Funny, when I started typing it seems like it would be brief...

I haven't tried the hosts file method, so I am not sure how the pros and cons play out. WIth a proxy server, you have more granular control over what is blocked, and what matches. Ie, 'adverts' blocks any url containing the word adverts. A hosts file only blocks at the domain level. Because it does this, a hosts file may be smaller (the block list in this case is 2000 entries). With a proxy server method, you can for example, hide non-advert images from the site you are visiting. Some sites will put a huge stonking image right in the middle of the page, and this may not be a good thing from a small form-factor screen perspective. So block it.

A hosts file will have the edge over perfomance I think. Though marginal I reckon. It may be that polipo does better caching than microb, so would confer some performance advantage on slow links.

Not sure!


I have added a couple of comments at the beginning of the post. The auto-start of the app part is maemo 5 specific, and I never did get around to figuring it out on my n810.