Comcast.net Home page problems

Question

Level 1

135 points

Comcast.net Home page problems

For the past two days the Comcast.net Home page does not display properly in Safari on my iMac G5 running Mac OS X 10.4.2 but it does display properly on my wife's iMac G3 running Mac OS X 10.3.9. Both computers are connected to Internet via Ethernet through a router to the Comcast cable modem.

The Comcast Home page at http://www.comcast.net/explore.html provides a choice of two modes Express or Explore. The right-hand panels in either mode normally display an assistant with a choice of information. The assistant panels do not appear on my iMac G5 in the Explore mode but do appear in that mode on my wife's iMac G3.

I contacted Comcast and received conflicting information. One analyst replied that this is a known problem that they are working on. Another analyst replied that Comcast recently changed their site and assistant now appears only in the Express mode. The latter statement is untrue on my wife's computer.

I reset Safari on my computer it it didn't eliminate the problem. I also ran TechTool Pro 4 to check and repair the files but the problem still remains. I also checked the site on my computer using MS Explorer and Netscape. The assistant displays properly with Netscape but not with Explorer.

Are other Comcast clients having similar problems using Safari with Mac OS X 10.4.2?

Posted on Aug 20, 2005 1:28 PM

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Answer 1

Tom Graves

Level 7

20,627 points

Aug 20, 2005 3:15 PM in response to Albert Cooper

I am having problems with Comcast's home page with Safari 1.3 under OS X 10.3.9. I normally use Firefox to go to Comcast but I went today and tried. Safari did open up to "Explore" and not "Express" mode. In Safari, I am missing the complete right-hand column, from "Share Photos" to the "Comcast Assistant" menu bar item, to all my personal information and options. It just ain't there. I am, however, recognized as being logged in.

In Firefox, I have a "Modify Assistant" just under "Comcast Assistant" in the right column. You would expect that this item would just be missing in Safari along with the other content in the right-hand column. However, a "Modify Page" button appears only in Safari just to the left of the "Go to Express" button which is in the same place in both Safari and Firefox.

Strange. I just accidently discovered that the mouse thinks there are links in the invisible right-column. It turns into a hand here and there. But nothing happens (that I can see) when I click on anything.

When I first loaded Safari and saw not everything was there I thought maybe it was Pithhelmet, so I reloaded the page unfiltered, and the entire middle section beneath the top flash panel was blank. I turned Pithhelmet off entirely, but this are still reloaded blank. I had to back out and come to the page fresh to get content back. Turning Pithhelmet back on, flushing the cache, and reloading gave me even more white space than before, so Pithhelmet does see most of Comcast's page as being made up of ads. My comments above about missing the right-column, etc. were made with PithHelmet disabled.

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Answer 2

Albert Cooper Author

Level 1

135 points

Aug 21, 2005 11:38 AM in response to Tom Graves

The Comcast home page displays properly on my wife's iMac G3 with Safari 1.3 under OS X 10.3.9 but the the features for "Share Photos", "Comcast Assistant", and "Modify Assistant" are all missing on my iMac G5 with Safari 2.0 under Mac OS X 10.4.2.

This raises a question whether there is some problem with Safari 2.0 or Mac OS X 10.4.2. The same features are also missing from the Comcast home page with Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.2 on my computer but these features appear properly using Netscape 7.2 on my computer. I do not use Firefox so I have no comparison with the display there.

I have not checked whether there are differences with the way pages load on other sites with Safari, Explorer, and Netscape. At this point I am still baffled why all features fail to display in Safari or Explorer on my computer. Since all features appear properly with Netscape 7.2 I am inclined to rule out any problem with Safari 2.0 or Explorer 5.2. All features load properly on my wife's iMac G3 with both Safari 1.3 and Explorer 5.2 using Mac OS X 10.3.9. I am waiting for additional response from Comcast as to whether this in fact is a known issue that they are working on. I should get a their reply tomorrow.

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Answer 3

Tom Graves

Level 7

20,627 points

Aug 21, 2005 11:52 AM in response to Albert Cooper

It is not just a Safari 2.0 problem. As I said in my first reply, the Comcast home page does not load correctly for me in Safari 1.3 under OS X 10.3.9.

I have no problems using Firefox. I have not checked out other browsers.

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Answer 4

Albert Cooper Author

Level 1

135 points

Aug 21, 2005 8:56 PM in response to Tom Graves

Comcast sent the following response regarding this issue:

Thank you for contacting us regarding your Comcast High Speed Internet service.

I understand that you would like some information regarding proper display of Comcast.net and I would be happy to assist you with that. Unfortunately, Safari is not a supported browser, which is why other agents have not addressed this concern. We do not provide any support for use of Safari as a browser - the only browser we support is Internet Explorer. The only known issues we have in regards to Internet Explorer and proper display of Comcast.net are some issues with conflicts with Norton and McAfee and the Comcast.net homepage. I show below you are having issues with Comcast.net displaying properly on Internet Explorer. Do you have either McAfee or Norton?

I responded that I have Norton Anti-Virus 10.0.1 and Norton Personal Firewall 3.0.3. I do not use McAfee.

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Answer 5

Albert Cooper Author

Level 1

135 points

Aug 21, 2005 9:55 PM in response to Albert Cooper

My issue has been resolved though information received from Comcast Support as follows

You will first want to make sure you update your bookmarks, and if you have comcast.net as your start page, you will want to correct that URL as well. These URL's should be www.comcast.net or www.comcast.net/home.html. If your bookmark or start page is set to any comcast URL other than the two listed above, this could be causing your issue. If you are still unable to get to the comcast.net site, please follow the steps listed below.

1. You will need to temporarily disable Norton Internet Security
a. From the system tray in the bottom right corner right click on Norton Internet Security
b. Select Disable Norton Internet Security
c. In Norton dialogue box that appears, choose OK without changing any other settings
2. Now you will need to clear browser cache.

I changed the settings in Safari General Preferences to reset the Home page from http://www.comcast.net/explore.html to http://www.comcast.net/home.html and that fixed the problem.

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Answer 6

Tom Graves

Level 7

20,627 points

Aug 21, 2005 10:11 PM in response to Albert Cooper

My issue has been resolved though information received from Comcast Support as follows

Makes Comcast work in Safari for me as well.

Thanx

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