Notices

Can someone explain to me (in plain english) what javascript pausing is in the browser settings? And what happens when i select 15, 30, no or immediatly? Whats the best one to select?
Thanks in advance..
Nath

Best one to select is "No", in my experience, unless you rarely visit pages that have Javascript on them. Good rule of thumb is, if you use Google Docs, GMail, or anything Google, Javascript pausing will make it suck.

Now, I do this with a slight annoyance because you can't get more 'plain' that "Pausing JavaScript" - either you know what Javascript is or you don't... but here goes:

JavaScript is a standard language used for making certain things happen on websites. Basically, there's HTML and CSS, which define how a page is laid out and looks, but doesn't change after being loaded unless you refresh the page. JavaScript is a way of telling the browser that loads the page to perform certain functions - usually create a pop-up yes/no/whatever window, or create a text-box on the screen when you press a button/link - stuff like that.

Anyway, JavaScript Pausing basically pauses the running of JavaScript - I presume it's meant to be a CPU/power saving feature - after a certain amount of time. So if you go to a website that has Javascript in it, your browser will continually check if the conditions in the script are true, and run it if it's something that loops/runs-constantly. This is how normal desktop browsers work, typically. Javascript pausing will simply stop/"pause" Javascript running after a certain amount of time. It's presumably supposed to then resume running Javascript when needed.

Sounds like a great idea, right? Well, it would be, except on sites that are javascript-heavy, like GMail, the browser screws it up, so the page basically ends up running abysmally slow, if it works at all.

Personally, I just leave it off. I don't think you'd ever noticeably make anything run better or with less battery drain by having it on. I certainly never noticed it having any advantage other than screwing up running some sites that actually depend on Javascript.

I leave mine at 15secs and I haven't had any problems with Gmail, but I don't use any other Google web apps. Just keep in mind that if you disable it, any browser pages you leave running in the background are going to consume more processing power.

So if i select "no" that stops javascript pausing which allows sites with things that run on the page like on a desktop computer? Sounds like you get more of a desktop experience to me when disabled and thats always worth loosing a bit of power i say! I think i get it now Been bugging me since i got this phone

That's actually covered by the User Guide on your N900:

Note the "in the background" part.

A bit of power when you are using it may be okay, but if it runs when the phone is idle the extra CPU wakeups will eat into your standby time. With this set to "no" does it run when the screen is off?

I haven't had any Javascript problems with this set to the default 15 seconds, but I don't use Google services aside from search.

Those who don't have problems with GMail - we're talking full blown desktop GMail, right? Not semi-desktop GMail, not pure HTML GMail, not mobile, etc - just the full-bells-and-whistles gmail, with the built-in GTalk chat and everything else?

Anyway, I don't know about how much this 'in the background' thing is actually followed by the browser. If it's in the source code that's open, someone can pipe up, of course. In the meantime, all I can say is that when people have complained about desktop-version of GMail being slow, and I've recommended setting Allow Javascript Pausing to "No", they've come back saying it worked wonders. If someone really wants, we could probably look in to how well GMail works if you leave the window open the entire time, and/or what happens if you, say, press a button then switch to another window while it loads, or even background it for a second while checking on something else.

Yep that's right. But to access the full Gmail interface with MicroB, you have to go to:

https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2

Otherwise it will force you over to a mobile interface.

Not anymore. At least, not for me. Keeping in mind that I was one of the first people effected by Google's initial redirect-MicroB-to-mobile-version implementation, and actually made a thread about it on here when it first hit, this is something I've been paying attention to. I also wrote about it in one of those google "surveys" they sometimes pop up at you about how satisfied you are with their products, what comments you have, etc.

Anyway, nowadays, just www.gmail.com takes me to the full desktop view. Try it, let me know how it works out for you. (I'd be very surprised if it does redirect you, but I admit it's possible I just got lucky somehow.)

I just tried going to gmail.com on my N900 and I can confirm it now goes to the full AJAX UI by default.