Safari is the most unstable program on OS X

[Markoneus]

Well, if you can do all that, I'm jealous. I've tried a reinstall before, but it didn't seem any different. I suppose I could try it again. Open to any other thoughts you have as to what could be causing it.

(As for the 'not paying attention' comment, sorry, meant no offense. I just have seen people first hand who insist that their browser works fine but as I watch over their shoulder it's actually malfunctioning badly, they just aren't very observant. They don't perceive the 'lag' when scrolling, or that it's loading slowly, or that the typing is a second or two behind what they're actually typing. A lot of people just never use another computer, so they have nothing to compare it with. Or they say it's working great, but the only thing they do with it is Gmail and TMZ.com.)

 

[GGJstudios]

... they just aren't very observant. They don't perceive the 'lag' when scrolling,

I have a hyper-scrolling function on my Logitech VX Nano mouse and it works great with long Safari pages. No hesitation, unless the page hasn't fully loaded images, which is a function of connection speed and the site, not the browser.

... or that it's loading slowly,

Pages that load slowly are typically caused by slowness in the connection between your computer and the site you're visiting, not your browser.

... or that the typing is a second or two behind what they're actually typing.

I have zero lag when typing.

A lot of people just never use another computer, so they have nothing to compare it with. Or they say it's working great, but the only thing they do with it is Gmail and TMZ.com.)

Well, having had a few dozen personal computers over the years since they were first invented, in addition to working on hundreds of clients' computers, I do have something to compare it with.

 

[124c41]

tried safari some time back on another machine so i won't even bother to open it on my IMAC...
not user friendly compared to firefox ...
and firefox for mac is pretty bad ...

 

[Markoneus]

Well, having had a few dozen personal computers over the years since they were first invented, in addition to working on hundreds of clients' computers, I do have something to compare it with.

Once again, I'm not aiming this at you. I'm not sure why you're taking it that way. I'm just explaining my experiences with 'some people'. You are obviously the exception to my observations, and I thank you for your comments. But there are many people out there who think things are running great, when they actually aren't (my mom, for example). And also, slow loading of a page is not solely attributable to connection speed. If the browser is under a heavy load (many tabs), or the overall computer is under a heavy processing load (many apps open, etc), it will process the loading slower, regardless of how fast your connection speed is, though I'm sure you're aware of this. I just seem to be experiencing a fall-off in performance sooner than you (and others) are. By the time I've got a 7th tab open, it will only process the page at 2/3rds the speed (or so), or just lock up all together. Trying another install now...

 

[TheSpaz]

I completely disagree 100%. Safari never lets me down.

Make sure you're not using incompatible third party plugins... that's what usually messes it up. Apple isn't messing it up... it's all the crap people try to use with it.

A friend of mine had a really unstable Safari and it was because of his logitech mouse drivers! After he uninstalled the driver, Safari worked perfectly.

 

[Skippy440]

No issues with mine.

And like TheSpaz says, check for any 3rd party plugins or 3rd party drivers that might be causing the issues. Agreed on that point.

 

[GGJstudios]

Once again, I'm not aiming this at you. I'm not sure why you're taking it that way. I'm just explaining my experiences with 'some people'.

That's contradictory to your post, where you claim that everyone who's not experiencing the problems you have are simply not paying attention or not pushing their browser.

Those of you who aren't experiencing this, I have to just assume you're either not paying attention, or you don't really push your browsers that hard.

The fact is, the majority don't have the issues you describe, or you'd see a lot more posts, complaining about Safari's performance. As it is, you might find a few hundred or even a few thousand complaints, out of the millions of Safari users in the world.

Make sure you're not using incompatible third party plugins... that's what usually messes it up. Apple isn't messing it up... it's all the crap people try to use with it.
A friend of mine had a really unstable Safari and it was because of his logitech mouse drivers! After he uninstalled the driver, Safari worked perfectly.

An extremely good point! In the vast majority of cases, when someone complains about problems or performance with Safari or Mac OS X or other widely-distributed and well-tested software, a closer examination will reveal that the complainer has done something to their system that causes the problem. It might be a plug-in, add-on, system modification, customization or conflicting app that they forgot they installed, which is causing the problem. There are countless examples in this forum where someone complains about a problem, claiming it's a flaw in the software, only to come back later and sheepishly admit they had some setting checked or some 3rd party software or tweak applied that caused the problem.

In 99+% of the cases where a user has a problem that isn't experienced by all users of the same software or hardware, the problem lies with something unique to that user. Basic troubleshooting and problem isolation will tell you that if it's not happening with ALL users of the same software, the problem lies elsewhere. If it's a problem or limitation of the app itself, the majority of users complain, and either the problem is fixed with a subsequent release or patch, or the problem is well-documented as a known issue.

 

[Cougarcat]

Safari is the most unstable app for me, but whenever it crashes it's almost always due to Flash. Damn you, Adobe.

 

[InfoSecmgr]

Streaming porn sucks in Safari.

I can readily deny this statement....but I'm not saying how I know....

I completely disagree 100%. Safari never lets me down.

Make sure you're not using incompatible third party plugins... that's what usually messes it up. Apple isn't messing it up... it's all the crap people try to use with it.

A friend of mine had a really unstable Safari and it was because of his logitech mouse drivers! After he uninstalled the driver, Safari worked perfectly.

Kind of ties in with my argument against Windows I think. Yeah you have more options but select enough of those options and you'll get yourself one heck of an unstable system.

 

[Markoneus]

Can you guys offer examples of what kinds of plugins people have installed that have been known to cause problems? All I can really remember is Flash or certain media player plugins, but who knows, maybe there's dozens more I've installed that could be causing problems. Thoughts?

For example, CoolIris? Is that a known 'complicator'?

 

[GGJstudios]

Can you guys offer examples of what kinds of plugins people have installed that have been known to cause problems? All I can really remember is Flash or certain media player plugins, but who knows, maybe there's dozens more I've installed that could be causing problems. Thoughts?

For example, CoolIris? Is that a known 'complicator'?

You can look at all the plug-ins installed.

​

Some may need to be updated. Some may not be compatible with the most current release of Safari. Some may need to be removed and reinstalled. You can also try removing all plug-ins and add them back, one at a time, until you reproduce the problem.

 

[stevemiller]

just like to chime in on things because i don't think there's any one simple solution.

i installed snow leopard in early october (fresh install, no upgrades, time machine restores or account migration). from the get go safari was exactly as you described, completely unstable. combined with many other snow leopard frustrations i went back to leopard in late november.

during holidays in late december i decided to give snow leopard a second shot. did the exact same thing as before - total fresh install. this time around safari hasn't crashed once, and many of the other issues seem to have improved as well.

i don't know what the difference could be, except maybe that in the first attempt i had to go 10.6.0>10.6.1>10.6.2, and in the second attempt i was able to go directly 10.6.0>10.6.2.

good luck, and i've got my fingers crossed that my installation remains relatively stable!

 

[vohdoun]

I have noticed from time to time IMDb.com will crash Safari. Doesn't happen all the time and you have to be browsing the site for a while I've noticed. It beach balls for 3 - 5 seconds then crashes. It's rare though.

 

[iSimx]

I've had loads of problems with safari that's why I'm using chrome...