1. Place scripts near closing body tag

Scripts block parallel downloads. While a script is downloading, the browser will wait until it finishes before downloading anything else. This is why it is recommended that you get everything else out of the way before having your users download scripts.

2. Remove any broken links/references

Simply enter your web page URL in Pingdom’s Full Page Test Tool. This tool will color-code any broken links/references in red so you can easily identify them.

3. Specify image dimensions

When image dimensions are not specified in the HTML and/or CSS of a web page, the web server must spend resources calculating these dimensions. It’s particularly important to specify the dimensions of images being used in conjunction with heavy Javascript image-manipulation libraries.

4. Localize external file references to minimize DNS requests

This is another spot in which Pingdom’s Full Page Test Tool comes in handy. Enter your URL and look for any file references to external domains. If possible, copy these files onto your own domain and link to them locally to minimize DNS requests.

5. Minimize slow-loading libraries and external widgets

Libraries and external widgets need to be chosen carefully. Sometimes it’s worth sacrificing load time for particularly engaging/useful libraries and/or widgets; however, sometimes you can live without the library and/or widget. For example, on MentorMate.com we felt it was worth sacrificing Sexybuttons for better load time, but sacrificing load time for Shadowbox. External widgets can be particularly bad for a site’s load time because of their reliance on external servers.

6. Compress your files using gzip

These days, gzip comes pre-installed on most web servers. You can check to see if gzip is running your server quite easily using Google’s Firebug “Speed Test” extension. Open Firefox, visit the web site you’d like to optimize, and open Firebug. From there, click “Analyze Performance” and select the “Resources” tab. Then you can expand any file to view details. If gzip is installed and compressing the element you are viewing, you will see what is highlighted in red in the following screenshot:

7. Merge Javascript and CSS files or use Minify

Depending on the complexity of your site, it can be quite time consuming to merge all CSS into one file. The same goes for Javascript. This is why Minify was developed.  Minify “combines multiple CSS or Javascript files, removes unnecessary whitespace and comments, and serves them with gzip encoding and optimal client-side cache headers.” Then you simply need to install it on your site, select the files you want it to serve together, change some references in your header, and you’re good to go. This will minimize your site’s load time by further helping to reduce HTTP requests.

8. Load cross-browser compatibility hacks only for necessary browsers

For instance, we use the IE PNG FIX for IE6 PNG transparency compatibility. This script adds an extra second to web site load time. For this reason, we only load the script if the visitor is running IE6 by applying an IE6-specific stylesheet which references the IE PNG FIX. This way the extra load time will only impact IE6 visitors.

We simply added the following line of code to our header:

<!--[if IE 6]><link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="css/ie6.css" /><![endif]-->

9. Use CSS sprites to minimize HTTP Requests

A CSS sprite is the combination of multiple images into one. Then CSS is used to reference different aspects of the image where needed. This reduces load time by minimizing all of these images into only one  HTTP request. CSS Tricks has a good example of CSS sprites.

Extremely useful app for storing notes in. Includes features to easily share notes with others.

Astrid

Spectacular to-do list app. Ability to synchronize with rememberthemilk.com so you’ll never lose anything. Tags allow for easy categorization.

ASTRO File Manager

Manage your files directly with this app, rather than just when you have your device hooked up to a computer with a USB cable.

chompSMS

The built-in SMS message app works alright, but the interface is not all that special. chompSMS has chat style conversation bubbles that are far more ideal for such communication.

Gmote

Make your android phone function as a remote control for your computer.

Google Sky Map

View the constellations clearly. Changes the view based on your GPS coordinates and the angle at which you hold the phone.

Google Voice

Send text messages to other Google Voice users for free. Setup customized voicemails based on who is calling you. Even allows for transcripts of voicemail, although this particular feature has a lot of room for improvement still.

handyCalc

Allows for multiple, independent calculations simultaneously and is far less limited than the built-in calculator.

Locale

Setup auto-triggers on your phone based on your location, time of day, calendar events, battery level, etc.

NewsRob

RSS reader that syncs with Google reader

Pandora

Pick an artist and listen to their songs for free and songs from similar artists.

Places Directory

Find what you’re looking for near your GPS coordinates by general category.

Shazam

Never again be stuck wondering what artist/song was just on the radio. Use Shazam to record it and report this information to you.

ShopSavvy

Scan the bar code of a product and compare prices from all over the place.

The Weather Channel

Weather information on the go with alerts.

This difference in valuing different aspects can be useful for reaching a mutually satisfactory outcome and getting past a deadlock. There can be give and take in different areas.