Mozilla, continuing its year-long crusade to speed up Firefox startup and shutdown times, has published a name and shame list of the Firefox’s slowest add-ons.

The list is just one part of Mozilla’s new efforts to highlight slow add-ons, and to help developers make their add-ons more efficient. Over the next two weeks, ‘slow performance warnings’ will be introduced in the add-on gallery so that users can see, before installation, which add-ons will slow down their browser. If that isn’t enough to spur developers into cleaning up their add-ons, Mozilla has also begun reaching out to developers of slow add-ons with tips on how to improve add-on performance. Finally, add-on developers will soon have the ability to perform ‘on-demand performance testing,’ so that they can test their add-on before it’s deployed publicly.

Mozilla reports that the average Firefox add-on slows down Firefox’s start-up time by 10% — which means, if you install 10 add-ons, you will double your start-up time. On fast desktop PCs that kind of slowdown might be negligible, but on older computers, laptops and smartphones, it could be the difference between a 5 and 10 second startup. Mozilla has obviously realized that while massive performance gains might’ve been made with Firefox 4, the addition of third-party add-ons can destroy any user-perceived improvements.

In other news, Mozilla says that a future build of Firefox will block the installation of add-ons (such as toolbars) by third-party software. Add-ons and toolbars that are bundled in this way will require explicit approval when you next open up Firefox. Hooray!

Mozilla publishes name and shame list of slow Firefox add-ons, cracks down on tardy devs originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 04 Apr 2011 05:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/04/mozilla-publishes-name-and-shame-list-of-slow-firefox-add-ons/

Bridget Moynahan Britney Spears Brittany Daniel

Tuesday’s hostage rescue was only a small part of a massive U.S. campaign of special operators, spy drones and secret jailers in the Horn of Africa.

Source: http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/01/battleground-africa/

Deanna Russo Denise Richards Desiree Dymond

Volvo’s latest test brings us one step closer to cars that drive themselves.

Source: http://www.wired.com/autopia/2012/01/semi-autonomous-road-train-trial-is-a-success/

Jennifer ODell Jennifer Scholle Jennifer Sky

The big loser in the Pentagon’s new budget? Ordinary human beings.

Source: http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/01/humans-robots-budget/

Evangeline Lilly Eve Fergie

Many big-name companies are already switching to the iPhone, and though BlackBerry is the biggest competition in the enterprise arena, iOS is doing a great job of cutting Android out of the picture. According to the latest data from Good Technology, the iPhone 4S was just as popular among businesses as it was among consumers in the last quarter, commanding 31% of enterprise activations.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/qfwDNS2JdNA/story01.htm

Adrianne Palicki Aisha Tyler Aki Ross

When it comes to making sure that you are getting the most out of your tablet, specifically the Apple iPad, you are going to have to look into getting a keyboard. That?s right, you need to make sure that you are getting a full iPad case keyboard so that you not only have a full work studio with your portable device, but you are also accurate in your dealings. For those that are looking to have a full work suite [...]

Source: http://tabletbuzzblog.com/ipad-case-keyboard-your-best-bet/

Christina DaRe Christina Milian Christina Ricci

When director Matt Lenski first went to Michael Sullivan?s apartment, he probably never imagined he would be walking into a den of robot porn.

Source: http://www.wired.com/underwire/2012/01/meaning-of-robots-documentary/

Gina Gershon Gina Philips Gisele Bündchen

I have no idea what the heck just happened in Resident Evil Revelations, but it was pretty awesome.

Source: http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2012/01/resident-evil-revelations-review/

Jennifer Morrison Jennifer ODell Jennifer Scholle

As several of you noted in the comments to our post asking for cross-platform iOS/Android games, Words With Friends for Android does not provide the smoothest gaming experience… and that’s being rather charitable.

You might be happy to hear that a couple of days ago Zynga released an update which promises to solve many of the Android-specific issues, such as notifications not popping up.

Sadly, installing the update is not a smooth experience; you have to manually uninstall the previous version, and then go to the Android Market and install it. What’s nice is that it doesn’t lose your saved games – this screenshot shows a game I’ve started before the update and continued after updating.

How’s the new update working out for you? Let us know in the comments!

Words With Friends for Android updated, promises “smoother game experience” originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 04 Mar 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/04/words-with-friends-for-android-updated-promises-smoother-game/

Danica Patrick Daniella Alonso Danneel Harris

Kim Dotcom likes things. He used to have a serious collection of cars, until it got taken away. One of the rooms in his house apparently houses more than six TVs. Now, we hear he just had a huge inflatable tank, just like the one in the picture, delivered to his house. Too bad he’s still in jail and won’t be able to appreciate it. [Ars Technica; Image: Ria Novosti] More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/RNWEohlXx7o/kim-dotcom-just-had-a-huge-inflatable-tank-delivered-to-his-house

Dania Ramirez Danica Patrick Daniella Alonso