I received some great feedback from the Low End Mac readers in
regards to our Classic Mac OS Web series.
WaMCom, Mozilla 1.2.1, and the alternate Mozilla port of 1.3.1 were
well regarded. All versions have some odd bugs, but nothing too severe,
mostly some small interface issues.
One reader had some very interesting notes on Internet Explorer. In
fact, his website (in German, our English adaptation below) contains
some good
notes overall. I still say Internet Explorer is an okay browser
with some neat features, but I do miss tabs, popup blocking, and a few
other extras.
Also, I find Internet Explorer is a tad unstable on my Macs. If you
can get Internet Explorer running stable for you, by all means give it
a try. Microsoft is discontinuing support for Internet Explorer on the
Mac, so you might want to grab the download while you can.
Another reader found Netscape 4.x to be very lacking in comparison
to the other browsers. Also, while limited, Netscape 3 did a better job
for our reader with basic browsing. You can even add Flash and
QuickTime support by copying the plugins from Netscape 4.x to Netscape
3. Thanks for the tips, Chris.
Also, Opera 5 had a few fans - over Opera 6.0.3 anyway - but the
fans did not suggest using Opera over WaMCom, iCab, or even Internet
Explorer. Opera 5 may prove to be more stable than 6.0.3, but it lacks
tabs or a password manager. It seems to have some page rendering issues
as well. That's understandable, as Opera 5 is now 3 versions old.
Keep the comments coming. I don't have much information on Netscape
6 or 7, and I believe both are available for PPC Macs running the
classic Mac OS.
Also, any suggestions for good chat, FTP, or other web applications
would be greatly appreciated.
Appendix: Web Browsers for Mac OS 8 and 9
Adapted from Web Browser
für Mac OS 8 und 9 with a lot of help from the
Google translation.
The selection of Web Browsers for the classic Mac OS is reduced -
iCab is the only up-to-date one still being developed. With a little
"tuning" of the available browsers serve as passable Internet
programs:
- Assign the program of more memory.
- Turn off virtual memory.
- Use a RAM disk and store the browser's cache there.
- If you connect by Modem/PPP, set the name server address to
automatic configuration in the TCP/IP control panel.
- Now and then examine whether the name server address still matches
your current ISP.
- Be sure you've installed the CarbonLib
version 1.6 system extension.
The following browsers are available:
Internet Explorer
Stably and fast, with print preview, variable text size,
configurable symbol border, and much more. For PowerPC-based Macs
running Mac OS 8 or later. (Download
IE 5.1). The Mac versions will no longer be available from
Microsoft after January 2006 (info).
Tips:
- You can search the Internet from the address box: Simply enter a
question mark, a blank space, and the search word in the address
field.
- With JavaScript switched on, activate the "reference in case of
errors" option, otherwise you can't break out of a poorly programmed
script ("options: Web contents: Active contents: Active scripts").
Troubleshooting:
- Clean, new install of the program (info).
- Examine and/or recreate the Desktop file (e.g. with TechTool Lite).
- Replace Apple's "Internet Config Extension" with a fresh original
(download).
- If you have several partitions, install the program on the one you
boot from.
- Simply wait: some problems are caused "on the other side of the
line".
- Change to another ISP.
Further optimization:
- Store the History.html file on a RAM disk and put an alias to it at
the original position in the System Folder (Preferences:
Explorer).
- Make an alias of the RAM disk and name it Temporary Files. Use the
alias to replace Temporary Files in Preferences: Explorer.
Resources:
- Converter for IE archive files (WAX/WAC)
iCab
iCab is a fast browser with great
functionality and small system requirements (info, download iCab).
Netscape
Netscape and its descendants (Mozilla, Firefox) are only being
updated for OS X, however older versions also run under Mac
OS 8 and 9.
References:
WannaBe
WannaBe is a text-based web
browser for Apple Macintosh with which one can explore the Internet.
Search queries are handled using the Sherlock plugin. For complete
viewing of sites (with graphics, style sheets, etc.), URLs can be
passed to another browser. The program is extraordinarily stably and
fast (download
WannaBe).
References:
Opera
Beside Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X, Opera is also available for Mac
OS 8 and 9 (download
Opera).
Other
The best display font to help prevent eye strain is Geneva. By
switching the "Text smoothing" option off in the Appearance control
panel (in OS 8.5 and later), the display may look sharper.
Further information about Macs on the Web (several of these are in
German):
- More programs: Virus
Scanners, Mozilla Plugins,
The Best
Browsers for PowerPC Macs and the Classic Mac OS, Web Browsers for OS X,
Mac Update,
Mactopia Downloads, Mactopia DE,
Mactopia
Int., VersionTracker, Tucows (Mac), Macs'n'More
(failed link), ZDNet.de,
Pure Mac, Mac Orchard, Apple
Software Archives
- More assistance: boot problems,
MacUser DE, Apple support, Accelerate Your Mac,
Mac FAQ DE, Tipps + Tricks für
Mac OS 7.x - 9.x, Mac
Troubleshooting, Maintenance & Tips, Knubbelmac, Inhaltsverzeichnis,
Der Apple
Macintosh Performa 5200, World Wide Mac, Millionen
Tipps & Tricks, c't
- More speed: c't Hotline,
MacInstruct,
Acceleration hardware (Google), OS 9 Forever
