Just to note, the Tilt feature was a plug-in ( and I'm already using it, it's called Tilt 3D) but I think with Version 11 Mozilla partly integrated it in Firefox
Any word on multi-process support? Multicore is so old that smartphones are getting it. A browser that can't multitask simultaneous loading of pages is useless to me. That's why I quit using Firefox and went back to IE.
You're being held back by locally rendering web sites on a multi-core desktop CPU? You must be using some hardcore sites.. for me the limit are always the internet connection or the servers.
Yes, lots of sites take a long time to load, especially when opening multiple tabs at the same time. The problem is especially acute when one page goes haywire and pegs one core at 100% utilization, which is reasonably often. Then most everything else Firefox does freezes. IE and Chrome (usually) don't have that problem.
In Firefox, if one page misbehaves (eg a javascript bug that causes an endless loop), it can bring down the entire browser. In Chrome, tabs in other processes will continue working just fine. IE is somewhere in between since it is multi-threaded in many areas, but not as cleanly broken up as Chrome.
Likewise, when opening several web pages at once, Chrome and IE will render them simultaneously using separate processes and threads, respectfully. Firefox will render them in series within the same process and thread.
The benefit of Firefox's approach is lower memory usage. The downside is inferior performance and stability. I personally believe Mozilla made the wrong decision by cancelling the Electrolysis initiative, but I understand both sides of the debate.
Give the browser direct access to my graphics hardware? No thanks. Who knows what kind of security exploits are in Nvidia, ATI, and Intel graphics drivers.
Hate to break it to you, but Tilt is just one new usage for WebGL - the tech itself has been present in Firefox since 4.0. Most other browsers are also using GPU acceleration at this point.
My problem with Firefox 10 was the browser would eat up quite a lot of CPU after several hours of use (3-4 tabs) and on closing it would NOT release any memory or CPU. Also had problems loading some images on sites and general slowness.
Definitely preferred the previous version of FF. Hope FF11 fixes some of these issues.
In my experience Firefox 12 and 13 do wonders for this.
Also the really bad issues are usually caused by some miss-behaving addon. I found that Firefox runs a lot better over the long haul when I got rid of Firebug.
Don't forget Firefox 11 also implements the SPDY protocol but it is not yet enabled by default. The most important goal of SPDY is to transport web content using fewer TCP connections. Initially developed by Google but now with contributions from others. To enable: about: config then search for network.http.spdy.enabled and set it to true.
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22 Comments
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Xajel - Tuesday, March 13, 2012 - link
Just to note, the Tilt feature was a plug-in ( and I'm already using it, it's called Tilt 3D) but I think with Version 11 Mozilla partly integrated it in FirefoxThe original Tilt 3D add-on
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/til...
kensiko - Tuesday, March 13, 2012 - link
Thanks for the info.Can we scroll the page while in Tilt mode?
Andrew.a.cunningham - Tuesday, March 13, 2012 - link
Yes. You can also view elements that have been hidden beyond the margins of the page.magreen - Tuesday, March 13, 2012 - link
Any word on multi-process support? Multicore is so old that smartphones are getting it. A browser that can't multitask simultaneous loading of pages is useless to me. That's why I quit using Firefox and went back to IE.kensiko - Tuesday, March 13, 2012 - link
On hold:http://news.softpedia.com/news/Multi-Process-Firef...
MrSpadge - Tuesday, March 13, 2012 - link
You're being held back by locally rendering web sites on a multi-core desktop CPU? You must be using some hardcore sites.. for me the limit are always the internet connection or the servers.magreen - Tuesday, March 13, 2012 - link
Yes, lots of sites take a long time to load, especially when opening multiple tabs at the same time. The problem is especially acute when one page goes haywire and pegs one core at 100% utilization, which is reasonably often. Then most everything else Firefox does freezes. IE and Chrome (usually) don't have that problem.But I think you knew that already.
Arnulf - Tuesday, March 13, 2012 - link
Perhaps Mozilla should bump the major version number to 36 rather than fix any bugs, I'm sure that would help.Not.
magreen - Tuesday, March 13, 2012 - link
But our version goes up to 11.JNo - Tuesday, March 13, 2012 - link
LOL!Superb spinal tap reference...
Romberry - Tuesday, March 13, 2012 - link
When you write "A browser that can't multitask simultaneous loading of pages is useless to me", what exactly do you mean? That makes no sense to me.dcollins - Tuesday, March 13, 2012 - link
In Firefox, if one page misbehaves (eg a javascript bug that causes an endless loop), it can bring down the entire browser. In Chrome, tabs in other processes will continue working just fine. IE is somewhere in between since it is multi-threaded in many areas, but not as cleanly broken up as Chrome.Likewise, when opening several web pages at once, Chrome and IE will render them simultaneously using separate processes and threads, respectfully. Firefox will render them in series within the same process and thread.
The benefit of Firefox's approach is lower memory usage. The downside is inferior performance and stability. I personally believe Mozilla made the wrong decision by cancelling the Electrolysis initiative, but I understand both sides of the debate.
gorash - Tuesday, March 13, 2012 - link
I think Pale Moon (a custom Firefox build) supports multi-core.webmastir - Tuesday, March 13, 2012 - link
browser add-on sync! yesssssssssss /napoleon dynamite voiceSpivonious - Tuesday, March 13, 2012 - link
Give the browser direct access to my graphics hardware? No thanks. Who knows what kind of security exploits are in Nvidia, ATI, and Intel graphics drivers.Andrew.a.cunningham - Tuesday, March 13, 2012 - link
Hate to break it to you, but Tilt is just one new usage for WebGL - the tech itself has been present in Firefox since 4.0. Most other browsers are also using GPU acceleration at this point.JubeiYagyu - Tuesday, March 13, 2012 - link
My problem with Firefox 10 was the browser would eat up quite a lot of CPU after several hours of use (3-4 tabs) and on closing it would NOT release any memory or CPU. Also had problems loading some images on sites and general slowness.Definitely preferred the previous version of FF. Hope FF11 fixes some of these issues.
arjuna1 - Wednesday, March 14, 2012 - link
Nightly 13 has a *vastly* lower memory and cpu usage, open it and closing it is very fast,, it purges itself from memory in seconds now.Mind that I have like dozens of tabs open at all times.
Mr Alpha - Wednesday, March 14, 2012 - link
In my experience Firefox 12 and 13 do wonders for this.Also the really bad issues are usually caused by some miss-behaving addon. I found that Firefox runs a lot better over the long haul when I got rid of Firebug.
kensiko - Thursday, March 15, 2012 - link
good news, can't wait to try Firefox 12, but I prefer to stay on the release channelAndrew.a.cunningham - Tuesday, March 13, 2012 - link
That's a weird one! I'd say it was a silent updater, but that isn't slated to make it into FF before version 12 or 13 (don't remember which offhand).clairvoyantx - Tuesday, March 13, 2012 - link
Don't forget Firefox 11 also implements the SPDY protocol but it is not yet enabled by default. The most important goal of SPDY is to transport web content using fewer TCP connections. Initially developed by Google but now with contributions from others. To enable:about: config then search for network.http.spdy.enabled and set it to true.