Fix Google Reader Lag by Blocking Google Plus Button
- by Jason Fitzpatrick
Chrome: Many Google Reader fans have noticed, since the upgrades last month, that the service is unbearably slow. Speed things up by blocking the Google Plus button.
Ever since the upgrade from the old Google Reader interface to the new integrated-with-Google-Plus interface, many Google Reader users were reporting a painfully long lag between reading entries in Reader. Previously hitting a keyboard shortcut or arrow button to move you through the new stories was instant with no noticeable lag. After the upgrade a lag of 3-5 seconds per individual story became common (we experienced this annoying lag around the How-To Geek office immediately after the upgrade).
One of the theories was that the addition of the Google Plus button to every article was causing memory issues. Geeks Are Sexy tested the theory by blocking this address: plusone.google.com/u/0/_/+1/fastbutton using AdBlock. While people were reporting great success with that move (and you may find it works great too) we didn’t have any luck.
What did work for us was installing Chromeblock and, while visiting reader.google.com, clicking on the ChromeBlock toolbar button and blocking Google +1. After that the 3-5 second lag vanished and browsing articles was as snappy as it had been.
Hit up the link below to grab a copy of Chromeblock.
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