How can I tweak Firefox and Ubuntu to save network bandwidth?

Question

I have tethered my HP Mini with LG Optimus One (with a 3G connection) and use it often while roaming for reading articles on the web. I am using Ubuntu 11.04 with Firefox 6. Here are the different means I use to save the network bandwidth.

• Turn off automatic updates for
  • Ubuntu 11.04
  • Firefox
  • Firefox Addons
• Use AdBlock Plus in Firefox
• Installed 'nethogs' in Ubuntu to see which process is consuming the network.
• Save the articles in the ReadItLater offline mode when connected through BroadBand.
• I have installed NoScript in Firefox, but not sure if it really helps or not.

Are there any other means of saving the network bandwidth? As I mentioned I primarily use it to read articles.

Answer 1

NoScript definitely helps.

I would install FlashBlock too, as well as blocking all images using Adblock and only downloading them if you want.

Also check what network services you're running and disable all those not needed as well.

Answer 2

You could give opera mobile a try under ubuntu, since it's optimised for mobile devices and I think uses the opera proxies to optimise sites for lower bandwidth usage. It's not firefox but it should be good enough for reading articles without going completely text only.

Answer 3

Use ImgLikeOpera firefox plugin, only load images you know you want to see, for websites like Facebook, open it once with "Load all images" to cache images then set it to "Cached images only" and when you want to see a certain image just Ctrl+RightClick on it.