Unconvinced

[gbhall]

So sorry to not be too enthusiastic about the 'new' techspot, but if I don't say it, nobody else will.

Although many people are praising the new features you can put into the interface, does nobody find it much more irritating to use than the 'old' version? The reason I feel like this is that the new interface is so graphics-heavy, and has numerous overlay popups that it's response is seriously degraded if one has a limited download speed.

My download speed just seconds ago, I measured at 5644kb/sec and upload was 370kb/sec. Those speeds are quite good for a wired service around a mile from the exchange, but it is not fibre optic speed.

At those speeds, I find everything about the Techspot interface requires about 2-3 seconds to refresh and become responsive. And even after months of this new unresponsiveness I still continually trip myself up by clicking or keying before the screen is ready, and finding myself actuating something different to what I want to do next.

Apart from that, certain aspects of the screen do not overlap correctly (a font size problem) and other areas of the screen have incorrect 'on top' settings in the browser I use. (E.g. the pop-ups under my username and 'alerts' on the top-right of every page - they are always underneath the main menu bar and any pictures on the home screen). I have tried other browsers up to IE7 which is the highest that XP will run, and the only one that renders correctly is firefox.

I doubt if Julio can do anything about any of this, but it would be really good to always bear in mind that not everyone has fibre-optic download speeds, and that unnecessary image use always slows a screen refresh.

 

[SNGX1275]

I think that has to be browser or adblock type stuff related. I run Opera, which despite being very standards compliant, is not well supported on the web, and I don't see problems like that. I also have a slower connection than you, at least on the downstream, and am not experiencing any lag...

 

[learninmypc]

So sorry to not be too enthusiastic about the 'new' techspot, but if I don't say it, nobody else will.

Although many people are praising the new features you can put into the interface, does nobody find it much more irritating to use than the 'old' version? The reason I feel like this is that the new interface is so graphics-heavy, and has numerous overlay popups that it's response is seriously degraded if one has a limited download speed.

My download speed just seconds ago, I measured at 5644kb/sec and upload was 370kb/sec. Those speeds are quite good for a wired service around a mile from the exchange, but it is not fibre optic speed.

At those speeds, I find everything about the Techspot interface requires about 2-3 seconds to refresh and become responsive. And even after months of this new unresponsiveness I still continually trip myself up by clicking or keying before the screen is ready, and finding myself actuating something different to what I want to do next.

Apart from that, certain aspects of the screen do not overlap correctly (a font size problem) and other areas of the screen have incorrect 'on top' settings in the browser I use. (E.g. the pop-ups under my username and 'alerts' on the top-right of every page - they are always underneath the main menu bar and any pictures on the home screen). I have tried other browsers up to IE7 which is the highest that XP will run, and the only one that renders correctly is firefox.

I doubt if Julio can do anything about any of this, but it would be really good to always bear in mind that not everyone has fibre-optic download speeds, and that unnecessary image use always slows a screen refresh.

Kindly define "Graphics heavy" for me? Also, what do you mean by popups?
I'm using the most current version of SeaMonkey right now. Perhaps you need to install an adblocker & enable a pop up blocker if I understand you correctly. Oh, I'm on DSL & have no problem in here. It just took time to get re aquainted with the new format.

 

[Matthew DeCarlo]

Can't say I've experienced anything like that and if anything, I believe the updated platform is faster. Forwarded to Julio.

 

[cliffordcooley]

I have tried other browsers up to IE7 which is the highest that XP will run

I know this will not help but IE8 is the highest that XP will run.

For reference, I've included a few screen-shots. From my perspective everything aligns the way it should in Windows 7 for IE9, Firefox 16, Opera 12, and IE8 within XP-Mode as well.

 

[Benny26]

My speed is very slow compared to your's, OP, and the site was almost no different in loading speeds after the transition from my eyes. I do use adblock along with a few other tweaks though to keep things as light as possible.

 

[learninmypc]

My download speed just seconds ago, I measured at 5644kb/sec and upload was 370kb/sec. Those speeds are quite good for a wired service around a mile from the exchange, but it is not fibre optic speed.

At those speeds, I find everything about the Techspot interface requires about 2-3 seconds to refresh and become responsive. And even after months of this new unresponsiveness I still continually trip myself up by clicking or keying before the screen is ready, and finding myself actuating something different to what I want to do next..

Have you ever given any thought to the fact your download/upload speed will vary at different times of the day?
Internet traffic & interstate traffic are very similiar.
test sites
http://reviews.cnet.com/internet-speed-test/
http://performance.toast.net/
http://www.speakeasy.net/speedtest/
http://speedtest.net/

 

[Julio Franco]

I believe this is strictly a browser issue. On all modern versions IE9+, current Firefox, Chrome and Safari the site works fine and doesn't show any such overlapping issues. We are no longer actively testing older browsers than those mentioned, even though when we transitioned to the new platform we tested for IE7+ (with success) and partial, usable support for IE6.

 

[Cobalt006]

It more or less your Browser. I had that with firefox for a while. It went away on the next update. You can run IE 8, Win XP does support up IE8.

 

[bobcat]

Like SNGX1275, I use Opera, but I just run it out-of-the box, without any addons. I experience no popups or delays, but I do have two problems with the quick reply box. Firstly, I have trouble pasting something I typed in Word and I have to try repeatedly before it appears in the reply box. Secondly, if the text I post is long, I can’t see it all without using Preview. I do not remember having these problems with the old board version.

 

[Per Hansson]

What the OP means by popups is the overlays you get when hovering your mouse over a thread in the forums for example.
Or the overlay you get when hovering your mouse over your avatar name in the top right corner, or sign in button if you are not signed in.

I have tried other browsers up to IE7 which is the highest that XP will run, and the only one that renders correctly is firefox.

I have to ask, when you say "Up to IE7" do you mean the site does not work properly in IE6 then?
Because that is very much by choice... (IE6 holds back web development, it's a terrible browser that should never be used)
As for the performance of the site that's difficult to comment on, with your connection speed it should be a very fast experience.
I would make sure to use an up to date browser and make sure that your system actually is operating normally. (No spyware, viruses etc)

 

[Jay Pfoutz]

I believe this is strictly a browser issue. On all modern versions IE9+, current Firefox, Chrome and Safari the site works fine and doesn't show any such overlapping issues.

Like SNGX1275, I use Opera, but I just run it out-of-the box, without any addons. I experience no popups or delays, but I do have two problems with the quick reply box. Firstly, I have trouble pasting something I typed in Word and I have to try repeatedly before it appears in the reply box. Secondly, if the text I post is long, I can’t see it all without using Preview. I do not remember having these problems with the old board version.

Browser incompatibility is still an associated problem with xenForo. Not much to do about it, unless you post a complaint with the guys: http://xenforo.com/community/

 

[gbhall]

To all posters, I am sorry to mislead you all about the IE browser I (very) occasionally use in XP. As one or two have realised, I should have said IE8, and indeed on re-checking, IE8 is playing right with the fonts and the overlays (aka pop-ups as someone else correctly guessed).

The actual browser I prefer to use is Avant browser, which I have not updated for a long time, because I have tried later versions only to find I don't like the new features. So I am probably using a browser which internally, uses IE7 dll files. I do have ad blocking on.

Being 69 years old, I have a (perhaps regrettable) tendency to stick with what I like, to resist change for change's sake, and to have a higher regard for performance over appearance. Sorry I won't apologise for that !!!

So to Julio especially, I have to say of course you are quite right, all the things I moaned about (including some others I did not mention) are down to using an old browser. Sorry, sorry for unnerving you.

Let me wander off-topic slightly. I lately discovered that certain foxpro software I was responsible for creating will no longer work on 64-bit processor Win 7 by any means whatever, including virtual XP modes etc. Someone pointed out that many firms believed that the way to OS-independance was to develop for the internet, but I countered by pointing out that browsers are far more diverse than OS's, their inter-compatibility is next to nil, new versions are issued far more often than new OS's, and backward-compatibility is universally ignored. So the internet is not a good option. Also, most of the development languages for the internet are a complete load of rubbish, being very restricted in their GUI capabilities and very hard to use, particularly with object-oriented design. And please don't get me started on MS office !!!

This post http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2010/01/windows-xp-mode/ is a real eye-opener concerning application compatibility. Be sure to read the 57 reader comments, which are even more relevant than the article.

 

[DelJo63]

GBHALL is spot on for the issue of OS compatibility vs W3C compliance (ie the Internet browser standards group). Getting a program to load and execute on various versions of Windows is child's play compared to creating a browser that is W3C compliant and also runs on the major platforms (Linux, Mac, Windows).
Then too, web page authors have to deal will the results of partial compliance of the browser and test their site with variations of browsers. Now add a moving target like HTML5 and it becomes a three ring circus to keep up with the Internet. I've seen many sites that take no effort to use CSS controls for media differences and a printed page looks terrible or spits badly formatted pages.

I would also endorse the concept that performance trumps the eye-candy of DHTML and especially flash.
When performance falls to a painful user experience, (try envisioning still using dial-up) the user WILL just punt and walk away from the site.

 

[Per Hansson]

Being 69 years old, I have a (perhaps regrettable) tendency to stick with what I like, to resist change for change's sake, and to have a higher regard for performance over appearance. Sorry I won't apologise for that !!!

I'm only 29 but I agree wholeheartedly!
On my own PC off the top of my head two ancient pieces of software I use daily are Acdsee v2.43 and µTorrent v2.2.1
We had a WOF about this recently:
https://www.techspot.com/community/...-outdated-software.179603/page-2#post-1165335