Solving the Micromass Big Integral Challenge - Issues with Latex Rendering?

[jim mcnamara]

Great thread!:
https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/micromass-big-integral-challenge.867904/#post-5450007

I have a 16GB i7 windows 7 box with Firefox v45.0.2. I have NO add-ons to Firefox.

Every time I open the one thread, it takes longer and longer - literally a minute the last time.
No other threads do that from PF or elsewhere. While freezing the PF window, everything else on the box is happy, the window simply becomes unresponsive for 60 seconds or longer.

Me, PF, or should I blame my dog? I'm guessing there is some sort of issue with Latex rendering. Dunno.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Threads with a lot of latex struggle. Always have. There is a lot of processing going on in the background client side. I've sent the thread to the mathjax developer to see if there is anything we can do config wise.

 

[Ibix]

I must say LaTeX rendering has seemed slower on my phone since the last Firefox update - I'd been thinking of starting a thread about it. Haven't seen it on my desktop though.

 

[jim mcnamara]

Hmm - we are doing what we can. In terms of the phone, those generally are pretty resource limited compared with most desktops. Yes?

 

[Ibix]

Yes - but I don't remember it struggling so much until the last Firefox update. Could be bad luck with the threads I've been viewing of course. I've not done any formal testing.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

The developer said nothing can be done at this point. I would suggest looking into Opera as the newest versions have tested even better than Chrome for javascript processing.

 

[jtbell]

Every time I open the one thread, it takes longer and longer - literally a minute the last time.

I just looked at that thread using Firefox 45.0.2 on this 6-year-old iMac with an i3 processor and 4GB RAM. It takes maybe 3 seconds at most, for a page to render.

It does bog down seriously in Safari on my iPhone 5s. I have to wait a while before I can scroll the first page smoothly.

 

[jim mcnamara]

Well, I just tried that thread and it took 44 seconds to completely load. Used IE 11, Chrome, and Firefox. Times varied somewhat.

But - the (very good idea of) positioning cursors in the thread at what PF thinks is the last place you read is wherein lies the problem for me.
It takes about 8 seconds to get a rendering of post #nn. If I want to move up or down, at that point, forget it. That is what I meant by "completely".
If I attempt an up arrow or down arrow or whatever positioning I try, it hangs.
I would guess that is what @jtbell saw.

Is there some browser cache setting I can enable? my PC C: drive is a Crucial SSD and I/O is very good.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Is there some browser cache setting I can enable? my PC C: drive is a Crucial SSD and I/O is very good.

The equations are loaded on the fly and not cached. They are not images but css formated text.

 

[jim mcnamara]

Tinked with some settings got the completed intial load time down by about 50% - Firefox 45.0.2 does in fact have caching for css rendering.
So, if I bump the cache somewhat, restart Firefox, then the page loads faster.

And this is not the only issue with Firefox, not related to PF. Sites like CNN and Christian Science Monitor spam a bunch of crud onto the main page so that you cannot see what's underneath and you have to wait until the extraneous junk loads to be able to dismiss it. With Chrome I can dismiss the overlaid junk early. So maybe I do need another browser like Opera.

Thanks for you help.