Cool Mac Gear

For the past several weeks, users have been commenting favorably on the speed of the Chimera 0.6 browser. Then when the Mozilla 1.2 and 1.2.1 final builds were released, some claimed that Mozilla is even faster than Chimera.

Over the weekend, I decided to see for myself. I have been very impressed with the performance of Chimera 0.6, but hadn't up to now conducted any actual time comparisons.

On Sunday afternoon, I tried page downloads on four Websites I visit regularly, using Mozilla 1.2.1, Chimera 0.6, and out of curiosity, the latest (non public) beta build of iCab, which has some new cacheing wrinkles that will be incorporated in the next public release.

Please note that these times were taken on a 26,400 bps dial up connection, so the download times are much slower than they would be on broadband or even a faster dial up link. The browser caches were cleared before the test, which was done on a 500 MHz G3 Pismo PowerBook with 640 megabytes of RAM running OS X 10.2.1. Times were recorded from initiation of the download until the stop button a grayed out. Here are the results:

Applelinks
Mozilla - 50 seconds
Chimera - 53 seconds
iCab - 43 seconds

Low End Mac
Mozilla - 49 seconds
Chimera - 52 seconds
iCab - 56 seconds

Halifax Daily News (a graphics-heavy and cluttered newspaper Website)
Mozilla - 1 minute, 21 seconds
Chimera - 1 minute, 52 seconds
iCab - 2 minutes, 11 seconds

Environment Canada Weather For Guysborough County, Nova Scotia
Mozilla - 27 seconds
Chimera -36 seconds
iCab - 35 seconds

Except for Applelinks, where iCab was fastest, Mozilla 1.2.1 was the fastest trip on the other three sites. Chimera finished last on two (although only by one second on the weather site), and was fastest on none. Except for the Daily News site, where it bogged down loading the graphics, iCab, which I still use more than any other browser, performed respectively against the Gecko speedsters.

Interestingly, Chimera still "feels" faster than the others. Go figure.

Chimera and Mozilla are available from:
http://www.mozilla.org/releases/

iCab's latest public beta is available from:
http://www.icab.de

Search bar

From Casey King

"And indeed with good reason with respect to the search bar. It, like the > Inkwell InkBar, is simply not showing up in my installation of Jaguar. I’m not sure why that is, perhaps I really do need a clean install and run the Pismo firmware update, but those matters are presumably idiosyncratic to my computer and I won’t belabor them here."

Charles-

With a finder window, go to View->Customize Toolbar... And either drag in the new search button or select the new default settings that has it in there.

I too didn't have the search box until I went and looked for it after reading your article.

I'm sure others have pointed this out!

-Casey

Hi Casey;

No one else did so far.

Sure 'nuff. You're right. There she be:

Thanks
Charles

OSX and OS9

From Gurminder

Hello Charles,

The day is upon hand, where Mac OS9 booting will be disabled. I have a long commute to work everyday, and sometimes I just listen to my iPod and ponder work, family and interesting problems. The other day I was thinking OSX vs. OS9. I'm not too thrilled about the performance of OSX, it's reasonable on my 400 Mhz TiBook but I'd like it zippier. I have two major points.

First, speed. I know it's a major problem for you and many other Mac users. This is a subjective opinion but the hardware makers, like Dell/HP/Gateway and Apple, easily enlist a 2-3 yr lifespan on their hardware. That's lifespan in terms of ease of use, software is more tasking and becoming bigger and more RAM hungry. It may be worthwhile arguing that programmers are getting lazy and not cutting the excess fat. Just look at MS Word for X. Bloaty, slow and has countless functions which lack efficacy, and are available in other programs which are far cheaper. Ease of use and interoperability require we use this software to survive in the workplace, for most. The rush to add more features requires more power, we may not use them but the focus groups do and they dictate where we go. It may be hard to swallow but in order to get the most bang out of OSX you have to get better hardware. It's a tired notion and I know you agree but instead of an expensive laptop, go for a desktop model. Unless you use wireless networking or like to move around your home this is a practical solution. Consider the LCD display a worthwhile investment that will outlive your next upgrade cycle. An older model dual 1Ghz Powermac (not the wind tunnel model) is the way to go, a dual 800 Mhz should be under $1800 US. A nice monitor will set you back $700-800 and for the price of a 1 Ghz Powerbook (non DVD-R) you have a dual 800 Mhz G4 machine that kicks butt. You can upgrade the hard drive with ease (and maybe even the processor in the future). A worthwhile investment. Max the RAM and you'll be in OSX heaven, for two years at least. ;)

Second, I can't help but notice that OS9 (or any OS before X) was made for people who just wanted things to work. A tweak here and there with additional extensions or control panels was OK but it wasn't transparent. I liked it and I had no interest in Unix or any kind of Open Source Software. I didn't care for the innards. Now with OSX, part of the belly of the beast is open and accessible. It's scary, you open Terminal and you see a dialog which looks alien and I just ran away from it. One year later, I love it. I actually consider myself a late developing geek. Apple has opened up a new world for me. Through OSX I've even decide install a PPC distro of Linux on one of my partitions and I boot into it 3-4 days out of the week to learn more about open source. If you asked me in October 2001 if I'd be doing this I'd have replied "what planet are you from?". I think the baring of the innards is a scary thing for OS9 users, coupled with the slow responsiveness and lack of some obscure applications for OSX this adds up to a troublesome time for some users. Of course, you don't have to open up terminal and play around, but if you hit a snag in OSX you can probably find the answer in there if you look hard enough. Norton etc are dead dogs with this OS and normal extension conflicts are now processes and kernel extensions. Jump in Charles and I think you might like it. I suggest you try some online tutorials in Unix for one hour a week and before you know it you'll be Saul on the road to Damascus. Try here first:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=Unix%2Btutorial

On your schedule one hour a week may be a bit much, but consider it an investment in your use of the OS. It's going to be around for a while and it may offset the bad feelings you have towards the new OS.

Best,
Gurminder

Hi Gurminder;

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

I did dip my feet back into desktop waters when I bought a G4 Cube last year. It was fast and a cool little machine that offered more power for the money than any laptop, by it also convinced me that I have become a dyed-in-the-wool laptop person. I traded it even for this used Pismo, and haven't regretted it for a minute.

I have dabbled a bit in Unix command lines. I installed two different versions (successively) of PPC Linux on my old WallStreet. It was an interesting exercise, but I wasn't especially attracted too it. Command lines don't scare me, but I really haven't the time or energy to invest in climbing a learning curve like that these days. I can barely keep up with current committments.

I would like to clarify (again ;-) ) that I don't harbor any bad feelings toward OS X. I simply don't find as as good a tool, yet, as the Classic Mac OS is -- for me and what I do.

Charles

New Networking Troubles

From David

Hi Charles

With the start of a new school year and many new duties piled on this year, I've not been reading your Odyssey posts as frequently as I used to. I generally check the title to see if it might be something I know about or might need to know about. This is one.

I've seen your network problems too in a network mixed with OS X and OS 9 machines. Sometimes I can log onto an OS 9 machine and sometimes I can't and sometimes I can log onto my iBook from an OS 9 machine and sometimes I can't. The issue is sometimes resolved by logging out and back in but sometimes I have to restart my iBook. At home we are all running OS X and I have no such network problems.

I also see you sometimes run into the frustrating machine slowdown. At work we call it the iced iBook. Personally, I might go weeks without seeing it but sometimes experience it two or three times in a week. What process or resource is involved, I've been trying to isolate it in a desultory sort of way since I installed Jag. I don't recall experiencing it before then. Don't restart your machine, just log out and back in. If you are experiencing the slowdown for the same reason a group of us at work are, that should fix it. Nearly all of us experience it with our iBooks but don't with our desktops. Faster machines? More memory? Something specific to notebooks? I dunno.

cheers
David

Hi David;

Thanks for the insights. Running both machines in OS X is not a possibility in this case. I wouldn't want to imagine how slowly Jaguar would one run on the S-900 with its 200 MHz 6o4e processor and puny video card.

Very interesting your intelligence about the Jaguar slowdown happening on laptops but not on the desktop machines. Perhaps it's not my Pismo running out of free space on the partition after all. The last time it happened there was still 540 MB free showing up in the Info dialog. I have 640 megabytes of RAM, which one would hope to be at least sufficient.

Charles

Re: New Networking Troubles

From Matthew Shull

Hi Charles,

If you are running OS X 10.2.x, there are some new options in the Energy Saver section of the System Preferences. I believe they appeared in OS X 10.2. There are 2 checkboxes, one for "Wake when modem detects a ring" and another for "Wake for network administrator access" Uncheck one or both of those and that should solve your problem.

As for your Appletalk connectivity, I don't have a solution but do sympathize. Appletalk on my Cube will just die after a while and the only way to get it going again is to restart it, killing the current uptime record. I haven't tried it since I got OS X 10.2 because I sold my older Mac.

Matthew Shull

Hi Matthew;

Thanks for the tips.

I am running OS X 10.2.1. However, I checked in the Energy Saver panel, and neither of the boxes was checked, so that is not what is causing the unwanted wakeups.

A restart unfortunately didn't restore AppleTalk support either. :-(

Charles

Note: more letters on the networking problem in the next Odyssey

Telephone Modem Wakeup

From Scott Gilbert

>Another annoying issue is that when booted from OS X in in sleep >mode, the Pismo will wake up spontaneously about 50% of the time >when the telephone rings, presumably detected by the modem. Why this >doesn't happen every time it is a conundrum, and it does not happen >at all in OS 9. Any ideas about how to prevent it other than >unplugging the modem when the PowerBook is asleep?

I know it's only a workaround and not a real solution, but I believe you can just change to a different location that has none of your networking devices on. Switch locations through the AppleMenu before putting the powerbook to sleep. Here's a link on how to do it:

http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20021204052141553#comments

Love your OS X Odyssey. I haven't had nearly as many problems as you have (I'm running 10.2.2 on a 667 TiBook), but I read it every day without fail.

Scott Gilbert
Montage Press

Hi Scott;

I''ll try that.

Thanks, and keep reading!

Charles

Mac OS X Security Issues

From Demetrius

Hi Charles,

I use Jaguar and OS 9.2.1 on a daily basis. They each have something beautiful to offer. My question deals with security issues. I am slowly learning that running the Unix of OSX has opened the door for Unix hackers to make unexpected visits. There are also many more Trojan Horses and viruses for Unix operating systems than there are for OS 9. Since I'm not a Unix expert, OSX security issues does concern me. Am I paranoid?

Demetrius

Hi Demetrius;

Perhaps just a little, but I don't doubt that the UNIX world will prove more hazardous in terms of hackers, viruses, another unwelcome plagues than the Classic Mac OS environment has been.

I guess that the answer will be to adopt some of the safe computing protocols -- antivirus software, firewalls, and caution about opening email attachments that the PC folks are obliged to use as a matter of course. Also, I expect that avoiding the use of Microsoft software will be a big help in dodging some of these bullets.

Charles

OS X Odyssey 217 et al

From David Johnson

Hey Charles,

One day the old OS 9 holdouts will realize that most performance differences are really perceptions based on familiarity. They know OS 9 much better so indeed it is faster for them to use. But that is the user being faster at familiar tasks, not the OS per say.

One only has to pop up a couple of finder windows in column view to do some file shuffling in OS X for it to be quickly apparent that OS X has a few things going for it. Throw in a couple of file copies while downloading from the net while your at it. Heck, you can't even hold down the mouse button while doing a task in OS 9 without it grinding to a halt.

And what the heck is the whining about new hardware running OS X faster than old hardware? Wouldn't new hardware also run OS 9 faster? If one wants to run OS 9 the fastest, hardware will often run programs faster in the Classic environment than when booted in OS 9!

Have a good one :-)
David

By David;

Sorry, but I don't buy it. At least not in terms of the things I do with computers.

If I find OS X, performing the same task, on the same computer, using the same or equivalent OS X native software, substantially slower then doing the same thing in OS 9, for my purposes OS X is slower, period.

Preemptive multitasking is cool, but it is of limited utility for the sort of work I do mostly, and is certainly doesn't compensate for slow scrolling, slow window opening, slow menu opening, slow dialog box opening and closing, etc.

I find that most of my OS 9 programs run satisfactorilyIn Classic Mode, but I haven't noticed any speed improvement.

Best to you as well :-)
Charles

The OS X Odyssey archives may be accessed here:
http://www.applelinks.com/news/odyssey/

CM

Charles W. Moore