Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Status
The first post of this thread is a WikiPost and can be edited by anyone with the appropiate permissions. Your edits will be public.

What Web Browser is Your Main/Default?


  • Total voters
    112

AphoticD

macrumors 68020
Feb 17, 2017
2,283
3,465

Amethyst1

macrumors G3
Oct 28, 2015
9,636
11,936
Classilla browser via Classic is your best bet but it’s not an amazing experience. The latest addition is Opera Mini 8.0 which runs in a Java environment via MicroEmulator.

Considering how outdated Classilla is, I'd be inclined to say that Opera Mini is the only feasible browsing solution on Jaguar and Panther.
 
  • Like
Reactions: z970

pullman

macrumors 6502a
Feb 11, 2008
740
113
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I'm trying out TenFourFox on my 15 DLSD with 2GB. It's not very snappy at all. I get lots of beach balls when I switch between tabs (even if only 2-3 tabs open) and scrolling is extremely slow. Clicking on buttons in the interface takes several seconds for anything to happen. Activity Monitor shows TFF using 80% CPU when switching tabs for instance. Is this normal?
 
Last edited:

Amethyst1

macrumors G3
Oct 28, 2015
9,636
11,936
I'm trying out TenFourFox on my 15 DLSD with 2GB. It's not very snappy at all. I get lots of beach balls when I switch between tabs (even if only 2-3 tabs open) and scrolling is extremely slow. Is this normal?
Did you give foxPEP a try? And I'd strongly suggest to use something like NoScript to cut down on scripts running in the background gobbling up precious cpu cycles.

 
  • Like
Reactions: z970 and pullman

pullman

macrumors 6502a
Feb 11, 2008
740
113
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Thank you very much. Feel a bit dumb for asking this but how do I install foxPEP?

Did you give foxPEP a try? And I'd strongly suggest to use something like NoScript to cut down on scripts running in the background gobbling up precious cpu cycles.

 

z970

macrumors 68040
Jun 2, 2017
3,585
4,529
@pullman The installation instructions are included in each release's bundled Read Me. You must actually download one to examine it.

The GitHub Read Me essentially serves as a front end meant to only provide a short description and outline the system requirements, as installation is not yet relevant to the user at that point in time.
 
  • Like
Reactions: pullman

pullman

macrumors 6502a
Feb 11, 2008
740
113
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Thanks again. I was confused because there's a ReadMe link on the GitHub page when one is not logged in and that one has no installation instructions.

I've now installed the prefs.js file and there is an improvement. It's not huge but it's there. For instance TFF has stopped beachballing when I switch tabs. The general browsing feel is, however, still slow as it ages for pages to load.

And weirdly I am completely unable to log in to my Firefox account to download add-ons, whether from the add-ons website or from within TFF Preferences.

@Amethyst1 What do you mean by NoScript; is that a browser add-on? I don't find anything by that name.

I also saw recommendations elsewhere to use uMatrix and BluHell. Are they really needed? I'd like to avoid a bloated browser.

And what about these foxPEP "engines" I see in the zip file – I take it these are prefs.js files which have been tweaked for specific purposes?



Did you give foxPEP a try? And I'd strongly suggest to use something like NoScript to cut down on scripts running in the background gobbling up precious cpu cycles.

It's all in the Readme. It's essentially a preferences file optimises, for slower systems.
 

r6mile

macrumors 65816
Feb 3, 2010
1,004
504
London, UK
I've now installed the prefs.js file and there is an improvement. It's not huge but it's there. For instance TFF has stopped beachballing when I switch tabs. The general browsing feel is, however, still slow as it ages for pages to load.

I mean, I would advise you have pretty low expectations when browsing the Internet on these machines. As much as I love them, I find the Internet experience pretty painful. You can mitigate it somewhat, but it's never going to be smooth so I generally avoid it (especially when at a press of my KVM switch I'm using my quad-core Mini). There are much better and less frustrating uses for them :)
 

z970

macrumors 68040
Jun 2, 2017
3,585
4,529
@pullman Strange... The need for an ad-blocker shouldn't even be necessary, as foxPEP blocks most ads / trackers out of the box, just by itself resulting in accelerated site loading.

I believe the inability to log in to Firefox is normal across the TFF codebase, for some kind of reason. I recall getting the same behavior even on a vanilla Intel TFF install.

You did not ask me the following questions, but I will chime in to say that for all I've used of it, I am of the opinion that BluHell is nearly useless and the last time I tried it (which was, granted, some while ago so I may not have the greatest accuracy) did not block anything.

uMatrix is necessary if you seek to block every last thing from loading that isn't essential to the web page itself, which can still offer an additional speed boost on top of foxPEP, but I'd like to think that foxPEP in its current iteration carries the brunt of the performance gain from its built-in adblocker without the (admittedly minimal) addon overhead. It seems to have served its purpose nicely thus far, and is holding up quite well in that regard.

foxPEP's engines are, in essence, there for organization and effect prioritization. What you see contained in the More folder are the individual engines split into their own independent preference file, with the main preference file in the parent folder being a combined version of all of them (which is what the user is supposed to use). They are useful as separate files primarily for debugging purposes and effect-gauging.

In any case, AquaTrimcelerator / AuroraTrimcelerator (depending on the OS) can also make a big difference in fine-tuning the system for increased performance by reducing the overhead, which has been confirmed to result in even faster browsing. You may give one of them a look if you have not already done so.
 

timidpimpin

Suspended
Nov 10, 2018
1,121
1,318
Cascadia
I'm a bit shocked at how low the Roccat numbers are, because it's hands down the fastest browser for Mac PowerPC systems in my experience. But i'm sure its lack of customization is a big part of that.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Amethyst1

pullman

macrumors 6502a
Feb 11, 2008
740
113
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Thank you for all this. Ok so perhaps logging in to FF is simply not possible on TFF.

I'm grateful for your chiming in on those un-asked questions and also for explaining the engines. Ok so it's not that one picks one over the other.

I have installed both uMatrix and BluHell. I'm not sure how much of a difference they make. It's difficult to tell in some way because I suppose we're talking about micro seconds here on a page load that takes at least "a few seconds".

I am not, however, able to display the uMatrix window within TFF. If I click its button in the toolbar a window drops down but it's empty. Strange.

In terms of fluidity of the interface, do other browsers perform better than TFF?


@pullman Strange... The need for an ad-blocker shouldn't even be necessary, as foxPEP blocks most ads / trackers out of the box, just by itself resulting in accelerated site loading.

I believe the inability to log in to Firefox is normal across the TFF codebase, for some kind of reason. I recall getting the same behavior even on a vanilla Intel TFF install.

You did not ask me the following questions, but I will chime in to say that for all I've used of it, I am of the opinion that BluHell is nearly useless and the last time I tried it (which was, granted, some while ago so I may not have the greatest accuracy) did not block anything.

uMatrix is necessary if you seek to block every last thing from loading that isn't essential to the web page itself, which can still offer an additional speed boost on top of foxPEP, but I'd like to think that foxPEP in its current iteration carries the brunt of the performance gain from its built-in adblocker without the (admittedly minimal) addon overhead. It seems to have served its purpose nicely thus far, and is holding up quite well in that regard.

foxPEP's engines are, in essence, there for organization and effect prioritization. What you see contained in the More folder are the individual engines split into their own independent preference file, with the main preference file in the parent folder being a combined version of all of them (which is what the user is supposed to use). They are useful as separate files primarily for debugging purposes and effect-gauging.

In any case, AquaTrimcelerator / AuroraTrimcelerator (depending on the OS) can also make a big difference in fine-tuning the system for increased performance by reducing the overhead, which has been confirmed to result in even faster browsing. You may give one of them a look if you have not already done so.

Yes I understand and agree. I'm just trying to tweak it as best I can to have an acceptable experience when I need it.

I mean, I would advise you have pretty low expectations when browsing the Internet on these machines. As much as I love them, I find the Internet experience pretty painful. You can mitigate it somewhat, but it's never going to be smooth so I generally avoid it (especially when at a press of my KVM switch I'm using my quad-core Mini). There are much better and less frustrating uses for them :)
 

Appleuser201

macrumors 6502
Oct 12, 2018
400
219
I'm a bit shocked at how low the Roccat numbers are, because it's hands down the fastest browser for Mac PowerPC systems in my experience. But i'm sure its lack of customization is a big part of that.
Whats the difference exactly between Roccat and Leopard Webkit? Isn't Roccat just a ''modern theme'' for Webkit browser? Both are pretty outdated regardless.
 

timidpimpin

Suspended
Nov 10, 2018
1,121
1,318
Cascadia
  • Like
Reactions: Amethyst1

wicknix

macrumors 68030
Jun 4, 2017
2,616
5,296
Wisconsin, USA
Technically it is just a user interface. Roccat uses the built in WebKit of whatever OS X you happen to be using. So in Leopards case that's the old safari 5 WebKit. If used on El Capitan it'd use safari 11's WebKit. It does not provide it's own updated WebKit backend.

Cheers
 
  • Like
Reactions: timidpimpin

timidpimpin

Suspended
Nov 10, 2018
1,121
1,318
Cascadia
Technically it is just a user interface. Roccat uses the built in WebKit of whatever OS X you happen to be using. So in Leopards case that's the old safari 5 WebKit. If used on El Capitan it'd use safari 11's WebKit. It does not provide it's own updated WebKit backend.

Cheers
Thanks for clarifying that. I don't ever use it really, but knew it was still developed.
 
  • Like
Reactions: wicknix

wicknix

macrumors 68030
Jun 4, 2017
2,616
5,296
Wisconsin, USA
Now if you relink it against Leopard-WebKit it becomes quite useable. I personally just hate the UI. It doesn't blend well in the looks department, and it's kind of awkward to use.

Cheers
 
  • Like
Reactions: timidpimpin

timidpimpin

Suspended
Nov 10, 2018
1,121
1,318
Cascadia
Now if you relink it against Leopard-WebKit it becomes quite useable. I personally just hate the UI. It doesn't blend well in the looks department, and it's kind of awkward to use.

Cheers
I know what you mean about the interface. I'm a dyed in the wool Firefox guy, and find it unnerving to use anything different. But I would still use Roccat over Chrome.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Raging Dufus

eyoungren

macrumors Penryn
Aug 31, 2011
29,508
28,203
@pullman There's no need to have uMatrix, BluHell and NoScript all installed together. They all do the same thing.

I would use just uMatrix. You can block third party adsites with it, which is the purpose of BluHell. You can block javascript with it, which is the purpose of NoScript. uMatrix requires a bit of a learning curve, but it's a scalpel allowing a fine-grain response to every site you visit. Once you set it up the first time, you don't have to worry about it.
 

z970

macrumors 68040
Jun 2, 2017
3,585
4,529
Gave several clarifications to Arctic Fox PPC. Also added a couple more options for browsing and YouTube.
 
  • Like
Reactions: B S Magnet
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.