Comments on: Make Firefox Start Faster with a Preloader http://cybernetnews.com/2008/02/06/make-firefox-start-faster-with-a-preloader/ Technology News Sat, 05 Jul 2008 02:22:29 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: Anonymous http://cybernetnews.com/2008/02/06/make-firefox-start-faster-with-a-preloader/#comment-139908 Anonymous Sun, 29 Jun 2008 22:18:19 +0000 http://cybernetnews.com/2008/02/06/make-firefox-start-faster-with-a-preloader/#comment-139908 [div id=commentquote]<a href="#comment-130977" rel="nofollow">Tinhed wrote:</a><blockquote>like always no version exists for linux. so sad.</blockquote>[/div] It's a moot point in most Unix derivatives and clones. It takes FF2/FF3 2-3 seconds tops for it to load the first time on this old 1ghz/512mb FreeBSD box, and unless I've been doing enough to actually burn through enough RAM for it to start dumping parts of the file cache, starting FF after an initial load takes about a second. Of course Firefox itself still has its issues. A single thread, so a bad enough error on one tab or in a plugin takes out the entire browser, not just that tab or plugin. Memory leakage galore, although worlds better in FF3 is still an issue. The entire UI being based on XML... wtf? WebKit regularly slaughters Gecko. FF4 will have a faster JavaScript interpreter, but there's already options faster than it will be. I seriously think we're overdue for another "Phoenix", stressing the points that made FF popular in the first place. As it is they're just rehashing the same old code base, and it's getting old. Tinhed wrote:
like always no version exists for linux. so sad.

It’s a moot point in most Unix derivatives and clones. It takes FF2/FF3 2-3 seconds tops for it to load the first time on this old 1ghz/512mb FreeBSD box, and unless I’ve been doing enough to actually burn through enough RAM for it to start dumping parts of the file cache, starting FF after an initial load takes about a second.

Of course Firefox itself still has its issues. A single thread, so a bad enough error on one tab or in a plugin takes out the entire browser, not just that tab or plugin. Memory leakage galore, although worlds better in FF3 is still an issue. The entire UI being based on XML… wtf? WebKit regularly slaughters Gecko. FF4 will have a faster JavaScript interpreter, but there’s already options faster than it will be.

I seriously think we’re overdue for another “Phoenix”, stressing the points that made FF popular in the first place. As it is they’re just rehashing the same old code base, and it’s getting old.

]]> By: CoryC http://cybernetnews.com/2008/02/06/make-firefox-start-faster-with-a-preloader/#comment-136022 CoryC Fri, 18 Apr 2008 15:14:32 +0000 http://cybernetnews.com/2008/02/06/make-firefox-start-faster-with-a-preloader/#comment-136022 [div id=commentquote]<a href="#comment-135699">Matthew (author of the preloader) wrote:</a><blockquote>I would like to point you all to an article about the Firefox Preloader. <a href="http://www.sixxgate.com/?p=35">http://www.sixxgate.com/?p=35</a></blockquote>[/div] I really like <a>Minimize To Tray</a>. It's not compatible with FF3 yet but that's okay. I'm sure it will be soon. Matthew (author of the preloader) wrote:
I would like to point you all to an article about the Firefox Preloader. http://www.sixxgate.com/?p=35

I really like Minimize To Tray. It’s not compatible with FF3 yet but that’s okay. I’m sure it will be soon.

]]> By: Matthew (author of the preloader) http://cybernetnews.com/2008/02/06/make-firefox-start-faster-with-a-preloader/#comment-135699 Matthew (author of the preloader) Mon, 14 Apr 2008 21:05:06 +0000 http://cybernetnews.com/2008/02/06/make-firefox-start-faster-with-a-preloader/#comment-135699 I would like to point you all to an article about the Firefox Preloader. http://www.sixxgate.com/?p=35 I would like to point you all to an article about the Firefox Preloader. http://www.sixxgate.com/?p=35

]]> By: The Windows Vista 3D Task Switcher | Learn Technology Online http://cybernetnews.com/2008/02/06/make-firefox-start-faster-with-a-preloader/#comment-133983 The Windows Vista 3D Task Switcher | Learn Technology Online Sat, 29 Mar 2008 18:28:06 +0000 http://cybernetnews.com/2008/02/06/make-firefox-start-faster-with-a-preloader/#comment-133983 [...] Make Firefox Start Faster with a Preloader by CyberNet [...] [...] Make Firefox Start Faster with a Preloader by CyberNet [...]

]]> By: Ryan http://cybernetnews.com/2008/02/06/make-firefox-start-faster-with-a-preloader/#comment-131154 Ryan Mon, 11 Feb 2008 20:43:16 +0000 http://cybernetnews.com/2008/02/06/make-firefox-start-faster-with-a-preloader/#comment-131154 [div id=commentquote]<a href="#comment-131057" rel="nofollow">leland wrote:</a><blockquote>Not that I know much about Vista at this point, but would ReadyBoost help speed up Firefox on Vista? For those unfamiliar with ReadyBoost look at this article <a href="http://blogs.msdn.com/tomarcher/archive/2006/06/02/615199.aspx" rel="nofollow">http://blogs.msdn.com/tomarche.....15199.aspx</a> I came across this last year when buying a nice 4GB flash drive. If you have a fast drive it is supposed to cache things to speed up Vista. Ryan, have you tried this? Anyone else?</blockquote>[/div] I have used ReadyBoost before, but on my system I already have 2GB of RAM so I hardly see any benefit from having a USB drive attached. If a computer had just 512MB of RAM (the minimum) then there are supposed to be significant performance increases. [div id=commentquote]<a href="#comment-131060" rel="nofollow">The Guru wrote:</a><blockquote>I’ve run into problems with this app when I it came to updates. Since Firefox would not close fully I was getting errors when trying to apply nightly build updates. Also for some odd reason it made so I was getting updates from both the release and nightly build channels, which caused even more issues. I have since removed the app.</blockquote>[/div] I guess when updating you would need to make sure to manually unload Firefox. leland wrote:
Not that I know much about Vista at this point, but would ReadyBoost help speed up Firefox on Vista? For those unfamiliar with ReadyBoost look at this article http://blogs.msdn.com/tomarche.....15199.aspx

I came across this last year when buying a nice 4GB flash drive. If you have a fast drive it is supposed to cache things to speed up Vista. Ryan, have you tried this? Anyone else?

I have used ReadyBoost before, but on my system I already have 2GB of RAM so I hardly see any benefit from having a USB drive attached. If a computer had just 512MB of RAM (the minimum) then there are supposed to be significant performance increases.

The Guru wrote:
I’ve run into problems with this app when I it came to updates. Since Firefox would not close fully I was getting errors when trying to apply nightly build updates. Also for some odd reason it made so I was getting updates from both the release and nightly build channels, which caused even more issues. I have since removed the app.

I guess when updating you would need to make sure to manually unload Firefox.

]]> By: The Guru http://cybernetnews.com/2008/02/06/make-firefox-start-faster-with-a-preloader/#comment-131060 The Guru Sun, 10 Feb 2008 03:42:04 +0000 http://cybernetnews.com/2008/02/06/make-firefox-start-faster-with-a-preloader/#comment-131060 I've run into problems with this app when I it came to updates. Since Firefox would not close fully I was getting errors when trying to apply nightly build updates. Also for some odd reason it made so I was getting updates from both the release and nightly build channels, which caused even more issues. I have since removed the app. I’ve run into problems with this app when I it came to updates. Since Firefox would not close fully I was getting errors when trying to apply nightly build updates. Also for some odd reason it made so I was getting updates from both the release and nightly build channels, which caused even more issues. I have since removed the app.

]]> By: leland http://cybernetnews.com/2008/02/06/make-firefox-start-faster-with-a-preloader/#comment-131057 leland Sun, 10 Feb 2008 02:21:25 +0000 http://cybernetnews.com/2008/02/06/make-firefox-start-faster-with-a-preloader/#comment-131057 Not that I know much about Vista at this point, but would ReadyBoost help speed up Firefox on Vista? For those unfamiliar with ReadyBoost look at this article http://blogs.msdn.com/tomarcher/archive/2006/06/02/615199.aspx I came across this last year when buying a nice 4GB flash drive. If you have a fast drive it is supposed to cache things to speed up Vista. Ryan, have you tried this? Anyone else? Not that I know much about Vista at this point, but would ReadyBoost help speed up Firefox on Vista? For those unfamiliar with ReadyBoost look at this article http://blogs.msdn.com/tomarche.....15199.aspx

I came across this last year when buying a nice 4GB flash drive. If you have a fast drive it is supposed to cache things to speed up Vista. Ryan, have you tried this? Anyone else?

]]> By: Tinhed http://cybernetnews.com/2008/02/06/make-firefox-start-faster-with-a-preloader/#comment-130977 Tinhed Fri, 08 Feb 2008 16:05:25 +0000 http://cybernetnews.com/2008/02/06/make-firefox-start-faster-with-a-preloader/#comment-130977 like always no version exists for linux. so sad. like always no version exists for linux. so sad.

]]> By: Ryan http://cybernetnews.com/2008/02/06/make-firefox-start-faster-with-a-preloader/#comment-130945 Ryan Fri, 08 Feb 2008 00:06:00 +0000 http://cybernetnews.com/2008/02/06/make-firefox-start-faster-with-a-preloader/#comment-130945 [div id=commentquote]<a href="#comment-130868" rel="nofollow">DKong wrote:</a><blockquote>Grammar police. Should be “Beck and call”, not “beckon call”.</blockquote>[/div] Huh, learn something new everyday. [div id=commentquote]<a href="#comment-130868" rel="nofollow">DKong wrote:</a><blockquote>Also, on Vista with the prefetch stuff it has, Firefox takes virtually no time at all to start up. Just a thought.</blockquote>[/div] SuperFetch will only work provided that you have enough free RAM available. So if you're running Vista on a system with 1GB of memory the odds are pretty good that SuperFetch won't do too much caching. [div id=commentquote]<a href="#comment-130874" rel="nofollow">CoryC wrote:</a><blockquote>Also, using Vista with SuperFetch enabled I didn’t notice any difference loading Firefox with or without the preloader loaded.</blockquote>[/div] The system I tried it out on only had 1GB of RAM, and so there isn't enough free for Vista to use SuperFetch. That's where the preloader really shines. [div id=commentquote]<a href="#comment-130879" rel="nofollow">Google wrote:</a><blockquote>My add ons I think are crapping my firefox start times.</blockquote>[/div] Extensions are definitely a sore spot for the performance of many Firefox installations. [div id=commentquote]<a href="#comment-130909" rel="nofollow">s427 wrote:</a><blockquote>Instead of closing and opening Firefox multiple times a day, I use the extension “minimize to tray” to minimize Firefox to the system notification area. I have configured it so that it will minimize to tray instead of closing when I use the “X” button of the window, and that it will restore with a single click on the tray icon. This way, opening Firefox is as fast as restoring a window. ;)</blockquote>[/div] That's almost what this app does, too. It's just like minimizing it to the tray. DKong wrote:
Grammar police. Should be “Beck and call”, not “beckon call”.

Huh, learn something new everyday.

DKong wrote:
Also, on Vista with the prefetch stuff it has, Firefox takes virtually no time at all to start up.
Just a thought.

SuperFetch will only work provided that you have enough free RAM available. So if you’re running Vista on a system with 1GB of memory the odds are pretty good that SuperFetch won’t do too much caching.

CoryC wrote:
Also, using Vista with SuperFetch enabled I didn’t notice any difference loading Firefox with or without the preloader loaded.

The system I tried it out on only had 1GB of RAM, and so there isn’t enough free for Vista to use SuperFetch. That’s where the preloader really shines.

Google wrote:
My add ons I think are crapping my firefox start times.

Extensions are definitely a sore spot for the performance of many Firefox installations.

s427 wrote:
Instead of closing and opening Firefox multiple times a day, I use the extension “minimize to tray” to minimize Firefox to the system notification area. I have configured it so that it will minimize to tray instead of closing when I use the “X” button of the window, and that it will restore with a single click on the tray icon. This way, opening Firefox is as fast as restoring a window. ;)

That’s almost what this app does, too. It’s just like minimizing it to the tray.

]]> By: Wandering electrons http://cybernetnews.com/2008/02/06/make-firefox-start-faster-with-a-preloader/#comment-130916 Wandering electrons Thu, 07 Feb 2008 17:59:02 +0000 http://cybernetnews.com/2008/02/06/make-firefox-start-faster-with-a-preloader/#comment-130916 I always find it interesting how it's perfectly acceptable in Firefox land to "fix it with an add-on". That makes me think of how Microsoft is now selling anti-virus software for its own system(!). I mean, in both cases, shouldn't they just be fixing the basic problem? Any other product manufacturer is obliged to do that. Well, at least Firefox isn't making you pay for the repair... In any case, voilà another good reason to use Opera. I always find it interesting how it’s perfectly acceptable in Firefox land to “fix it with an add-on”. That makes me think of how Microsoft is now selling anti-virus software for its own system(!). I mean, in both cases, shouldn’t they just be fixing the basic problem? Any other product manufacturer is obliged to do that.
Well, at least Firefox isn’t making you pay for the repair…
In any case, voilà another good reason to use Opera.

]]> By: s427 http://cybernetnews.com/2008/02/06/make-firefox-start-faster-with-a-preloader/#comment-130909 s427 Thu, 07 Feb 2008 16:19:02 +0000 http://cybernetnews.com/2008/02/06/make-firefox-start-faster-with-a-preloader/#comment-130909 Instead of closing and opening Firefox multiple times a day, I use the extension "minimize to tray" to minimize Firefox to the system notification area. I have configured it so that it will minimize to tray instead of closing when I use the "X" button of the window, and that it will restore with a single click on the tray icon. This way, opening Firefox is as fast as restoring a window. ;) I know that it takes a lot of memory, but since Firefox is pretty much THE app I use the most on my PC, I don't mind. And of course, I can still exit Firefox for good by using the "File > Exit" command. Also, I've set Windows to launch Firefox automatically every time I start my computer. I have Thunderbird working the same way (with the same extension). Instead of closing and opening Firefox multiple times a day, I use the extension “minimize to tray” to minimize Firefox to the system notification area. I have configured it so that it will minimize to tray instead of closing when I use the “X” button of the window, and that it will restore with a single click on the tray icon. This way, opening Firefox is as fast as restoring a window. ;)

I know that it takes a lot of memory, but since Firefox is pretty much THE app I use the most on my PC, I don’t mind. And of course, I can still exit Firefox for good by using the “File > Exit” command. Also, I’ve set Windows to launch Firefox automatically every time I start my computer.

I have Thunderbird working the same way (with the same extension).

]]> By: Google http://cybernetnews.com/2008/02/06/make-firefox-start-faster-with-a-preloader/#comment-130879 Google Thu, 07 Feb 2008 02:28:59 +0000 http://cybernetnews.com/2008/02/06/make-firefox-start-faster-with-a-preloader/#comment-130879 My add ons I think are crapping my firefox start times. My add ons I think are crapping my firefox start times.

]]> By: Luca http://cybernetnews.com/2008/02/06/make-firefox-start-faster-with-a-preloader/#comment-130878 Luca Thu, 07 Feb 2008 02:28:10 +0000 http://cybernetnews.com/2008/02/06/make-firefox-start-faster-with-a-preloader/#comment-130878 It works fine on my computer [Win XP SP2] and Firefox 2.0.0.11 and got some improvement but not this remarkable difference. One of the major problem Firefox has it that it uses a whole bunch of RAM memory.... and of course all the extensions don't help it. It works fine on my computer [Win XP SP2] and Firefox 2.0.0.11 and got some improvement but not this remarkable difference. One of the major problem Firefox has it that it uses a whole bunch of RAM memory…. and of course all the extensions don’t help it.

]]> By: CoryC http://cybernetnews.com/2008/02/06/make-firefox-start-faster-with-a-preloader/#comment-130874 CoryC Thu, 07 Feb 2008 01:43:29 +0000 http://cybernetnews.com/2008/02/06/make-firefox-start-faster-with-a-preloader/#comment-130874 Two things...Firefox will still have to load. The preloader loads it when Windows starts up. When restarting you computer, now you have to wait for both the preloader and Firefox to load. :cry: Also, using Vista with SuperFetch enabled I didn't notice any difference loading Firefox with or without the preloader loaded. Two things…Firefox will still have to load. The preloader loads it when Windows starts up. When restarting you computer, now you have to wait for both the preloader and Firefox to load. :cry:

Also, using Vista with SuperFetch enabled I didn’t notice any difference loading Firefox with or without the preloader loaded.

]]> By: Verdican http://cybernetnews.com/2008/02/06/make-firefox-start-faster-with-a-preloader/#comment-130873 Verdican Thu, 07 Feb 2008 01:25:17 +0000 http://cybernetnews.com/2008/02/06/make-firefox-start-faster-with-a-preloader/#comment-130873 I'm surprised that Firefox starts to fast for so many of you. For me, Firefox takes at least a minute to start. However, I've probably downloaded every addon known to man, which might explain the lag... I hope this speeds things up quite a bit. I’m surprised that Firefox starts to fast for so many of you. For me, Firefox takes at least a minute to start. However, I’ve probably downloaded every addon known to man, which might explain the lag…

I hope this speeds things up quite a bit.

]]> By: dekoninck http://cybernetnews.com/2008/02/06/make-firefox-start-faster-with-a-preloader/#comment-130869 dekoninck Thu, 07 Feb 2008 00:53:18 +0000 http://cybernetnews.com/2008/02/06/make-firefox-start-faster-with-a-preloader/#comment-130869 Huh? On Vista (Superfetch naturally enabled), T5500 processor, Firefox+several extensions starts in about 3 seconds. But there are always some guys that wants to kill Superfetch... strange. Huh? On Vista (Superfetch naturally enabled), T5500 processor, Firefox+several extensions starts in about 3 seconds.
But there are always some guys that wants to kill Superfetch… strange.

]]> By: DKong http://cybernetnews.com/2008/02/06/make-firefox-start-faster-with-a-preloader/#comment-130868 DKong Thu, 07 Feb 2008 00:38:09 +0000 http://cybernetnews.com/2008/02/06/make-firefox-start-faster-with-a-preloader/#comment-130868 Grammar police. Should be "Beck and call", not "beckon call". Also, on Vista with the prefetch stuff it has, Firefox takes virtually no time at all to start up. Just a thought. Grammar police. Should be “Beck and call”, not “beckon call”.

Also, on Vista with the prefetch stuff it has, Firefox takes virtually no time at all to start up.
Just a thought.

]]> By: Ryan http://cybernetnews.com/2008/02/06/make-firefox-start-faster-with-a-preloader/#comment-130865 Ryan Wed, 06 Feb 2008 23:15:23 +0000 http://cybernetnews.com/2008/02/06/make-firefox-start-faster-with-a-preloader/#comment-130865 [div id=commentquote]<a href="#comment-130863" rel="nofollow">DaComboMan wrote:</a><blockquote>This program hasn’t been updated since 2005. Will it work with 2.0 or 3 ? Dat is the question.</blockquote>[/div] Yup, worked great with Firefox 2 and 3 when I tried it. [div id=commentquote]<a href="#comment-130864" rel="nofollow">epiac1216 wrote:</a><blockquote>That’s right. In my computer Firefox launches in just about 10.10 seconds. Don’t you think that’s pretty fast. With Firefox Preloader, how long does it take? Does it makes sense to install this utility to enhance productivity? </blockquote>[/div] On my computer Opera takes about 2 seconds to start up, so I like to see Firefox do the same thing. With the preloader it takes about 2 or 3 seconds to startup, which is a lot better in my opinion. DaComboMan wrote:
This program hasn’t been updated since 2005.
Will it work with 2.0 or 3 ?
Dat is the question.

Yup, worked great with Firefox 2 and 3 when I tried it.

epiac1216 wrote:
That’s right. In my computer Firefox launches in just about 10.10 seconds. Don’t you think that’s pretty fast. With Firefox Preloader, how long does it take? Does it makes sense to install this utility to enhance productivity?

On my computer Opera takes about 2 seconds to start up, so I like to see Firefox do the same thing. With the preloader it takes about 2 or 3 seconds to startup, which is a lot better in my opinion.

]]> By: epiac1216 http://cybernetnews.com/2008/02/06/make-firefox-start-faster-with-a-preloader/#comment-130864 epiac1216 Wed, 06 Feb 2008 23:11:31 +0000 http://cybernetnews.com/2008/02/06/make-firefox-start-faster-with-a-preloader/#comment-130864 @Ryan: That's right. In my computer Firefox launches in just about 10.10 seconds. Don't you think that's pretty fast. With Firefox Preloader, how long does it take? Does it makes sense to install this utility to enhance productivity? Regards, Omar.- @Ryan:

That’s right. In my computer Firefox launches in just about 10.10 seconds. Don’t you think that’s pretty fast. With Firefox Preloader, how long does it take? Does it makes sense to install this utility to enhance productivity?

Regards,

Omar.-

]]> By: DaComboMan http://cybernetnews.com/2008/02/06/make-firefox-start-faster-with-a-preloader/#comment-130863 DaComboMan Wed, 06 Feb 2008 23:07:27 +0000 http://cybernetnews.com/2008/02/06/make-firefox-start-faster-with-a-preloader/#comment-130863 This program hasn't been updated since 2005. Will it work with 2.0 or 3 ? Dat is the question. This program hasn’t been updated since 2005.
Will it work with 2.0 or 3 ?
Dat is the question.

]]>