[R.]

2 things ...

• The snow is nothing more than a DHTML/Javascript effect that moves up to 5 different images over your browser's display and nicely piles them up on the bottom. Once the script and the image are downloaded, there is absolutely no traffic generated by this animation. What may slow you down is the animation itself and that however depends on your computer and the browser you are using. On my setup, using Firefox, this animation consumes approx. 35% of the available cpu-cycles.
• It's not that we don't listen to our guests, so, as of now, you may switch this animation off. Go here, scroll down and select your desired setting. Please note that the default is Yes. See attachment for detail.