kwik geekery

[realthog]

A few days ago I installed IE8, as those friendly folk at Microsoft had been imploring me to do, and promptly all my web-browsing activities became like wading through molasses. Definitely there were some new features I liked, but . . .

So I tried doing a System Restore to get me back to IE7. The net result of this was that I lost web access entirely. Further, I couldn't even undo the System Restore because to do that involves going through Help, and Microsoft's Help is idiotically idiotically idiotically (did I remember to say it's idiotic?) web-bloody-based, so if you don't have web access you can't effing well . . .

You're there ahead of me, aren't you?

Anyway, darling pds_litvery kindly used her Mac and some googling to get me a download of IE7, which I duly installed. The installation did not in fact install IE7 -- it'd be too much to expect a Microsoft product to do what it says on the packet, wouldn't it? -- but it did install enough of something to allow me to access Help and thereby undo my System Restore.

Finally, I was back on the web, but with slow-as-molasses IE8. Even slower now, if anything.

"Oh, dearie me," I think I might have said in the heat of the moment.

So I did some googling of my own and discovered this. Naturally I was a bit sceptical at first -- the blogger says he himself isn't quite sure why his tweak works -- but I did some cross-checking elsewhere and discovered that for some folk it worked while for others it at least had no adverse effects.

Reader, I'm going to marry him. Well, only if we can get married in Texas or Kentucky. The effect is (to date, at least) astonishing. As far as I can establish, which is difficult when you have so many fingers crossed, everything is now working quicker than it was under IE7.

Anyway, the point of this posting is, obviously, that if you've found the same extraordinary sluggishness with IE8 that I did, Ed Bott's tweak is well worth a try. Thank you, Mr Bott, whoever and wherever you are!

Comments

[fledgist.livejournal.com]

Might I be so bold as to suggest Firefox?

[realthog.livejournal.com]

"Might I be so bold as to suggest Firefox?"

You've reminded me that I meant to add a line reading AND DON'T BLOODY WELL TELL ME I SHOULD BE USING FIREFOX, OR I'LL TEAR YOUR HEAD OFF.

Or, ahem, words to that effect.

It has been a long, tedious and worrying few hours . . .

[fledgist.livejournal.com]

Ah, the Scots musician, so eager to use violins....

[realthog.livejournal.com]

And blunt violins at that.

[fledgist.livejournal.com]

I'd see sharp, major.

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

Does this also apply to Opera (small, very fast, and relatively bug-free)?

[fledgist.livejournal.com]

Or even Chrome (smaller, faster)?

[realthog.livejournal.com]

I spose I ought to get around to switching to one of the others; primarily, I'm nervous of ****ing up as I attempt to do so.

Chrome incorporates, does it not, the dreaded Google toolbar, which I've been assiduously avoiding. I've heard little about Opera. Would you recommend it? And will it import my Favourites file?

[realthog.livejournal.com]

Just to let you know that yesterday I took my courage in both hands and installed Firefox. So far, so -- although it has some funny little ways I'm not yet used to -- good.

[realthog.livejournal.com]

Just to let you know that yesterday I took my courage in both hands and installed Firefox. So far, so -- although it has some funny little ways I'm not yet used to -- good.

[fledgist.livejournal.com]

It does have its ways, that's for sure. I do find it a more stable platform to work with than IE, though. Resist the temptation to plunk in too many add-ons.

[realthog.livejournal.com]

"Resist the temptation to plunk in too many add-ons."

Thanks for the tip. At the moment the challenge is to get it to integrate with my Free Download Manager (or vice versa).

[fledgist.livejournal.com]

I see. I find it works very well. The only problem I had for a long time was that it didn't work well with Comcast Mail. But Comcast has upgraded their email system and taken care of that problem.

[realthog.livejournal.com]

"I see. I find it works very well"

In the end, I downloaded (just now) the latest version of Free Download Manager from download.com and installed it. That seems to have performed all the necessary integration for me, and at the moment the two are working harmoniously together.

[fledgist.livejournal.com]

That's excellent.

[realthog.livejournal.com]

"That's excellent."

I thought so too.

*geekish swagger*

[fledgist.livejournal.com]

:)

[sarcobatus.livejournal.com]

Will we be calling you "Missus Bott" sometime in the near future? Oh, dearie me . . .

I shan't be downloading IE8; thank you very much for the warning, dearie.

LOL! I can see you now, wrestling with the funky Explorer 8.

[realthog.livejournal.com]

"the funky Explorer 8"

Purely as a statistical anomaly, "funky" wasn't one of the adjectives I used.

You must have misheard.

[sarcobatus.livejournal.com]

Oh I heard correctly, all right. I'm merely practicing "decorum". If I were to write herein what I really heard streaming (screaming) on the wind, I would be censured -- oops, for second here I thought I was over at Amazon.

It was only last Sunday that I called Hutch "Ellen". My mind is slipping.

[realthog.livejournal.com]

"practicing "decorum""

As in "decoral sex"?

[sarcobatus.livejournal.com]

Dog.

[realthog.livejournal.com]

Just don't mention teabagging, okay?

[sarcobatus.livejournal.com]

LOL!

Which reminds me, I'm going to a garden party this evening, dahling, poolside. I'll be thinking of you . . . and your Tetleys.

[realthog.livejournal.com]

Glad to see you've cleaned this up a bit in your edit . . .

[sarcobatus.livejournal.com]

Oh, really? Why am I not convinced . . .

[avengangle.livejournal.com]

Huh. I use IE8 at work (goddamn company policy won't let me use a browser with keyboard shortcuts I already know) and it's been faster than IE7. But then again, we have uber-fast internet and a very close connection to The Source of All Internet (in Cleveland, at least) so I may just be lucky. I was SO HAPPY when IE7 introduced tabbed browsing, though. Made my life so much simpler.

I use Firefox at home. Or Epiphany. Or Midori. I tried Chrome once; it was kind of fun but not worth switching. There's also a 'port of Firefox called Iceweasel, which I find amusing, although I haven't used it.

[realthog.livejournal.com]

"we have uber-fast internet"

My guess is that it's the computer that determines this, not the internet connection -- Microsoft programs always use about five times the system resources they should on the idiotic assumption that everyone has the very latest and biggest hardware, and I suspect (although it's only "suspect") that the other way I could have solved the problem was to buy an extra gigabyte or three of memory, a faster chip, etc., etc., etc.

Microsoft reminds me of law colleges in so many respects . . .

[realthog.livejournal.com]

Just to let you know that yesterday I took my courage in both hands and installed Firefox. So far, so -- although it has some funny little ways I'm not yet used to -- good.

[avengangle.livejournal.com]

And now you can install AdBlock Plus and discover WHY we all use Firefox! (Tools -> Add-ons -> Get Add-ons -> search box, find AdBlock Plus and click!)

[realthog.livejournal.com]

And now you can install AdBlock Plus and discover WHY we all use Firefox! (Tools -> Add-ons -> Get Add-ons -> search box, find AdBlock Plus and click!)

Oodles of thanks for the tip! I'll go do that right now.

What I can't do with Firefox is reply to LJ comments via the "Post Reply" button on LJ's e-mails: I jest get an error message, so that I have to swear a lot and then try again via "View the thread" or whatever. Is there a way round this?

[avengangle.livejournal.com]

Hmm. First, I'm assuming you're using Windows XP and Outlook to read mail -- did you tell Windows that Firefox is your default browser? (This is an option at install.) If not, it could be getting confused. Also, can you open other links from mail (i.e., if someone sends you a YouTube link or something)? If it's ONLY LJ links, then we have an odd problem. If it's ALL links, then I'm sure it's easily fixable.

If that's not the problem, then I'll have to ask Ben (my husband). He probably knows.

[realthog.livejournal.com]

All other links work fine, including those in LJ e-mails. The only thing that doesn't work is the ability to type my reply to a comment in the box in the LJ e-mail and then click the "Post Reply" button below the box.

I should hunt around my LJ options and see if there's something there that hasn't been checked.

[pds-lit.livejournal.com]

""Oh, dearie me," I think I might have said in the heat of the moment."

I can assure you that these were not the words! LOL!

[realthog.livejournal.com]

I probably said "bottoms!" and "heavens to Betsy" once or twice as well.

[pds-lit.livejournal.com]

To me it sounded like the old Scottish accent was emerging which indicates something entirely different. :)

[sarcobatus.livejournal.com]

Now, that's scary.

I watched a Scottish flick the other night and couldn't understand a thing they were saying, had to turn on the subtitles. And they were speaking English, I think, or something trying to pass for English. ;P

[realthog.livejournal.com]

If Scots can understand the American corruption of English but Americans can't understand the Scottish corruption of English, what does that say about the relative IQs of the two peoples?

Hm?

[sarcobatus.livejournal.com]

That Scots like to belabor the obvious.