submitted 5 days ago by alyaza@beehaw.org to c/technology@beehaw.org

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To truly wrap your head around the phenomenon of a 49 MB web page, let's quickly travel back a few decades. With this page load, you would be leaping ahead of the size of Windows 95 (28 floppy disks). The OS that ran the world fits perfectly inside a single modern page load. In 2006, the iPod reigned supreme and digital music was precious. A standard high-quality MP3 song at 192 kbps bitrate took up around 4 to 5 MB. This singular page represents roughly 10 to 12 full-length songs. I essentially downloaded an entire album's worth of data just to read a few paragraphs of text. According to the International Telecommunication Union, the global average broadband internet speed back then was about 1.5 Mbps. Your browser would continue loading this monstrosity for several minutes, enough time for you to walk away and make a cup of coffee.

If hardware has improved so much over the last 20 years, has the modern framework/ad-tech stack completely negated that progress with abstraction and poorly architected bloat?

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[-] Quexotic@beehaw.org 1 points 2 days ago

Look at a few electron apps and you'll find your answer. A resounding yes.

At this rate, I've found myself vibe coding simple apps rather than downloading them or looking for web tools.

Example: my wife needed a bunch of qr codes. Everything online was shitty bloat with tracking. 10min and I'd built and tested the Python, another 5 and I'd already had it wrapped on an eye wrapper for her.

[-] limerod@reddthat.com 40 points 5 days ago

Stupid stuff like this is the reason I use Ublock-Origin. Before that I used to use Umatrix when it was maintained. I blocked just about everything and had countless rules for my most visited websites so idiotic stuff wouldn't load.

Nowaways, I block 3rd party frames and call it a day. If my connection is slow I can block pictures, javascript and 3rd party bloat to reduce bandwidth and browse basic sites.

[-] Powderhorn@beehaw.org 15 points 5 days ago

There was a scene in Law & Order decades ago where Jerry Orbach's character, investigating a murder scene, makes the wry comment, "Oh, suspenders and a belt" after noting a diaphragm and condom wrapper on the nightstand.

uBO is great, but it's not a complete prophylactic. NoScript also ends endless ads loading. A pihole can handle things at the network level. There are numerous ways to maintain internet hygiene that most people don't realize exist, because it's not profitable to give people control over their own devices, so those of us on Firefox (or a derivative) and several extensions are characterized as "crooks who want to steal the internet."

As with politicians, each accusation is an admission.

Ad companies: "I want to use the vast majority of the data allocation you pay for."

Me: "No."

Ad companies: "THIEF!!!!!!!!!!!!"

[-] Redjard@reddthat.com 3 points 4 days ago

ubo has a button to disable javascript. For news pages that tends to be the easiest way to make them barely usable.

[-] vikinghoarder@infosec.pub 29 points 5 days ago

And if you have a limited data mobile plan, they are just eating your money

[-] Powderhorn@beehaw.org 13 points 5 days ago

All mobile plans are limited, at least in the U.S. Even "unlimited" plans will revert to dial-up speeds once advertisers have stolen enough of your data.

[-] belated_frog_pants@beehaw.org 20 points 5 days ago

I want a browser that is text only like lynx but with tabs and extensions. The modern web is fucking awful and its lazy slop and will only get worse.

I dont need 400mb of fonts and a 200mb background photo of someone laughing at nothing looking into blank space. I want the fucking info.

[-] bufalo1973@piefed.social 11 points 5 days ago

That's why some people created the Gemini protocol... And then came Google and used the same fucking name for it's bloody AI.

[-] belated_frog_pants@beehaw.org 6 points 5 days ago

I love gemini proto, i wish more stuff was on it. Fuck google :/

[-] Opisek@piefed.blahaj.zone 3 points 5 days ago

I enjoy using elinks but it might be too restrictive still.

[-] Endymion_Mallorn@kbin.melroy.org 2 points 5 days ago

Just use Lynx/Links in your console?

[-] belated_frog_pants@beehaw.org 1 points 5 days ago

I do but i want more from it

[-] Endymion_Mallorn@kbin.melroy.org 1 points 5 days ago

Your console has tabs if it's a modern console.

[-] belated_frog_pants@beehaw.org 2 points 3 days ago

Yeah i do use tmux as well, i can make it happen but making it pop a new tab from a link for instance wont work

[-] FrostyPolicy@suppo.fi 18 points 5 days ago

Even with ublock-origin with quite extensive blocking rules and browsers enhanced tracking protection the ny times website was 10 MB to load.

[-] Krauerking@lemy.lol 4 points 4 days ago

We have gotten so bloated and lazy.
Some rich idiot who has never heard of limits buys in and then says who needs optimization, everyone has all the resources they do, dont they? And if thy dont they should buy in so that more money is spent.

Finite is such an impossible thought for some people the same way infinite is.

[-] crandlecan@mander.xyz 5 points 5 days ago

Yes

[-] kalpol@lemmy.ca 3 points 5 days ago

I tried out replit to just make a web page showing a nice indexed list of static files. Whatever it came out with was 300MB

this post was submitted on 01 Apr 2026

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