Opera browser is much faster than a potato

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaT7thTxyq8

by jrnkntl • 16 years ago

226 45 16 years ago

jrnkntl• 16 years ago

Which, of course, is a -not so subtle- parody on the Chrome video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oarMXGq3gI

Does Chrome really render Web pages from bottom to top, as appears to happen on allrecipes.com? Or was that just done for dramatic effect?

Arve2• 16 years ago

No. If you read the description of the chrome video, you'll see that they turned the LCD upside down to remove a shadow, and used software rotation in Windows to turn the display back around. The exact quote:

Chrome actually paints the page from top to bottom, but to eliminate a shadow from the driver board, we had to flip the monitor upside down and set the system preferences in Windows to rotate everything 180 degrees, resulting in the page appearing to render from bottom to top.

ryandvm• 16 years ago

Cute. Incidentally, this was already my exact mental image of the average Opera user.

gjm11• 16 years ago

Same as http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1386224 except that that one links to Engadget's comments on the video rather than directly to the video itself.

melling• 16 years ago

The Chrome video was cool. I watched the "Making of" video and got bored pretty quickly and didn't finish watching it.

gardarh• 16 years ago

This is such a beautiful slap in the face for the Chrome video. Which was pretty cool by the way :)

electromagnetic2• 16 years ago

Yes, but I still watched it through Chrome and it didn't instil a sudden urge to switch browsers.

mjsergey• 16 years ago

Does anyone else think they are calling the Chrome videos a 'red herring' or is this reading too much into it?

lhorie• 16 years ago

Well, he does read a book called "Famous Herring Parties" while waiting for the potato to cook, and then proceed to simulate a sword fight with herrings.

bartl• 16 years ago

I assumed it was a reference to something the Norwegian people might worldwide be famous for, that is: herring. Just an impression.

Timmy_C2• 16 years ago

I feel like the average viewer is going to take this video at face value since they may not see the subtle reference to the Google Chrome speed tests video. Saying that you're faster than a cooked potato in hot water isn't saying much.

I do like the crack censorship though. It was funny and unexpected.

scott_s• 16 years ago

The "average viewer" won't know what Opera is in the first place.

yalurker• 16 years ago

I have to think you're taking too negative a view of the intelligence of average. There is nothing subtle about this parody.

I could be wrong, but I'd be shocked that any competent person who had seen the chrome advertisements wouldn't recognize and understand this parody.

Timmy_C2• 16 years ago

You're right, if someone had seen the Chrome speed tests video then they would likely see the direct reference.

However, anecdotally, I did see the Chrome video and I didn't see the direct parody until I read the comments here on Hacker News.

yigit• 16 years ago

It is a mistake to think you can solve any major problems just with potatoes.

raintrees• 16 years ago

Don't pick it up, pick it up, pick it up. Quick! Just pass it on, pass it on, pass it on... Thanks again, Douglas.

RyanMcGreal• 16 years ago

Totally unfair comparison. If you chop up the potatoes and put a lid on the pot, they'll cook a lot faster.

Periodic• 16 years ago

You can actually do pretty good potatoes in a microwave for about a minute per potato (or something there about).

electromagnetic2• 16 years ago

Incidentally, just like when BBQ make sure you pierce the potato with a fork. Otherwise, yes you'll have cooked potato in <1 minute, however you'll still have to clean the microwave so it would be more like a time-shifting step rather than a time-saving step in the cooking process.

phugoid2• 16 years ago

Putting a lid on the pot won't speed things along, as long as the water was boiling anyway. Boiling water is around 100 C, with or without lid.

Chopping them smaller make a bit of difference, but not that much - again most of the flesh will be at 100 C for the duration of the cooking. I've tried these things.

count• 16 years ago

Keeping a lid on help keep the temperature more consistent, as there is much less heat escape and evap into the atmosphere.

bluishgreen• 16 years ago

Water boils at 100C, but did you know that steam exists at temperature higher than waters boiling point? So steam above the water can go upto 120C depending on the weight of your lid. So when you put a lid on the pan you are semi boiling/ semi steaming which is why it cooks faster.

JeanPierre• 16 years ago

Actually, putting a lid on will give an incredible difference if you have a pressure cooker. You can heat up water to 120 degrees Celsius because of the pressure inside, and that should make those potatoes done faster.

maggit• 16 years ago

The water isn't heated when they start. It would get to a boil much quicker with a lid on.

jules• 16 years ago

Actually water starts to bubble around 70 C, and small bubbling vs heavy boiling makes a great difference in cooking time. But of course it doesn't matter whether you achieve this by turning up the heat or putting a lid on the pan.

dacort• 16 years ago

One also has to wonder what altitude they were at.

thingie• 16 years ago

Well, in that initial map scroll-in, you can clearly see that the video is set somewhere in Oslo. (Or at least gives the impression.)

qw• 16 years ago

It is much better to boil the potatoes whole without cutting or pealing the skin off. If you do that, you lose a lot of the nutritions in the process.

spicyj• 16 years ago

I can't imagine that cutting up potatoes will get rid of the nutrients in the skin.

justinph• 16 years ago

They should have used the potatoes as a battery to power the laptop.

ratsbane• 16 years ago

That was great... but WTF (What Turbo Fan)

thomasfl• 16 years ago

They are så fæntæstic! Heia Norge.

vrode• 16 years ago

What actually is Opera Software making profit of? Of not being funny? But seriously.

Opera browser is much faster than a potato

Related Stories