mnaganov

IE Web Developer toolbar for DOM / CSS inspection and tweaking, and MS Script Editor (from MS Office) for JS debugging. Wireshark for net requests dumping.

But of course Firebug is much easier to use.

"Revolution OS" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolution_OS) --- is a great movie about Linux and FSF, and it also features a story about "Cygnus Solutions" startup.

Do lazy loading. Although it doesn't speed up loading really, it helps to create a smooth user experience.