FastEddie
Since: Apr, 2004
#2: Jan 11th 2011 at 9:22:47 PM
Images over the width limit slow the client browser down re-calcing the display image. Some browsers, in fact, are really bad with that job.
We're more interested in speed of page presentation than bandwidth, so we're focusing on reducing round trips per page, enabling parallel threads, and improving the CSS/layout for a faster paint.
I agree that image compression is a good play. First we'll start compressing on upload, then we'll figure out which is the best way to compress all the 100,000+ images files we have.
Goal: Clear, Concise and Witty
FastEddie
Since: Apr, 2004
Total posts: 5

If you're worried about bandwidth, take the time to optimize your images. For JPEGs, somewhere between 75% and 85% is usually good, especially since the original is often 75% or less. Unless the image was specifically designed to be a PNG, those are usually much larger.
One thing that rarely helps much is reducing the actual image size. For example, the resize mentioned in this locked thread
only reduces the image by < 5KB. * This is pretty typical, and means a difference of less than a second, even on dialup.
In most cases, the only real reason to use a smaller image is if it looks better.
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