise.

    Wellington • Since Jun 2007 • 7473 posts Report Reply

  • David Hamilton,

    (try getting rid of that accidentally visited pron site glaring at the first person that fires up Chrome in the morning)

    I realise I'm going to sound totally dodgy but Chrome has a great incognito mode (Ctrl-Shift-N to open a new window) which doesn't save any browser/search history and doesn't leave cookies on the computer after the window is closed. Useful for lots beyond the obvious, particularly for public or shared computers.

    Hamiltron • Since Nov 2006 • 111 posts Report Reply

  • Steve Barnes,

    Yes. The incognito setting in Chrome will do all that but an improvement would be to have it notified on startup "Would you like this session to run in Incognito Mode?" sort of thing, (now I sound as dodgy as David ;-) ) and of course you would be able to disable the notification.
    On my suggestion of Evolution for Windows, I hadn't tried it when I wrote that. It is not even in Beta yet it is a pre-release (which is what i thought Beta was) and has some major quirks on XP an, I don't know about Vista, I never bothered with that.
    If you want a play and have Ninja, or should I say Java? skills, the source code is available and with a bit of work it would be an Outlook killer but as Morgan says "Such a relief not to run Outlook" how many of us actually do?

    Peria • Since Dec 2006 • 5521 posts Report Reply

  • Mark Harris,

    Haven't used Outlook since 2005, when I left my last corporate job. Used Pegasus Mail from 1993 till 2005 when I shifted to the Mac, but David told me he wasn't going to do any more Pegasus for Mac (and then stopped completely a couple of years ago) so I switched to Thunderbird, with Lightning plugin for calendar. Haven't looked back ;-)

    Waikanae • Since Jul 2008 • 1343 posts Report Reply

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