Installing Epiphany Webkit with Flash Capability

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I read an interesting post comparing the different browsers and how they compare (in terms of performance) with each other. The conclusion of the post Linux Browser Shootout with Peacekeeper, suggested that Epiphany-Webkit was the best. From their web site:

“…Epiphany-WebKit absolutely blitzes the Peacekeeper and annihilates all of its competition (even Safari 4 and Google Chrome on Windows), besting even Midori by over 200 points. Seriously, what an amazing achievement. I’ll definitely be paying close attention to this browser as it moves closer and closer to maturity…”

Conclusions

Needless to say, it peaked my curiosity, so I tried it out. The first run was not too great, that’s when I realized I had the Gecko version in use and did not enable Flash.  A bit of Googling, playing with my system (Ubuntu 8.04 LTS – Hardy) and a couple of explicatives for good measure, here’s how I got this working in Hardy: Continue reading →

Browser Problems – Creating a Linux Based Virtual Box – Part 1 of 2

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I had an interesting discussion yesterday with the owner of LaLa Media (lalamedia.ca). The conversation focused on the issues of developing web sites that are cross platform friendly. Invariably the problem dealing with browser bugs came up. In particular how IE6 appears to be especially buggy and how it tends to have problems with CSS/XHTML div positioning (among other things).

Side note: As I’ve mentioned before, the upkeep of this site is a financial burden (but I think this blog does provide value to the community), as such I often collaborate on web projects to help with the server fees etc., which lead to the discussion at hand.

One particularly vexing issue we discussed was how IE positions DIV elements (via CSS) compared to other browsers such as Firefox, Opera etc. A site structure that looked great in other browsers often presented design challenges when using IE. Of course many of the Firefox fan boys were quick to jump in and say “don’t design for IE”, I think that is somewhat unrealistic, even though I’d love :) to comply (I’m smiling here). A case in point, if the client uses IE, the finished site has to work properly in IE as well. ;) In terms of browser adoption, many of you might find this resource helpful: Browser Statistics. According to the W3schools.com statistics, in March of 2008, IE comprises 53.1% of web users and non-IE browsers are used by 41.6% of users. Hence the importance of cross browser compatibility.

A specific issue encountered, that motivated me to post Part 1 (the introduction and ground work) was that the designer uses a Windows 2000 platform and unfortunately he cannot install any IE browser greater that IE6 (the buggy one). One pertinent observation was the viewing of the site via browsershots.org. For those not familiar:

“…Browsershots makes screenshots of your web design in different browsers. It is a free open-source online service created by Johann C. Rocholl. When you submit your web address, it will be added to the job queue. A number of distributed computers will open your website in their browser. Then they will make screenshots and upload them to the BrowserShots central server… ” where you can see how your site looks on the large, growing number of browsers available. That is one tool I suggested he use to garner an understanding of how different browsers render (because Windows 2000 could not move beyond IE6).

As he (the designer) also uses Apple, I assumed that perhaps he could make use of Continue reading →

Speed Up Your Internet Connection in Ubuntu Linux – Part 1

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After you’ve installed Ubuntu, you may want to tweak your system further, such as improving how Ubuntu connects to the Internet, and therefore speed up your web surfing.
To accomplish this, we’re going to configure IPv6 and the TCP Window Size. Please remember to back up any critical files or data you may need as well as keep records of the settings you change. Doing so will help you recover in the event of a disaster. Keep in mind that you perform these configuration “tweaks” at your own risk.
These configuration tweaks are completed by entering commands into your “Terminal”. We will use Gedit although you can use Vi, nano, etc.
As a side note, if you do not want to enter “sudo” for each command, just begining your terminal session with this command:

sudo su

IPV6 is an Internet protocol. Currently most applications use IPV4 and this can cause conflicts which slow down your system.
Complete the following to disable it.

sudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/bad_list

and type this in:

alias net-pf-10 off

Then save the file.

Speed up Broadband Internet by editing the appropriate configuration file and adding the following information. – Or, you can use a tool called PowerTweak from here: sourceforge.net/projects/powertweak

sudo gedit /etc/sysctl.conf

The first four line deal with window size and you need to enter numbers that are best for you (because these ones may be too high). Here is what I mean by this:
Computers communicate by sending packets of data back and forth. When they connect with each other to send these packets they use the TCP (Transmission Control Protocol).

Your computer could begin the connection with a small package size, then the other computer might respond with a larger one. In turn your computer will reduce (scale down) the size of the package (to a bit more that your original package size). The other computer again responds with a larger packet size. This cycle continues until your computer or the responding computer meets their maximum package size.

If you choose a windows packet size that is too big, you will notice slower broadband performance (524288 works for me). If you notice a slow down, then reduce your window size.
The largest size you can use is 65536, however these are the three settings that seem to work best:

524288
262144
131072
Which are all multiples of 1024 (or 1K).
Now add the following to the end of the file:

net.core.rmem_default = 524288
net.core.rmem_max = 524288
net.core.wmem_default = 524288
net.core.wmem_max = 524288
net.ipv4.tcp_wmem = 4096 87380 524288
net.ipv4.tcp_rmem = 4096 87380 524288
net.ipv4.tcp_mem = 524288 524288 524288
net.ipv4.tcp_rfc1337 = 1
net.ipv4.ip_no_pmtu_disc = 0
net.ipv4.tcp_sack = 1
net.ipv4.tcp_fack = 1
net.ipv4.tcp_window_scaling = 1
net.ipv4.tcp_timestamps = 1
net.ipv4.tcp_ecn = 0
net.ipv4.route.flush = 1

After adding these line you do not need to reboot, instead just reset the file by issuing this command:

sudo sysctl -p

After completing this, you should notice improved web surfing speed. If not, remember to go back and adjust your TCP window size and try again.

Part 2 of this article, which contains more technical information, can be found here: ubuntulinuxhelp.com/speed-up-your-internet-connection-in-ubuntu-linux-part-2/