14 DAY TRIAL // Are the MSDN webpage load times killing precious time that you could be using to write code instead? Well, Microsoft has the answer to speed up MSDN as much as possible, so much so in fact that page load times will no longer be an issue. In fact, with the MSDN Low Bandwidth (loband) version 1.0, Microsoft is promising that webpages with content aimed at users of its developer-centric portal will load almost instantaneously, under 1 second. Quite a performance, considering that some pages can take as much as seven seconds in order to make the content available to users.
“Based on your feedback on the above posts we have launched a new version of loband experience for our Library with the following improvements: Simpler Layout: Loband view replaces the navigation tree view on the left with a simpler layout; Smaller Page Weight: With no scripts and controls we have trimmed the loband version page weight by 80%. Faster Page Load: Less than 1 second load in most regions across the world compared to 3 to 7 seconds for a high bandwidth view,” revealed a member of the Library Experience (LEX) team.
The easiest way to enjoy the low bandwidth view is to monkey the default URLs provided by the website. Essentially, what this means is that you have to add (loband) bit before the .aspx file extension. In order to get an idea of the difference you can compare the System Namespace page under normal parameters and the (loband) view. In addition, the new version of loband also offers: “Improved Navigation for API documentation; Discoverability for non-english users; and the Feedback Link - we have added "feedback" link on the loband pages to get your input for future improvements,” the LEX team representative added.
Accompanying the release of low bandwidth (loband) Version 1.0 is the new IDE (dev10ide) view. This viewer is designed for developers accessing MSDN library content via the Visual Studio 2010 IDE. Yes, you will have to monkey the URL in the same manner as for (loband), but this time using (dev10ide).