Google is finally trying to tame the Chrome resource beast

Google’s popular Chrome browser rightly has a reputation for sucking up all your RAM and processor resources, and it seems Google has finally heard the screams of users, as the company is working on a new mode which would limit the damage the browser can do to your system.

The so-called ‘Never-Slow Mode’ was found on Chromium Gerrit, and would put a hard limit on the amount of resources a page can use.

Developer Alex Russell explains the function of the new mode as such:

“Adds `–enable-features=NeverSlowMode` to enforce per-interaction budgets designed to keep the main thread clean (design doc currently internal).

Currently blocks large scripts, sets budgets for certain resource types (script, font, css, images), turns off document.write(), clobbers sync XHR, enables client-hints pervasively, and buffers resources without `Content-Length` set. Budgets are re-set on interaction (click/tap/scroll). Long script tasks (> 200ms) pause all page execution until next interaction.”

While the feature will likely result in a much faster browser, completely blocking larger scripts will likely also break a lot of web pages.

Chromium will soon be powering Edge, and Microsoft’s developers have already started contributing to the rendering engine.

Hopefully, with Microsoft’s help, Google can work at making the Chrome browser less of a drag on our PCs without breaking the increasingly complex and prevalent web apps.

Via Neowin

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