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[Mac] Reading article in Reader View causes computer hot

  • 12 replies
  • 6 have this problem
  • 1 view
  • Last reply by winstonma

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First of all I am using a Macbook running Firefox 56 and 57b4.

After loading the article I pressed the Reader View button. Then press the play button to read the article. After a while the computer gets a bit hot and then the CPU fan starts running.

The same feature is available in Safari and I tried that and it didn't get the CPU hot so I would predict the Mac TTS feature would not get the computer hot. So I guess there is some Firefox issue that causes the CPU hot.

First of all I am using a Macbook running Firefox 56 and 57b4. After loading the article I pressed the Reader View button. Then press the play button to read the article. After a while the computer gets a bit hot and then the CPU fan starts running. The same feature is available in Safari and I tried that and it didn't get the CPU hot so I would predict the Mac TTS feature would not get the computer hot. So I guess there is some Firefox issue that causes the CPU hot.

Modified by winstonma

All Replies (12)

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Hello winstonma, do you have this article URL to try reproducing your bug ? Do you use the embedded viewer?

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Start Firefox in Safe Mode {web link} by holding down the <Shift> (Mac=Options) key, and then starting Firefox.

A small dialog should appear. Click Start In Safe Mode (not Refresh). Is the problem still there?

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smorele said

Hello winstonma, do you have this article URL to try reproducing your bug ? Do you use the embedded viewer?

http://mentalfloss.com/article/504666/bit-bit-inside-rise-retro-gaming

To view the CPU usage, I use activity monitor

Also, just find out that reading in reader mode doesn't always works. After I press the play button

  1. The CPU load jumps from 5% to 35%
  2. The left hand side shows the moving green bar, indicate that TTS is working
  3. No text is being highlighted. I remember in the past it will highlight the speaking sentence
  4. No voice is being heard

I am running macOS High Sierra with Firefox 56 and using Ava as system voice.

Modified by winstonma

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FredMcD said

Start Firefox in Safe Mode {web link} by holding down the <Shift> (Mac=Options) key, and then starting Firefox. A small dialog should appear. Click Start In Safe Mode (not Refresh). Is the problem still there?

Safe mode doesn't solve the problem. The CPU load jumps from 5% to 35% when my notebook starts reading the article. On Safari the load jumps from 5% to 8%.

In addition I use the [How to start Firefox in Safe Mode] to enter the safe mode. It seems it is easier.

Modified by winstonma

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Do you have a module like ghostery to block intrusive script? I do and there are 4 x more calls from different services like youtube for example when I deactivate ghostery. From my own experience, these f*****g scripts can drastically increase your CPU usage but I do not mean it's your problem.

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smorele said

Do you have a module like ghostery to block intrusive script? I do and there are 4 x more calls from different services like youtube for example when I deactivate ghostery. From my own experience, these f*****g scripts can drastically increase your CPU usage but I do not mean it's your problem.

I didn't use ghostery but I use ublock. I just opened the page using Safe Mode (all addon disabled) but the trouble still occurs.

In my case, I opened the page in safe mode, press the reader mode button and then press the play button. It just said 'mentlefloss.com' and then stop speaking (with green indicator still moving).

I think the most important is the problem is repeatable. Could the problem be reproduced?

Modified by winstonma

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Working on a mac with FF stable (as you) and Firefox Nightly, I cannot reproduce this bug, the reader works fine. Does this behavior happen with other websites?

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smorele said

Working on a mac with FF stable (as you) and Firefox Nightly, I cannot reproduce this bug, the reader works fine. Does this behavior happen with other websites?

Before we progress let me write down the full test case here

Prerequisites Make sure the Mac is running macOS 10.13 (I am not sure about older version but I am using macOS 10.13) and Firefox 56 installed.

Test #1

  1. Run Firefox on Safe Mode How to start Firefox in Safe Mode
  2. Go to Bit by Bit: Inside the Rise of Retro Gaming
  3. After the web page finished loading, enter Reader View
  4. After the Reader View finished loading, press the read button of the left and then press the play button

On my Mac it only reads the website domain 'mentalfloss.com' then it didn't read the article. Does it read the whole article on your side?

Test #2 - CPU Load Test

  1. Open Activity Monitor (Open Launchpad and type 'Activity Monitor' on the top search bar)
  2. Run Firefox on Safe Mode How to start Firefox in Safe Mode
  3. Go to Bit by Bit: Inside the Rise of Retro Gaming
  4. After the web page finished loading, enter Reader View
  5. Look at the Activity Monitor and wait until the CPU load is stable (My PC: Idle 95%)
  6. After the Reader View finished loading, press the read button of the left and then press the play button

After the play button is being pressed, the CPU load will jump from 95% Idle to 75% Idle, which means it consume 20% CPU to read the article. On my PC, that 20% is the reason why my CPU fan starts running and my laptop is getting hot.

Please repeat the same test on Safari, after open the page on Safari please choose 'Edit'→'Speech'→'Start Speaking'. Then go back to Activity Monitor and read the CPU reading. On my side the CPU jump from 95% idle to 92% idle.

Modified by winstonma

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Yes, I can reproduce. Everything worked fine until I update my MacBook pro to 10.13 this morning then it may be related. In this case, the best thing to do is to create a ticket for developers on bmo Your last message is quite enough to be understandable I guess you can you can pass it.

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smorele said

Yes, I can reproduce. Everything worked fine until I update my MacBook pro to 10.13 this morning then it may be related. In this case, the best thing to do is to create a ticket for developers on bmo Your last message is quite enough to be understandable I guess you can you can pass it.

How about CPU load? Could you reproduce?

In the meantime I think I will open a ticket for the stop speaking bug.

Modified by winstonma

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winstonma a écrit How about CPU load? Could you reproduce?

Yes, I did and, again, since my osX update.

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smorele said

winstonma a écrit How about CPU load? Could you reproduce?

Yes, I did and, again, since my osX update.

Thanks for confirming this issue.

However based on my experience this CPU too hot issue exist in macOS Sierra (10.12).

Again I opened the ticket in Bugzilla .