On Sun, 12 Nov 2000, Michael O'Donnell wrote:
> I'm currently using 4.76 but every version I've ever used (going back as
> far as 2.x) has been similarly fragile.
Are you using Netscape Navigator or Netscape Communicator? I've noticed a
*huge* stability improvement since I switched to Navigator, the stand-alone,
just-a-browser version.
> I normally have multiple browser windows open at a time, with several
> pairs positioned in their own ctwm workspaces ...
Don't do that, then. :-)
Seriously, if you find a program to be less robust than you would like it,
don't push it as hard.
> Java and cookies are normally disabled ...
Java disabled is good. Netscape's Java Virtual Machine absolutely sucks.
In my experience, cookies don't matter much for stability (privacy is
another matter).
> ... and javascript enabled;
Try turning JavaScript off for a little while, and see if that helps. If it
makes a difference, then you know there's a Netscape JavaScript bug somewhere
that is being aggravated by one of the sites you visit regularly.
> Memory exhaustion seems to be a popular theory for Netscape's crappy
> behavior but now I'm running it on a system w/256Mb RAM (where everything
> else seems rock-solid) and it's just as unreliable as ever.
The reason you are running into memory exhaustion is that Netscape manages
memory like Florida counts ballots. As Netscape runs, it leaks more and more
memory, until it eventually exhausts all available resources on your system, a
malloc() fails, and it blows up. Throwing more RAM at the system simply
delays the inevitable.
One thing that will help is exiting and restarting Netscape periodically.
The OS will reclaim all the memory Netscape lost.
> Are there any other browsers out there that could seriously be considered
> as alternatives to Netscape?
I've been using the Mozilla nightly builds for daily browsing since
Milestone 18 (M18), and I have to say, I'm sold. The differences between this
Milestone and previous ones is amazing. The UI is hugely improved. It lacks
Java and SSL support "out of the box", but for 90% of my browsing, I don't
care. And supposedly, you can bolt both of those on if you take the time to
do so.
--
Ben Scott <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Net Technologies, Inc. <http://www.ntisys.com>
Voice: (800)905-3049 x18 Fax: (978)499-7839
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