Firefox and Seamonkey musings

[Collins Richey]

As time passes, my Kubuntu Dapper system is approaching perfection
(for me anyway), and I have more time to dig for info on any remaining
problems. I had noticed for some time that I was getting some swap
usage, and the swap usage increases after several hours at idle. Since
Firefox and a few Konsole sessions is usually the only thing running,
I began to suspect Firefox, and the almighty Google pointed out this
hint. I'm on Firefox 1.5.0.3, so the problem hasn't been fixed
recently.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1327586/posts

Anyway, I had read recently on the Xubuntu list that Firefox is a real
pig with respect to memory usage, and the Firefox/Thunderbird combo
can drive a minimal system (Xubuntu is geared for those with older
Pentiums and 128M) into thrashing mode. The users who have checked it
out, maintain that Seamonkey has a much better memory profile,
especially when using Browsing and Email concurrently. [ But see below
]

So, I decided to checkout Seamonkey. Anyone else using it?

Plugins (Mplayer, Realplayer, etc.) seem to work well, but then I
don't have any of the more esoteric plugins. Ubuntu handles this just
fine, but I can't seem to find a mozilla-mplayer (ie mplayerplug-in)
on Debian Etch.

The only thing I want to fix is the automatic starting sidebar. I hate
the sidebar and kill it every time it appears, but it's like Dracula
rising from the dead. Every time I open Google via the Search tab, I
get the sidebar again free gratis. Yech! Does anyone know how to kill
this permanently?

Bummer! I've just discovered that Seamonkey, too, has a thirst for
memory. With 5 open tabs and a download in progress, it is also
activating swap. My guess is that KDE plus anything else puts the
system right on the cusp of needing swap. I could always revert to
XFCE or ICEWM.

End of ramble.

-- 
Collins Richey
     If you fill your heart with regrets of yesterday and the worries
     of tomorrow, you have no today to be thankful for.