I've been using Firefox as my preeminent browser since v1.0, and have loved it from the start. The only that has ever bothered me about this browser was an annoying 'feature' it has, or more appropriately, a 'feature' it has that becomes very annoying on a Winbox (computer running Windows).
Firefox keeps a record of pages one has viewed, so that you can 'fastback' to a previous page in your history. The number of previous pages store is usually around 5, but this is for every tab in every window. In principle, it's a great idea, and for people on slow connections, it makes Firefox a very attractive browser. It also makes Firefox a very memory-hungry browser, potentially. I say potentially, because Windows (at least post-XP) has a 'feature' where it doesn't release resources once one is done with them, in case you might need them again. This makes repeat loadings of a program or conducting similar actions faster because resources are not being constantly unloaded and reloaded, but combined with Firefox's feature, it makes for a Firefox that can easily grow t0 a 500mb, 1Gb, or more footprint.
This has always been a problem for me because I'm a tab pack-rat. When I'm scouring the web for some sort of info I can easily amass 50 or more open tabs, each containing some tidbit of information I deemed worthwhile. On Windows, I could feel each new tab taking a toll on my system, and quite often had to restart Firefox just to gain a little speed back (thank God for SessionSaver).
Well, as can be discerned from the title of this post, this is no longer a problem since switching to Linux. Not only is Firefox blazing fast (no matter how many tabs I have open), but really every program I run seems faster. Ubuntu's speed continues to amaze me, especially after many, many long years of tapping my foot while paying omage to the big blue monster that is Microsoft.
So, if Firefox is running slow on your Windows install or eating through your RAM like Pac-Man on steroids, there's one more reason to make the move to Linux, and obviously Ubuntu at that.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment