[Thread Prev][Thread Next]   >Date Index >Thread Index

Re: [wmx] sluggish netscape with channels

Joel Reicher - Wed Jan 26 01:23:38 2000

FWIW, I experienced this as well and I think it's related to the focus
problem I mentioned a few weeks ago, because if focus was brought back to
the netscape window `explicitly' by clicking on wmx's frame for the window,
the problem went away.

Cheers,

	- Joel

> 
> I've noticed some problems with netscape on large files, especially if it has
> tables when scrolling up/down or searching.  Sometimes it can lock my X
> server (but not the mouse) and all I can hear is the disk churning for a few
> minutes.  This is always when I have netscape on another channel.
> 
> I tested with olwm and failed to reproduce the problem, but _was_ able to
> with olvwm (this is so far all on my Desktop machine, an Sun SPARC Ultra10)
> so I decided the problem was related to netscape, probably backingstore, the
> fact that the swap is on an IDE disk (what were Sun thinking!) and some odd
> interaction it has with virtual desktops.  I solved this by being lame and
> using IE5.0 (solaris) for pages that are large/tables etc. and netscape for
> other browsing.
> 
> Then I got my new PC at home, 128megRAM 500MHz PIII, voodoo3-2000 gfx..
> 128meg swap (IDE :( but fast).  This completely outperforms my 300mhz
> UltraSPARC at work.  Even with the default enlightenment WM in use
> which I used out of lazyness for a few days.  However, when I eventually came
> to compile and run wmx (6pre1), I immediately found sluggishness on the 2nd
> channel in netscape, I first noticed to my surprise how scrolling down
> with the clitoris of my mouse* was really slow, the X resources were set to
> do 4 lines at a time, and I saw each line movement on down, but it was
> instant on the up move.  Then I simply used pageup/down and found weird
> slowness, just like I get at work.  This was just on slashdot.org as well so
> not such a large page.  After it had scrolled down and up a few times to the
> bottom, it sped up, even if I switched to channel1 and back to 2 again, it
> was fast.  I went to another page news.bbc.co.uk and found the same.  I
> tested other virtual windows on olvwm and enlightenment and was unable to
> replicate it this time, it seems there is something up specifically with wmx.
> 
> I've ruled out the reshape triangle at the bottom right as it's well out of
> the way for scrolling and as after a moment netscape will speed up anyway,
> also I don't think it's linux doing funny things with what it swaps and what
> it doesn't, because linux with 128meg doing just X/wmx/netscape/xterm with a
> few running daemons takes .. well very little in mem terms, free shows 0
> taken in the swap partition.
> 
> I don't know what other info to give, but finding enlightenment didn't do the
> same narked me off.  I only want wmx nothing more!  If anyone knows a
> resource for info on netscape Xresources I'd be interested, I recall seeing
> large documents on them, but this was a LONG time ago, and it could have been
> back before navigator2.0, so things might have /required/ configuration in
> Xresources back then.  I'm hoping I can turn off using a backing store if
> that is anything to do with it, I could strace X or netscape for somebody,
> both on solaris and Linux (truss on solaris).
> 
> Damion
> 
> *The PC came with one of them clitoris mouse thingies with MS written all
> over it, I was about to junk it and stick with my exPC's 3 button one (like
> I'd done with the keyboard for a real non MS one), but thought I'd give it a
> try.  An initial Caldera2.1 install (quick and easy, good for h/w compat.
> test) auto installed everything including support for the scrolly wheel!  I
> loved it.  So I wiped that and bunged slackware on then started doing
> everything myself MMMmm :), added various things to .Xdefaults etc.  and now
> actually miss it at work on my old Sun optical thing.
> 
> -- 
> Damion Yates - Senior Internet Operations Engineer - Internet Services
> email: Damion.Yates@bbc.co.uk - phone: +44 1737 839510
> 


Next: