New interface is SLOW

[kgrothusen]

I have noticed a huge change in the new interface, it is horribly slow. We have 3 users in one account and 2 of us are working on pc's that are about 5-6 years old. I know the machines are old but not about to buy a new one just because of the e-mail program.

Is anyone else experiencing this, does fastmail know about it?

Honestly if this keeps up we wont be re-newing.

[David]

Welcome to the forums kgrothusen. I will ask a moderator to please move your post to the Fastmail forums.

Here is a link to all the forums at EmailDiscussions.

[CyberSmurf]

moderator: done

[the bishop]

Originally Posted by kgrothusen

I have noticed a huge change in the new interface, it is horribly slow. We have 3 users in one account and 2 of us are working on pc's that are about 5-6 years old. I know the machines are old but not about to buy a new one just because of the e-mail program.

Is anyone else experiencing this, does fastmail know about it?

Honestly if this keeps up we wont be re-newing.

Hello and welcome to the forums here Fastmail changed to a newer, more feature laden interface which has a bad side effect of being slower.

[petergh]

I didn't notice any slowdown in the new interface until someone brought it up in this forum, and when I tried the old interface again, I did notice a small but definite lag in everything I did. The old interface definitely feels snappier overall.

[Pfolson]

Originally Posted by petergh

I didn't notice any slowdown in the new interface until someone brought it up in this forum, and when I tried the old interface again, I did notice a small but definite lag in everything I did. The old interface definitely feels snappier overall.

Of all the hundreds of comments in the old vs. new debates, this is the most interesting one I've seen yet: I didn't notice a problem until someone told me to notice it. I don't deny your experience, but I do find it fascinating. If someone has to tell you there's a problem before you see it for yourself, is it really a problem?

I still insist, as I have all along, that the old and new interfaces run at roughly the same speed for me. I have tested it repeatedly. Some times the old interface wins by a few split seconds, some times the new wins by the same small margin, some times they're both a little sluggish, some times they're both blazingly fast. It's a wash. This is on three different computers, ranging from brand new to seven years old, on two different networks, and in four different browsers. Now add in the time-savings that the new interface allows, with keyboard shortcuts, cross-folder search, being able to customize the layout so everything is exactly where I want it ... when I do that, there's no longer any comparison. For steady day to day usability and speed of accomplishing the tasks I need to accomplish, the new interface wins by a landslide.

Everyone's mileage varies, of course, as the posts in these forums prove. But I feel compelled to keep offering my own "mileage report" every chance I have, if for no other reason than to add some balance to those who keep posting "slower, slower, slower" in every thread.

Paul

[kgrothusen]

When I say slow I mean it's just like when I was on dialup years ago. And it's not just me, it is another user in my account as well.

If we are the only ones having issues then so be it but unless it changes between now and time my subscription is up, we wont be renewing.

[Pfolson]

Originally Posted by kgrothusen

When I say slow I mean it's just like when I was on dialup years ago. And it's not just me, it is another user in my account as well.

If we are the only ones having issues then so be it but unless it changes between now and time my subscription is up, we wont be renewing.

Well, I'm sure you're not the only one having that problem, though your problem may be more severe than most, especially if it's truly as slow as dial-up. That's highly unusual, and there's no valid technological reason the new interface should be doing that.

It's hard to know what the problem might be without more information on the browser(s) you're using, your javascript settings, network information and so forth. Even with that information, it might be impossible to diagnose.

You mentioned that your computers are quite old, and that may well be the problem. You also mentioned that you won't upgrade your computers just because of your e-mail. I don't blame you; I wouldn't either. There are lots of other good reasons to upgrade old systems, including security, flexibility, functionality, etc. But no one should do it just to get one web service to run properly.

Then again, it might not be the age of the computers. One of my three systems (the one I use at work) is a seven-year-old machine, and it runs on the cheapest and slowest broadband my bosses could find, because they don't want to pay for faster service. Nevertheless, the new interface responds nearly as quickly on that system as it does on my new laptop and top-speed network at home. So age of the machine may be a factor, but not necessarily.

What does any of this prove? Absolutely nothing, except, once again, everyone's mileage varies.

I hope you're able to find a solution. If not, a change of service may indeed be your only answer.

Paul

[the bishop]

Originally Posted by petergh

I didn't notice any slowdown in the new interface until someone brought it up in this forum, and when I tried the old interface again, I did notice a small but definite lag in everything I did. The old interface definitely feels snappier overall.

Exactly. That's what Fastmail wanted -- for everyone to just change over, and not do a comparison. Those of us that did that comparison and complained were ignored really.

Your discovery of the difference is exactly like someone who has been driving around in a car that doesn't have A/C. You just drive at 55 with the windows rolled down and it's 'good enough' ... however, once you try in-car A/C, well you don't want to go back to the windows rolled down anymore, even if the effect is a small but definite difference.

The more people that post this sort of thing, the more I know there is a number attached to removing the classic interface entirely. Seems like the majority of posts are for how slow the current "solution" is. That is good because we feel that just because Fastmail has become less fast, it's still salvageable - especially if they go back to what wasn't broken and what didn't need fixing.

Maybe this new Ajax thing that has been hinted around will show up in the next few years, and maybe it'll be a step up. It's not like we want to say it's slower - it just is. We're calling a fail because it is. If they undo the fail that some folks thought was a good idea then I for one will champion it. As for this, it's slower and less user friendly. How is that not a step back.

[David]

If Fastmail were to make a commitment, to once again support and maintain the old interface, I would come back for sure

[the bishop]

By the way, for me to see just what the speed difference is between the two interfaces, I have a folder with 7500 email messages in it. If I go from 25 to 500 the notice is more than a few seconds. It's a noticeable difference.

[Pfolson]

Originally Posted by the bishop

Exactly. That's what Fastmail wanted -- for everyone to just change over, and not do a comparison..

Except that some of us did the comparison and found no difference, or even found an improvement.

Originally Posted by the bishop

As for this, it's slower and less user friendly. How is that not a step back.

Because it's not slower or less user friendly for some of us. For some of us, it's been a big step forward in usability.

It's safe to say that those of us experiencing good performance are experiencing the system as Fastmail designed it to be -- unless you believe that they deliberately designed something slow and clunky, something meant to leave out a large segment of their long-time users. I think that's unlikely. I think they designed something that runs fast and smooth, as the new interface does for me and others. It's not as if we had to make a bunch of upgrades or changes to our computer hardware or operating systems to see this good performance. We're not tweaking or "cheating" to get the results that we're getting. That raises the real possibility that those of you experiencing bad performance are doing so because of something in your systems -- the age of your system, your OS, the browser you're using, your network, your browser set-up, add-ons you may have installed, etc., etc., etc.

Ideally, Fastmail should work well on the widest range of systems and set-ups as possible, and perhaps it no longer does that, at least in all cases. But sadly, that's the way technology goes. Every software product and web service I can think of generally runs better on newer, faster, more powerful, well maintained systems. If not, you're looking at a product that probably isn't designed to its full potential and isn't taking proper advantage of the "state of the art." In most cases, it's really hard to program to the highest and lowest common denominator at the same time, or to build a state of the art product that works well with non-state of the art systems.

Personally, even though I love the new interface and all its advantages, I hope Fastmail reverses course and decides to keep the old one, if for no other reason than we can stop having these endless "new interface sucks" threads clogging up the forums. But given previous posts from FM about the difficulty of supporting and maintaining the old interface, I think that's pretty unlikely. As you said, we may have to pin our hopes instead on the new-new Ajax interface and hope that meets the needs of all users, instead of just some.

Paul

[gardenweed]

My experience is that Fastmail has slowed down.
I don't know if the cause is the change to the new interface - I don't really care about the cause - but I would like Fastmail to be fast again.

I use Fastmail and Gmail.
I find Gmail is lightning fast compared to Fastmail.

Once upon a time, I used Fastmail as my main interface and Gmail as a backup.
Now I find myself drawn to using Gmail because of its superior speed, and I use Fastmail just as a repository and for the file storage features. So the roles are reversing.

My point is that due to the laggy response, Fastmail no longer distinguishes itself as a premium email service for me. I am naturally drawn to an alternative without actually consciously seeking an alternative.

I used to enjoy using Fastmail. Now I find it a burden.
I dread the daily cleanup of email and having to work with a slow interface.

(Side note: my pc's are modern and super quick - so it is not my hardware or OS.)

[petergh]

Originally Posted by Pfolson

Of all the hundreds of comments in the old vs. new debates, this is the most interesting one I've seen yet: I didn't notice a problem until someone told me to notice it. I don't deny your experience, but I do find it fascinating. If someone has to tell you there's a problem before you see it for yourself, is it really a problem?

My observation is based on a single test run done on the same computer within a timeframe of a few minutes, so it's not scientific in any way. Just an observation, and not a complaint about the new interface. Like you, I do find the new interface with its Gmail-like keyboard shortcuts a productivity booster over the old interface, so if I had to choose between the old and the new interface, I'd go with the new one, no doubt about it.

[sflorack]

Originally Posted by the bishop

That's what Fastmail wanted -- for everyone to just change over, and not do a comparison.

It's a conspiracy!