Userscripts.org

Hello Arend.

I guess you remember I just did a little modification to Folders4Gmail script to keep it more processor friendly.

I saw you made another comment about that saying it is a rare problem.

Yes i can use your script and it doesn't slow down my computer... if we are just doing easy tasks. But if i'm programming, or using graphic design software, running a virtual machine or just playing an online game it becomes an annoying issue. Compiling takes more time, processes inside virtual machine hang, and i got lag in the middle of a battle in a game (and to close gmail just to play or going to compile sounds almost weird).

I guess the problem is not about slowing down the computer, but eating resources when it is not necessary and eating them when you really need them.

Sorry, i forgot to mention three additional aspects related to avoid to use the processor too much.

The first aspect is: laptops are now popular enough, but laptop users like to save battery energy, and too many processor usage drains batteries so fast. If we can avoid unnecessary processor cycles our software is beter for such machines.

The second aspect is: heat. A processor running all the time use to heat and laptop and computers run better if processor is cool. I don't like to compile while my processor is reaching high temperatures.

The third aspect is: concurrency. some people needs to open more than one gmail acount at the same time. Yes, we can now, cause some corporate mails are running now on google apps, so if i open my allpurpose account, my personal work account and the company account, i'm ruined, firefox become as fast as honey running through a bottle. (I made the experiment, it's not that slow, until i open my base email with more than 100 labels, and bang!)

(Copy of related post to discussion "CPU" elsewhere in this forum.)
@Andries:
I shall start by saying that IMHO Folders4Gmail is a great script and is to Arend's credit.

However, there has been a longstanding problem with Folders4Gmail regarding excessive processor (CPU) utlisation and overheating, but the author's (i.e. Arend's) stated opinion (see discussion "processor demanding issue?" elsewhere in this forum) is that it is OK, and he presumably does not intend to do anything about it. The script loops a lot on redrawing, so as to reflect an up-to-date view of a potentially dynamically changing state (i.e., the state of your labels and the emails they are assigned to).

(As an aside, regardless of how good a script is, the potential for being dictated to by other peoples' unsubstantiated opinions as to the validity of my experience in using a script is one of the reasons I dislike using scripts.)

From my observations, the Folders4Gmail CPU problem seems to vary in magnitude depending on the number of labels in use and the type of CPU being used.

For example:

(a) on my laptop (Intel Centrino duo CPU) the effect of enabling Folders4Gmail is instantaneous, and I have to switch Folders4Gmail off because of the problem. I have LOTS of labels. CPU utilisation maxes at 50% (equivalent to the whole of one CPU), CPU temperatures rise very fast (SpeedFan starts blowing at full speed) and system response goes down to a crawl or a halt. I have sometimes had to to shut down Firefox via Task Scheduler, just to get the system speed up so that I can restart F/fox and disable Gmail or Folders4Gmail and Greasemonkey. I now have Folders4Gmail permanently disabled as an add-on and in Greasemonkey, because of this limitation.

(b) In a single Centrino CPU desktop, the problem does not seem so bad, but gradually response times seems to increase and either F/fox or Gmail needs to be restarted. I have no idea why this behaviour is so different to my laptop's Centrino duo CPU.

Out of interest, you might like to compare the CPU problem you have with Folders4Gmail with two other labelling scripts that also hammer the CPU:

(i) "Processor Friendly Folders4Gmail": which seems to alleviate but not cure the problem on my laptop, and I do not use it for the same reasons as above.

(ii) "LabelLinks4Gmail": which takes the Folders4Gmail concept into a new dimension. IMHO this script is nothing short of brilliant - it needs to be used to be appreciated. Unfortunately, to use it effectively, you are obliged to structure your labels differently to Folders4Gmail's label structure (so you cannot easily switch between the two and you would need to keep two sets of label profiles anyway, to do so - which is tedious), and it hogs the CPU twice as much, so is only really usable in short bursts. I therefore keep it disabled most of the time too. Such a pity. Such a great script.

Hope this is of help/use to someone.
Thanks to Arend for creating the Folders4Gmail script.

Quoted
"My opinion still is that Folders4Gmail uses only little CPU time. As long as that's the case I prefer to have faster label redraw than to have a little less CPU usage." - Arend

In my Opinion:
I prefer to use the MORE CPU power to do MORE important tasks: compiling, rendering, editing flash or a vector image. In just a sentence, i bought a processor for work, not for labels!

But i think you can do something easy to solve this issue in a solomonic way.

Why not just to put a variable at the very beginning of the script called something like refreshtime, then set it to 1000, and add a comment so we can just edit it with ease not requiring to know about scripting. huh?