[Info-vax] VMS V8.3 (et al.) v. Netscape Navigator Gold Version 3.03

[Steven Schweda]

   Today's entertainment involves a new problem with an old
Web browser.

ALP $ tcpip show version

  HP TCP/IP Services for OpenVMS Alpha Version V5.6 - ECO 4
  on a COMPAQ Professional Workstation XP1000 running OpenVMS V8.3

OS patches should be pretty current.

   Because its memory use is lower, and it doesn't grow
quickly without apparent limit, I still use the old Netscape
browser on my main Alpha system, when I can.  Now, since my
recent OS (and IP) upgrade, it doesn't work properly.  It
almost works, but only when the keyboard or mouse is busy.
Even when accessing a local file, it hangs unless I keep the
mouse moving (or strike keys).  On VMS V7.3-2, I didn't see
this behavior.  It's pretty bad.  Image load+display stops
mid-image when the mouse stops moving, then resumes when the
mouse moves.  (It's fun to watch, unless you just wanted to
load a Web page.)

   Knowing nothing, I'm guessing that something in the new
VMS/DECwindows/who_knows_what user-interface code is (now)
using some event flag (or something) which is (and has been)
used by the old Netscape browser, so they're now interacting
in strange (and annoying) ways.

   Has anyone else seen this?  (Or, can anyone see it if he
tries?)  Or am I the last Netscape 3 user left on VMS, or at
least on V8.3?  If anyone has a fix/work-around, I'd be
interested.  Otherwise, I suspect that I'll need to fetch a
fresh Mosaic or something.  (Netscape's beyond support, I
gather, even if I (a non-paying peon) deserved support.)

   Life is seldom easy, and never for very long.