Performance Zen

Author: spierzchala

  • Private-Label Browsers and comments on a lost “browser war”

    Looks like Firefox could become the genesis of the private-label browser, unencumbered by nasty platform/OS/Service Pack limitations. [here — courtesy of the XSLT:General blog]

    I believe strenously that Microsoft has committed a serious error in limiting the upcoming MSIE 7 update to Windows XP SP2 machines. It will not drive the large corporate IT departments who still use Windows 2000 to upgrade. It will increase resentment towards the company, which will be actively commented on in places (such as here).

    I use Windows XP SP2. But as you see from the sub-title of this blog, the next computer I will buy for myself is going to be a Macintosh Powerbook. And I will run Safari, Firefox, Camino, and (very, very occasionally) fire up some 6 year-old, badly maintained version of MSIE for MacOSX.

    When I use Windows, I will use MSIE to compare the look and feel of the pages I build. And nothing more.

    If Microsoft wanted this new browser to be a true update, and not simply an addition to their program of forced obsolescence, they would have made it free of OS restrictions. What Microsoft has said is that if you don’t run Windows XP SP2, your browsing experience will be sub-optimal, less secure, and unsupported.

    Web designers, this means that you will have to have yet another platform to test your Web designs, as MSIE 5.5, 6.0, and 7.0 will all interpret CSS, CSS2 and other design features differently.

    So, what is the big deal about MSEI 7.0? It shows the Web community that Microsoft has still not learned the lesson that Firefox is teaching: be everywhere. Microsoft, the OS is not the platform of the future; the browser is the platform of the future. And a browser that can run anywhere, anytime, in any language, on any hardware, will win.

  • More Blogger woes

    Damien Katz feels the same way about Blogger [here] that I do [here].
    You have to wonder why Google hasn’t done something about this…or maybe it no longer fits in with their master plan.

  • State of the Blogger

    Just to keep you up to date on what’s going on in my life…
    I will out of town for most of the next two weeks, so you will likely see postings at odd times and in aggregated chunks as I get caught up from performing my real job.
    Had the first of a series of meetings (concall today) with customers asking them key and probing questions about what they want to achieve. It is interesting to re-visit with some of these clients and refresh my memory of what they need to achieve Web performance excellence. I have been locked up in my office all winter, and need to re-gain some perspective on our overall purpose and mission.
    After this, I have to hunker down and attack the incoming flood of projects. A component of this will be learning the ins and out of Visual Interdev so that we can generate custom reports. Should be a lot of fun, as it has been a while since I learned a new programming language.
    Off to a meeting…

  • MSIE 7.0 won’t play in corporate America

    Oh yeah! Forgot this little tidbit…MSIE 7.0 will ONLY be available for Windows XP SP2. [here]
    So, all of those organizations (you know, the large corporate ones) which run Windows 2000: Tough Luck.

  • How AdSense works (or doesn’t) for you

    Some in-depth analysis on how AdSense may or may not be profitable or rewarding. [here and here]
    Now I have AdSense ads on my site, mainly because they are unobtrusive, and I need to finance replacements for my creaky hardware somehow. Although, it looks like that is not going to happen before the 256-bit PentiumX is released in 2030.
    Oh well, enjoy.

    Hugh, of course, nails my whining to the wall. [here]

  • Another reason why I won’t install the Google Toolbar

    As Steve Rubel points out, Google is stealing some of Microsoft’s worst ideas. [here]
    I wonder how long before the wave crests, and the undertow sucks Google out to the Island of the Damned.

    Seems that for once, Dave Winer and I are on the same wavelength. [here]
    And here comes Dan Gillmor. [here]
    TDavid kicks in his comments on Google Evil Tags. [here]

  • No Stanley Cup this year

    The NHL has officially cancelled the 2004-2005 season.
    A sad day. I say that this opens the door for all hockey teams that are playing to compete for the cup, as it appears that it belongs to the people of Canada, and not the NHL.
    Some interesting info on this can be found here.

  • Some hints on MSIE 7.0 Features

    Jeremey Wright hints at some of the features we might/will see in MSIE 7.0. [here]
    Again, composition and design standards are important; but do not forget the networking standards as well. It will take a lot for me to switch back to MSIE, but it would be good to if the Internet doesn’t have to design itself to fit the foibles of a single browser platform again.

  • The power of ecommerce supremacy

    A while back, I posted a letter from the president of eBay about how they are having to perform some strategic back-pedaling to recover from their sense of supremacy in the online auction world. [here]

    Today I read a post on how Google may be having an impact on the auction business as a whole. It also posts to a fictional description of how Google achieved true online supremacy. [here]

    It is true that other companies have all of the apps that Google has; the genius in Google is that they will be unified on a single patform, tied together to deliver a fully-realized work/home/play/buy tool. Why go anywhere else, when Google can find it for you? Which is faster: Amazon’s native search, or Google’s search that points to the appropriate link on the Google site?

    Google drives people to e-commerce sites. It is how buyes find sellers. All players need to realize this, and get on the bandwagon, or they will get lost in unfriendly, and unprofitable, territory.

  • Linux Journal under DDos Attack

    This is currently posted at their site.
    Linux Journal DDoS Banner
    This is what site performance has looked like, up until they put up the 458 byte banner.
    Linux Journal DDoS Performance
    Ouch.

    The LJ site returned to normal service at approximately 20:50 EST, February 15, 2005.