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

[George Cook]

In article <a7a5d8d0-1ad1-46f7-94ba-c11e01bc0279 at n22g2000yqh.googlegroups.com>, Steven Schweda <sms.antinode at gmail.com> writes:
>    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.)

Unless you need the very broken Javascript support in Netscape
3.03, you would be better off using VMS Mosaic.  It doesn't
support Javascript or Java, but does a decent job on any page
not heavily dependent on style sheets.

I am hoping to get VMS Mosaic V4.3 out the door Real Soon Now.
It was supposed to have limited style sheet support; all the
needed libraries (libcroco and libxmx2) have already been added,
but I have not been well enough to do the coding.

Of course the above assumes you don't want to use the Mozilla
or Seamonkey releases for VMS.  


George Cook
WVNET