Firefox slow startup caused by RetailMeNot addon – Solved :)

I couldn’t figure out why my Firefox browser startup was soooo slow, and why my bandwidth monitor showed that lots of data being downloaded (>1 MB) even though I have my auto-updates DISabled.  Then, yesterday a Firefox error appeared “Script: chrome://retailmenot/content/rmn-networkhandler.js:74” which gave me a clue.  I decided to DISable the RetailMeNot add-on and the startup is now fast and there’s no extra bandwidth usage.


On further investigation, it seems that the RetailMeNot add-on updates its internal database on startup so that whenever you visit a site it checks for discount coupons or vouchers that might be redeemable at the site.
I’ve decided to turn off the RetailMeNot add-on until I’m in shopping mode – then I’ll turn it on.

If you're into software development of the GUI kind, then here's a Pencil that you can't do without - and it's free!

If you're a software developer who loves putting GUIs (Graphical User Interfaces) together then this free tool is for you.
Pencil turns your Firefox 3 browser into a sketching tool with just a 400 Kb installation package.

Pencil will always be free and can run on virtually all platforms that Firefox 3 supports.

The Pencil Project's unique mission is to build a free and OpenSource tool for making diagrams and GUI prototyping that everyone can use.

Top features:

• Built-in stencils for diagramming and prototyping
• Multi-page document with background page
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• Cross-platforms
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Click over to their home page and read the quick instructions for end users to start using Pencil in just half an hour.


Oh, and if you don't use Firefox (for some reason), then there's a stand-alone install (8.6MB) as well WinXP, Vista, Linux.
See here for the download options: download Pencil

I'm now going to try Firefox3 (Beta5) - without affecting my Firefox2 installation (using Portable Edition)

I've waited, read a bit, waited a bit more, and now I think it's time to try out the new version.... I'm cautious by nature, and when I found out that it's possible to install Firefox3Beta without affecting my "stable" version 2 (yes, I'm referring to the version that sometimes guzzles up CPU and RAM!}, I decided to follow that route.

Thanks for this info go to Gina: http://lifehacker.com/376551/the-complete-field-guide-to-testing-firefox-3

More specifically: From http://lifehacker.com/355973/make-your-extensions-work-with-the-firefox-3-beta to manually edit Firefox 3's configuration to run extensions no matter what.

Mozilla Firefox, Portable Edition 3 Beta 4 can be downloaded from here: http://portableapps.com/apps/internet/firefox_portable/test

Your Firefox 2 settings can be copied by following these instructions: http://portableapps.com/apps/internet/firefox_portable/test

When you are ready to take the plunge, then download Firefox3 beta from here: http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/all-beta.html