Can't this thing go any faster?

Among some much more modern machines, I'm still using a 2002 Powermac Quicksilver Dual 1Ghz G4. The rationale for this is best left as a subject of a different discussion, though the argument pretty quickly boils down to the fact that it works. Most major technological developments in personal computing space have been in the direction of web-based tools, gaming, and portable devices. If you are not doing heavy duty calculations or writing large programs, almost any amount of CPU power will do. It's become a commodity. (Now if internet bandwidth would do the same...)

The proliferation of web-based tools and portable devices has actually helped some things get more usable on older hardware. A lot more code is multi-threaded, and the limited processing power of smartphones has made fast code important again. The universal natural of web-based content also means that websites need to work on a range of devices. I'm finding few pages that don't load well or choke up the browser. Remarkably, browsing the web has actually gotten to be a better experience on the old machine over the past few years.

That said, the G4 is still not snappy fast for a lot of things (though, the indomitable performance of Xee and Shoebox keep it alive).

So, like with photo editing programs, I've gotten a bit picky with browsers, always looking for one that works faster. When the G4 was new, that was IE 5.2, then the mozilla/firefox fork Camino, and then recently, Tenfourfox.

For a long time, using Camino was a tradeoff. Safari came along, and generally ran faster, but had some clunky (to me!) UI issues, and tended to render some pages funny and crash for reasons unknown. I didn't really every consider Opera, because the difference in performance never felt that big. I thought Camino would be the end of the line, as the retirement of Gecko, combined with the sunsetting of OS X 10.4 and 10.5, would eventually relegate the G4 to obsolescence.

Enter TenFourFox. Not just new Firefox fork, but a veritable paradigm shift. Not only do the creators want a modern powerpc, OS X 10.4 compatible browser, they want one that runs like the wind. Extensive code optimization and tuning have done wonders for the browser: javascript heavy sites actually work on my G4. (If you're using one of these old machines, lemme give you some examples that will blow your socks off: I'm writing this blog post directly in Blogger, not copying and pasting. Google doesn't complain my browser is out of date! I can use Facebook! Huffingtonpost can be loaded and scrolled through!) I am not completely certain, but I think this single program has probably kept me from replacing the computer. Waiting a bit for science code to run and files to copy is one thing. Waiting to -read- a webpage while it the browser loads is another. Having webpages be useless is fairly damning to the functionality of a computer in the modern era. The browser program gets used a lot.

How much faster?
I ran some benchmarks this morning while sucking coffee through my Cheerios, using the collection of browsers I have laying round and sunspider.
TFF7450 10.0.10: 2,259.1 ms
Safari 4.1.3: 8,731.5 ms
Camino 2.0.9:  13,350.3 ms
IE5.2 : ∞ (wouldn't run)


Now for some comparisons,
1 ghz Tegra 2 Android 2.3.1 : 2,049 ms usng Firefox 17 beta
 1 ghz Tegra 2 Android 2.3.1 : 2,162 ms usng Chrome
Sony VGN-P698E Atom Z530 @ 1.6 ghz 1191 ms using Firefox 16
Thinkpad x120e 1.6 ghz AMD E-350 scores 600 ms using Firefox 16
Thinkpad z60m 2.0 ghz Pentium M scores 399.2 ms using Firefox 16
A 2.8 ghz Core i7 980 scores 220 ms using Chrome 22
iPod Touch 3G (iOS 5/Safari): 4585 ms
iPod Touch 5g (iOS 6.1/Safari):1815 ms
MBP Core i7 2640M 2.8 ghz (OS X 10.7): 199 ms using Firefox 16
MBP Core i7 2640M 2.8 ghz (OS X 10.7): 180 ms using Safari


If you really want Javascript speed, you'll still need a new computer... A high end netbook is 4 times faster...

However, the Tenfourfox puts the G4 in a class that's at least usable. IE 8 on the same Core i7 yields 3757.1 ms. Nice code a slow machine can be much faster than bad code on a fast machine.

Derby Names I

The Girly has been skating for a while now: The Meaties are starting to figure out hits.

Time to suggest names.

If it worked for my brothers cat, it should work for my wife.

A wee list of suggested derby names

• Iron Angel
• Ginger Crunch
• Redhead Revival
• WhatBanjos?
• Screami Mimi
• Mother Arclite
• Silent But Deadly
• Exsquezeme
• STAY BACK 200
• Bruise Button
• Chain of Command
• Divining Ramrod
• Pipedream

Wolf Spider

You would think that getting a spider the size of your thumb in focus would be easy. The place is crawling with these things, and I can tell you first hand, they don't want to be in focus.

They tell me they're scarier that way.

In the yard

In the yard, trees come and go,

speaking of Michelangelo. 

A problem with living here is that if you have a problem, everyone has a problem. Not in a metaphorical way. If you have a tree down in your yard, a million other people in Fairfax county have a tree down in their yard. Most of them make more and can pay more than you, so take a number and deal. Got it?

If you move to NoVa you must learn to think this way.

Electric Sheep Shaver

Many years ago (if 15 is "many" to you), in high school, I once gave someone a handful of change more or less on demand, yet in passing. It's hard to describe the situation:  an odd exchange that took place without the slightest hint of analysis or care. Like passing the salt at dinner, without knowing who you gave it too, or even talking to them. I was walking somewhere in a crowded school hall, in a daydream most likely, and someone asked me for money, so I gave them the contents of my pocket without question, and kept going without comment. It wasn't for a moment or two that I realized what had happened. So much for presents of mind.

I had a dream that I had found the money in my backpack. After all these years, I hadn't given it away, it was right there in that one pocket. You know, that pocket that your backpack has that you find in your dream, the one you've not opened in years. In the dream, the money was there. A big handful of it. I mildly happy. There was no point in caring about the mysterious deposit of a few dollars in coinage, but at the same time, there it was. Something to keep the change jar from blowing away. I like the way coins feel in the hand. Slightly heavy, like they could do something.

When I woke up, I decided to go looking for the missing pocket. Of course, it wasn't there. But I opened that other pocket. The pocket I never open because nothing of interest ever fits in there. What did I find?

 Of course, it's not the same money. It's been squirreled away as a product of eating out on business trips, and not wanting to be burdened with a jingly pocketload that would barely added up to a cheeseburger.

¡Es yo si que es!

I have a theory. The dog can only quantify things into three values.

In dog land, there can be:
-No things (A)
-A thing (B)

-Many things (C)

 

In this photo, the dog is wearing many socks.


Socks only make him look more strange and awkward.

Leaves