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Barry Pollard

@tunetheweb.com
3K followers 440 following 1.5K posts

Web Performance Developer Advocate at Google Chrome helping to make the web go faster! All opinions my own.

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Jeff Sharlet @jeffsharlet.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
I give up. I’m moving into a cave.
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Andy Bell @bell.bz · 14h
New on the blog
bell.bz
In response to “The death of web development education”
I read Mat​hia⁠s S​chäf⁠er’s excellent post, titled The death of web development education. I was thinking about how I can contribute to the conversation and really struggled to articulate the problem. The most effective way I can contribute, in my opinion, is a crude sketch I just did of Piccalilli‘s Stripe chart for all time…
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Barry Pollard @tunetheweb.com · 16h
See you there this Friday? Looks lovely!
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Ben Schwarz @benschwarz.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
How 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 screen
calibreapp.com
Lazy Loading Images and Media: How Far Ahead Browsers Fetch
How 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.
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Barry Pollard @tunetheweb.com · 29/09/2026
@mattzeunert.com , since you've been noting it's changes.
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Barry Pollard @tunetheweb.com · 29/09/2026
Can you imagine if any other industry tried this? These cigarettes are likely to kill people — we know this, but we need government to slow us down. This next model of car has a high risk of killing it's occupants — we know this, but we need government to slow us down. They'd be sued to oblivion!
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mattzeunert.com @mattzeunert.com · 29/09/2026
Want to know what features are supported in your visitors' browsers? DebugBear now reports browser version adoption over time and shows you browser support based on Google's Baseline project.
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Barry Pollard @tunetheweb.com · 28/09/2026
Great to see more public datasets out there. CrUX is great, and obviously has extra sway given the Google name behind it, but it’s Chrome-only. So RUM Archive fills that gap and lets us see how other browsers compare.
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Barry Pollard @tunetheweb.com · 28/09/2026
It's kinda elegant, but also kinda convoluted. If this is a common need (and I've heard a few asking for it!), then should we add the concept of "still-open" to HTML? And CSS with an `::open`, `::unclosed` or `::streaming` pseudo selector?
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Barry Pollard @tunetheweb.com · 28/09/2026
And create a thousand more? 😁
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Kelsey Hightower @kelseyhightower.com · 28/09/2026
I hope we keep writing docs for people who want to understand and build things without using AI.
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Kevin Powell @kevinpowell.co · 28/09/2026
Excited to see we'll eventually have responsive iframes. It's a one-liner in CSS with `frame-sizing: content-height;` but it does require a meta tag to opt-in from the embedded doc as well. Currenly only behind a flag in Chrome, but will be nice to have once it starts landing.
developer.chrome.com
Responsive iframes in Chrome 154  |  Blog  |  Chrome for Developers
Chrome 154 adds support for responsively-sized iframes, letting an iframe size itself based on the intrinsic size of its embedded document.
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Cyd Stumpel @cydstumpel.nl · 16/08/2026
Started working on my demo for Fronteers Dark Mode, this is built with CSS scroll-driven animations, no JS 💅 My talk will go into detail on where you can replace JS with CSS! Tickets are still available: fronteersconf.org This cool effect is inspired by @thomasaufresne.com → bennettandclive.com
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Manuel Matuzović @matuzo.at · 28/09/2026
This advent calendar is your chance to share your knowledge with a large audience. You have 5 more days to submit your ideas. First-time authors are welcome!
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danielroe @danielroe.dev · 27/09/2026
s/shipping more CSS/shipping less JS/ github.blog/engineering/...
github.blog
Improving site performance by shipping more CSS
How we fully migrated github.com away from CSS-in-JS.
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Bramus @bram.us · 25/09/2026
The time to ramp up your scroll-driven animations skills is **NOW** Go check scroll-driven-animations.style for and free 10-part video course created by yours truly, as well as a bunch of tools and demos.
scroll-driven-animations.style
Scroll-driven Animations
A bunch of demos and tools to show off Scroll-driven Animations
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Barry Pollard @tunetheweb.com · 25/09/2026
Yeah I did say if you “really, really, have to”!
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Lea Verou, PhD @lea.verou.me · 25/09/2026
Oldie but goodie: Don't listen to users (watch them!). I can’t count the number of times I had to explain this to well-meaning engineers, who thought the way to good UX was asking users what they prefer. www.nngroup.com/articles/fir...
nngroup.com
First Rule of Usability? Don't Listen to Users
For good UX, watch what users do, not what they say. Self-reported claims and speculations about future behavior are unreliable. Users do not know what they want.
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Barry Pollard @tunetheweb.com · 25/09/2026
Oh this is nice! Can even bring back IE data if you really, really have to.
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Barry Pollard @tunetheweb.com · 25/09/2026
Dear God, we have ruined the next few generations then...
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Niels Leenheer @html5test.com · 24/09/2026
Fronteers Dark Mode conference is next week! Monday I'll send badges to the printer... which means if you want a proper badge... sign up now! We've got a handful of tickets left and they are only €100 for an evening of front-end talks by some amazing speakers. www.fronteersconf.org
fronteersconf.org
Fronteers Dark Mode, Friday, October 2nd, Dordrecht
Join us at Cinema de Witt in Dordrecht for our after work conference.
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Patrick Brosset @patrickbrosset.com · 24/09/2026
The call for Interop 2027 proposals is closing today. More than 100 proposals got created! Here are my favs 🤩 patrickbrosset.com/lab/interop-... Check them out!
40 colored squares with my favorite feature names.
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Barry Pollard @tunetheweb.com · 23/09/2026
On the 17th complete rewrite already!
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Paul Kinlan @paul.kinlan.me · 23/09/2026
Great seeing responsively sized iframes landing in Chrome - developer.chrome.com/blog/respons... In my post "The browser is the sandbox", I said: "We need a way to size the outer-iframe (or iframes in general) that doesn’t rely on access to iframe.[...].innerHeight and sandbox='allow-same-origin'"
developer.chrome.com
Responsive iframes in Chrome 154  |  Blog  |  Chrome for Developers
Chrome 154 adds support for responsively-sized iframes, letting an iframe size itself based on the intrinsic size of its embedded document.
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Barry Pollard @tunetheweb.com · 23/09/2026
I use them all the time! And by that I mean I add bookmarks I will never use all the time! Sometimes intentionally, often accidentally with Chrome’s stupid keyboard combo I trigger frequently 😠 I do use about 10 bookmarks in the bookmark bar though. And I like that autocomplete favours bookmarks.
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Barry Pollard @tunetheweb.com · 23/09/2026
Love this!!! 👏
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zeldman @zeldman.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Inclusive Design 24 is a free 24-hour accessibility conference running all day. No sign-up. No registration. All sessions are streamed live and publicly on the Inclusive Design 24 YouTube channel h/t Elena Dosil inclusivedesign24.org/2026/
inclusivedesign24.org
Inclusive Design 24 (#id24)
A free 24-hour online community event on accessibility and inclusion
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Rachel Andrew @rachelandrew.co.uk · 23/09/2026
This is a lovely post. I'm quite often asked if people from different browsers argue with each other in CSS meetings. I usually say it's a lot more "huh... yeah that's not good ... how do we fix it?" That's especially true when it comes to the sort of situations described here.
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Ben Schwarz @benschwarz.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
The sites that pass (Frontier, Ryanair) aren't doing anything magic. They measure, find the worst page or interaction, fix it, repeat. Full breakdown: calibreapp.com/blog/airline...
calibreapp.com
It’s official: Airline websites are slow, but they don’t have to be | Calibre
We analysed 111 airline websites and it confirmed what travellers have been feeling for years
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Ben Schwarz @benschwarz.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Why are airline websites so slow? After looking at 111 of them, it comes down to four things. A thread 🧵
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Manuel Matuzović @matuzo.at · 23/09/2026
The CFP is open for 10 more days. So far, I have only 11 submissions, but I need at least 24. So, please share your ideas! First-time authors are very welcome!
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Barry Pollard @tunetheweb.com · 22/09/2026
Ha! I don’t work in Search so can’t answer any questions on that side — as I suspect you already know! Happy to answer any Chrome or CrUX questions though!
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Barry Pollard @tunetheweb.com · 22/09/2026
Shakes head in sadness...
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Brandy Zadrozny @brandyzadrozny.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Bonus for whoever wrote this chyron
Trump speaking at UN — MS NOW chyron reads: Trump touts being a peacemaker while asking if he should annihilate Iran
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Open Web Advocacy @open-web-advocacy.org · 22/09/2026
🇬🇧 OWA is having a special meetup in London on the 1st of October 2026 together with London Web Standards. 🌐 Join us for talks on browser competition, web apps, browser choice and data portability followed by Q&A and a chance to meet people from OWA and others working on these issues. 🔗 More info:
open-web-advocacy.org
London Web Standards OWA Meetup - Open Web Advocacy
We’re having an OWA meetup in London on 1 October 2026, from 19:00–21:00 BST, together with London Web Standards.
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Paul Kinlan @paul.kinlan.me · 21/09/2026
If you are in Developer Marketing and love building on the Web, our awesome Developer Marketing team is hiring. Come and help us create content that inspires developers and builders to build the next generation of web experiences. www.google.com/about/career...
google.com
Product Marketing Manager, Chrome for Developers
Know the user. Know the magic. Connect the two. At its core, marketing at Google starts with technology and ends with the user, bringing both together in unconventional ways. Our job is to demonstrate...
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Nicolò Ribaudo @nicr.dev · 21/09/2026
Today is Igalia's 25th birthday! 🎂 www.igalia.com/2026/09/21/T...
igalia.com
Twenty-Five Years Upstream | Igalia
Igalia is an open source consulting firm specialised in the development of innovative projects and solutions. Our engineers have expertise in a wide range of technological areas, including browsers an...
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Barry Pollard @tunetheweb.com · 19/09/2026
And this comes from one of the nicest people in tech!
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Barry Pollard @tunetheweb.com · 19/09/2026
Congrats! Time to start building planning talk number 2…
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Geoff Graham @geoffgraham.me · 18/09/2026
The Front-End Community is Still Alive and Beautiful I thought about dropping an addendum into my last post to say just how overwhelmed I am, in the best possible way, by the way all of you in the... geoffgraham.me/the-front-end-commun…
geoffgraham.me
The Front-End Community is Still Alive and Beautiful
I thought about dropping an addendum into my last post to say just how overwhelmed I am, in the best possible way, by the way all of you in the front-end community have shown up to show support, both for me and for CSS-Tricks. I started to do that but then felt a new post...
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Charlie Gerard @devdevcharlie.com · 18/09/2026
As much as it's nice to see people experiment more now that AI makes it easier, it's kinda sad that I don't see much knowledge sharing. No walkthrough of their process, implementation, etc. It's all just "look at this cool video of what I built" and that's it... 😞
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Barry Pollard @tunetheweb.com · 18/09/2026
This is not making me any less concerned... 😀
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Barry Pollard @tunetheweb.com · 18/09/2026
That’s… concerning.
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Barry Pollard @tunetheweb.com · 18/09/2026
Well I didn't wanna write "start" in case you saw it 😜
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Barry Pollard @tunetheweb.com · 18/09/2026
Very excited to finally get to go to Fronteers! It's been on my list for a while. ... now I really most finish off that slide deck...
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Dave Kellett @davekellett.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
TODAY'S COMIC: Someone! www.sheldoncomics.com/comic/someone/
PANEL 1: A tubby, bald man wearing a white collared shirt, with a blue and orange striped tie, holds a AR-type riffle with one hand, shooting into the air. The bright yellow light casts harsh shadows on him.
MAN: Please! Someone stop this weapon that I’m clearly shooting!

PANEL 2: The man bends over to reload the weapon with a “KLAK” sound.
MAN: The weapon keeps reloading itself, with SERO INVOLVEMENT FROM ME!

PANEL 3: The man continues to shoot in to the air.
MAN: I have no agency here! Nothing that I could do —SAY WITH MY OWN FINGERS — could end this!

PANEL 4: The man, still shooting the gun, turns his back, still yelling over his shoulder.
MAN: WHY IS NOBODY STOPPING THIS THING I KEEP DOING???
On the back of his shirt reads: LITERALLY EVERY A.I. COMPANY.

——
Want 5,000 more comics like this? Join us at Patreon.com/sheldoncomics for the *FULL* Sheldon archives, art giveaways, fun community, and more! Sheldon Comics copyright Dave Kellett. Colors by Beth Reidmiller
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Stuart Langridge @sil.kryogenix.org · 17/09/2026
things I did not expect for today: feeling a little bit sorry for Death as she makes things worse for everyone
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Manuel Matuzović @matuzo.at · 17/09/2026
Friends, it's that time of the year: Once again, I'm asking you to help me create another amazing HTMHell Advent Calendar by writing about HTML. The CFP is open until October 3! docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
docs.google.com
HTMHell Advent Calendar
Hello, my dear friends of high-quality markup! We're getting closer to the last quarter of 2026, which means that the HTMHell Advent Calendar is getting closer, too. Last year, once again, you contrib...
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Barry Pollard @tunetheweb.com · 16/09/2026
Sure, but a few bytes more and AVIF is clearly better. IMHO a first render at <7kb is effectively a tie, and then it comes down to what's in that first render. But the bigger point is that JPEG-XL progressiveness was a key selling point. And that argument is now in question in my mind...
Same image as previous post but with just 500 bytes (or half a kilobyte) more allows AVIF to render with a clearly better first render than the blurry JPEG-XL first render for the same number of bytes.
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Ben Schwarz @benschwarz.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Google 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...
Calibre's Core Web Vitals report for independent.co.uk showing new advertising metrics from Chrome User Experience Report. Total network usage by ads is 5.10 MB and total CPU usage by ads is 7.25 seconds at the 75th percentile, with the CPU figure trending upward over the last three months.
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