Neil Turner

Firefox, Performance, and You

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I’ve been blogging quite a bit about the beta versions of Firefox 3, which can be downloaded here, and how much better it is than Firefox 2. If anything, I’m as excited about this version as I was when version 1 came out, as it feels like the browser I have been using for 5 years has now grown up and many of the issues it has had in the past have been ironed out.

In this entry, I am going to go through the various changes that have been made in Firefox which improve the performance of the browser – the startup times, the time it takes to render web pages, and the general responsiveness of the program. Improving performance has been a major focus of the Firefox developers for this release, and the changes are notable.

Memory usage

Do a search for ‘firefox bloated‘ and you’ll get over 500 000 results, many of which complaining that Firefox is big and slow. Many put this down to the amount of memory it uses, which, in Firefox 2, appears to be more than its main competitors – Opera, Internet Explorer and Safari. (Note that, unless you’re using Windows Vista, it is difficult to measure memory usage of individual programs on Windows successfully)

For Firefox 3, reduces Firefox’s ‘memory footprint’ (the amount of memory it needs to run) was one of the main priorities. Improvements have been made both in reducing ‘memory leaks‘ – memory taken by Firefox that isn’t released back to the operating system when it is no longer needed – and memory fragmentation, which means that the memory it does have allocated is used more efficiently. The culmination of this is that, on Windows, Firefox 3 uses less memory while running than any other current web browser. It also released more memory back to the operating system after a period of inactivity, meaning that it’s no longer needed to close and restart the browser because it’s eaten half of your RAM.

How does this improve performance? If you have 16 GB of RAM, then, not much really. But if like most computers your machine has just enough RAM to perform, then it means more of Firefox can fit into RAM and less of it has to use ‘virtual memory’ – essentially a big file on your hard disk which acts as an overflow when all of your RAM is used up, but that is much slower than RAM. It will also allow more space for other programs in RAM, so you’ll be able to run more programs at the same time as your web browser.

Code optimisation

Several parts of Firefox have been re-written to fix bugs and simplify code, and in some cases, improve performance. There have been performance improvements in:

  • Page rendering – a marked performance increase that also means that Firefox 3 will pass the Acid2 test
  • Image drawing – a bug fix sorted out problems with image caching and a new JPEG decoding routine also means that images will render faster

Mac-specific improvements

Firefox 3 finally moves away from the really old QuickDraw API to the newer Cocoa API. As well as giving nicer widgets (scrollbars, buttons etc) on web pages, this also means the whole program should feel more snappy. This, combined with the new theme, means that Firefox 3 is the most Mac-friendly version to date.

Profile guided optimisation

Firefox is now, essentially, compiled twice – the first compile runs as usual, and then the compiler runs a series of tests which optimises the code by looking at what parts of the browser will be most used in a working environment. This has lead to performance improvements of at least 10%.

Because we’re now approaching the ‘release candidate’ stage, ahead of a final release probably some time in June, most of the performance changes have now been made, so if you want to see if it is an improvement for you, now is as good a time as any to try; any further changes will be to fix any major bugs and stability issues. All in all, the massive strides made in performance make Firefox a much bigger competitor in the web browser arena and may win back some of its earlier detractors.

Fixing a broken iPod

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I was going to make one of two posts today:

  1. How I fixed my broken iPod
  2. What iPod to buy in place of my broken iPod

Thankfully, this post is the first one.

I have an iPod Mini, bought in August 2004, which has hit a spot of bother. Well, okay, I dropped it, and afterwards it kept crashing or giving me the dreaded ‘unhappy iPod’ screen (which is like the Blue Screen of Death for iPods) when playing music, especially when skipping tracks. So here’s how I fixed it:

  1. Because my iPod was formatted in Windows (a conscious choice, see rant below), I plugged it into Hari’s computer and ran ScanDisk, and opted to do a full surface scan to fix any bad sectors.
  2. Next, I opened iTunes on the Windows PC and did a restore on the iPod, wiping the existing firmware and files and replacing it with the most recent firmware.
  3. Then, I reloaded my music.

And now it works fine. Quite what went wrong originally, I am unsure. However, by running ScanDisk it may have marked any damaged parts of the disk as bad. If I had more money, I would have bought a copy of SpinRite which is apparently very good at getting hard disks back into working order (or at least letting you know that your disk is fubar‘d).

I may still consider buying a new iPod eventually but I’m torn between which model to buy, so that blog post may still come. At least now it’s not so much of a priority as my current iPod now seems to work fine.

And now for my rant about iPod formatting. If you format your iPod on Windows, it will be formatted with the FAT32 file system, readable by Windows and OS X (and pretty much every other modern operating system). Format it on OS X, however, and it’ll be formatted with the HFS+ file system which only OS X can read. Since Apple now ships Boot Camp with Macs and has been promoting the ability to run Windows if needed, why not let Mac users change the file system used when formatting? If needed it can be some option hidden away in an obscure corner of iTunes where your average Joe User who has no idea what FAT32 or HFS+ are can safely ignore it. But it would be nice to have the option, rather than having to use a Windows computer.

Leaping to the Coast

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I’m making sure I post something here today, since I can only do it once every 4 years. No marriage proposals yet, though.

I’m off to spend a weekend at the seaside in the vicinity of Scarborough, which will be nice provided that the weather is better than the wind and rain we have in Bradford right now.

Archbishop of York gives the Pope a bottle of beer

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This was originally a guest post at Stupid Evil Bastard, re-posted here following that site’s demise.

On official visits to meet the Pope, it is customary to provide a gift. Tony Blair, the former British Prime Minister and recent Catholic convert, gave a painting of Cardinal Newman. Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah presented him with a jewelled scimitar. So what did John Sentamu, the Archbishop of York (one of the highest ranking positions in the Anglican Church) give him? Beer.

When the Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, met the pontiff he gave him the Holy Grail, a beer brewed in Masham, North Yorkshire.

It was the highlight of the archbishop’s first trip to Rome to celebrate the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity and to cement cordial relations between the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches.

Following their 15-minute chat in the Basilica di San Paolo Fuori le Mura, believed to be the burial place of St Paul, Sentamu said: “I told the brewery I was meeting the Pope and they made a special brew for him. I heard he’d been given some Black Sheep ale and liked it. So I brought that and the Holy Grail.”

The gifts pleased the Pope, who is Bavarian by birth and prefers beer to wine and water. That the tipple was a one-off would have also suited a pontiff with designer flourishes. During a two-hour service, which was peppered with incense, chanting, coughing and ringtones, his ruby-red Prada loafers peeped out from under his ivory robes.

It’s perhaps slightly ironic that the beer is inspired by the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail, as it was another of the Python films, Life of Brian, that brought out much angst from the Anglican and Catholic churches over claims of blasphemy. Holy Grail is produced by the Black Sheep Brewery not far from York and is available for mail order.

Father puts pins in son’s tongues because of God

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This was originally a guest post at Stupid Evil Bastard, re-posted here following that site’s demise.

A Nigerian-born father of two boys, living in the UK, felt that since God had his tongue cut off in the Bible, he must inflict similar injuries on his sons. He put pins in their tongues and through their lips, cut their mouths with scalpel blades, and pressing one of the boy’s tongue with sharp pliers until it swelled and bled.

It went to court, and he was found guilty of three counts of child cruelty. He pleaded not guilty; his wife also pleaded not guilty to essentially turning a blind eye to the cruelty. They await sentencing and a verdict on further charges.

Mildly interesting things that I have learned about recently

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  1. There is a phobia of bridges, known as Gephyrophobia – and there’s a New York Times article about it, via Kottke.
  2. The platforms at St Pancras International Thameslink railway station are labelled ‘A’ and ‘B’, to avoid confusion with the main national and international platforms. This was also used at the recently-closed King’s Cross Thameslink station (which St. Pancras replaced) and at Waterloo East station.
  3. Though all Mac Pros now come with two quad-core Intel processors as standard, you can opt to have just the one processor, saving around £320 (to a total of £1442.99). You can also spend over £17 000 if you want every build option, unlimited server license and all the professional software packages bundled with it.
  4. In the past year, thieves have stolen at least two bridges in Russia for scrap metal.
  5. ‘Akbar’ is Arabic for ‘great’ or ‘greatest’. I’d be tempted to post a picture of Admiral Ackbar from Star Wars and say it is a trap, but I’ll refrain.
  6. Frederick Lorz, an American athlete, cheated in the marathon in the 1904 Summer Olympics by travelling by car for 11 miles. He was first across the finishing line but another athlete, Thomas J Hicks was declared the winner, despite him too cheating as he had run the race under the influence of drugs and alcohol.
  7. In China, ‘Dan’ is a girl’s name.
  8. VLC can use many Winamp skins – see this guide.
  9. ‘Blighty’, a slang word for ‘Great Britain’, derives from the Hindustani Urdu word ‘vilāyatī’, which variously means ‘foreign’ or ‘homeland’. It originates from the days of the British Empire when Britain controlled India.
  10. Inner Mongolia is a region in northern China, ‘Outer Mongolia’ roughly corresponds with the independent nation of Mongolia.

End of Year Quiz 2007

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It’s time once again to do the end of year quiz – you can also read answers from 2006, 2005, 2004 and 2003.

1. What did you do in 2007 that you’d never done before?

The one that sticks out in my mind is that I DJ’d in a nightclub for the first time this year. There’s other things, such as take my driving test (which happened twice and I failed both times, go me…) but DJ’ing was a happier memory.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

Last year’s resolutions were:

  1. Eat more healthily. Though I had a bad start to the year in this regard, my food consumption has improved over the past six months, with Hari mostly to thank for that.
  2. Do more work. I did do some more work, could have probably done more, but I’ve finished the course anyway now so it doesn’t matter.
  3. Do more exercise. Managed to go walking more often this year so that’s something, but as per usual there’s room for improvement.
  4. Keep my room tidy. Erm, yeah… less said about this the better really. I blame all the decorating.

One of the resolutions I took off for 2007 was ‘don’t binge drink’ and you’ll be pleased to know I didn’t binge at all last year. That might sound boring but neither Hari nor my friends go out to get blathered anymore.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

Nobody close to me, although a work colleague did.

4. Did anyone close to you die?

Thankfully no, not this year.

5. What countries did you visit?

I managed almost a week in Wales in May, but other than that I’ve once again been rooted in England. Hopefully next year we’ll have the money for a weekend in Paris or somewhere.

6. What would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007?

A permanent job and a car. I managed the ‘proper job’ bit that I wanted last year, albeit on a temporary basis, and Hari and I are now living together as just the two of us.

7. What date(s) from 2007 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

Our great weekend in London in February.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Getting to our second anniversary of being together (Hari and I). After that, blogging for 5 years straight.

9. What was your biggest failure?

Failing my driving test. Twice.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

No physical injuries, just one hell of an asthma attack. Thankfully I’m now on new medication that works like a dream.

11. What was the best thing you bought?

I didn’t buy any new Apple products this year, other than Leopard, and though it’s nice it’s not the best thing. Technically we’re renting it, but having our own house has been the best thing we’ve ‘bought’ this year.

12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?

Again Hari for sticking with me, and my friends for being there. I know it’s basically the same as last year, but meh.

13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, annoyed me yet again, as did Robert Mugabe (surprised I haven’t mentioned him before actually…)

14. Where did most of your money go?

Mostly on driving lessons and rent. It’s a nice house but it’s not as cheap as where I was living last year, unfortunately.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

Going to see Avenue Q in London.

16. What song will always remind you of 2007?

“Through the Fire and the Flames” by Dragonforce (aka the really hard song from Guitar Hero). It’s one of my most-played songs of the past few months.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:

  • happier or sadder? Almost certainly happier.
  • thinner or fatter? About the same.
  • richer or poorer? About the same, still.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?

Work on my dissertation…

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?

Arguing over nothing of any particular importance.

20. How will you be spending Christmas?

At home with my parents. Will also be spending some time with Hari’s parents and my friends at New Year.

21. Who deleted question 21?

The Mighty Jagrafess of the Holy Hadrojassic Maxarodenfoe

22. Did you fall in love in 2007?

I’m already in love with Hari and intend for it to stay that way.

23. How many one-night stands?

None.

24. What was your favourite TV programme?

Again, another good series of Doctor Who, but I’ve also enjoyed Top Gear this year too.

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?

Not really. There’s a few people that I don’t really get on with but hate is too strong an emotion.

26. What was the best book you read?

The Guardian Book of April Fool’s Day. But other than that I didn’t read much, other than Wikipedia.

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?

Dragonforce and Paramore are both bands that I want to hear a lot more of.

28. What did you want and get?

A better-paid, proper job.

29. What did you want and not get?

I’m still waiting for that pony…

30. What was your favourite film of this year?

The Simpsons Movie was very good, as was Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Haven’t seen The Golden Compass yet.

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

I was 23 – “nobody likes you when you’re 23…” – and we sat out in the sunshine and had a barbecue.

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

Money.

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2007?

Same as usual, but a little bit smarter for work.

34. What kept you sane?

Hari and my friends. They also kept me sufficiently insane too.

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

Had a bit of a thing for Sophia Myles, David Tennant’s ex, and Kate Winslet.

36. What political issue stirred you the most?

Probably the state of emergency in Pakistan. When the head of the organisation you work for is incarcerated purely for political reasons, it does stir you a bit.

37. Who did you miss?

Some of my friends who have moved away after finishing university.

38. Who was the best new person you met?

Some of the new members of the university Hiking club are good, though I wouldn’t really count any of them as close friends unfortunately.

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2007.

Never take a driving test in the late afternoon.

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

“Through the Fire and the Flames we carry on”, I suppose. No matter what life has thrown at me I’ve carried on.

New British political leader doesn’t believe in God

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This was originally a guest post at Stupid Evil Bastard, re-posted here following that site’s demise.

The Liberal Democrats, who are a left-wing party in the United Kingdom and rank third after the Conservatives and incumbent Labour Party, have elected a new leader named Nick Clegg. And, in a radio interview with BBC Radio 5 Live, he said that he didn’t believe in God:

New Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg has answered “no” when asked on BBC radio if he believed in God.

The rapid-fire question and answer format on 5 Live meant the 40-year-old did not have the chance to elaborate.

He later said he had “enormous respect for people who have religious faith”, that his wife is Catholic and that his children are being brought up Catholic.

“However, I myself am not an active believer, but the last thing I would do when talking or thinking about religion is approach it with a closed heart or a closed mind.”

Both the current Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, and the previous PM Tony Blair are Christian but they have said little about how their religion affects their roles as leader. Based on my personal knowledge it is rare for a politician to be an outspoken non-believer, especially a leader of a party, though some politicians are outspoken about their beliefs. There are a number of non-Christian members of parliament, including Jews, Muslims and Hindus.

Richard Dawkins says he’s a ‘cultural Christian’

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his was originally a guest post at Stupid Evil Bastard, re-posted here following that site’s demise.

Professor Richard Dawkins, author of the book ‘The God Delusion’ and one of Britain’s most well-known atheists, has described himself as a ‘cultural Christian’. The comments come about after Mark Pritchard, an opposition member of Parliament, accused politically correct people of undermining Christmas and other Christian festivals.

Dawkin’s response was thus:

“I’m not one of those who wants to stop Christian traditions.

“This is historically a Christian country. I’m a cultural Christian in the same way many of my friends call themselves cultural Jews or cultural Muslims.

“So, yes, I like singing carols along with everybody else. I’m not one of those who wants to purge our society of our Christian history.

“If there’s any threat these sorts of things, I think you will find it comes from rival religions and not from atheists.”

Pritchard, meanwhile wants a parliamentary debate on “Christianophobia” and is complaining that ‘Christian heritage was being undermined by secular officials and public figures’.

Hindu gods get summons from court

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This was originally a guest post at Stupid Evil Bastard, re-posted here following that site’s demise.

It’s not easy being a God. You’re omnipotent, so you have to be everywhere at once, and answering everyone’s prayers 24-hours a day, 7 days a week, with no rest. And just when it couldn’t get worse – you get summoned to a court in India:

A judge in India has summoned two Hindu gods, Ram and Hanuman, to help resolve a property dispute.

Judge Sunil Kumar Singh in the eastern state of Jharkhand has issued adverts in newspapers asking the gods to “appear before the court personally”. The gods have been asked to appear before the court on Tuesday, after the judge said that letters addressed to them had gone unanswered.

Apparently two temples have been built on land that is claimed to be owned by the temple priest, but the locals claim that the land belongs to the two gods.

We’ll have to see whether they show up in court or not.

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