Will a modern Mac run all websites?
I asked this question a long time ago, but I'm contemplating buying a new Mac (I may wait for Lion and get a new iMac then).
Anyway if you've seen my other posts you'll know I have an old iMac G5 with Panther which for various reasons I've only recently starting actually using. This means I have pretty old browsers and I can't help more recent versions. This has meant that lately both Safari and Firefox, which are updated as far I can for Panther, seem to crash if I try and go on anything but very simple websites.
I don't know if this is a fault with my iMac or just because it's such old software now (OSX and browsers alike) and so modern websites won't work - in much the same way as more and more websites won't work on my work PC, which still has IE6 and XP, because it's such an old browser (IT won't let us upgrade because some work-based stuff we use was designed to work with IE6!)
However, it has made me a bit cautious about getting a new Mac. I mainly want my Mac for websurfing which is a pretty light activity, BUT I do use chat-rooms, inbedded videos etc. etc. a lot. I know it's not Apple's fault but I really do want a machine where I can visit any website and use any feature.
Please be honest with me - do you have difficulty on any websites using a modern Mac with up to date OSX and browsers? Chat rooms, embedded video, shopping etc? If anyone is gay I'm specifically thinking of gaydar.co.uk chat rooms which can be awkward even on Windows. I really love the web and I don't want to be unable to use any site - even just a few not working would really annoy me, so I need to know if Mac is the right platform for me...
Anyway if you've seen my other posts you'll know I have an old iMac G5 with Panther which for various reasons I've only recently starting actually using. This means I have pretty old browsers and I can't help more recent versions. This has meant that lately both Safari and Firefox, which are updated as far I can for Panther, seem to crash if I try and go on anything but very simple websites.
I don't know if this is a fault with my iMac or just because it's such old software now (OSX and browsers alike) and so modern websites won't work - in much the same way as more and more websites won't work on my work PC, which still has IE6 and XP, because it's such an old browser (IT won't let us upgrade because some work-based stuff we use was designed to work with IE6!)
However, it has made me a bit cautious about getting a new Mac. I mainly want my Mac for websurfing which is a pretty light activity, BUT I do use chat-rooms, inbedded videos etc. etc. a lot. I know it's not Apple's fault but I really do want a machine where I can visit any website and use any feature.
Please be honest with me - do you have difficulty on any websites using a modern Mac with up to date OSX and browsers? Chat rooms, embedded video, shopping etc? If anyone is gay I'm specifically thinking of gaydar.co.uk chat rooms which can be awkward even on Windows. I really love the web and I don't want to be unable to use any site - even just a few not working would really annoy me, so I need to know if Mac is the right platform for me...
Comments
Again OS has nothing to do with whether a website works.
I asked this question a long time ago, but I'm contemplating buying a new Mac (I may wait for Lion and get a new iMac then).
Anyway if you've seen my other posts you'll know I have an old iMac G5 with Panther which for various reasons I've only recently starting actually using. This means I have pretty old browsers and I can't help more recent versions. This has meant that lately both Safari and Firefox, which are updated as far I can for Panther, seem to crash if I try and go on anything but very simple websites.
I don't know if this is a fault with my iMac or just because it's such old software now (OSX and browsers alike) and so modern websites won't work - in much the same way as more and more websites won't work on my work PC, which still has IE6 and XP, because it's such an old browser (IT won't let us upgrade because some work-based stuff we use was designed to work with IE6!)
However, it has made me a bit cautious about getting a new Mac. I mainly want my Mac for websurfing which is a pretty light activity, BUT I do use chat-rooms, inbedded videos etc. etc. a lot. I know it's not Apple's fault but I really do want a machine where I can visit any website and use any feature.
Please be honest with me - do you have difficulty on any websites using a modern Mac with up to date OSX and browsers? Chat rooms, embedded video, shopping etc? If anyone is gay I'm specifically thinking of gaydar.co.uk chat rooms which can be awkward even on Windows. I really love the web and I don't want to be unable to use any site - even just a few not working would really annoy me, so I need to know if Mac is the right platform for me...
Yes.
99% of the times that a regular system with regular software cannot display a website properly that is due to shoddy programming of that website. And, if it's any consolation, MANY other websurfers will have similar problems with that website. It is not their fault. It is sub-standard website programming.
That computer is NOT told to do everything on the web.
You can download a newer version of Safari (than the one that shipped with your machine) from Apple. It'll be able to run any properly coded site. Same goes for Firefox. Chrome may require 10.5, (I don't know.)
If you're getting lots of crashes on "normal" websites, it would lead me to believe you have a corrupted library somewhere.
It sounds like you're trying to find an excuse to go out and buy a NEW Mac even though you have a fully functional one. well... I doubt anyone would argue that a new Mac would be great, but the one you have should work just fine.
If you want a new one... go get one.
If you can't afford it... The G5 should be just fine while you save your pennies.
I asked this question a long time ago, but I'm contemplating buying a new Mac (I may wait for Lion and get a new iMac then).
...
Please be honest with me - do you have difficulty on any websites using a modern Mac with up to date OSX and browsers? Chat rooms, embedded video, shopping etc? If anyone is gay I'm specifically thinking of gaydar.co.uk chat rooms which can be awkward even on Windows. I really love the web and I don't want to be unable to use any site - even just a few not working would really annoy me, so I need to know if Mac is the right platform for me...
To follow on to KindOfSomewhereHot and TallestSkil, your iMac can be upgraded to MacOS X 10.5.8. This version of MacOS X can run the latest versions of Safari, Firefox, and AFAIK Chrome as well as many the latest versions of many other applications. Even if you upgrade only to MacOS X 10.4.11, you will be able run browsers that handle virtually every website available without issue. Upgrade if you want. However, there is still a lot of life left in your old girl.
Please be honest with me - do you have difficulty on any websites using a modern Mac with up to date OSX and browsers? Chat rooms, embedded video, shopping etc? If anyone is gay I'm specifically thinking of gaydar.co.uk chat rooms which can be awkward even on Windows. I really love the web and I don't want to be unable to use any site - even just a few not working would really annoy me, so I need to know if Mac is the right platform for me...
I have found issues with some online support chat programs on commercial sites. They don't always play well with Safari like connection drops etc. You also get some issues with streaming Windows Media that even plugins like Flip4Mac don't support.
Beyond that though, I can't say that I find much trouble at all. Obviously if you access those types of things regularly, it will seem more problematic but I've only seen a handful of sites with minor problems.
What I would recommend though is upgrading to an Intel computer. Your iMac is just a single-core machine and jumping to dual-core or higher just makes things way smoother. You also get the option to run Windows in either Bootcamp or a virtual machine so you can detach the platform consideration from the hardware.
Apple make good computers so whether you have to run Windows or not, you get decent hardware and support. With the combined Windows and Mac systems, I have an OS that I enjoy using and Windows for games + everything that doesn't work on the Mac such as encrypted WMV.
Take into consideration the fact that even the Macbook Air will be faster than your G5. The fastest 2.1GHz G5 gets a Geekbench score of just 1100-1300 and the lowest 1.4GHz Macbook Air gets 2000-2200. Almost double the performance and the GPU is fast enough to play Crysis.
You can weigh up whether you'd be better off going for a new iMac or a very light ultra-portable laptop with a big external display. Personally I recommend displays that you can swivel into portrait mode. It makes such a huge difference for portrait images.
You get added portability so if you don't want to sit up chatting at your desk, you can lie in bed and do it very comfortably and because it's instant-on, you just shut the lid and never have to turn the machine off. The built-in SSD makes things very snappy so it makes for smooth browsing. Obviously you lose out on storage capacity at the low-end but you can use a wireless drive or USB drive for extra space.
King, you're right - I think I am partially trying to justify buying a new Mac! I could afford a new one now, but the way things are I want to have the very latest stuff and with Lion and probably a new iMac probably not too far away, it would be sensible for me to wait - then I can save up and ensure I can buy the exact Mac I want, even if it's top of the line, and maybe software and accessories etc easily so it won't be a pain and I can wait till after Christmas when I've got all my presents and stuff. Then in the meantime I can use the Mac I have, upgraded cheaply to 10.5 and with more memory, to get more used to Macs and get some value of of the machine I already have.
Mr. Me you really made me smile when you said there was life left in my old girl! There sure is, especially cause she has had so little use, and I'd feel bad replacing her so soon! I like the way Macs age much better than Windoze PCs - Windows machines always slow down after a year or so no matter what you do just because of the way Windows is written, and those bulky towers always get noisy and cranky too. My G5 iMac looks in much better shape and works much better than any 5-year-old Windows PC I've ever seen! She still looks great too and has a great screen, and I like how Mac people aren't so snobbish if you have older Mac stuff, in a way it's a badge of honour instead of just sneering at how out of date you are.
Marvin I never really looked much at laptops because I tend to like big screens and I don't move my computer around a lot, but having said that I do travel more now and miss not having a computer at hotels - so you're right, even a basic Air would be faster than what I have now and I could hook it up to a big monitor at home and still take it with me on trips.
Anyway you've all given me a lot to think about. I looked into the latest versions of Safari and Firefox but the ones you can get for 10.3.9 are pretty old and do seem a bit unstable. I'm trying Opera now though because version 9, which is pretty recent in comparison (they're only on 10 now) seems more up to date and runs fine on 10.3. We'll see how that goes until I can upgrade to 10.5 and put more memory in.
Then maybe I can come back and report on my new 10.5 Mac with bigger memory and discuss eventually which shiny new Mac I should buy with my new acquaintances on here.
THANK YOU for making a neurotic worrier's life much easier - you have no idea how comforting you are to me, this is such a great site - Mac people are much friendlier!!
Appreciate it guys!
I never really looked much at laptops because I tend to like big screens and I don't move my computer around a lot, but having said that I do travel more now and miss not having a computer at hotels - so you're right, even a basic Air would be faster than what I have now and I could hook it up to a big monitor at home and still take it with me on trips.
So if you like a big screen and miss having your computer when you're on the road ? and if you're ready for new gear ? you might want to consider a 21,5" or even a 27" quadcore i7 iMac combined with an iPad and e.g. Teamviewer software (free for personal use) for remote desktop operation. That way you could have the full power of your quadcore iMac that's sitting at home at your fingertips wherever you go, with a portability that beats even a MacBook Air...
Anyway if you've seen my other posts you'll know I have an old iMac G5 with Panther which for various reasons I've only recently starting actually using. This means I have pretty old browsers and I can't help more recent versions. This has meant that lately both Safari and Firefox, which are updated as far I can for Panther, seem to crash if I try and go on anything but very simple websites.
While your updating be sure to get the latest Flash player from Adobe. Back in my Tiger and Leopard days Safari would frequently crash on Flash heavy sites. Eventually Apple changed the way it handled Safari plugins so that only the plugin would crash without taking down the app itself. (I don't remember if it was Leopard or Snow Leopard that did this.) Or you can get ClickToFlash. I've not had a Safari crash since installing it.
.... Eventually Apple changed the way it handled Safari plugins so that only the plugin would crash without taking down the app itself. ....
The change was made to Safari 4--the exact version, I forget. I run Safari 4.1.2 on fully-updated MacOS X 10.4.11 on two of my Macs and never have a Flash crash. Suffice it to say, my MBP running MacOS X 10.6.5 and the latest version of Safari 5 is bullet-proof.
The change was made to Safari 4--the exact version, I forget. I run Safari 4.1.2 on fully-updated MacOS X 10.4.11 on two of my Macs and never have a Flash crash. Suffice it to say, my MBP running MacOS X 10.6.5 and the latest version of Safari 5 is bullet-proof.
So what you're saying is that Apple has worked out how to handle shoddy Flash files on OSX? So that Flash promises to be on Macs for a while?
Is HTML5 dead already?
So what you're saying is that Apple has worked out how to handle shoddy Flash files on OSX? So that Flash promises to be on Macs for a while?
Is HTML5 dead already?
That is a bizarre construction of my post. Exactly how does Apple's mitigation of Flash crashes abort the adoption of the next HTML standard?
Exactly how does Apple's mitigation of Flash crashes abort the adoption of the next HTML standard?
Flash crashing was the reason Apple wanted HTML5. Now that they – according to you – have solved that crashing (which I haven't noticed in OSX.5.8 yet, BTW) surely there is no reason anymore for Apple to continue pressing for HTML5?
Flash crashing was the reason Apple wanted HTML5. Now that they ? according to you ? have solved that crashing (which I haven't noticed in OSX.5.8 yet, BTW) surely there is no reason anymore for Apple to continue pressing for HTML5?
HTML5 is the successor standard to HTML 4. Do you honestly believe that HTML5's only redeeming feature is that it is not Flash? Do you honestly believe that we will be stuck with HTML 4 in perpetuity just because Safari now has fewer Flash crashes?
HTML5 is the successor standard to HTML 4. Do you honestly believe that HTML5's only redeeming feature is that it is not Flash? Do you honestly believe that we will be stuck with HTML 4 in perpetuity just because Safari now has fewer Flash crashes?
No, but there is now no urgency anymore to replace Flash with HTML5 ? which is still in development ? because the problem that drove that urgency would now be gone, if Apple has solved OSX' oversensitivity to Flash, as I think is what you said.
Basic deduction.
No, but there is now no urgency anymore to replace Flash with HTML5 ? which is still in development ? because the problem that drove that urgency would now be gone, if Apple has solved OSX' oversensitivity to Flash, as I think is what you said.
Basic deduction.
...because we all know that the ONLY new thing HTML5 brings to the browser is embedded video.