Ben Schwarz @benschwarz.bsky.social · 01/10/2026Google started publishing ad metrics for websites, so naturally I went looking for the worst offender 🤓 The “award” goes to Italian news La Repubblica — where ads cover 96% (!!) of desktop viewports. (Experimental CrUX data.) Compare it yourself: calibreapp.com/tools/compar... 180
Reposted by Ben SchwarzChris Coyier @chriscoyier.net · 30/09/2026Come for the webperf, stay for Ben's smooth intelligent voice 1132
Ben Schwarz @benschwarz.bsky.social · 30/09/202613 years after my first ShopTalk Show (episode 68!), Chris and Dave had me back to talk web performance: why airline websites are so slow, RUM vs synthetic testing, and whether fixing speed actually makes money ✈️🐢 shoptalkshow.com/734/shoptalkshow.com734: Web Performance with Ben SchwarzBen Schwarz stops by to discuss the state of web performance, using his research on airline websites as a case study. 1120
Ben Schwarz @benschwarz.bsky.social · 30/09/2026New as of Chrome 150: loading="lazy" on <video> and <audio>. A lazy video holds back its file, poster and autoplay until it's close. Firefox and Safari don't support it yet, so media there still loads straight away.calibreapp.comLazy Loading Images and Media: How Far Ahead Browsers FetchHow far ahead Chrome, Firefox and Safari fetch lazy media, why a lazy hero image slows your page, and where to use lazy, eager and fetchpriority. 021
Ben Schwarz @benschwarz.bsky.social · 29/09/2026How far ahead browsers fetch lazy images: • Chrome: 1,250px on 4G, 2,500px on 3G, 6,000px (!!) on 2G • Firefox: 600px, on any connection • Safari: one viewport. Lazy iframes: 0px, they wait until on screencalibreapp.comLazy Loading Images and Media: How Far Ahead Browsers FetchHow far ahead Chrome, Firefox and Safari fetch lazy media, why a lazy hero image slows your page, and where to use lazy, eager and fetchpriority. 0118
Ben Schwarz @benschwarz.bsky.social · 29/09/2026I rewrote our lazy loading guide with new usage data. Most pages still don’t use it. Chrome page loads using loading="lazy" (Sept 2026): • <img>: 26% • <iframe>: 1.5% • <video>: 0.06% • <audio>: 0.000039%calibreapp.comLazy Loading Images and Media: How Far Ahead Browsers FetchHow far ahead Chrome, Firefox and Safari fetch lazy media, why a lazy hero image slows your page, and where to use lazy, eager and fetchpriority. 060
Ben Schwarz @benschwarz.bsky.social · 28/09/2026⚠️ PSA for React 19 SSR apps: React automatically preloads ALL server rendered images. Without hints, early bandwidth is needlessly wasted. Fix it: * LCP image → fetchPriority="high" * Never lazy load the LCP image * Below-the-fold images → loading="lazy" (this also stops React preloading them) 122
Ben Schwarz @benschwarz.bsky.social · 25/09/2026Credit where it's due. Frontier tops the airline benchmark, and has trimmed LCP from 3.29s to 2.60s over 9 months. Small, steady wins. Ryanair has been quietly shipping perf improvements since I wrote about their redesign in 2015. A decade of discipline. 172
Ben Schwarz @benschwarz.bsky.social · 24/09/2026Australian government vulnerability disclosure car crash. We should 100% adopt GDPR, and other very common security practices Instead, they’ve left our asses swinging in the breeze, as usual 🤦♂️ 020
Ben Schwarz @benschwarz.bsky.social · 23/09/2026Why are airline websites so slow? After looking at 111 of them, it comes down to four things. A thread 🧵 192
Ben Schwarz @benschwarz.bsky.social · 23/09/2026Caught up with my favorite web duo to talk performance and user-experience. Episode dropping soon 🤠 @shoptalkshow.com 0110
Reposted by Ben SchwarzMatt Hodges @matthodges.bsky.social · 19/09/2026Very quick and dirty Jev test for hiring bias. One resume for a Wall Street job; asked whether the applicant should get a first-round interview. 76 evaluations, changing only the first name. 19 of each: White-associated men/women, Black-associated men/women. console.typesafe.ai/playground?s... 19475116
Ben Schwarz @benschwarz.bsky.social · 22/09/2026Great to reduce the TTL for new web platform features. I'd love to see other browsers roll to a more regular cadence too. 010
Ben Schwarz @benschwarz.bsky.social · 21/09/2026Cathay Pacific: HK$72.5B in passenger revenue, and the slowest booking site of any major airline. Shopify’s data says a 1 second LCP improvement is worth ~30% in conversions. Airlines aren’t shops, but even a fraction of that is a very large number. calibreapp.com/blog/airline-websites-are-slow 010
Ben Schwarz @benschwarz.bsky.social · 20/09/2026Safe spaces stay safe by removing those who cause harm, even if they “only” weaponise psychological safety in bad faith. You don't have to be polite about it. Don’t be nice. 0183
Ben Schwarz @benschwarz.bsky.social · 18/09/2026Everyone is rightfully happy to call out Ed Sheeran for bowing to pressure, but no one seems to be acknowledging that one of the world’s best known music artists felt compelled to bend over for fascists, and showed that he too can be controlled. That's where we're at right now. 140
Ben Schwarz @benschwarz.bsky.social · 17/09/2026Everyone’s explanation for slow airline sites: “it’s the booking engine.” Ryanair and Cathay Pacific both run on Amadeus. Ryanair is one of the fastest of the 111 sites I measured. Cathay is the slowest, by a wide margin. It isn’t the vendor. It's what you build on top of it. 280
Ben Schwarz @benschwarz.bsky.social · 17/09/2026How much of a news site is just ads? 🪶 nikkei.com – almost none 🐘 huffpost.com – 11 MB @calibre compare tool can now rank sites by Ad data. Ran it on 5 global news sites 👇 calibreapp.com/tools/compar...calibreapp.comnikkei.com and 4 more: Advertising Comparison | CalibreCompare ad metrics (ad density, ad count, and CPU and network usage by ads) for nikkei.com, cnn.com, huffpost.com, bbc.com, straitstimes.com. Real Chrome user data from the last 28 days. 152
Reposted by Ben SchwarzJhey ʕ·ᴥ· ʔ @jhey.dev · 17/09/2026one does not simply reveal a password 👁️ 732134
Ben Schwarz @benschwarz.bsky.social · 16/09/2026Google started shipping ad metrics in CrUX overnight, so I’ve added them to Calibre's free Core Web Vitals tool. First look at the Independent: ads take up 20% of the screen, 7.25s of CPU and 5.1MB of data per page. 88% of their readers are on phones. calibreapp.com/tools/core-w... 1104
Reposted by Ben SchwarzBarry Pollard @tunetheweb.com · 15/09/2026We just launched experimental ad metrics in the Chrome User Experience Report (CrUX): - Ad Count - Ad Density - Ad Weight: Network - Ad Weight: CPU These metrics are a set of ad-related measurements that provide transparency into sites' ad experiences. developer.chrome.com/blog/crux-ad... 1/8 🧵developer.chrome.comNew ad metrics in Chrome User Experience Report | Blog | Chrome for DevelopersLearn about the new ad metrics now available in the Chrome User Experience Report (CrUX) 23014
Ben Schwarz @benschwarz.bsky.social · 15/09/2026Qatar Airways was voted the world’s best airline in 2025. Its booking site ranks 79th out of 111. Cathay Pacific, five stars, ranks dead last. I spent a while digging into why airline websites are so slow, and what the fast ones (Ryanair, Frontier) do differently. calibreapp.com/blog/airline... 2278
Reposted by Ben SchwarzLea Verou, PhD @lea.verou.me · 15/09/2026Whoa, folks… I knew there was a need, but this is unprecedented! In only 15h after I posted it, gamut mapping shot up to be the 4th most upvoted interop proposal¹! 🎉 It's also the #1 trending, but that's kind of expected given the fact above 😂 ¹ As of right now, note this is still very fluid 1131
Ben Schwarz @benschwarz.bsky.social · 10/09/2026As you can see, I'm a completely normal person trying to write a blog post 080
Reposted by Ben SchwarzCalibre @calibreapp.com · 09/09/2026🏆 Website speed industry benchmarks, now with fresh CrUX data for August calibreapp.com/tools/websit...calibreapp.comWebsite Speed Leaderboard - Top Sites Ranked by Core Web VitalsWorld’s top websites ranked by Core Web Vitals performance. See industry benchmarks and performance leaders. 002
Reposted by Ben SchwarzJudd Legum @juddlegum.bsky.social · 08/09/20261. Elon Musk is spending millions pushing Americans to VoteSafe, which bills itself as a voter registration site but is actually a digital surveillance machine. 4721561469
Ben Schwarz @benschwarz.bsky.social · 07/09/2026People say they’re too scared to talk about their use of AI on bsky, so they have to go to X to feel like they’ll be supported (which… gross). My take: stop talking about AI incessantly and start showing what you’re achieving — aka results. So tired of all talk no action. 0111
Ben Schwarz @benschwarz.bsky.social · 06/09/2026Winter is over in Australia, but our snow fields? Closed early, too warm for snow. Dramatic climate incoming. 010
Reposted by Ben SchwarzRachel Andrew @rachelandrew.co.uk · 04/09/2026I'm relaunching CSS Layout News on Offprint.rachelandrew.co.ukCSS Layout News in the ATmosphereIn 2015 I started my CSS Layout News newsletter mostly to have my own venue to go on about CSS grid, at the time unavailable in any stable browser. I got to 2023 and 343 issues and it fizzled out. Partly because I got busy, but mostly because the newsletter signup form on the platform... 35510
Ben Schwarz @benschwarz.bsky.social · 04/09/2026Coles, aussie supermarket, has dropped Palantir. A small victory for privacy, but also, get in the bin you bottom-feeding turds. www.theage.com.au/technology/c...theage.com.auColes cuts ties with controversial CIA-linked data giant PalantirThe 2024 deal handed the Peter Thiel-founded company 10 billion rows of data covering every store, shift and one of Australia’s largest workforces. 1110
Ben Schwarz @benschwarz.bsky.social · 03/09/2026Update: you can use Windows too! I’d forgotten all about this support.apple.com/en-au/guide/...support.apple.comSet up iCloud Passwords on your Windows computerSet up iCloud Passwords in iCloud for Windows so you can manage and autofill your passwords on your PC. 020
Ben Schwarz @benschwarz.bsky.social · 01/09/2026Reminder that secure password handling is built into MacOS and IOS, so you can stop giving money to @1password.bsky.social — they’re just going to give it to short little fascist tits like DHH. 081
Ben Schwarz @benschwarz.bsky.social · 01/09/2026Tracking performance per deploy allows you to easily spot regressions, or … hopefully, the moment you made everything faster 🥳 The new Deployment segment panel in @calibreapp.com calibreapp.com/changelog/ar... 030
Ben Schwarz @benschwarz.bsky.social · 01/09/2026Reuters Climate Monitor shows temperature changes against historic averages. Today, its 6ºC warmer in Melbourne. www.reuters.com/graphics/CLI... 142
Ben Schwarz @benschwarz.bsky.social · 24/08/2026🚨 JPEG XL incoming 🐘 Smaller file sizes, and progressive rendering means images appear sooner. “Free” user experience upgrade 1100
Ben Schwarz @benschwarz.bsky.social · 23/08/2026Melbourne’s now or never festival brings audio, light, smoke and projection together at night 041
Ben Schwarz @benschwarz.bsky.social · 21/08/2026I’ve had this small cat themed thermal printer for several years and always wanted to make a message of the day print but never quite got around to it — until today  180
Ben Schwarz @benschwarz.bsky.social · 20/08/2026Of all of the emails I get, my favourite is from my local falafel place that has a dedicated section called “salad news”, and important announcements, like the first artichokes of the season. 190
Ben Schwarz @benschwarz.bsky.social · 20/08/2026When my partner is away visiting family I’ve taken it as an opportunity to cook a bunch of new dishes and experiment more to broaden my techniques and understanding of seasonal vegetables. It’s been a blast. Being able to rip out interesting and delicious on any weekday will never get old. 3110
Ben Schwarz @benschwarz.bsky.social · 15/08/2026Winter often breaks with the striking yellow wattle, which carries a gentle scent through the forest. It is always welcome 🙏 170
Ben Schwarz @benschwarz.bsky.social · 15/08/2026www.404media.co/person-hides...static.klipy.comThink Use Your Head MemeAlt: Think Use Your Head Meme 010
Ben Schwarz @benschwarz.bsky.social · 12/08/2026Run CI? Use Puppeteer? You may be entitled to leaner silicon 🍃 Update: Chrome for Testing arm64 builds are out! I've already updated @calibreapp.com pre-release Synthetic test agents to run arm64 — after observation, they’ll join the fleet Early numbers looking positive so far 📉 2102
Reposted by Ben SchwarzMathias Bynens @mths.be · 11/08/2026I’m happy to announce that linux-arm64 Chrome for Testing builds are now available, starting with version 153.0.8001.0: github.com/GoogleChrome... More background: github.com/GoogleChrome...github.comIssue · GoogleChromeLabs/chrome-for-testingContribute to GoogleChromeLabs/chrome-for-testing development by creating an account on GitHub. 0286
Ben Schwarz @benschwarz.bsky.social · 11/08/2026Booked a 10 day cycling trip in Japan, plan is to ride the Shimanami Kaido, ride an event, hop islands, go to Dogo onsen, eat a lot and ride ride ride 1100
Ben Schwarz @benschwarz.bsky.social · 11/08/2026electronicmaterialsoffice.com ok i preordered the altar llelectronicmaterialsoffice.comAltar II | Electronic Materials OfficeShockingly thin, fully mechanical. Altar II combines a superlative typing experience with an unbelievable design. 190
Reposted by Ben SchwarzDerek Powazek @fraying.bsky.social · 10/08/2026JK Rowling has pledged to use the money she earns from Harry Potter to persecute trans people. If you spend money on Harry Potter, that’s what you’re supporting. This isn’t theoretical, it’s totally overt, and there’s no rationalizing it away. 14523
Reposted by Ben SchwarzMichael West @michaelwestbiz.bsky.social · 08/08/2026Police to have right to seize mobile phones without a warrant, use IDF tech to search data, under new legislation brought to NSW Parliament #auspol #nswpol @michaelsainsbury.bsky.social michaelwest.com.au/the-police-s...michaelwest.com.auSurveillance State. NSW Police to seize mobile phone data without a warrant - Michael WestLegislation before NSW Parliament to allow police access to mobile phone data without a warrant, developed by Israel Defence Force veterans. 16169107
Reposted by Ben SchwarzVirginia Murdoch @virginia.alertbutnotalarmed.com · 07/08/2026Big Walk is glorious — I got a bit emotional playing a game set in Australian bushland. Kookaburras! I could almost smell the eucalyptus. 0101
Reposted by Ben SchwarzLena Reinhard (she/they) @lenareinhard.com · 06/08/2026We Were Meant to Be: On Tech, Hype, Being Human, and Making a Future youtu.be/cqocz1D4rdsyoutu.beWe Were Meant to Be: On Tech, Hype, Being Human, and Making a FutureYouTube video by Lena Reinhard 284