Firefox 104: analyze a website's power usage and UI throttling
Firefox 104 Stable, Firefox 102.2 ESR and Firefox 91.13 ESR will be released later today. The releases fix security issues and bugs in Firefox; Firefox 104 Stable includes a handful of new features, including an option to analyze the power usage of specific websites.
All Firefox channels, including development channels, are updated whenever a new major version of Firefox is released to the Stable channel. Firefox Beta and Developer editions are updated to Firefox 105, and Firefox Nightly is updated to Firefox 106.
Firefox for Android follows the Stable version's versioning, which means that it will be updated to version 104 as well.
Executive Summary
- Firefox 91.13 ESR is the last version of Firefox 91. Firefox 91 installations will be upgraded to Firefox 102 ESR on September 20, 2022, the next Firefox release day.
- Firefox has a new power analyze tool in the Firefox profiler, which may be used to analyze a website's power usage.
- Firefox will throttle its UI automatically when it is minimized or occluded to improve performance and battery usage.
Firefox 104 download and update
Firefox updates become available on the day of release. Since we publish our release reviews early, they may not yet be available.
All Firefox installations may be upgraded via the browser's built-in updating system. To check for updates, select Menu > Help > About Firefox. Firefox displays the installed version on the page, and runs a check for updates. Updates found will be downloaded and installed.
Direct downloads are also available, follow the links below to Mozilla's download website, to download the new version of the browser.
- Firefox Stable download
- Firefox Beta download
- Nightly download
- Firefox ESR download
- Firefox for Android on Google Play
Firefox 104.0 new features and improvements
UI throttling
To improve the performance and battery of the device Firefox is run on, the browser will throttle its user interface whenever it is minimized or not occluded. The system works similarly to how background tabs are throttled by Firefox to limit battery drain and improve performance of the browser and the system as a whole.
Power usage analysis
Firefox users on Apple M1 and Microsoft Windows 11 devices may now use the Firefox profiler to analyze the power usage of a website.
Other changes and fixes
- Firefox's Picture-in-Picture mode supports subtitles for Disney+ now.
- The shortcut to paste unformatted text, Shift-CTRL-V on Windows and Shift-CMD-V on Mac, works in plain text contexts now.
- Bypassing HTTPS-Only error pages and then going back takes Firefox users back to the originating site and not to the error page anymore.
- The highlight color is preserved after "typing Enter in the mail composer of Yahoo Mail and Outlook".
Developer
- Firefox supports the methods Array.prototype.findLast(), Array.prototype.findLastIndex(), TypedArray.prototype.findLast(), and TypedArray.prototype.findLastIndex()
- The property SVGStyleElement.disabled may be used to disable or enable SVG style elements, and to check the state.
Enterprise changes
- Total Cookies protection may be controlled with the Cookies policy.
- Removed the security.insecure_field_warning.contextual.enabled preference (not in Firefox 102 ESR)
- Added AddVersionPin policy, which prevents updates to newer Firefox versions than specified.
- Added GoToIntranetSiteForSingleWordEntryInAddressBar policy, which forces direct Intranet site navigation.
Known Issues
none listed.
Security updates / fixes
Security updates are revealed after the official release of the web browser. You find the information published here after release.
Outlook
Firefox 105 will be released on September 20, 2022. Firefox 102.2 ESR will also be released. It will replace Firefox 91.x installations via Firefox's update system.
Firefox extension reviews and news
- Firefox Translations: support for French, Polish and Ukrainian languages added
- Who Wrote That reveals authorship information on Wikipedia
Recent Firefox news and tips
- Firefox Translations is going to be a game changer, if...
- Mozilla is working on a single Extensions button for its Firefox web browser
- Mozilla Firefox 103.0.1 fixes a crash
- Mozilla plans to add Text Recognition support to Firefox
- Opinion: Firefox for Android needs best-in-class ad-blocking and privacy protections to compete
Additional information / sources
- Firefox 104 release notes
- Firefox 104 for Developers
- Firefox for Enterprise 104 - release notes
- Firefox Security Advisories
- Firefox Release Schedule
> I look forward to your (Telmesomething) continued attention and support for their project.
Correct as follows,
I hope you will look forward to and continued attention and support for their project.
Getting along like a house on fire with Floorp now. Everything is running perfectly and everything works.
I decided not to use Tree tabs and have switched to using the “Show sidebars” icon to open bookmarks and history in there instead.
If you search a lot with the context menu this addon is really good: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/contextsearch-web-ext/ To add a custom search engine simply right click in the search field of any given site and choose “Add to Context Search” and confirm in the popup which simplifies the whole operation.
I spoke too soon. Floorp has suddenly become very erratic. While reading or writing a message, the page will suddenly either reload, or jump to the bottom of the page.
Also, it’s not recording history anymore. I reported that using their contact form yesterday, but given that it’s still Sunday, I’m not expecting to hear anything yet.
This is an error on my part and should be ignored. A setting in about:config called “places.history.enabled” was set to “false”.
How that happened I don’t know.
@TelV,
Thanks for the info (ContextSearch web-ext).
I just checked your thread on GitHub!
I see that the cause has been found and resolved.
Also, I see you made a donation!
I’m glad you like the project as much as I do.
The project team, all of whom are current high school students, is truly remarkable in that they are working on the project while balancing their academic work.
This project team is really down to earth, as they are all current high school students, and are working on the project while juggling their schoolwork.
Moreover, they are taking the “high road” in those directions, steadily evolving as the days go by, and their user support is very sincere.
I greatly admire their (the project members’) ability, passion, and ambition.
I look forward to your (Telmesomething) continued attention and support for their project.
> I look forward to your (Telmesomething) continued attention and support for their project.
Correct as follows,
I hope you will look forward to and continued attention and support for their project.
@ owl,
Thanks for the comprehensive feedback. Actually, I saw your comment on the Floorp (Github) site this morning and the suggestion to make UBO opt-in appears to have been adopted already: https://blog.ablaze.one/2087/2022-07-00/#comment-45
I also sent them a request via the contact site to test whether the issue with the Japanese recaptcha has been fixed and that works now with the image content option (pick the appropriate images).
My request incidentally was to reduce the spacing between addon buttons because the URL bar which I use to search with becomes exceedingly small the more addons there are. Here’s the pix I sent them: https://i.postimg.cc/0Q9Csd4z/need-to-decrease-spaces-in-between-addon-buttons.png
I tried using an additional toolbar instead, but the problem there is that addon buttons get pushed to the left hand side of the toolbar instead of on the right where I like to have them so I removed again.
@TelV,
Thanks for the heads-up on what happened.
I have raised the following issues with the developer team:
It would be nice if the “English” version of the release notes was also taken into consideration. · Issue #23 · Floorp-Projects/Floorp
https://github.com/Floorp-Projects/Floorp/issues/23
Posts (comments) on the blog seem to be blocked · Issue #24 · Floorp-Projects/Floorp
https://github.com/Floorp-Projects/Floorp/issues/24
Moreover,
Release v10.4.0 · Floorp-Projects/Floorp · GitHub
https://github.com/Floorp-Projects/Floorp/releases/tag/v10.4.0
I requested through suppot.ablaze.one/contact that the text in the about uBlock Origin should be corrected so that it can be understood by an unspecified number of users.
Have a nice weekend.
@ owl,
What do you make of this (taken from the Ablaze blog):
https://i.postimg.cc/Y23SCrB8/u-Block-Origin-disabled.png
It may be a case of lost in translation, but if Floorp is going to disable the built-in version of UBO after 60 seconds, what’s the point of including it?
I tried to use their contact form to raise this issue, but the Japanese Captcha ensures it’ll never get sent.
@TelV,
> I tried to use their contact form to raise this issue, but the Japanese Captcha ensures it’ll never get sent.
The team has a total of 6 members, all active high school students, but one is ill in the hospital with blood cancer and has limited user support capabilities. Therefore, due to nuisance measures, IPs from outside Japan are currently blocked. However, we are able to communicate with them through GitHub issues.
Issues · Floorp-Projects/Floorp · GitHub
https://github.com/Floorp-Projects/Floorp/issues?q=is%3Aissue+is%3Aall
———————-
> It may be a case of lost in translation, but if Floorp is going to disable the built-in version of UBO after 60 seconds, what’s the point of including it?
The following proposal was previously published:
uBlock Origin is no longer installed by default.
Floorp’s philosophy is to create a browser based on the idea of seeking balance on the web, “an Internet that protects the web while also protecting the user and generating benefits for all.
To block ads is to erase the benefit to the website.
That is why they are going to stop implementing it in native.
Also, Floorp does not defeat all trackers by default. Trackers that harvest users’ personal information and profile their personal information should be defeated, but defeating trackers that are collected anonymously for the purpose of improving the convenience of website services does not make the web better.
The level of trackers will be “strict” by default in the future, and the Floorp project will continue to aim to build an Internet where both users and websites can generate profit. The Floorp project will no longer receive user data from Floorp.
————
The following comments were received from users in response to that proposal:
https://blog.ablaze.one/2087/2022-07-00/#comment-45
> In addition, ad blockers are no longer included by default.
Support forums and user communities for each browser, as well as Ghacks (https://www.ghacks.net/), have revealed that many end users “dislike ad displays.
Moreover, malicious attacks such as cross-site tracking (without consent), phishing, and malware damage via “ad” displays are becoming increasingly sophisticated.
Brave, Safari, and LibreWolf have implemented “content blockers” from a user-first perspective.
In the opinion of security researchers, engineers, and expert users, “uBlock Origin” is the consensus and is acknowledged as the best and most trusted content blocker.
The implementation of uBlock Origin on Floorp should be regarded as an exceptional advantage by end users.
The important point of view is that end-users themselves should continue to learn “by knowing, thinking, understanding, trying, and rethinking things correctly. It is also desirable to support users by reasonably providing such kick-starts and hints through FAQs and other means.
Instead of “remove from browser.”
We believe that an “opt-in” feature with “uBlock Origin” disabled by default is appropriate.
Please reconsider.
————
Based on user feedback, the following modifications were made as a result:
The native implementation of uBlock Origin has been disabled (opt-in feature) by default.
Floorp’s philosophy is to create a browser based on the idea of seeking balance on the web, “an Internet that protects the web while also protecting its users and generating benefits for all”.
Floorp also does not defeat all trackers by default. Trackers that harvest users’ personal information and profile their personal information should be defeated, but defeating trackers that are collected anonymously for the purpose of improving the convenience of website services does not make the web better.
Users should manually enable them from about:addons.
Existing users who have been activated are not affected.
The developer has informed us that the following is appropriate for foreigners to give feedback or ask questions about the browser (Floorp), search engine (Frea Search), etc:
suppot.ablaze.one/contact
suppot.ablaze.one/contact
https://support.ablaze.one/contact
@ owl,
Looks like Martin deleted my post thanking you for the info about Floorp. I guess that’s because it’s unrelated to Firefox and he doesn’t have an article about it yet.
@ Martin,
Floorp is definitely worth your time! It’s a brilliant browser and I’ve switched to it already (hope you don’t delete this post as well).
I did not delete the comment, I rarely do such things. It went into moderation; happens automatically. Now it is visible!
OK, I’ll bear that in mind Martin. Apologies for any inconvenience caused.
One of Firefox’s biggest failings is its inability to import bookmarks from an FF fork like Waterfox or Pale Moon. The only choice is Internet Explorer, Brave, or Chromium.
Neither will it accept the “places.sqlite” file from a fork and renames it to “places.sqlite.corrupt” while creating another “places.sqlite” alongside it. Consequently you’re forced to go the HTML route and import a bookmarks.html file via the Library.
Anyway, I decided to dispense with Waterfox Classic after picking up some malware from somewhere and have switched to FF 104 now.
Incidentally, I did try Brave again, but can’t find a font colour changer in the Google Chrome store and Brave doesn’t support the one I use on Firefox called Text Legibility. https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/text-legibility/
Any suggestions on that score I’ll gladly have a go with since Brave is still installed at the moment. This one doesn’t work in any event: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/a%2B-fontsize-changer/ckihgechpahhpompcinglebkgcdgpkil
@TelV,
> … have switched to FF 104 now.
> But at least Legibility works and I’d be lost without that. Age wise I’m on the wrong side of 70 years old and I don’t have vision 20/20 anymore. The pale grey fonts used on sites these days which includes Ghacks by the way are impossible to read without a means of turning them black, or several shades darker at the very least. Text Legibility handles that perfectly. Here’s a pix of it in action with the option to darken the font turned up to maximum: https://i.postimg.cc/g2wbYy2x/Legibility-settings.png
But Brave doesn’t support Legibility…
I have tried the “Text Legibility” you mentioned.
Text Legibility – Get this Extension for Firefox (en-US)
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/text-legibility/
Indeed, I found it to be exactly as you reviewed.
I will continue to use it as well. Thanks for the specific mention.
By the way,
according to the author’s User Guide & FAQs,
“For Chromium browsers, Text Legibility is not possible to use it, because it includes with plagiarism/republishing prevention JavaScript code has been improperly evaluated as malware by Google’s extension manifest, then blocking measures have been taken”.
Legibility User Guide & FAQs,
http://cssw.biz/LegibilityDocs/LegibilityGuide.html
Regarding the browser extension “Text Legibility”,
https://www.ghacks.net/2022/08/23/firefox-104-analyze-a-websites-power-usage-and-ui-throttling/#comment-4546601
While very beneficial,
there will be a delay in due to re-rendering when this feature is “enabled”.
It’s only a few seconds.
So, have to be aware of the trade-off for viewability (Perhaps the uninformed end-user will call it “shit”).
@ owl,
I’m surprised at the amount of settings you can make in Floorp. For example, in the prefs General menu –> “Tree Style vertical tab settings” and then click the “Open Settings” button. Incredible amount of changes you can make in there. I’m surprised they allow so much.
Have to be a bit wary of enabling the strong fingerprinting setting though since it causes the browser to resize itself. I actually deliberately destroyed the first profile I created thinking it was caused by an about:config setting I’d enabled. So having to start all over again now. :(
@TelV,
> One of Firefox’s biggest failings is its inability to import bookmarks from an FF fork like Waterfox or Pale Moon. The only choice is Internet Explorer, Brave, or Chromium.
Menu > Bookmarks > Manage bookmarks (Ctrl+Shift+O) with “Import and Backup”, you can output (export) bookmark data locally in HTML. Just import that data (HTML) into another browser.
In general,
If the browser can use Firefox sync, you can synchronize (share) with Firefox sync.
Sync logins in Firefox desktop | Firefox Help
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/sync-logins-firefox-desktop#firefox:win10:fx104
Firefox Sync | Firefox Help
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/products/firefox#search
> Anyway, I decided to dispense with Waterfox Classic after picking up some malware from somewhere and have switched to FF 104 now
How about trying “Floorp browser”?
I recently learned about “Floorp” and I really like it.
https://www.ghacks.net/2022/07/26/firefox-103-improved-toolbar-access-performance-and-more/#comment-4534729
https://www.ghacks.net/2022/08/05/duckduckgo-is-soon-protecting-you-from-microsofts-tracking/#comment-4544979
@ owl,
I had a look at Floorp this morning, but I don’t understand Japanese unfortunately. According to their Contact page, they don’t understand English either and use machine language to convert it: https://support.ablaze.one/contact/ That’s going to slow down communication I would imagine.
As regards Firefox I don’t use sync since I only use my phone for making phone calls.
FF lacks good extensions for the purpose I need such as a reminder calendar like ReminderFox which didn’t get converted to WebExt. https://www.reminderfox.org/ I’m wondering whether Pale Moon might support it since it’s an XUL extension.
The option to use Context Search doesn’t work on Firefox either and just loads the home page of whatever search engine I choose.
But at least Legibility works and I’d be lost without that. Age wise I’m on the wrong side of 70 years old and I don’t have vision 20/20 anymore. The pale grey fonts used on sites these days which includes Ghacks by the way are impossible to read without a means of turning them black, or several shades darker at the very least. Text Legibility handles that perfectly. Here’s a pix of it in action with the option to darken the font turned up to maximum: https://i.postimg.cc/g2wbYy2x/Legibility-settings.png
But Brave doesn’t support Legibility and neither is there a reminder calendar available for it so it’s a no go at the moment.
@TelV,
> I had a look at Floorp this morning, but I don’t understand Japanese unfortunately.
> As regards Firefox I don’t use sync since I only use my phone for making phone calls.
> But at least Legibility works and I’d be lost without that. Age wise I’m on the wrong side of 70 years old and I don’t have vision 20/20 anymore.
I share your concerns as I am also an elderly person.
By the way
Firefox Sync does not require a phone, just a Firefox account.
Access Mozilla Services with a Firefox Account | Mozilla Support
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/access-mozilla-services-firefox-account#firefox:win10:fx104
Floorp is made in Japan, but is based on the “latest version of Firefox ESR”.
Since it is a forked browser, it has its own coding (code base removed, modified, or added), but it is essentially identical to the “latest version of Firefox ESR”.
Therefore, It is a multilingual specification linked to the system locale (“ar”, “cs”, “da”, “de “, “el”, “en-GB”, “en-US”, “es-ES “, “es-MX”, “fr”, “hu”, “id “, “it”, “ja”, “ko”, “lt”, “pt-PT”, “ru”, “sv-SE”, “th”, “vi”, “zh-CN”, “zh-TW”), Available in your native language (Dutch: nl).
There is a Japanese proverb, “Better get used to it than learn it,” but why not use it first?
Download | Floorp
https://floorp.ablaze.one/download/
By the way, about the current latest version (2022/08/23)
Floorp browser?Version 10.4.0 (Firefox ESR 102.2) Release Note | ABlog
https://blog.ablaze.one/2182/2022-08-01/
@ owl,
You’re a genius!
I just downloaded Floorp and it’s just what I’m looking for in a browser. It supports my favourite FF addons and there’s no telemetry to speak of: https://i.postimg.cc/52xQbh19/no-telemetry.png I’m writing this post in a Floorp tab :)
It’s also lightning fast, not only with iniitial startup, but also for loading sites. FF has become so slooooow in the latter respect.
Oh, but I accidentally deleted the Frea search engine. Could you give me the URL to it?
Gonna go customize it now (have to get rid of the pictures which appear on every new tab page…yuk). ;)
@TelV,
> Oh, but I accidentally deleted the Frea search engine. Could you give me the URL to it?
Frea Search
https://freasearch.org/
Frea Search,
https://git.sda1.net/frea/search/src/branch/master/README.md
It is a custom instance of SearXNG,
a “search engine” developed and supported by Ablaze, which develops and supports the “Floorp” browser,
It is designed to be a clean search engine that displays only reliable search results.
API: Frea Search comes with a completely free API. You can retrieve search results in JSON.
About the Block List: searx/settings.yml at master
https://git.sda1.net/frea/search/src/branch/master/searx/settings.yml
If you have a domain or question you would like to add or remove, please open an issue or PR.
Issues
https://git.sda1.net/frea/search/issues
Pull Requests
https://git.sda1.net/frea/search/pulls
The Floorp browser natively implements “Frea Search” as the search engine of choice as an alternative search engine.
Preferences (“GENERAL | USER INTERFACE | PRIVACY | ENGINES | SPECIAL QUERIES | COOKIES”) can be adjusted from the gear in the upper right corner of Frea Search’s user interface.
Frea Search is publicly available.
It can be added to other browsers (Firefox, as well as Safari and Chromium) and can also serve as a stand-alone search engine (without a browser).
I have Frea Search set as my default search engine in all of my current browsers (Safari, Brave, Floorp, LibreWolf, Firefox ESR, Firefox Developer Edition, Firefox Nightly, Tor Browser) and applications (Mozilla Thunderbird, Notepad++, PSPad, SumatraPDF, LibreOffice).
Add or remove a search engine in Firefox | Firefox Help
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/add-or-remove-search-engine-firefox
Change your default search settings in Firefox | Firefox Help
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/change-your-default-search-settings-firefox
————
[New Project] Introducing Frea Search, an Anti-Affiliate Search Engine | ABlog
https://blog.ablaze.one/1718/2022-04-19/
Source code
frea/search: Custom instances of SearXNG aimed at a clean search engine that displays only reliable search results – search – Gitea: Git with a cup of tea
https://git.sda1.net/frea/search
Issue tracker
https://git.sda1.net/frea/search/issues
Engine stats
https://freasearch.org/stats
Public instances
https://freasearch.org/
Privacy policy
https://privacy.sda1.net/#%E9%95%B7%E3%81%84%E8%AA%AC%E6%98%8E
I accidentally dropped ”nl”, ”nn-NO”, ”pl” and ”pt-BR”. Correctly, it is as follows (Available Locales). Corrected and apologized.
Available Locales: [“ar”,”cs”,”da”,”de”,”el”,”en-GB”,”en-US”,”es-ES”,”es-MX”,”fr”,”hu”,”id”,”it”,”ja”,”ko”,”lt”,”nl”,”nn-NO”,”pl”,”pt-BR”,”pt-PT”,”ru”,”sv-SE”,”th”,”vi”,”zh-CN”,”zh-TW”]
Forget Pale Moon! They’ve gone the ads way. Also, look at the text at the top in these images i.e. “We value your privacy” followed by: “Some personal data is processed without your consent”. That and the size of the scroll bar to indicate how many ad companies there are!
https://i.postimg.cc/zGJ4dVvG/pale-moon-ads.png
https://i.postimg.cc/sD3nzbrn/pale-moon-partners.png
I promptly uninstalled it again as soon as I saw that.
That’s the default homepage start.me, you absolute genius /s. It isn’t run by the Pale Moon team.
But sure, tHeY’vE gOnE tHe aDs wAy
The kind of morons commenting here, seriously…
@Rex
It is a default, and it does benefit financially Palemoon, and it is clearly stated. The contents of start.me can be customized, and interested user can get paid versions directly at start.me.
@TelV
I do see it, but you don’t have to use that startpage at all.
@Tom Hawack
> I happen to tweak this and that but that requires a minimum of knowledge which I’ll have to re-learn with Linux.
> My belief is that a few extra IQ points would have me make that jump sooner.
From reading your comments, i believe you have more than enough knowledge to feel at home on a Linux distro, like a duck to water. Lol.
Anyway there is always another option though while still choosing to stay on WIN7, you could always use some old cheap computer you may have around to put Linux on it, to familiarize yourself with it before you switch from windows on any main device you might have. Linux does work on old hardware.
Even new laptops or mini computers can be purchased cheap, they come installed with windows 10 or 11 sure, but that can be wiped off the hard drive easily enough to put Linux on instead, a vast number of easy tutorials online to follow. Usually only takes 5 minutes lol.
Then you would have a brand new computer with a privacy respecting, secure OS, that will be getting security updates for many years, and even when those security updates stop, just install the newer version of the chosen distro and get security updates for many more years.
By choosing a good FOSS Linux distro, you do not need to pay a license fee to use it, contrast that to the greed that is the M$ anti competitive, proprietary BS and the expensive license fee that they demand from using their shit OS, full of bugs and security problems, which is a result of lazy programming due to closed source nature of windows.
Anyways, i wish you good luck if you decide to make the jump to a Linux distro. Firefox is good on Linux.
@GNU Linux Sophistication, I appreciate your positive comment. Though we’re focusing on little old me for sure information and advice concerns many of us, users of Windows 7/8 (any XP still around?).
What is most likely to happen in my case is that I’ll buy a new PC or laptop before the end of the present PC/Win7 (I haven’t any old one in the closet!) and run it with a Linux distro, ‘Cinnamon’ I guess as you had mentioned it previously and which I had already heard about. I think this is indeed the best scenario and I personally prefer it to the bootable USB stick (for irrational reasons). This allows a progressive switch to Linux Cinnamon without loosing contact with my known environment : like stopping smoking, progressively :=)
The day will arise when I’ll write here that its thanks to users such as you and a few others that I finally made the step to liberation! All the best to you… and to all of us :)
@Tom Hawack
> But Linux is more than a well, it’s a myriad of fountains and that may participate to a certain apprehension apart from the difference of “frames” between Windows and Linux. I guess motivation as always brings determination. We’ll see, but we’ll have to choose or at least consider a multi-boot.
There are actually linux distros that have a similar GUI layout to windows 7. Cinnamon based ones for example. If that is not a motivation factor for windows 7 users to switch over to Linux, then i do not know what is.
I don’t care if this sounds preachy, BUT, the fountains are the huge amounts of operating systems that use the Linux kernel. I do not see that as a negative, but a positive, having the choice to install multiple linux distros is a decentralized antidote to M$ greed and BS!,, variety is the spice of life, so many different distros to choose, that are actually FREE, reasonably secure, privacy friendly and are well maintained by huge communities.
Of course no OS is nirvana, but Linux distros are a lot more closer to perfection than ones from greedy corporations like M$.
A good tip before deciding on switching over to a Linux distro is to check to see will your hardware support it first,, that can be accomplished with a bootable USB stick, where you do not even need to install a linux distro to see what it is like and how well it supports the hardware that it is intended to be installed on. Older less powerful hardware is very well supported on Linux. New hardware is also very well supported on Linux. Linux uses a lot less resources than windows. Linux just runs better.
I just can’t help but still think it funny that people cling to an obsolete OS like windows7 when better operating systems exist with a similar GUI environment on Linux, and have the security of getting patches and updates for years.
> Windows 7 is half-dead so to say given it is no longer maintained by Microsoft.
I don’t think they want users on windows 7 anymore, look at how they were trying to force update people to win 10.
I think M$ windows has become more than just an OS, i envision in the next 15 to 20 years, they will require people to have a biometric retina eye scan, fingerprint scan, and voice match to be able to log into their ONLINE only OS to browse the web Lol. It is only leaning that way, there is actually a push by big tech to use biometric scanning for log ins.
Yes M$ gives the choice of local account on win 10 or 11, but ask yourself this? does M$ really want users using a local account or is that illusion of choice only there because M$ wants to appear like it cares for its users choices LOL..
There comes a point where people must ask themselves? Something is not right? Why would big corporations want so much data from users? The simple answer is M$ is addicted to power.
The solution, get out of the abusive relastionship with M$ and choose a Linux distro where corporate greed does not exist.
Sooner or later i guess win7 users will need to make a choice. Stay with an obsolete OS abandoned by a power hungry company or actually take a stance and choose FOSS based operating systems.
FOSS is software that respects your freedom. Free as in freedom. Does that sound preachy? Yes, but nowhere near as preachy as M$ trying to force updates on users of windows or trying to push them into creating M$ accounts to be able to use their revolting OS lol.
I actually dislike using anything from google or M$, i avoid them where possible.
@GNU Linux Sophistication, nothing preachy, I have nothing to add, nothing to disagree with. I was aware already of most of what you point out, haven’t made the jump yet, I guess it’ll be by obligation the day I’ll have no choice than to upgrade. And time is not in favor of Windows. I’m not a tech guy, I happen to tweak this and that but that requires a minimum of knowledge which I’ll have to re-learn with Linux. But I know it’s feasible so why would I fail? Laziness is the word : I use an OS I know (I mean sufficiently to find there what I ignore) and can afford to forget it and focus on my interests. A few months with Linux should build the basic knowledge to be able to forget the OS and continue on my privileged tasks. My belief is that a few extra IQ points would have me make that jump sooner. Really!
Edit, sorry :
“[…] I nevertheless its eagerness is controlled with an application such as […]”
to
“[…] its eagerness is nevertheless controlled with an application such as […]
Over-checking French thoughts brought to English words sometimes breaks the line with corrections : “Le mieux est l’ennemi du bien” : “The best is the enemy of the good”. But shouldn’t :=)
Where does one find the Firefox profiler?
> Where does one find the Firefox profiler?
This feature (Firefox profiler) is only available on Apple M1 and Windows 11.
Firefox 104.0, See All New Features, Updates and Fixes
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/104.0/releasenotes/
The Firefox profiler can analyze power usage of a website (Apple M1 and Windows 11 only).
@Tom Hawack
> users who wish not to upgrade from Win7 to 10/11 may very well not be motivated by fear but by arguments which consider the enormity of Win10/11 problems and privacy invasion
I understand that completely and recognize fully that the windows-7 OS at least contained more user freedom compared to later releases, there is more control over the updates etc. I understand why some people stay on that OS. But what i find funny is the sentimental nature of how users cling to windows 7 OS as a form of freedom from the more privacy invasive, lesser freedom, newer windows releases 10/11. If one wants true freedom, what one really has to do to is just get a USB stick and actually install a good linux distro on it that respects privacy and freedom, and does not even require a license fee to use like on windows.
I just don’t understand it why people stay on windows 7, that is why i laugh at people stuck on windows7, failing to take the logical step by switching to linux operating systems like POP OS, Mint, Fedora, debian etc and many others that have simple GUI mechanisms and instructions for install, are updated, patched and maintained, and contain excellent software package managers.
Why stay on windows when better options exist?
Anyone with even the slighest knowledge about operating systems should know that windows is getting more and more like a CHIP to CLOUD OS, that is why there is a push for online accounts in their OS with every release, they already launched the pluton chip embedded in some new CPU models that supposedly connects to the windows 0S containing a network capability from outside the OS that is supposedly related to windows updates. No privacy toggle for that chip on the OS i would imagine.
M$ do not want just control of their OS it seems, they want control of the hardware too, to make it more difficult for people to say no to their absolute BS! It is about greed, they say the pluton chip is about security, but it sounds like they want more and more power over the hardware and to make it harder to install alternative operating systems.
> Neither you nor Iron Heart are in search of allies
> Another common point is the length of your comments
Always fun to have an argument with Iron Heart. I think he likes to argue just as much as i do. We don’t agree on much, but at least we have something to say and engage in deep thinking and not just post one or two line sentences all the time. lol.
@Chromefan
> Not only does Google have the best browser, it generously offers the source code for free.
your sentence needs to be fixed.
Not only does google have the worst browser imaginable, it generously offers their chromium codebase scraps for free, so other browser developers can hop aboard and create a chromium monolopy where googles codebase quite literally dominates the web and they entertain all sorts of new ideas for web direction.
Manifest V3 ? Federated Learning of Cohorts FLoC ? Topics ? What next ?
Yes, Mozilla does not offer much philosophical resistance to googles ideas, but at least it offers a different browser engine at this moment. lol.
> Just remember Google is an ad company, not a browser company, unlike Mozilla. How embarrassing for Mozilla, getting beat at their own game.
Why use a browser (chrome) or browser codebase (chromium) developed and maintained by the most poewerful ad tech company of all time?
I doubt people just decide hey i will use the google chrome browser, it is almost like the decision is already made for them because chrome or edge is installed by default on mainstream operating systems and especially android by DEFAULT.
Google’s search ads are Google’s biggest revenue generator. In 2021 it is said that they made something like over 150 billion from it. Google’s size and control literally makes it impossible for anyone else to compete with the company’s ad tech business.
The money Google gives to Mozilla is literally nothing compared to what they can make in a year. Lol. How the hell do you expect Mozilla which is a browser developer company to compete with probably the biggest ad tech business of all time?
Mozillas market share is not so much that it lost popularity, it is more like chrome is installed by default on android and smartphones are so popular now.
I think that people should embrace the desktop computing experience more often and not be so addicted to smartphones.
Smartphones are transforming society into a type of technological digitalized prison. Way too much cameras and mics.
@Anonymous123
> Not only does google have the worst browser imaginable
That’s why it is the most used, because it is “the worst imaginable”. Some people, lol.
If it was truly the “worst imaginable”, then people would switch to FF in droves. After all, FF is not this hidden luxury gem nobody can afford to have, it is widely known and can be downloaded for free. So why don’t people switch? Because they see no reason to.
In reality, Firefox is worse. Shoddy security practices (pulled under the rug because they are irrelevant enough by now that no hacker really cares), high CPU and RAM consumption, not private at all by default, no better extension selection than Chromium either.
> it generously offers their chromium codebase scraps for free
They also profit from outside contributions. Win-win.
> Manifest V3 ? Federated Learning of Cohorts FLoC ? Topics ?
FLoC –> No longer a thing.
Topics –> Can be disabled. If not, then patched out.
Manifest V3 –> Actually improves security (extensions can no longer intercept and alter connections, making spyware and redirect malware possible). Brave has an adblocker built in, so I don’t really care.
> Yes, Mozilla does not offer much philosophical resistance to googles ideas, but at least it offers a different browser engine at this moment. lol.
“Not much philosophical resistance”? They are bought and paid for by Google, Google is paying the monthly salary of their devs.
And different browser engine? They will support whatever Google uses on Google Search, YouTube, GMail etc. as otherwise these websites won’t work correctly and Firefox can’t afford that (no browser can). And “different engine”, we can also disable support for certain web standards in Chromium downstream forks, just so you know. You don’t need a different engine to turn support for a web standard on or off.
> Why use a browser (chrome) or browser codebase (chromium) developed and maintained by the most poewerful ad tech company of all time?
– Security
– Web compatibility
– Performance
All of which are worse with Firefox. Firefox is also less private than some Chromium forks like Brave on top of that.
> I doubt people just decide hey i will use the google chrome browser, it is almost like the decision is already made for them
…yes, because you can’t install any other browser on Windows or Android, you HAVE TO use Chrome or Edge. /s
Brave’s enormous growth and its place in the Google Play Store download charts tell a different story. Firefox just has no success because it sucks.
> Google’s search ads are Google’s biggest revenue generator
And indirectly, it is the source of Mozilla’s income as well. Ever wondered why they don’t have an adblocker included by default?
Most people aren’t aware of uBO (6 million users on FF, give or take – less than 3% of all FF users). Including an adblocker by default like Brave does would be an obvious positive differentiator from Chrome or Edge and would be an easy way for Mozilla to improve user privacy. And yet, nothing. Look no further.
> The money Google gives to Mozilla is literally nothing compared to what they can make in a year.
Nothing from Google’s perspective. Everything from Mozilla’s perspective. And invaluable for keeping pseudo-opposition around.
> How the hell do you expect Mozilla which is a browser developer company to compete with probably the biggest ad tech business of all time?
They do compete. Just with less quality (which you always deny, you say quality is superior there).
> Mozillas market share is not so much that it lost popularity
They have a net user loss every year for a decade now.
> it is more like chrome is installed by default on android and smartphones are so popular now.
Brave and even Opera both have more users on Android than FF.
> Smartphones are transforming society into a type of technological digitalized prison.
Ah yes. Depends on what OS you run and what apps you use, I would say. An Android-based Custom ROM has decent app support, contrary to Linux on the desktop, which makes most people stay on Windows on desktop. Wonder which option is better and more accessible.
> Way too much cameras and mics.
Cameras and Mics? All notebooks and AiOs feature those. Or do you mean tower PCs? Out of fashion, I’d say. Big and clunky, also not portable.
@GNU Linux sophistication,
Your comment on Microsoft and Google preach to the converted as far as I’m concerned.
> “But what i find funny is the sentimental nature of how users cling to windows 7 OS as a form of freedom from the more privacy invasive, lesser freedom, newer windows releases 10/11.”
Is laziness and ties to habits in any way a declination of sentimentalism? Maybe, indeed. I’ll speak for myself given I’ve never subscribed to ‘Lovers of Windows 7, United’.
1- No OS is a nirvana, be it Windows 7. Pragmatism here : it’s always worked flawlessly, but awareness as well : Win7 has been heavily tweaked and whatever less privacy intrusive it may be compared to Win10/11 I nevertheless its eagerness is controlled with an application such as ‘ Privacy dashboard for Windows’ [https://wpd.app/] which essentially focuses the latest Windows OSs but includes Win7 as well in its privacy settings.
2- Windows 7 is half-dead so to say given it is no longer maintained by Microsoft. It’ll be brain dead one day or another (software, applications, or the user’s device, PC in particular, dead itself). Obviously Win7/8 users are postponing a decision and will inevitably have to choose a new OS : that’s when and where the Linux alternative may appear as an oasis for those of us who agree with you on what Microsoft platforms have become. But Linux is more than a well, it’s a myriad of fountains and that may participate to a certain apprehension apart from the difference of “frames” between Windows and Linux. I guess motivation as always brings determination. We’ll see, but we’ll have to choose or at least consider a multi-boot.
GAFAM, always them as a pain in the neck. Alternatives exist in this free world. Fortunately. “Search and you will find”, then “Once found, do it : dive”. The latter ads action to knowledge :=)
> Executive Summary:
Firefox 91.13 ESR is the last version of Firefox 91. Firefox 91 installations will be upgraded to Firefox 102 ESR on September 20, 2022, the next Firefox release day.
Special Notes
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/firefox-enterprise-102-release-notes#w_special-notes
There are two more planned releases of Firefox 91 ESR, and then it will go out of support on September 20, 2022. Users will then be automatically upgraded to the Firefox 102 ESR.
“Thunderbird”
Because it is a program that back ported Firefox ESR,
The current “Thunderbird 91.12.0” is
It should be auto-updated to Thunderbird 91.13.0 in the near future.
For existing users of Thunderbird “91” series,
Unless there is a special reason (do not manually update to the upgrade version “102”),
It seems safe to continue to leave it to the “automatic update” function.
Any way to disable hidden built-in addon “Add-ons Search Detection”?
You can find it if you go to about:performance, and on it’s right side there is an arrow to click. No other way to reach it afaik. You can disable it in Add-ons Manager, but it will come back after restart of FF.
I guess I could delete it from inside omni.ja, but I don’t know if it is referenced in any other files.
https://superuser.com/questions/1694466/
@GrofLuigi, I aim being aware of novelties yet I missed this Fiefox built-in addon “Add-ons Search Detection”
I most appreciate you pointing it out together with a link to an explanation, explanation which does state :
“After browsing the Github repository for it briefly I believe the add-on attempts to detect and report any other add-ons that try to hijack the browsers search engines and redirect those requests to another site.
Basically, on the basis of that answer, I wonder what argument could favor the idea of disabling this built-in addon.
@Tom Hawack
“Basically, on the basis of that answer, I wonder what argument could favor the idea of disabling this built-in addon.”
Erm… freedom?
If you consider FF a “platform” that can run apps (extensions), this “thing” fits most definitions of a rootkit.
I am not 100% sure it’s related, but my FF search engine gets reset to Google after every update of FF. Now I have highly tweaked (some would also call it butchered) installation of FF, so I can not claim if this “thing” is responsible, but I have no other extensions or add-ons installed.
And I think someone else would notice if it’s a regular occurence, but I haven’t seen that reported, so that’s why I am really not sure.
But in any case, on my computer, I should be the one who decides what runs and what not. By this hiding and disabling only temporarily they clearly are treating me as a moron.
Firefox, which is on life support, has to thank its daddy Google for keeping it alive (barely).
Other browsers have found a way to be self sufficient and generate revenue (even though they piggy back off Google), but little old Firefox cannot. Everything they have created has been a failure, and will continue being a failure.
Not only does Google have the best browser, it generously offers the source code for free.
Just remember Google is an ad company, not a browser company, unlike Mozilla. How embarrassing for Mozilla, getting beat at their own game.
Good to see you ChromeFan again. I don’t know why there aren’t more parody avatars like yours. Atleast you’re here and always make me chuckle.
@Yash
Good to be back.
@ChromeFan
Funny – I made mention of Google supporting Mozilla financially on Reddit on the r/Firefox subreddit. I was accused of being a conspiracy theorist, and my comment was deleted.
@Jody Thornton
Next time show them Mozilla’s financials. That will shut them up.
Well he responded again, and said: (quoting me first)
(… Except Mozilla takes monetary handouts from Google, so as to appear competitive.)
Yeah, that is a conspiracy theory. What is the problem?
———————–
So I wrote back:
And why do you insist on that? I’ve asked around and most seem to think you are anal about maintaining that stance. So instead of putting the burden of proof on those of us that think Google is doing this, why don’t you proof we’re wrong?
It just seems as though you are wanting to be blind to this issue.
———————–
We’ll see what he says. He a stubborn little fellow,
And one final time he responded:
That isn’t how it works – you need to prove your claims. Otherwise, public pronouncements are the best facts we have.
—————————————————-
So I responded in kind:
Well, one thing is for sure, you’re very stubborn in sticking to your opinion that nothing is going on between Google and Mozilla, and to shut down communication to the contrary brings your motivations for doing so in to question. Let’s face it, if you were strong in your convictions that nothing nefarious is going on, you wouldn’t care what people posted. I find that when anyone makes a HUGE EFFORT to suppress such opinions from being posted, there’s likely smoke and eventually fire to be discovered.
What’s strange is, I’m normally fatigued of conspiracy theories. I hate far-right, anti-vaxx and and anti-pandemic rhetoric, so when I think there’s something up, there usually is. And for you to ignore that in Firefox there’s feature deprecation and limits to customization, and to not see that Google is trying to hamper competition, just wows the heck out of me. You say to ask if anyone has any questions regarding subreddit rules, but your unwillingness to discuss your reasoning in any greater details makes you and your motivations suspect.
Well, you have a good day.
A post of Jody Thornton shilling chronium. What a surprise.
@Anonymous. Not shilling Chromium at all. I’m not so one sided that I can’t see reality.
Sheesh – some people are so touchy here.
Read # 4
https://www.reddit.com/r/firefox/wiki/rules/
Don’t post conspiracy theories
Especially ones about nefarious intentions or funding. If you’re concerned: Ask. Please don’t fuel conspiracy thinking here. Don’t try to spread FUD, especially against reliable privacy-enhancing software. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. Show credible sources.
@Jody Thornton
Yep, the Firefox subreddit is super-anal about anyone mentioning the fact that Mozilla is, in financial terms, basically a glorified Google subdivision. They don’t like to this being mentioned at all.
@Iron Heart:
I went back and posted a question to the admin. It reads:
I want to delve into more detail from you, as to why specifically you don’t permit any mention that Google is funding Mozilla. That isn’t theory, much less conspiracy, and its well known that they do. Aren’t you concerned that such funding might be meant to provide the appearance of Google allowing competition, all the while trying to snuff out Firefox? Isn’t it odd to you that Firefox features are deleted version after version?
All of this wouldn’t bother me so much, if it weren’t so clearly mentioned everywhere else, even by avid Mozilla supporters – EXCEPT on this subreddit. Sorry but while this is your subreddit, I never like ANYONE trying to control a narrative. If Google is trying to diminish Mozilla’s web footprint, I honestly don’t get why you’d want to muzzle open conversation about it.
Regards, Jody Thornton
———–
His response:
what are you talking about?
and how to disable it ? thanks.
@Iron Heart
> Seems like my comments have traumatized you enough so that you come up with this blatant advertisement piece now. xD
Traumatized me? No not at all. I actually really enjoy your comments, they are so much fun. I hope you post more comments.
I value most of your comments, because they are actually quite hilarious to me and i mean really hilarious as are some of the comments from people still using windows 7 because they are afraid of using win 10 or 11 Lol. Really great for a laugh, those type of comments and yours. I Hope you type more though Iron Heart LMAO. I think you are just pure comedy, better than a lot of comedians in real life with your naivete.
Thanks Iron Heart for the many laughs.
> Brought to you by the Mozilla marketing department,
I am appreciative of all the great work done by mozilla firefox developers throughout the years. Such a cool browser free customizable browser.
Just so much better than any browser i tried before.
The alternatives are?
The chromium codebase from google which has become so bloated that it has become almost like a “mini-OS” of sorts, written in of all things, JAVASCRIPT. LMAO. A security nightmare, the new internet explorer. Chromium’s V8 Javascript engine and WebAssembly engine is is a mess. Chrome is the new FLASH LOL.
Chromium codebase used on the windows OS with JAVASCRIPT on is just LOL stupidity from a security perspective.
Gecko code though? Oh nice and lean.
@Anonymous123,
https://www.ghacks.net/2022/08/23/firefox-104-analyze-a-websites-power-usage-and-ui-throttling/#comment-4546198
https://www.ghacks.net/2022/08/23/firefox-104-analyze-a-websites-power-usage-and-ui-throttling/#comment-4546365
Someone made a point similar to your view.
That person was the person responsible for the development of the Chromium browsers.
He said, The problems with Chromium browsers are:
> The code base is too cumbersome and bloated.
> Google has control over the main code and APIs, which are closed programs.
> Brave and Vivaldi are also the main part is closed source.
> The principle of browser operation depends on “JS”, which is extremely dangerous.
He revealed that “the reality of Chromium browsers was a fictional crap”.
Then changed to the development of a browser based on Firefox (Floorp browser).
By the way, I also agree with you (@Anonymous123) and his (responsible for the development of Floorp browser) point of view.
@owl
> The code base is too cumbersome and bloated.
But still less RAM and CPU consumption than Firefox. Measuring “bloat” in “lines of code” is idiotic. And cumbersome? Yep, that’s why most browsers chose to build on Blink even when Gecko was still relevant.
> Google has control over the main code and APIs, which are closed programs.
Main code is open source, so you can add whatever change you want downstream. Yes, you can’t use some components like Google’s Sync if you fork, but if you want to create a privacy-respecting fork, would you sync user data to Google in the first place? That being said, forks like Brave or Vivaldi have their own implementation of Sync independent of the Google one.
> Brave and Vivaldi are also the main part is closed source.
Vivaldi yes, for the UI. The rest is source available. Brave is open source.
> The principle of browser operation depends on “JS”, which is extremely dangerous.
Most websites need JS to function. Disabling completely is unworkable. This leaves extensions like NoScript that allow you to selectively block scripts, implying that you need to go over the website in question and check which scripts to allow and which not to allow, I doubt most have the time for that based on the number of websites they browse. Hence why adblockers with their curated lists are popular, those already take care of ad and tracking scripts.
> By the way, I also agree with you (@Anonymous123)
I don’t. I agree with @Rex that some comments here are hardly worth reading because they are devoid of facts.
I recently learned about “Floorp” and I really like it.
https://www.ghacks.net/2022/07/26/firefox-103-improved-toolbar-access-performance-and-more/#comment-4534729
https://www.ghacks.net/2022/08/05/duckduckgo-is-soon-protecting-you-from-microsofts-tracking/#comment-4544979
@Anonymous123, I’ve been using Firefox for years (over a decade) and I basically agree with your enthusiasm for Firefox should it be in terms of usability, efficiency, privacy without getting into theories.
You write that contrarily to Iron’s comment you are not traumatized but rather amused. In the same way perhaps users who wish not to upgrade from Win7 to 10/11 may very well not be motivated by fear but by arguments which consider the enormity of Win10/11 problems and privacy invasion and who may keep for themselves laughs similar to yours given the number of victims of Microsoft’s platforms.
Neither you nor Iron Heart are in search of allies, and that is a sign of strength. Some say this is a typical Russian attitude, but not only given I can’t imagine Iron Heart as a Russian. Lol. Good point for both of you.
Another common point is the length of your comments which for most and for the most part entertain a “yes sir – no sir” ping-pong double monologue. I noticed that either of you who writes independently of a reply shows far shorter and far more interesting comments, most of the time. Frankly, when both of you start on that ring the battle can be quite lengthy and overall tasteless.
Shake hands, guys, and turn your cannons towards a common enemy. Lol.
I rather use Windows 7 with all my files locked down with ransomware than to ever touch Windows 11.
> Firefox will throttle its UI automatically when it is minimized or occluded to improve performance and battery usage.
Firefox is a much leaner, less cpu and ram intensive application than any chromium based browser i tried on Linux. It uses a tiny amount of cpu and ram. Chromium browsers are not even all that faster than Firefox despite consuming more cpu and ram. Lol. Firefox has much better security aswell compared to chromium clones, way less bugs and it gets nowhere near the problems that chromium browsers get with SEVERE security issues that could take weeks and months to get noticed and patched.
Firefox has slightly over 20 million lines of code, The Chromium browser codebase contains about 35 million source lines of code. Chromium is BLOAT Lol, it contains much more code than some operating systems LMAO. Thats google for you lol.
A ram and cpu draining monstrosity are chromium based browsers and a security nightmare too, too much code and now that M$ uses the chromium codebase for Edge, that means potentially more of a target for cyber criminals due to the fact that chromium codebase is the backbone of all mainstream browsers, chromium is the new internet explorer LOL. Chrome and Edge use that chromium codebase, a security nightmare in the making lol. Using chromium browsers with JS on is terrifying lol. Other browsers like BRave and vivaldi build their own crap on top of that chromium code making it even more bloated LMAO and those browsers can weeks to get the patches from google.
Brave the secure privacy browser LMAO. Vivaldi the feature closed source browser lol. A joke.
I would not use a chromium based browser even i got paid to use one lol.
> Security updates are revealed after the official release of the web browser.
Contrast the severe security updates that chromium codebase gets with the ones that Firefox gets.
Firefox is a more secure browser than any chromium based ones and a leaner, faster and more customizable one.
There is only one alternative to the big corporation browser monopoly and that is the Gecko engine.
@Anonymous123
Seems like my comments have traumatized you enough so that you come up with this blatant advertisement piece now. xD
Brought to you by the Mozilla marketing department, delivered fact-free by the one and only Anonymous123 hahahahahahahahahahahahaha.
Maybe not the same Anonymous123 with whom you’ve shared those thrilling dialogs. Too many lols. Could be the same pretending to be another, though. Could be a drink or two as well. Hard to tell.
The power usage analysing tool really is amazing. To all the engineers behind it : a big thank you !
Nice, especially for a system that relies on battery power and also systems that have a limited amount/ small amount of memory, or both.
Even for desktop systems today with the insane near-ireal rise in fuel prices, every little bit helps.