Mozilla, NS versions

I just got back into reading the Netscape forums and I have two basic questions.

First: just what is Mozilla, and why do people use it?

Second: I just upgraded Netscape from 4.61 to 4.78, only because my Credit Union made some changes which need 4.7 or higher. Are there any good reasons to upgrade further, even up to version 7.0? My 4.78 works fine for me, and I'm not a big believer in upgrading for the sake of upgrading.

Any comment would be appreciated. I do have another question, but since it's technically specific I'll post it separately.

Thanks,

grandpa

 

Hi grandpa,

HERE is an excellent explanation of Mozilla. Its basic purpose is to be used by software developers, and not specifically for end users, as is Netscape.

If you are happy with 4.78 and are experiencing no problems, then hang in with Communicator. BTW, there is a Version 8.0 now, recently released due to demands from the Corporate sector.

I like Netscape 7.0, and am quite pleased with its stability. There are still kinks to be ironed out, bugs to be dealt with, but it's fast and has enhanced features, not contained in Communicator. I'm also pleased to find the Mail & NG component to be quite stable. It's for the adventurous, and responds very well to a fast processor.

Ramona

 

Netscape 7 - fast?

Ramona, I was very interested in your comment that Netscape 7 is fast. One reason I decided not to use it was because it took so long to load. Did you decide to let it stay in memory so that it would load more quickly? I objected to having to do that. For the moment, I'm using Opera 6.05 as my default browser because it's so fast and flexible. I'd like to be able to use Netscape 7, but it seems VERY slow to me, as does Mozilla 1.1.

Cybernut

 

Hi Cybernut,

You're using Opera 6.05? I still have 6.04, and have been so wrapped up in Netscape 7, guess I missed the upgrade!

I think Netscape 7 is faster than Opera 6.04. I have tested loading the same number of open windows in both browsers, and Netscape was definitely the faster of the two. I like having the browser and mail in one program, thus my enthusiasm with Netscape 7.0. I understand that Opera is working on a better Mail component.

I don't use Quick Launch. I disabled it during the install. Netscape loads quickly, and the switches I use are:
-quiet -P "profilename" -browser -mail.

My PC is moderately fast, 800 MHz Intel Processor. Does that compare with your processor speed? I have 384 MB SDRAM, 20 GB HD.

Ramona

 

Hi, Ramona. Yes, Opera came out with 6.05 to deal with some security problem, if I recall correctly. As for Netscape vs. Opera in terms of speed, I tried timing how long each browser (Opera, N 7, Mozilla 1.1, and IE 6) took to open when I clicked on it. Opera was the fastest, followed by IE 6. Way behind were N7 and Mozilla (Mozilla took the longest). I found this to be true both at home and at work.

I'm surprised that we got such different results, since our computers aren't all that different, except you've got more SDRAM. I've got a Pentium III 866 MHz with a 20GB HD and am running W98SE. I might add that I downloaded a very trim version of N7, since I don't use it for my mail or news (I use Mulberry for email).

Cybernut

 

Cybernut,

Me too, quite frankly. I just did another timing:
Netscape w/Mail & Newsgroups - 3 seconds
Opera sans Mail - 3 seconds

I have a DUN connection, and this evening it is a puny 36,000bps. Dunno why yours is slow, but mine kicks derrière.

Ramona

 

Ramona , thanks for your reply. As usual, it's very useful. Re Mozilla, I read the description, understand it, and now I can forget about it!

Re Netscape versions, I have to stick with 4.78 until I get a new PC in the next few months. I have Windows 95 which won't support 7.0. I also printed out your screen shots for a Custom Install of 7.0, in the thread started by Marv6 . I used your Clean Install directions in going from NS 4.61 to 4.78 and it worked out very well, thank you. I'm sure I'll have more questions when the time comes.

Ciao,
grandpa

 

> Netscape w/Mail & Newsgroups - 3 seconds
> Opera sans Mail - 3 seconds

Ramona, I wish I knew how you got the above results for Netscape 7. I just timed it again. The first time I click on it, it takes between 7 and 8 seconds to open to my home page (which is a page on my hard drive and thus takes no time). The real waste of time is with the opening splash screen, which just stays and stays. I couldn't find a way in Preferences to turn it off. On subsequent openings, Netscape speeds up to 5-6 seconds, but still about double the 3 seconds I get with Opera.

Though I don't think the Internet connection is relevant here, I do have a broadband connection (cable).

Cybernut

 

Add -nosplash or -quiet to the target field of your N7 shortcut.

path_to_NETSCP.EXE -nosplash
path_to_NETSCP.EXE -quiet


tranquilo

 

Hi cybernut,

The Splash screen can be disabled by adding the following switch to the Command Line in your Desktop Icon:
Right click the Icon
Select: Properties
Add the following, including one space:
-quiet

It should look something like this:
"C:\Program Files\Netscape\Netscape\Netscp.exe" -quiet

I open with a "Blank" page. Preferences|Navigator
"When Navigator starts up display a blank page "

You might have missed the switches that I have in my Command Line:
-quiet -P "profilename" -browser -mail

If you have broadband, you should have a faster startup for Netscape.

I clock the same startup time for Mozilla 1.1.

Ramona

 

Ramona, thanks VERY much for the info about the -quiet switch. That cut a couple of seconds off the time it took Netscape to open. I haven't gotten it down to Opera's 3 seconds, but it's now a lot closer.

I did see your earlier message about switches, but I didn't understand what that meant or how it was relevant to my situation. Now I do, at least for -quiet. I'm not sure what the point of the others is. Why would you want to use a profile? And what do -browser and -mail do? I looked in Netscape's help file under switch and switches, but there was nothing there.

I love it when I learn something useful. Thanks again!

Cybernut

 

Hi cybernut,

I should have been more clear in my explanation.

You're most welcome! THIS is a list of the Netscape 7 Command Line Options/Switches. They are self explanatory, but to answer your question: I use the -P "profilename" switch because I have more than one profile. I use -browser -mail because I like to open Navigator and Mail at the same time.

Ramona

 

Thanks very much, Ramona and tranquilo, for the added information. I'm very happy to know about the -quiet switch and about all the other switches that are available. I was pleased to see that the -quiet switch also worked for some other software, not just Netscape and Mozilla. While it doesn't work on all programs, I've now used it successfully on WS_FTP.

I love this BBS!

Cybernut

 

cybernut,

The -nosplash works on other software too, as well as -nopopup -nosplash, which I use for ZoneAlarm.

Ramona

 

> The -nosplash works on other software too, > as well as -nopopup -nosplash, which I use for > ZoneAlarm.

Ramona, I have two questions.

1) Is there a difference between -quiet and -nosplash?

2) Will the -nopopup switch prevent ALL additional windows from opening? There are some news sites, for example, where clicking on a URL opens a news article in a separate window. Will the -nopopup switch prevent such sites from working?

Thanks again for your help.

Cybernut

 

cybernut,

No difference in the -quiet -nosplash. Both switches are for disabling the splash screen.

Same for -nopopup, as it too is for disabling the splash screen, nothing else.

To disable 99% of popups, use the adblocker.xpi, or add this script to your user.js file:

user_pref( "dom.disable_open_during_load ", true);

To prevent websites from opening new windows:

user_pref( "capability.policy.default.Window.open ", "noAccess ");

Look at this page for more Scripts for the USER.JS file.

Ramona

 

Hi, Ramona. Thanks for the additional info. I'm not sure I want to mess with either the adblocker.xpi file or the javascript to prevent new windows from opening. There are new windows I WANT to open--for example, the World News site. If I click on a news item, the item opens in a new window. If I prevent that from happening, I can't read the news on the World News site.

As for pop-up blockers, I've tried two third-party programs: popup stopper and noads. I found popup stopper seemed to interfere with other programs, so I removed it. NoAds, too, seems at times to create difficulties--sometimes a page won't open if NoAds is blocking its popup ads. If I want the original page to open, I can't be running NoAds. I assume I'd run into the same problem with the adblocker.xpi file.

So, while I really appreciate your most recent suggestions, I think I probably won't try them out.

Cybernut

 

Well, re my original question, should I upgrade beyond Netscape 4.78, I just noticed that Netscape 7.0 requires Windows 98 or above. Since I'm still using Windows 95, I'll stay with 4.78 until I get a new PC.

grandpa

 

Here are the system requirements for Netscape 7.0.

http://wp.netscape.com/eng/mozilla/ns7/relnotes/7.html

Windows

Windows 95, 98, or 98SE, Windows Me, Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, or Windows XP
Intel Pentium class 233 MHz (or faster) processor
64 MB RAM
26 MB of free hard disk space


You can use it on win95 if your computer meets the system requirements.


tranquilo