[Ham-Mac] Re: ARRL web server

[Chuck Counselman]

At 1:14 PM -0500 3/20/02, Fred Stevens K2FRD wrote:
>At 19:13 -0500 19/03/2002, Chuck Counselman W1HIS wrote:
>>>
>>>The immediate, technical, problem is that the ARRL website does 
>>>not work properly with Netscape's (and possibly other 
>>>non-Microsoft) web browser(s).  It works with Microsoft's web 
>>>browser....
>
>Chuck et al --
>
>I just tried to go to the ARRL Members-Only webpage and the page 
>wouldn't download. I tried several times from different directions 
>using my Netscape 4.7.9. Then, I tried using Internet Explorer 5.1 
>and it came right up. Is this the problem you were attempting to 
>bring to the attention of the League and us?
>--
>73, Fred Stevens K2FRD
>Chenango Co. (NY) Assistant Emergency Coordinator
>Foothills District, Otschodela Council BSA Committees
>Otschodela Council Amateur Radio Group http://www.ascent.net/thefred/ocarg.htm


Fred --

Yes; your experience with Netscape 4.7.9 for the Mac sounds like mine 
with Netscape 4.7.4 for the Mac.  However, from other emails I've 
received, I appears that Netscape 4.7.x (x ranging from 1 to 9) for 
the Mac does work for some others.  I suspect that the differences 
between different peoples' experiences have to do with Java, and 
differences between the versions of Macintosh Runtime Java (MRJ) that 
people are using, esp. with different releases of the Mac OS.  I use 
MRJ 2.2.5 (dated May 17, 2001) with Mac OS 9.1 on a Wallstreet G3 
PowerBook.

As you probably know, Microsoft's conduct has been particularly 
anti-competitive in the area of _Java_, and Java has been the subject 
of various anti-trust lawsuits, incl. one by Sun.  MRJ includes 
Sunsphere.

All of the ARRL website problems that have been reported to me so far 
are from (pre-OS-X) Macintosh users, as opposed to Microsoft users. 
In addition to Netscape's browser, I've received one report that the 
ARRL site doesn't work correctly with the AOL browser for the Mac 
(and that this problem has also been reported to the ARRL webmaster). 
I imagine that the best source of info on what browser / operating 
system / Java versions have trouble with the ARRL site is its 
webmaster -- certainly not me.

Several of you have mentioned that you, like me and the official I/S 
people at MIT, use Netscape rather than MSIE because of MSIE's 
security problems.  For anyone interested, there's a relevant 
discussion at
<http://www.macintouch.com/ie51.html>.

When I go to ARRL Members-Only webpages, at least half of the pages 
load but then turn blank; but then if I Reload (Microsoft calls it 
Refresh) them, they're fine.  In particular, 
<http://www.arrl.org/members-only/> turns blank but reloads OK.  Same 
for <http://www.arrl.org/members-only/prodrev/>.  Same for 
<http://www.arrl.org/members-only/prodrev/bymfg.html>.  Ad infinitem.

The home page <http://www.arrl.org/index.php3> loads OK.

73 de Chuck, W1HIS