Test your product on a crappy laptop
css-tricks.com
Test your product on a crappy laptop
1–10 of 321 posts
Re: Test your product on a crappy laptop
#2"It’s also no secret that the average size of a website is huge, and it’s only going to get larger."
This attitude seems common, that websites are just going to be fat and get fatter. That's a lie.
Not if you, as a web developer, stop the bloat. The power is in your hands, you just need to use it.
No, you don't need that 8 MB hero image. No, you don't need that bloated framework. No, you don't need those 37 tracking libraries. No, you don't need a "Read More" button hiding most of the content. No, you don't need dynamically loaded clickbait at the bottom of the page. No, you don't need an autoplaying video. No, you don't need load a script to inject text into a copy operation. No, you don't need 87 cookies. No you don't need to load random unvetted code from a third party advertiser. No, you don't need the page text to fade in on scroll. No, you don't need any of that.
In case you forgot, https://idlewords.com/talks/website_obesity.htm
Re: Test your product on a crappy laptop
#3Any recommendations for a solid, representative crappy laptop? $100 xSomething Thinkpad off Ebay? Or is there something more representative of today.
Re: Test your product on a crappy laptop
#4Any recommendations for a solid, representative crappy laptop? $100 xSomething Thinkpad off Ebay? Or is there something more representative of today.
Just see what's on offer at your local thrift shop.
I don't recommend garage sales, however. People tend to overvalue their electronics. I tried to buy a radio that was worth maybe $20 from some guy. He wouldn't part with it for less than $150 because it reminded him of his father. That's nice, but I'm not paying $130 for your memories.
Re: Test your product on a crappy laptop
#5Any recommendations for a solid, representative crappy laptop? $100 xSomething Thinkpad off Ebay? Or is there something more representative of today.
Try the shittiest laptop at Walmart. Like an HP stream.
Remember the low res 1366x768 screen.
Re: Test your product on a crappy laptop
#6"It’s also no secret that the average size of a website is huge, and it’s only going to get larger." This attitude seems common, that websites are just going to be fat and get fatter. That's a lie. Not if you, as a web developer, stop the bloat. The power is in your hands, you just need to use it. No, you don't need that 8 MB hero image. No, you don't need that bloated framework. No, you don't need those 37 tracking…
The technical worker who codes up the web site and its backend does have a say, but not a lot of it. Product and sales people have a stronger say, because they optimize for the money the web site produces.
Explaining them how much worse the bloat makes the site's experience for the user, showing how many pages are left partially loaded because the user did not have the patience and navigated away, how the competitor's site loads faster, may help convince them to keep the experience reasonably slim.
Re: Test your product on a crappy laptop
#7Any recommendations for a solid, representative crappy laptop? $100 xSomething Thinkpad off Ebay? Or is there something more representative of today.
The old target was a 2008-2010 MacBook Pro, one with a Core 2 Duo CPU
Re: Test your product on a crappy laptop
#8Any recommendations for a solid, representative crappy laptop? $100 xSomething Thinkpad off Ebay? Or is there something more representative of today.
Buy a 5-years old laptop off eBay, yes. In a good working order, but with a slow CPU, little RAM, and a mediocre screen (not even FHD). A thinkpad is a fine choice because they are usually made to last, so it won't keep breaking at you.
Re: Test your product on a crappy laptop
#9Microsoft was famous for testing the Mac version of Office on base model 60MHz PowerPC machines
Re: Test your product on a crappy laptop
#10Raspberry pi works well for this