Safari and NY Times website

I've got the latest version of Flash and had emptied the cache and deleted the browser history. There must be something else going on. I installed the 10.5.4 combo update, too, hoping that might help. I should say that the problems with the Times website are intermittent, although the problems outnumber normal content displaying.

I have a high-speed internet connection (upwards of 12.5 Mbs), so pages should load quickly, if there are no coding problems. I had thought that Flash might be the culprit, but I now wonder if the problems aren't Javascript-related.

Again, it's odd that the problems don't occur with Tiger on both a PowerPC and Intel Mac. By the way, I've run the disk utility to repair permissions.

When I pinged the NY Times website I received this message:

Ping has started ...

PING www.nytimes.com (199.239.136.200): 56 data bytes
36 bytes from 128.241.244.54: Communication prohibited by filter
Vr HL TOS Len ID Flg off TTL Pro cks Src Dst
4 5 00 5400 93e6 0 0000 34 01 9649 10.0.1.194 199.239.136.200


--- www.nytimes.com ping statistics ---
10 packets transmitted, 0 packets received, 100% packet loss

It suggests that there is a filter, from whence I have no idea, that prohibits communications with the website.

Curious.

I'm beginning to lose hope on this. I did a complete reset of Safari, which deletes everything. I've deleted the Safari plist from the Preferences folder. I've uninstalled Flash Player, then reinstalled it. As I said, I even installed the combo 10.5.4 upgrade. Yet, the NY Times website either stops loading, eventually delivers a page with no formatting (just hyperlinks), or, after taking an inordinate time, occasionally displays the page normally. As I've also said, the problems aren't confined to Safari; I experience them in FireFox and Opera, to name two other browsers. This suggests that there's something else going on that's browser-independent. Nor does it make a difference whether I'm on my MBP or Mac Pro--same problems. On the other hand, I have no problems with other websites, which suggests an incompatibility between my machines and the NY Times website--whatever that may be. That I seem to be the only one in the known universe with these difficulties bothers me even further.

I'd hate to think that my only recourse for successfully viewing the Times website is to use IE7 in Windows via Parallels-***-Boot Camp. Yuck. (I encounter the same problems using the Windows version of Safari. Go figure.)

I've got all the updates, I think. Software Update is on automatic, checking daily.

I was in an Apple store this evening to pick up a replacement power adapter for my Cinema Display (a lot cheaper than a brand new monitor, by the way). While waiting, I accessed the NY Times website from one of the many iMacs. Loaded without a hitch, and quite fast. The HD had tons of software with all the assorted files, extensions, etc.—running 10.5.4 OS.

The problem is definitely at my end, but I remain baffled, although not yet defeated.

I'm convinced now more than ever that the problem has everything to do with the NY Times website, specifically its use of java, javascript, and perhaps Flash. As I've said before, I encounter no problems with other websites (save for usually slow displays of the Adobe website, but that's been the case forever). I have experienced the same problems using Firefox, Opera, and Safari on the Mac (Intel). I just tried accessing nytimes.com with my wife's MacBook (Tiger): same problem. Also, using Windows Internet Explorer via Parallels, I encountered the same problems.

If I disable java and javascript, I can access the NY Times website with no problem--although the images and ads don't display, which is not a great loss.

I should add that I do not encounter the problems every time I try to access nytimes.com. On occasion, the page loads in a flash, no pun intended.

I have now changed my home page from the NY Times to another website. Why spoil an otherwise acceptable Internet experience?

This is getting intriguing. On the suggestion that I may have a problem with my ISP or that I may have inadvertently changed a network setting, I took out my MBP and inserted my Verizon express card. It loaded the NYT website instantly. Hmm.

This would suggest that, since I did not change or modify my MBP's network settings, the problem may be with my ISP, which is a local fiber optic network serving mostly commercial enterprises (I live downtown, so I can take advantage of it).

However, my son, who lives in the same building and uses the same ISP, has no problems with the NYT website on his (my old) G4 PowerBook running Leopard (10.5.4). He uses Firefox rather than Safari. There are some differences. He's using an older Airport base station (802.11g), and I'm using an Airport Extreme running 802.11n (only) at 5.4 GHz. Also, each resident is assigned a unique IP address, subnet mask, router address, and DNS server.

I'll keep investigating.

I've done just about everything, including a check this morning with my ISP. All my settings are correct and the ISP operates at "layer 3," said the technician. From his office he had no trouble accessing the NY Times website using Windows and IE7.

So I turned on Windows (via Parallels) and plugged in the NYT url using IE7. The page loaded fine, albeit it looked ugly. When I tried to access NYT using Safari in Windows, I encountered the same problems as under Leopard.

Here's another interesting twist. When I plug in my Verizon express card on the MBP the NYT website downloads all content, although more slowly than with Airport (802.11n at 5 GHz).

I should repeat that these problems occur intermittently, but more often than not.