I think you bring up 2 valid thoughts.

Do I think that The Coop will really make any difference in the Firefox Browser?
MMmmmm.. No. I think, if developed enough and with a good strong backing in the community and through developers that it could be a cool extension to have if it manages to target the networks that you use AND if it makes it easier to use these networks by somehow integrating it with the browser. As more than an extension though and becoming some sort of household tool? Nope.

Do I think that it will slow down the browser?
That’s fairly nebulous. I would say that if it hits the markets that it’s aiming for.. then maybe. Perhaps it, like most email clients do, would allow you to set updating intervals to conserve bandwidth. I’d say this could play out many different ways and that it’s probably to early to tell. It definately has that potential though so they’d be wise to heed this thought and keep it in mind as things develop.

Do you think The Coop will really make any difference in the Firefox browser? Or will it just slow it down with all the transfer rates from user to user. I mean wouldn’t the browser suffer bandwidth if the application is running continuously and users are bombarding you with links, videos, bookmarks, photos, and all the other crap they want to share with you. Sorry for that little rant but you get what I mean.