Interesting story about speeding up Firefox

[ztirffritz]

http://blog.vlad1.com/2008/02/28/finding...bo-button/

One of the Firefox devs was trying to track down a bug in Firefox 3 that was causing the browser to slow to a crawl when scrolling. Comparing it to some code from WebKit he found what he thought was part of the problem, and eventually found an Apple sanctioned method to employ it. But he also found blobs of binary code in the source for WebKit that are not available and seemed to make WebKit MUCH faster. It sounds nerdy, and it is, but it is still an interesting read.

[the_poochies]

Firefox is becoming as slow and bloated as the Netscape and IE of old. I only use it because I have a nifty add-on called Foxmarks that syncs my Firefox bookmarks at home (Mac) and work (PC).

[ztirffritz]

Google browser sync does that too.

[Article Accelerator]

A full (and amusing) discussion of the "issue" here:

http://episteme.arstechnica.com/eve/foru...670931/p/1

[The UnDoug]

[quote ztirffritz]Google browser sync does that too.

But of course they probably analyze what sites you have bookmarked so they can market to you more "efficiently."

[Harbourmaster]

The nice thing about Google browser sync is that when I go from my work PC to my Mac at home I can resume browsing exactly where I left off. GBS on Firefox offers to "restore" the last workspace the next time you open the browser. So if I have ten or twelve or twenty tabs open when I switch machines, I am right back to the same set of open windows that I left!!! Brilliant!

Google Browser Sync for Firefox is an extension that continuously synchronizes your browser settings – including bookmarks, history, persistent cookies, and saved passwords – across your computers. It also allows you to restore open tabs and windows across different machines and browser sessions.


Google Firefox Extensions
Privacy Notices

Google Browser sync

• Google will store the Firefox browser settings that you select in association with your Google account and use them to synchronize settings for Firefox browsers on other computers. You can choose to encrypt Google's stored copies of your settings. When you update or delete your browser settings, the copy stored with your Google Account will be updated or deleted as well.

• Any user of your browser can see its history and other settings. Google Browser Sync synchronizes these settings among every browser on which you install Browser Sync. This means that anyone who uses one of those browsers can see browser settings created on the others. In addition, by using the browser anyone can create new settings, such as browsing history, that will be synchronized.

Why do I need to provide a PIN?

The PIN you create during setup is used to encrypt information that's synced between your computers, which may include sensitive information such as your passwords for websites. We use your PIN to unlock that information. Without your PIN, no one will be able to read the information that's being transmitted between your computers via Google Browser Sync.
Can I change my PIN?

Currently, it's not possible to change your PIN. If your PIN is compromised, the best thing to do is to remove the Browser Sync service from your Google account at http://www.google.com/accounts and start fresh. Since Browser Sync imports your current browser settings, you shouldn't lose anything.
What's the point of encrypting my information?

By encrypting your information, it will be transmitted to and stored on Google's servers in a format that is nearly impossible to interpret without the PIN. That means that without the PIN, no one, not even Google, will be able to read your data. Therefore, it's important to choose a good PIN (at least 8 characters including both numbers and letters) that's hard to guess and to keep your PIN safe. Note that encrypting all of your browser settings may affect the performance of Google Browser Sync and Firefox.

[bhaveshp]

Reason why I prefer Foxmarks over Google browser sync is that I have multiple (3) Gmail accounts which I track using Gmail Manager extension.

With Foxmarks I can sync independently of my Google login.

[ztirffritz]

[quote The UnDoug][quote ztirffritz]Google browser sync does that too.

But of course they probably analyze what sites you have bookmarked so they can market to you more "efficiently."
It's funny how that really bothers some people. I personally think of that as a desirable feature. I'd hate to be searching for something work related and have non-work related items foisted upon me. I remember years ago doing searches for poly(hexamethylene adip- amide) and getting lots of Porn sites because that is the chemical name for Nylon, hence stockings, hence fetish...It caused me some embarrassment at work on a few occasions.