MSDN Low-Bandwidth Rendering Option

One of the common complaints with the MSDN website is the fact that the pages are pretty fat. The team has done a lot to make this better, but there's still some stuff in there that not everyone needs.

 

If you're interested in an extremely skinny version of the MSDN docs, give the new LOBAND rendering format a try. To use it, stick (loband) - inlcuding the parens - at the end of an MSDN URL, before the .aspx. For example, the documentation for System.Xml.XmlReader is normally at http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.xml.xmlreader.aspx. But if you surf instead to http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.xml.xmlreader(loband).aspx, you'll get the new, low-bandwidth rendering of the page. There's a link at the top of the LOBAND rendering that lets you make it permanent via a cookie (you can turn it off later via a similar link).

 

It makes quite a difference. On my machine, I see the regular version at about 98KB, and the LOBAND version at just over 18KB - and the 98KB doesn't count the TOC tree, which doesn't render in the LOBAND version. Not a huge deal for those on high-bandwidth connections in the US, perhaps, but there are lots of people who don't fit that description.

 

Note that the team already has planned improvements for the next regular update of the site. But don't let that stop you from letting them know if you have any ideas about how to make it better. You can drop a comment here or contact me - I'll make sure it gets sent on.

 

And no, I didn't have anything to do with implementing this - I'm just blogging it. :)