Electrolysis (e10s) is Mozilla's codename for their multi-process initiative in Firefox. The main goal of this is to separate the content of the website from the user interface. This means that, if a site has long-running JavaScript or layout, Firefox will not lock up. This seems like a simple idea, except that it undoes over a decade of assumptions that were made during Firefox's development. Imagine, for instance, that you have an extensions which modifies both the browser UI as well as the page content — that's a single script that needs to be run across multiple threads. Whoops!
This roll-out won't necessarily be immediate, though. You can install Firefox 48 and, only some weeks later, get Electrolysis turned on retroactively. They are starting with about 1% of eligible users, which will ramp up to all eligible users over time or even be disabled if alarm bells start to ring.
Speaking of eligible users, there are quite a few conditions that will prevent you from getting Electrolysis. Namely, if you use extensions (it's unclear if they're talking about all extensions, or just ones that use certain APIs) then you will be kept on single-process. They don't specify why, but it could very well be the situation that I mentioned in the first paragraph.
Firefox 48 is scheduled to be released in six weeks (the first week of August).
Each time Mozilla gurus try
Each time Mozilla gurus try to get back in the race, they come out with insane ideas to hide their failures… good job guys! :o)
Effing FINALLY!
Effing FINALLY!
IE locks up too, so maybe FF
IE locks up too, so maybe FF will be better with allowing the user to still be able to use their computer while they can kill the offending process. IE sure locks up and it locks up the whole computer for 30s for those damn Ads with the funky scripts. Now if they could give the user control over those ads that jog the page when the user is trying to read, you know the ads that load and cause the screen to scroll to where the ad is on the page for about half a second! Let’s put a disable scripted control of the user’s browser UI on the FF browser also so none of that annoying ad driven monkeying of the UI can happen. A nice setting to disable any scripted control over the browser’s UI that rightfully belongs to the user and not to any ad pusher.
I always disable javascripts
I always disable javascripts when it is useless. No spyware addon needed for doing that… only type “about:config” in the Firefox address bar, search for the “javascript.enabled” key and set it to “false”. I don’t know exactly why Mozilla gurus removed the option in the preferences but I have a tiny idea…
Better late than never.
Better late than never.
Finally, a way to browse the
Finally, a way to browse the internet and remove unsightly body hair at the same time.
Firefox’s attempts to stay
Firefox’s attempts to stay relevant by becoming exactly like all other browsers are doomed to fail. Those who stick to Firefox do so because of the unique advantages it has, and Firefox will never capture the “casual” market that Chrome has by emulating it because Mozilla can never compete with the marketing and piggybacking power that Google, Microsoft, and Apple have. Better to embrace differentiating factors and be content with a modest but respectable marketshare than to alienate power users by trying to pursue the mainstream market that is unattainable without billions to spend on marketing.
“because of the unique
“because of the unique advantages”
Please tell me which ones? The Yahoo default search engine? :o)
“Mozilla can never compete with the marketing”
So why Mozilla inflated Firefox version numbers so quickly without major change?
“Better to embrace differentiating factors”
That’s already the case, Firefox lost market shares. 😀
“unattainable without billions to spend on marketing”
Actually Mozilla lack of money pushed developers to ride a donkey (Yahoo). They sealed their fate to him which would be very bad in the short term.