What browser to use with Snow Leopard?

Lexicat wrote:

I have used iCab as my default browser for well over a decade. iCab is a German-developed browser based on Webkit (same as Safari), but with far more bells and whistles and (IMO) a much better user interface.

I running Snow Leopard (10.6.8) on my Mac mini. The version of iCab I use for this system is 5.2.0.

The developer, Alexander Clauss, is an expert on Apple development and internet standards. He has responded personally to every e-mail query I have made during the past 12-14 years, ever since I discovered iCab while still using Nubus Macs. He produces frequent updates as Apple upgrades OSX. And don't worry: He and the iCab website are bilingual.

He has also developed iCab for iOS, and I use it on my iPad and iPhone.

iCab comes in a free and a pro version ($20, I think). The home page is at http://www.icab.de/

I've been trying iCab. It's appealing but I get all the same error messages I do in Safari (in fact, iCab is 'seen' as Safari by the complaining apps).

Maybe my machine (2006 MacBook) is just too old for any current browsers (except possibly Firefox, which I'm about to check).

I'll try the current iCab version when I get my MacBook Pro back.

Thanks for letting me know about it.

Lanny wrote:

Well, I don't know what you're seeing, but things are working just fine here. You must not be using the right version of Chrome.

I've always had Chrome set to auto-update. How would I figure out which version would be the right one -- i.e., given that no recent version would be?

Remember, it's Chrome that's sending me the messages that my "hardware is no longer supported."

What is the version number of Chrome that you are currently using?

Is it version 42 or above?

"Google Chrome

Version 38.0.2125.111

This computer will no longer receive Google Chrome updates because its hardware is no longer supported."

There is no option on the page to update beyond the version I have.

Lanny wrote:

There is no option on the page to update beyond the version I have.

That's because the option to update only applies to version 38. You would need to download a more recent version from the Google web site. There after the update would be expected to work the version number at hand.

https://www.google.com/chrome/browser/desktop/

Ultimately, you're confusing "update," with, "upgrade." For the same reason, Software Update is only going to take your from OS X 10.6.0 to 10.6.8.

I downloaded the version at the link in your post. When I tried to open Chrome:

"You can’t open the application Google Chrome because it is not supported on this type of Mac."

(Do you know for certain that any more recent version of Chrome than the one I had before this attempt to install a current version will work on my old MacBook under Snow Leopard?)

Lanny wrote:

This is probably the best explanation. Your Intel CPU is not 64 bit.

http://www.computerworld.com/article/2849225/chrome-for-os-x-turns-64-bit-forsak es-early-intel-macs.html

I assume then that the v.38 version of Chrome I was using is the latest I can use on that particular Mac. The implication of the article is that there may be unpatched vulnerabilities in that version, so maybe I'll just forego Chrome altogether.

Lanny wrote:

As previously stated, FireFox was recommended over Chrome, even if you could run the latest Chrome version.

However, now you may want to verify whether the same Intel hardware limitation applies to the latest version of Firefox. 32 bit vs 64 bit could be a dividing line.

True enough, and I indicated that I would be trying Firefox (and have). Most of my interaction with you concerned using Chrome, though -- specifically your suggestion that the limitations I was experiencing were because I wasn't using a recent enough version and should download and install one. You provided a link to download a version of Chrome that wasn't useable on my computer. So we both learned something.

So far I'm not experiencing issues with Firefox, except that it's pretty slow (on this computer).

Within a day or two I'll have my MBP back and will then for the most part be using that computer, so I don't expect to have these issues continue.

Lexicat wrote:

iCab's preferences allow you to set the broiwser "Identity", which will usually accommodate websites which are built with certain browsers in mind. My version of iCab has about a dozen identity choices, including Chrome, Firefox, Opera, several versions of IE and even some versions of Netscape, Lynx and Konqueror. It also has a spot for "Other" in which you can write your own identity code.

Changing Identity has always worked for me any time I've encountered a restrictive, non-standard website.

Thanks. Any suggestions for which is best to use with Snow Leopard v.10.6.8 (and iCab v.5.2.0)?

I had assumed that “Identity for best compatibility” would auto-select the best one. But so far using that delivers pretty much the same performance as using Safari (v.5.1.10). And objecting websites or apps all seem to think I am using Safari.

One thing I’d especially like to get back is the ability to compose HTML email messages, which I now can’t do (with either Safari or, so far, with iCab) in Yahoo! Mail. Other objectors includes Googe Chrome/Drive/Docs.