Snow Leopard & Web Browsers

bmac89 · Sep 14, 2014

Hello,

I am still using Snow Leopard (yeah yeah I know it is old!) and don't wish to upgrade just yet.

I may upgrade my harddrive and RAM and go straight to Yosemite once it is ironed out but I really prefer Snow Leopard - it is solid, reliable and fast.

Anyway my question is - should I be using an alternative web browser for security reasons or is this unnecessary (at this stage)? I have tried Chrome & Firefox but not impressed with performance. If so what is the best alternative for Snow Leopard?

I currently use Safari as my main browser and find it operates the best, especially when opening multiple tabs.

My experience with each browser:

* Chrome - Very slow to start browser (lots of bouncing on the dock!) Lags with multiple tabs open.

* Firefox - Quick to start, quick to load webpage but very RAM intensive and lags with multiple tabs

* Safari - Fast to start, handles multiple tabs well, good with RAM, ever so slightly slower to load a webpage and outdated / possible security risk ???

If I could just install Safari 8 in Snow Leopard I would be perfectly happy to stick with SL until I get a new mac.

I hope this is the right place to post this thread.
Many thanks.

Intell · Sep 14, 2014

Safari on Snow Leopard is a big security risk and you should not be using it. Chrome does get slow with many tabs open. Firefox's general memory usage is often less than Chrome's overall including the many child processes Chrome spawns out.

bmac89 · Sep 14, 2014

Intell said:
Safari on Snow Leopard is a big security risk and you should not be using it. Chrome does get slow with many tabs open. Firefox's general memory usage is often less than Chrome's overall including the many child processes Chrome spawns out.

Thanks for the reply. I have also just installed Opera browser and this seems like it may be better a better alternative than Chrome & Firefox but not as snappy as Safari.

I also like the tab preview (mouse-over tab to preview) and mouse gestures featured in Opera.

I will have to give Opera a proper try out. In the meantime I am happy to hear from others with suggestions or any input.

Many thanks

P.S. I think I read somewhere about disabling Java Script... is this necessary if using an alternative browser such as Opera? I believe many websites require it to be enabled, including outlook email.

Intell · Sep 15, 2014

Disabled JavaScript may speed up your experience, but it would also greatly limit the modern internet as many things depend on it. I suggest leaving it enabled.

Gregg2 · Sep 15, 2014

I'm using Snow Leopard and Safari. So far the only "problem" is that about 2 weeks ago, Google docs open with the message that I'm using an unsupported version of Safari, and I should try Chrome. Hmmm.

Eithanius · Sep 22, 2014

Chrome - memory hog, but good for built-in Flash though...
Safari - super outdated and security risk...
Firefox - close to performance of Safari, except it cannot handle HTML5 videos...
Opera - Very user-unfriendly. Importing bookmark alone is a nightmare...

Any more browsers for recommendation...?

Peter Franks · Sep 24, 2014

Gregg2 said:
I'm using Snow Leopard and Safari. So far the only "problem" is that about 2 weeks ago, Google docs open with the message that I'm using an unsupported version of Safari, and I should try Chrome. Hmmm.

Me too, but I can't use Google anymore, as I'm one of the masses who gets the old Google search page. And images just won't work anymore. I naively thought it was a temporary glitch and that Google would right it, Well several weeks later, it's not happening. Funny how it was fine until they decided to not let us use it on 10.6.8 anymore.

Screw Google, I like Snow Leopard, and Safari won't update any further, so rather than use Chrome, I just dropped Google instead. Out of principle I wouldn't use Chrome. There are various fixes for people who want to use Google, on Safari 10.6.8 but It has to be set every time you open the browser.

Gregg2 · Sep 24, 2014

I just click "dismiss" and continue using it.

Peter Franks · Sep 24, 2014

Gregg2 said:
I just click "dismiss" and continue using it.

there is no option or dismiss, Google is not viewable anymore as was.

OLDCODGER · Sep 24, 2014

I am using Omniweb as my main browser - for full control over input/output. It loads a bit on the slow side, but the control is worth it.

I use Firefox for those sites which insist upon auto-refresh - I'll decide when I refresh, thank you very much!

However, Roccat is coming along nicely, and may be worth a trial.

----------

I am using Omniweb as my main browser - for full control over input/output. It loads a bit on the slow side, but the control is worth it.

I use Firefox for those sites which insist upon auto-refresh - I'll decide when I refresh, thank you very much!

However, Roccat is coming along nicely, and may be worth a trial.

OLDCODGER · Sep 24, 2014

OLDCODGER said:
I am using Omniweb as my main browser - for full control over input/output. It loads a bit on the slow side, but the control is worth it.

I use Firefox for those sites which insist upon auto-refresh - I'll decide when I refresh, thank you very much!

However, Roccat is coming along nicely, and may be worth a trial.

----------

I am using Omniweb as my main browser - for full control over input/output. It loads a bit on the slow side, but the control is worth it.

I use Firefox for those sites which insist upon auto-refresh - I'll decide when I refresh, thank you very much!

However, Roccat is coming along nicely, and may be worth a trial.

Sorry about the double post - after submit, the page would not reload, so I thought it had not gone through.

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Snow Leopard & Web Browsers

bmac89

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Intell

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Intell

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Peter Franks

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Gregg2

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OLDCODGER

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