I’ve been getting a lot of support emails like this, so I figured it is time to bring the issue front and center:
Thought I would let you know that for the past week or two, I’m having a problem with your website (wattsupwiththat.com).
I can read the first few stories, fine but as I continue to scroll down, the screen goes blank (all white), and does not come back.
I am using Firefox 3.6.28 on an Imac running Mac OS 10.4.11.
My software may be outdated, but if I’m having the problem others may as well.
WordPress.com (my hosting provider) recently made yet another unannounced upgrade to the blog software that provides for continuous scroll, adding new stories as you scroll down. There seems to be no way to turn off this feature, so the only way around the problem in older browsers (Like Firefox 3.6 which is out of date) is to upgrade. Upgrades are free, just do it.
Firefox is now up to version 11.0 – get it here: http://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/fx/
Chrome is up to 18.0 – get it here: http://www.google.com/intl/en/chrome/
Internet Explorer 9 is out, though IE8 will work just fine. IE 6/7 not so much.
Safari/Opera/others – I have no experience with them, please advise in comments
“I am using Firefox 3.6.28 on an Imac running Mac OS 10.4.11.”
OS 10.4.11 may not be able to run anything higher than Firefox 3.6x.
I have Firefox 2.0.0.20 on XP Service Pack 2. I use it because it is light and fast with my ISP. This Browser has the issue described, except your site attempts to re-load (unsucessfully) at about mid scroll down and yours is the only site that does this. You-Tube does constantly point out that they must load “lightweight” videos to support this browser and I would say (hurray) that makes loading faster. But their attitude is somewhat odd since news sites like Yahoo and HuffPost insist on loading massive pix and videos on my system (what a DRAG). I also run Better Privacy which helps the speed.
Many of the newer software programs insist on Service Pack 3 which is generally not necessary for an XP home computer and has it’s own problems there-in. Yep, don’t plan on converting anytime soon and as long as I attend your site frequently, my particular problem is not too noticeable.
Rats! I hate upgrading because it messes up my bookmarks every time. I have been pressing the back button, and I get the original page again. Then if I scroll down very quickly I can see what I missed the first time around. Eventually it goes blank again, but by then I will have at least looked at the current crop of entries.
Have had no problems with Safari 5.0.5 on Mac OS 10.6.8.
/Mr Lynn
What upsets me most is the fact that wordpress won’t let me share on my FB page. I have to do that C+P thing all the time. Apparantly, there’s no love.
If Wheeples that don’t have the whathereto to keep their own browser working properly, (snipped it myself. :-p)
Safari Version 5.1 under Mac OS X Lion (10.7.3) works just fine with the latest changes to WordPress.
XP works ok except to paste into reply I have to type a few spaces then use directional arrows to back into the spaces then paste.
Update for the reader Anthony cites:
I think Firefox 3.6.x is the highest version the OS 10.4.x user can run. FF 4 requires 10.5.
/Mr Lynn
Just FYI – I’ve been having this same problem for a couple of months now, when I read the site on my iPad, and I assure you it is completely current on all updates. Sometimes the next few stories will load when I get to the bottom, and sometimes they won’t (more often, not).
I don’t like to complain, though. You do such a great job, and I know it ain’t easy!
There’s no problem at all under Windows 7, and IE9. WordPress blogs all display flawlessly at my house.
Never had a problem at WUWT with various computers, XP and Win 7 at home and office.Running Firefox, some of them on beta test of the latest Firefox.
But then the 57 Chev does not have cruise control.
Keep up the good work. Don’t let the complaints drag you down.
Yes I had noted this change to scrolling perhaps a couple of weeks ago.
I run Firefox, which is regularly and automatically updated, on XP. I have had little trouble with the changeover, if you are in a white space below the last article it is only necessary to move the cursor, presumably to show you are active, and WordPress then fills in the rest.
I am undecided as to whether I like the change but I do not have a choice. It took a few days getting used to but it seems to work.
Kindest Regards
Suck it up people… get some new toys… life is change.
Macmini , Lion , firefox 11.0
Regular quadcore desktop PC with IE9 and Windows 7 Ultimate, has always worked like a charm. Good, reliable Microsoft did the job again.
For older OS X versions, try Camino (Google “Camino Browser”). The latest version is supported on 10.4. Camino uses the same Gecko rendering engine that Firefox does and is optimized for OS X. I always keep an updated copy around for those rare times that Safari has an issue with a site. The author does an outstanding job and it’s always free.
Firefox 11.0? Heck, I’m on version 12.0, although I believe that it’s technically still a beta build. 🙂
Opera 11.62 working just fine on WUWT Anthony … under Win Xp 32-bit SP3 on a 2.8 GHz Intel Pentium w/2 GM RAM in the from of a Dell OptiPlex GX270 platform, an old workhorse that does show it’s age (speed wise) these days on the more ‘feature-rich’ websites running gobs and gobs of CPU-cycle stealing scripts!
The new (to me) Dell 755 Intel Core 2 Duo (destined to replace the Dell GX270) runs like greased lighting though, so maybe it’s time to switch to it and leave this old dog for backup or ‘fallback’ service.
.
Been having more and more problems with WUWT for the last couple months. I’m using Firefox 3.0.19 on XP SP3. MY main problem is with the WUWT home page load time: >12 secs on a 15MB/s Comcast line which is twice as long as it takes to load Yahoo with all its extra fluff. Not planning on upgrading my Firefox as I agree with Master of ObsoleteTechnology, so I may have to change my homepage from WUWT to something else.
REPLY: My goodness what obstinance. The download time is directly proportionate to the speed of the obsolete rendering engine in your ancient version of FireFox. Try Chrome, and if you don’t want to do that, then you’ll be left out, because the Internet isn’t going to stop for you and there’s nothing I can do to help you if you don’t want to help yourself. – Anthony
I have had no problems with Chrome or Firefox on Win7. But I check the site 3 or 4 times a day and don’t get more than two or three stories down the list unless I am going back to check on conversations in the comments. Sometimes I learn more there than the original articles (though the articles are always good too).
“Dennis Cox says: (April 3, 2012 at 7:45 pm_
There’s no problem at all under Windows 7, and IE9. WordPress blogs all display flawlessly at my house.”
I too have Windows 7 & IE9, but I have seen this problem on my laptop.
i scroll down and get a white out after 4 or 5 headings, using mac os10.4.11 and safari 3.04
REPLY: Which means you need a modern browser and/or a more recent OS, the reason for this post – Anthony
@Master of ObsoleteTechnology 7:17 pm
“…news sites like Yahoo and HuffPost insist on loading massive pix and videos on my system (what a DRAG).”
Yeah, HuffPo got so cluttered, I gave up on it. So much stuff is dupes, and I can’t even find what I want.
Steve Garcia
I run Chrome with its auto updates and never have a problem here. Occasionally Climate Audit gives a problem with long headings wrapping and overlapping the next line, but I suspect that is the site, not the browser.
Firefox 11 0r Win Explorer 8 or up + Backup your bookmarks = no problems ever!
I’m using SeaMonkey Version 2.8. I have never had any problems viewing WUWT with any version of SM. SM is similar to Firefox, except that it comes with its own email client.
PS: On Win XP or my other Comp.. on Win 7
Recommending using software versions with known security holes is irresponsible advice and a receipt for getting infected with malware. Windows XP SP3 + all later security updates is necessary if you have any interest in keeping your system secure,
Microsoft stopped supporting Windows XP SP2 on July13, 2010. Extended support for Windows XP SP3 is through April 8, 2014 at which time it is recommended you upgrade to Windows 7, 8 or a current Linux Distro.
Windows lifecycle fact sheet
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/products/lifecycle
The problems people have had with upgrading to Windows XP SP3 (or any service pack) are almost exclusively due to malware infections or faulty hardware. Make sure your system is clean before installing any service pack by running the following,
1. Kaspersky Anti-rootkit TDSSKiller, http://support.kaspersky.com/faq/?qid=208283363
2. Malwarebytes Anti-Malware, http://fileforum.betanews.com/detail/Malwarebytes-AntiMalware/1186760019/1
Overview of Windows XP Service Pack 3:
http://download.microsoft.com/download/6/8/7/687484ed-8174-496d-8db9-f02b40c12982/Overview%20of%20Windows%20XP%20Service%20Pack%203.pdf
“Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) includes all previously released Windows XP updates, including security updates and hotfixes. It also includes select out-of-band releases, and a small number of new enhancements, which do not significantly change customers’ experience with the operating system.”
Firefox 2.0.x has 154 security vulnerabilities,
http://secunia.com/advisories/product/12434/
WUWT works fine with;
Chrome v18.x
Firefox v11.x
IE v9.x
Opera v11.x
Please use the latest version of each browser.
Chrome shows a wrench symbol in the upper right corner. That will have a symbol with it – an arrow pointing up – when an update is available. With a click on the wrench (“tool kit”) (“tools”) a drop-down menu appears and you can learn the version number you have or okay an update.
18.0.1025.142 this is the current version as of 4/3/2012 8:43:19 PM PST.
Using Palemoon which is Firefox without some of the bloat.
I am rather Puzzled that people don’t mention “Opera”, much. It’s been available for about 20 years or so, the Computing magazines are ignoring it, now, after having put it in their CDs and DVDs. My question is, WHY do they ignore it?
This is probably the best of the web browsers, but no one seems to know it.
REPLY: Probably because the name sounds hoighty-toity. That, and I hate opera, you couldn’t drag me into a theater. Dislike by association. – Anthony
Just a note, if you cannot make up your mind what browser to use, try Google Chrome, since it auto-updates itself it should effectively eliminate this problem in the future.
Anthony, I think it was the second week of February I first noted odd behavior. I was running Firefox 10.0.6 on an XP OS with SP3. I have since updated to Firefox 11.0, and see no change. If they want to call it continuous scrolling, fine. My only complaint is the lack of access to the recent ‘older’ posts beyond the first page, without going to the monthly files. I can live with it, it seems a shame software ‘improvements’ often are not.
I’ve never had a problem on your site. I’m using Palemoon pretty much exclusively now. It’s basically a 64-bit port of Firefox.
Opera works best for me [on dial-up] but it does not load the whole WUWT home page. Blank after several posts are listed as Gary mentions above.
Not a problem using Opera because I just scroll down to archives and click on the current month. Loads everything.
Firefox loads the whole homepage but is slower than my patience allows for most functions.
Using a gateway 2.2ghz pc,
WinXP, serv pac 3
Firefox ver 11 [up to date as of a few minutes ago]
Opera ver 11.61 [up to date as of a few minutes ago]
Oh, noes! My poor Links2 text browser (on eLive 2.0 v 3 Linux) will get all covered in dust, from trailing all those bright shiny High-powered Windoze browsers!
Interesting effect: now the comments don’t show except when the Page Source is displayed….
This, by the bye, is being posted from Iceweasel 3.0.6 (light-weight version of FireFox).
Have any of you been reading E M Smith (Chiefio)? I strongly suspect some of that heavy load of data which is slowing your page-loading might be all those Tracking Scripts which seem to be all the rage at present.
I had to quit using Opera for most stuff because of that heavy load of pix and scripts. One page (Best of the Web Today) took over a minute to load; it loads in Links2 in about 10 seconds….
I love Links2 because it *doesn’t load videos. * doesn’t do any other moving graphics *doesn’t do tracking scripts *displays the text in a nice, readable decent-sized serif font…
And it still shows still images.
Just give me the reading material! I want to read, not squint at jittery images…!
Call me an Unreconstructed Old Fart!
After enjoying this web site for the last four years I never thought the over worked guy would have to browbeat us to upgrade our browsers. Every member of the Watts Hoard owes it to the man to upgrade his or her browser.
Opera mini 6.5.27309 on a Nokia E6 running Symbian Anna and set as one of its RSS feeds works perfectly.
Posted from my Nokia E6, etc. 🙂
Ummm … so does Opera. (Website: http://www.opera.com/ , pitching for informational purposes only)
Wiki pitch: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opera_(web_browser)
Disclosure: Successfully using Opera since Version 6 on a 500 MHz P3 (Piii) Pentium under Win98SE … It blew the socks off IE and Netscape back then even.
If you liked a particular previous version (for whatever reason) those are available too (like for use on old hardware like a Pii or Piii Pentium):
http://www.opera.com/browser/download/?os=windows&list=all
.
As a web developer I can tell you all that for the best online experience Chrome is the best browser with the most modern features. If any of you are using Internet Explorer, PLEASE change your browser. The web developer community can only get better and faster the sooner we kill off Internet Explorer.
Firefox used to be good, but they have now moved to rapid release (basically means they upgrade almost everyday, but the user will get browser bugs and all). So no longer the best option.
My 2 cents. Always wanted to contribute here, but I’m no scientist.
@Alan Wilkinson
You are correct, that is bad (code) development. Nothing to do with the browser.
My mobile browser had been doing the same thing for more than a month with going blank or displaying just the Google Ad after the home page loads. I updated browser today (Dolphin) and no change. DAMN THAT GLOBAL WARMING.
Turning off Java scripting solves the problem on older browsers
Safari 5.1.5 and OS X 10.7.3 and all works fine.
No problem on iPhone or iPad for me. Late version Firefox works just fine too. I refuse to use Microshaft so cannot comment on that.
If you are on Mac PowerPC your choices are limited. Try TenFourFox or OmniWeb.
F. Ross,
Opera is on 11.62 now. Your few minutes ago is really stretched!! 8>)
Looks like it’s time to throw out those closed proprietary systems and install Linux. Who ever heard of an OS that wouldn’t let you upgrade your browser, what a ridiculous notion.
I use an imac G3 with OS10.4.11 and Safari 4.10.3. The old G3 is my print and ftp server also hosts the scanner. It is slow but reliable. Just Tested WUWT it works fine with WUWT or most other sites.
I get crashes with firefox 14.0a1 (aka “Nightly”, an alpha testing version for upcoming releases). no problems with FF 11.0 or IE8.
Firefox can indeed not be updated on Mac OS X 10.4.11 to version 4 or higher. This is indeed annoying for those of us with older Power PC macs.
There are possibilities however. As has already been mentioned Camino browser on OS X works well on PPC architecture and is actually my full time browser on my G4.
If you insist on using Firefox, then there is the excellent tenfourfox! Mozilla don’t build FF anymore for PPC, but these guys continue to do so. I believe they’ve even managed to adapt JaegerMonkey. http://www.floodgap.com/software/tenfourfox/
It would seem that some who post here are still in the age of the “clacks”
Catch up gentlemen. The quill is no more.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technology_of_the_Discworld#The_clacks
Running the standard Android browser on Android 4.0.3 on an Mips based tablet. Slight problems with videos but this isn’t restricted to wuwt. So generally ok.
I disagree, IE 8 and 9 are significant improvements over older versions and work well. Microsoft has been improving standards compliance, performance and security. IE9 is very competitive with Chrome and Firefox.
Firefox 3? Windows XP? My god, really?
Some of you people need to stop being so lazy. And all this nonsense about how its lighter and faster, you really think an out of date rendering engine will load modern pages faster?
No wonder the warmists think we are avoiding reality.
I’m running Windows 7 & IE9 on a Toshiba Satellite L750/L755 laptop. No problems.
I have the lastest version of firefox and the latest version of Windows 7, however I still experience problems when trying to view the site from the office, since this feature started operating. As I scroll down, at some moment all the screen is white and I can read nothing. Whatever WordPress uses to achieve that functionality, it is being blocked by mi office’s firewall. I can see the blog normally whenever I am out of the office, with a different internet connection, and the same computer.
I am experiencing this problem with WUWT on my home computer running Windows 7 64 bit. The reason I am still using Firefox ~ 3.8 is that the more recent Firefox (~10) crashes the Nvidia video card driver every few minutes and even sometimes the computer so I have to use the reset button. I think this is a known problem. When I switched back to Firefox 3.8 it stops crashing, but then there is this problem with WUWT. When reading WUWT I therefore switch over to the Google Chrome browser.
Another vote for Opera! Long time user and never had a problem with viewing WUWT on either Mac OS10 or iphone via Opera/Opera mini. Cant beat it IMHO
Anthony says:
April 3, 2012 at 8:09 pm
No it is not. It is proportional the the amount of javascript.
I use NoScript and the load time of most sites is 3 or 4 times faster. I currently have enabled only 5 of 14 sites that are providing scripts for WUWT. (I was wondering why the bottom of the screen was blank, now I know. I would rather live with it than enable any more scripts.)
My main system is still IE6, but I can no longer edit WUWT comments on that system because the Post Comment button is no longer available. It is still available on the other wordpress sites I’ve checked. Just not on WUWT.
As for updates, there is no faster way to make a system unusable than to update the software. I have lost many weeks rebuilding systems because someone made the mistake of updating Windows. In addition, a number of Windows programs no longer have the features I was using – if Microsoft loses some lawsuit, they just remove the feature as a “security” update.
On top of that, an update can fill up the rest of the hard drive and make the entire system unusable.
I have issues with firefox 11 on windows XP, but no issues on chrome.
I have an old G5 Mac with an old safari and seem to have no trouble with any web sites, maybe all the new wizz bang stuff with bells and whistles is a little fussy.
I have been having a problem lately with wattsupwiththat.com. As I scroll down through the posts, when I hit a certain point the screen turns white with an advertisement box which varies. When I hit the back button it takes me back to the bookmark list completely out of wattsupwiththat.com. I am using Safari 4.1.3 with Mac OS 10.4.11. My software updater says no updates available.
The problem isn’t your browser revision level, like everything else that goes wrong it has to be atmospheric CO2.
Simply apply for a research grant to explore the problem and buy a new computer to do the stats.
Solved.
I had the problem you described for a few days under an older Safari on Snow Leopard. Upgraded to Safari 5.1.5 and OS 10.6.8 and all problems went away.
The same problem was observed on rare occasions sometime during recent weeks with Internet Explorer 9, MS Windows 7 Professional Edition 64-bit, Intel Z68, Intel Core i7 2600K, 12GB RAM, AMD-ATI Eyefinity 6 Edition 2GB VRAM. Recovery efforts included reloading various WUWT Webpages, exit the IE9 browser and reloading with WUWT, and rebooting WIN7Pro64 and IE9. These troubleshooting efforts completely failed to clear the problem. Then, while switching between IE9 windows and other Webpages with returns to WUWT, the loading of the WUWT Webpages inexplicably resumed their normal functioning while linking between WUWT Webpages. The impression these intermittant events left was the possibility of a software bug dependent upon some arcane set of preconditions.
A number of other problems were observed in 2011 with Internet Explorer 8, MS Windows XP SP3, Dell Optiplex 755n, Pentium 4 HT, 4GB RAM, Intel GMA. The problems ceased after some hours or days without changing anything in the system configuration, and sometimes without rebooting or relaunching IE8. This seemed to suggest the changed factors were more likely to have occurred on the server side of the system.
Other systems ranging from Internet Explorer 9, MS Windows Vista Ultimate 32-bit and 64-bit on an Intel Core 2 Duo (Montevina) 4GB RAM, 4GB VRAM, 4GB cache, NVIDIA GPU to IE7 and MS Windows XP on an ASUS Eee PC, Intel Atom, 1GB RAM experienced a number of events during 2011 where WUWT pages were not loading properly, and those episodes were resolved without making changes to their configuration, rebooting, or leaving the immediate session. The IE6, MS Windows XP SP3 on a Dell Optiplex 270 Pentium 4 4GB RAM Intel GMA hasn’t been in recent use with WUWT, so there is no current report on its performance.
Just experimented with WUWT on the Motorola X2 Android on Verizon, and I ran into problems not seen before. WUWT at first seems to load properly, I begin to scroll down the screen to see the lower stories, and about the time something else, perhaps the Google ads, interrupts the scrolling, blanks the screen white, and then presents perhaps one or two article texts with a return graphic symbol in place of the original graphic illustration or photograph. Recovery requires going back to an earlier Webpage and reloading WUWT, only to have it ultimately whiteout again.
There is definitely something more going on here than obsolescent browsers despite what WordPress has to say about it.
Hope this helps with the troubleshooting….
I’m using Firefox 3.6.22 on a Win7 machine and the site works perfect for me, which is a good thing because I find Firefox’s recent decision to rapidly increase it’s release number so it’s on par with Crome to be really, really inane and I’m not going to update it.
Which is my problem, I don’t expect this site or any site to bend themselves because I don’t want to upgrade Firefox. Though I have to ask since I’m curious now, is the endless scrolling first page a conscious design element of this site or did it come default with this design? I know on my free wordpress blog that I can specify how many posts I want on each page and doing that would probably get rid of that script.
Working fine here in
Firefox 11.00
IE8
Opera 11.62
Chromium 19.0.1049.0
on WinXP SP3
Never had a problem with this site
Win XP sp3 with Firefox v 10 and 11
“ann r says:
April 3, 2012 at 7:23 pm
Rats! I hate upgrading because it messes up my bookmarks every time.”
If you have more than one computer, all the browsers can synchronize their bookmarks via the internet. If you use more than one browser on one computer, the free program “Transmute” will copy your bookmarks from one browser to the other.
The new browsers load much faster than the early ones, which makes a definite difference when using Google street view etc.
Erm, messing around with upgrading take a lot of time — often upgrades break not only the machine, but also the user interface, and that stresses people and wastes their time. Also, not everyone has the readies to buy new hardware.
Firefox is a classic case of upgrade annoyance, every upgrade they remove menu items, switch buttons around and randomly stop useful features from working. But do they fix the bugs that matter? Nops. Even on the new Firefox, if your net connection stalls, the *entire* app freezes, but to console you, the latest upgrade got shiny new buttons and no longer offers to restore sessions when it crashed(once again). (meh)
Linux is just as bad (if not worse) here, Ubuntu for example is completely unusable ever since they changed the desktop without a warning into clumsy mess, so has Fedora(and other issues, it’s not only the interface, but sometimes drivers etc don’t work right, and people end up with a long list of woes like, no sound, CPU fan constantly working, for which you need to spend hours tracking the issue, if you can find it at all, and then get a fix for it)
The last time I was sabotaged this way it took the entire afternoon to ‘downgrade’ the computer into something workable — I don’t have time or muse to faff around with this rubbish for hours either, so I no longer upgrade anything, life is short and one is dead for a very long time.
So don’t be so quick to berate upgrade refuseniks, it’s a good method to avoid guaranteed madness.
Also, a lot of people do not have control over their computer and it’s software either(think work, libraries, even hospitals) and so, the onus here is on you to ensure your site can be viewed.
I use Firefox on a MacBook, and have never had any problems with this site since I got this laptop (my previous one was quite old and I did get problems here). As Anthony says, it’s pointless trying to resist the need to update – you just make myriad problems for yourself
I’m never able to update my Fiorefox on the Mac as prompted however – I have to close down Firefox, open Safari, and install the new Firefox from there, then delete the older Firefox version. It’s only takes a minute, and I don’t lose my bookmarks, though I do need to reinstall a few passwords.
Couple of notes… if you run XP sp3, IE8 is as high as you can go. IE won’t install – 9 requires Vista or 7. XP systems are hardly obsolete. In small networks, they are far more reliable than Vista/7 and cross compatible with a lot more software. And anybody who thinks Microsoft Office 2010 is any kind of improvement is dreaming… 🙂
Our million machine office network switched (is switching) to windows 7 platform, from XP Pro, and we’ve lost half our functionality. 2010 “compatibility” frequently isn’t, colour tables have all been revised so updating things like excel templates is a major chore, and almost none of our macros run, because the handling of DOS in a windows GUI has totally changed. But we’re very SECURE!. Not that there’s anything left to steal because most of our stuff no longer works….. Sign me “Frustrated in Toronto…”. Oh, yeah, and under the current austerity, we have virtually no CSRs and the ones we do have try very hard not to be found….
Mac OS X 10.4 came out in 2005 and Windows XP in 2001. XP still gets updates but Apple does not update versions of Mac OS X older than the current version – 1 (n-1) so OS X 10.6 is the oldest version of Mac OS X that gets updates. I support Mac users professionally and they are some of the most obstinate people I have ever met making all kinds of lame excuses for not upgrading. If you depend on your computer you need to do better keeping up. 5 year old software is full of security issues and you are doing your self a disservice holding on to it. If you like maintaining antique software and hardware fine but get something else for your day to day usage. A brand new Mac Mini with mouse and keyboard is less than $740 a refurbished one is even less Windows systems are even less. It’s Time To Upgrade!
Any speaking of WUWT and WordPress , I get this message this morning on every post to WUWT:
Server Maintenance
Your server is going through a few minutes of routine maintenance. Please don’t touch your browser for a few minutes.
What do I do?
If you were posting a comment or making a post on your blog then do not press BACK on your browser. Wait 5 minutes and press the refresh icon on your browser. Your comment or post will be sent as normal.
If you are browsing a blog here just wait a few moments and hit refresh. The page you were expecting will appear.
If I open a second browser, the post is there, waiting to be moderated. Personally, I think the issues are coming from WordPress’ interest in increasing the monetization of the site – I’m seein in-post ads where I never used to, and frequently, and they have reported code problems internal to these ads (from Google). There have been a lot of complaints about in-post ads – in appropriate content married to post topics and audiences etc. Still, WordPress has a cost to operate, and they need to pay for it somehow, You can apparently pay you way out of the ads, but really, the need to find a way to insert them in the free version, outside of the posts themselves.
Personally, I have issues with WordPress from time to time. I write a reply like this, and hit Post comment, and WordPress demands that I log into my WordPress account. Occasionally it barfs on “duplicate email address”. OSX 10.6 (since I need Rosetta for some stuff, and Lion dumps supporting it) with the latest Firefox.
“Hexe Froschbein wrote: …The last time I was sabotaged this way it took the entire afternoon to ‘downgrade’ the computer into something workable — I don’t have time or muse to faff around with this rubbish for hours either, so I no longer upgrade anything, life is short and one is dead for a very long time. “
Yup! The last upgrade I did to FF11 on one of my machines (XP sp3 box), it took me 5 cold boots and some messing around before it would even start. Ergo, I have not yet updated the other four on my network yet, until I find out what going on with it. I dead my monthly network backup/upgrade regime – I can kiss an entire weekend goodbye on five stoopid boxes….
Wordpress still gives me a browser out of date message, even with the most up-to-date browser on my system (either FF ir IE.) IE still, after years, try to handle html differently than everybody else. When I do a wordpress them up, I have to run both FF and IE side by side to see how the code reacts. In my latest case, IE and FF interpreted text at polar opposites – dark in IE and light on FF, for the same code. Not all is happy in CSS and HTML/XML land…
Personally, I have issues with WordPress from time to time. I write a reply like this, and hit Post comment, and WordPress demands that I log into my WordPress account. Occasionally it barfs on “duplicate email address”. OSX 10.6 (since I need Rosetta for some stuff, and Lion dumps supporting it) with the latest Firefox. After I log in, my reply as gone off to the great bit bucket in the sky. I saved this post with a “copy” and had to restore it with a “paste” so I could post the reply after log in. It just pulled the “Log in to your WordPress account” on me. Somehow, it would be nice to isolate the WordPress account from the functionality of posting a reply.
It just pulled the “log in to your WordPress account” after I logged in and did the previous reply. I was logged in. WordPress has issues.
My next post pulled the same thing on me.
Paul Coppin says:
April 4, 2012 at 5:07 am
Any speaking of WUWT and WordPress , I get this message this morning on every post to WUWT:
“Server Maintenance”
______________________
Same thing here, Paul. even though I’m running FireFox 11.0.
After installing the latest Win&.0 updates, the problem went away, but that may not have been the real “fix”.
My machine was never rebooted after the last FF update- FF program didn’t require a reboot and this machine controls a ‘process’ which I didn’t want to interrupt at the time.
The reboot may have been all that was needed… others experiencing the same issue might try a reboot before a Win 7 update to verify.
I am running Firefox 11.0 on Win7-64, and WUWT always shows properly. Unfortunately FF 11 is a memory HOG and after a time of general web surfing with a few tabs being opened and closed, the FF memory usage grows so that there are very noticeable delays across my (admittedly vintage 2008) Windows PC. It seems that unlike MS Internet Explorer and Google Chrome, FF does not run each tab in a separate memory space. That means that unlike FF, when you close a tab in IE or Chrome, that memory is automatically freed. My guess is the ubiquitous Flash is consuming memory and not freeing it up, thus compounding the FF memory issue.
Just did some more experimentation with the Verizon Motorola Android X2. When accessing the homepage, the articles load normally at first, but some time later while scrolling to the lower articles the screen blanks white and is replaced by:
The URL is the homepage, but only the ad remains visible.
Approaching the Website from other links in the search engines goes to another WUWT Webpage, which does not yet seem to exhibit the problem with the advertisement replacing the Webpage content. It seems to act normally. However, selecting the title link back to the homepage once more loads the articles only to be blanked out and replaced by the above advertisement. This forces the user to access the other WUWT Webpages without going through the homepage.
I get the white out on my android phone, which is up to date.
This is only the latest problem with viewing WUWT on the default phone browser. Some time back the pages stopped being formatted to a mobile layout and just displayed the desktop version.
The Opera Mini continues to display properly for both of these issues.
Never had a problem.
1Gb RAM, dual core processor. Windows Vista + IE8 / now IE9
Works fine for me…..
Anthony,
Good on ya for insisting that readers use current technology. Anyone who tailors his product to accommodate cheapskates and freeloaders is doomed to failure (see Groupon).
I am using OSX 10.7.3 on a MacBookPro. I use Google Chrome as my browser which seems to be the lesser of all evils and it displays WUWT perfectly and always has. It does, however slow down over a week or so of hard riding but a restart solves that just fine. I use Duck-Duck-Go as the general search engine ever since Google started to get a little too interested in my browsing history with their recent changes. Perhaps that a little paranoid of me but this recent rash of accusations of mental health issues by the warmista and their running dogs has made me more alert shall we say.
I have used FF but the way it just clogs up the CPU so quickly has led to my no longer using it.
Safari is reliable but very clunky and there are certain pages I use that it simply will not work with but WUWT isn’t one of them.
Tried OPERA and liked it except for a few little idiosyncrasies that I found off putting after a while. I am told that the OPERA crew in Oslo are quick to incorporate sensible suggestions but I haven’t bothered them as Chrome meets all my needs.
A,
At home I have windows 7 & IE8
When I scroll down, I do receive new stories, and more new stories, and more new stories….
The problem that is created is that the side bar widgets never reach the bottom of the list so I can’t get to the archive files nor even anywhere below the first three images in the live weather roll. Fortunately I got you covered at work. 😉
Win 7 and Opera ver 11.62 works fine
I guess it was fortunate in just the last week I got a second-hand “modern” PC w/Win7 that can run on DSL. Before I was running Windows NT4.0 w/Firefox 2.0 (which was hard to find — it was the only one that would install successfully) on dial-up. The only way I could browse was to turn off everything — javascript, images, etc.
I have Firefox 10xxx now w/no real issues. I use the Ghostery add-on w/Firefox (somebody here at WUWT recommended it) that blocks a bunch of tracking sites & a HOSTS file that blocks hundreds more, so no popups. I also have twitter, facebook & even invasive google blocked in the HOSTS files. So WUWT & most other sites load in a few seconds even w/images on. Also, ImgLikeOpera & NoSquint are useful Firefox add-ons.
On OS X 10.6.8:
Firefox 11 thru 13a2 Works fine.
Safari 5.1.2 Works fine, slower than Firefox on page load tho… (mainly images)
Via Parallels, IE8 on WinXP works fine (as far as IE goes 🙂
I’ve found that I have to log off WordPress. –AGF
WUWT quit working for me. I found out that I had to log out of WordPress. Now it works. –AGF
Works ok with Chrome. However, in my (Android) phone its practically unusable now.
I will be looking at a post, something will happen, and all I am left with is the ad that goes right after the article. Refresh is no help.
Saying upgrade is no help either. There is no upgrade for the Android browser. Tried the other popular Android browser (Dolphin) which is a not much better on WordPress, and has a nasty bug which prevents you scrolling far enough to see the text entry field when the on-screen keyboard pops up.
BTW: I REALLY OBJECT to WP insisting that I have to login when I use my usual email address. This is simply going to cause many, many people to make up random email addresses.
Yeah, …got a notice from Opera that the update was available a short while after making my previous post .
Dial-up sucks!, but the new Opera update does load the entire WUWT home page now.
It should be noted by critics of dial-up Internet services that there are many households who do not have broadband Internet services available as an affordable option in many rural areas. Cable and DSL services are not provided in many rural areas, and satellite is either not available again because of limitations in telephone service for an uplink or beacause of the monthly costs being too expensive.for the uplink and downlink by satellite.
Well I’m using the Win 7 64 bit M$ virus with whatever Int Exp they peddle, on an 8 core i-7 laptop.
The slowness of my system seems to be mostly related to M$ or Adobe, or McAfee, or somebody else wasting all my internet and CPU speed downloading the latest fix du jour for their software crap.
I get best results when I turn off my internet access, so nobody can use up my time for their junk, but sooner or later, I have to turn it on to get WUWT, and hopefully get back off, before they discover I am available to play games with my computer.
I figure the MS DOS 3.2 was the last good operating system that M$ had.
There was only one problem with this article…. It was on the section of the Home Page that would not load for me! If I had not thought to use Rick Werme’s Guide to WUWT to get the daily Table Of Contents, I would never have seen this post!
Muchas Gracias Rick!!! I’m using your Guide more and more!
MtK
PS:
I loaded the latest available FireFox version and the problem has been eliminated.
Thanks for the guidance, Anthony/Mods!!
MtK
I am using “maxthon” and have no problems.
Tinfoil hat time.
Have WordPress made any changes that affect the content we see?
Whatever happened to backward compatibility.?
DaveE.
I suspect many of the people having performance issues here are infected with Malware. I highly recommend anyone having any problems to run the following free scanners,
1. Kaspersky Anti-rootkit TDSSKiller, http://support.kaspersky.com/faq/?qid=208283363
2. Malwarebytes Anti-Malware, http://fileforum.betanews.com/detail/Malwarebytes-AntiMalware/1186760019/1
3. Then if you do not have an AntiVirus program installed or the one you have installed is outdated, get Microsoft Security Essentials which is free for home users, http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/products/security-essentials
* Do not install more than one AntiVirus program at a time and uninstall any outdated ones before installing Microsoft Security Essentials.
4. Finally make sure to run Windows Updates and install ALL security related updates.
I recommend updating the chipset drivers and video card drivers for your system. New browsers use graphic accelerated features that can expose problems you may have been unaware of before.
Open firefox –> Go to “Options”
Click “Advanced” Tab –> Go to “General” SubTab
UnCheck “Use hardware acceleration when available”.
See if that resolves the problem.
Your entire system crashing is not normal with Windows XP, Vista or 7 and if updated drivers did not resolve your problem, I recommend scanning for malware and then looking into a potential hardware problem – an obvious one is the fan going bad on the graphics card.
“Internet Explorer 9 is out, though IE8 will work just fine. IE 6/7 not so much.”
Keep in mind that MSIE9 is not for Windows XP, though good idea to upgrade to Windows 7 if computer can handle it. (Vista was rather troubled.)
MSIE6 is rather old, may not handle the popular “Cascading Style Sheets” mess well.
Indeed, use Windows Updates! (I recommend setting to Notify not automatic, for two reasons:
– you may be on low bandwidth connection when it wants to push updates
– Microsoft has unwisely pushed a major update on occasion, usch as SP3 to Windows XP, for which a user needs to properly prepar.
You need to be ready with full backup and instructions printed or on another computer before doing a major upgrade like that. One type of information you need is advice on your specific computer and software, which may be available from Microsoft (at least which ones they have checked out and which ones they have had trouble with.
(If you are running XP without SP3, get with it! I suggest embracing any Service Pack that has been out for a few months without major problems.)
If you have custom or very specialized software, as is often the case in organizations including the type many participants here work in, check with your IT experts.
It is better that non-IT types leave Windows Updates to automatic otherwise they will forget to install them and leave themselves vulnerable. The scare stories about problems installing service packs is due to those who have malware infected systems or faulty hardware and were unaware. They then go online and cluelessly rant about it falsely blaming Microsoft. Installing the service pack did not cause their problem but rather exposed it, these problems are in the very small minority. Installing service packs on clean systems with working hardware is completely safe. Backups of important data should be done weekly-monthly irregardless, you can do this by buying a $10 USB Thumb Drive and copying your important files to it.
I had a lot of problem with windows updates from W2k to 7.
For the benefit of those Mac users still nursing along an older PPC Mac that will only run Tiger (OS X 10.4.11), like Anthony’s correspondent, there is a website that has specially compiled versions of Firefox for those processors and that OS at http://www.floodgap.com/software/tenfourfox/ called TenFourFox. They may not have the very latest patch available immediately (currently at 10.0.3 for Firefox), but you will be miles ahead of where you are with abandoned versions of Safari and Firefox. And there is a link there for a browser (Classila) for even older Macs. And I’m not shilling for Apple, but it might be time to consider a newer machine (I finally gave up my last G4 box a few months ago).
Presently holding at SP3/Win Xp with this computer (updated a few years back now) and with auto-updates turned OFF … and running with _no_, repeat _NO_ anti-virus software whatsoever, although I do occasionally stop by TrendMicro like once a year just to be sure …
The ‘secret’ to this is: run behind a firewall (DSL router here; used to use a personal firewall under Win98SE when using dial-up and would regularly see incoming ‘pings’ and port-connect requests by the ‘outside world’), visit only reputable websites, utilize e-mail through a service which does pre-screening for you (Yahoo works for me) and IF any __unexpected__ attachments come through from persons known or unknown simply delete them …
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Jim, turning auto-updates off and not running an AV is not recommended for non-IT types and for the average user can be very dangerous. These systems are more likely to get infected with malware. People are of course free to do what they want but I have a problem when they encourage others to do this as this is as it is not responsible advice to give to non-IT type users.
Windows XP comes with a firewall that was updated and enabled by default if your are running Windows XP SP2 or higher which will properly protect your system (the same with Vista and 7). Yes most routers come with an additional firewall but it is not necessary. A firewall will not prevent malware infection which can happen by simply connecting an infected USB drive or opening an infected email attachment. Autorun infections from say connecting an infected USB drive are mitigated if you have all the updates installed as Microsoft addressed this in a patch from last year, http://www.zdnet.com/blog/security/autorun-malware-infections-declining/8772.
Phishing attacks can be very sophisticated and users might have no idea the email they received or the site they are visiting is not reputable. Recent Rootkits variants are getting more and more sophisticated and people can have no idea that their system has been compromised. What they do instead is complain their system is slow, their system crashes/does not work right or Microsoft sucks. This is why it is important that everyone who has not scanned their system recently does so with the free tools I provided above.
Systems that have problems installing Windows Updates usually are infected with malware, have been “tweaked” (usually broke a necessary windows component) or have a third party application interfering with the updates.
I reread over this thread and wanted to clear up various myths that have been presented,
1. Using Windows XP until it reaches it’s extended service life on April 8, 2014 is perfectly fine. You will not notice any Internet performance improvements by upgrading to Windows 7 unless you are using IE8. IE9 overall is faster than IE8 but since you cannot use IE9 on Windows XP I recommend using Google Chrome for optimal performance. If you have older hardware not fully compatible with Windows 7 or less than 2GB of RAM, you might actually get reduced performance by moving to Windows 7. To improve Internet performance upgrade to the latest version of your browser or get a faster Internet connection, dial-up users will want to get any broadband connection that is available (Cable, DSL, Satellite, Wireless) anything will reduce your suffering.
2. Installing service packs is very safe on clean systems with properly working hardware.
3. Enabling Automatic Windows Updates will greatly improve your system security and has no effect on your system performance unless it is during the the second Tuesday of the month or the following Wednesday when the updates are being installed. How much it will effect performance during this time is based on your system and/or Internet connection. Out of bound updates while rare are necessary if you want your system secure.
4. Having a currently updated Anti-Virus program installed is essential to making sure your system remains secure. Home users can get one for free from Microsoft called, Microsoft Security Essentials, http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/products/security-essentials – there is no need to pay for one.
Good sound advice, and I second it
To put things in perspective a recent analysis showed that roughly 25-65% of computers are infected with malware worldwide, http://blogs.norman.com/2012/for-consumption/global-malware-rates-is-your-country-among-the-safest-or-infected
So please scan your computers for malware and install an updated Anti-Virus program
Moved from dial-up to DSL in Sept. of 2008. The time this saves is amazing. Still use XP. Use Chrome. Follow the advice just given by Poptech. The DSL provider includes (in the ‘standard’ package) a ZoneAlarm Security Suite. Before DSL, I had my own resident copy and when an update was to be downloaded I could expect about a 2 hour session. Now, I notice a slowdown during a download. So much so that I will ‘pause’ it to do something (like getting an article I want to read on the screen) and then start it again. Other updating programs do not cause the slowdown that the Security Suite does.
I didn’t see that anyone else mentioned security being supplied as part of their connection package.
Regarding the alleged ‘scrolling’ feature that WordPress has employed. I don’t see it on other WordPress sites. If it is a ‘feature’, why does it act like a bug? Once I get 3-4 articles down on the homepage it starts loading as I scroll. If I select an article from those that loaded while scrolling, read it, and exit back to the home page, it is blank until I scroll up to the top 3-4 articles, and it starts loading as it scrolls again, often double loading the last one or two articles. Yes, they are loaded twice. Further, there are no links to older pages except through the monthly archives which lack the graphics that often identify the article for my feeble brain.
I am running XP SP3, Firefox 11.0, my system is maxed at 2Gb RAM, I run three different antivirus programs. Everything is automatically updated as soon as an update is available.The above is accompanied by this odd overlaid panel at the bottom of the page/screen. It floats at the bottom of the screen over whatever is on the page. It does not do this on the Comments page, nor the Reference pages, only the Homepage.
http://i41.tinypic.com/ta6ie1.jpg
I would be happy to contact WordPress to gripe, but see no way to contact them via Blog at WordPress.com
Entirely endorse all the remarks about malware and AV software.
It was a costly risk I took for a few hours running without. Do not do it. The internet is full of bad people who want to do you harm. Guard against them.
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G.S. Williams says:
April 3, 2012 at 8:50 pm
REPLY: Probably because the name sounds hoighty-toity. That, and I hate opera, you couldn’t drag me into a theater. Dislike by association. – Anthony
****
Thanks, that one made me laugh!
To others: I think Anthony has previously made it clear that he uses WordPress because it saves him considerable time and effort. He’s already stretched as it is, so if we’re to expect the same high level of topics & posts, we need to accommodate him.
Good replies w/some good info on this post.
I use Opera as my regular browser because of hits nice home page display of favorite links.
It works fine with WUWT. Other applications will sometimes cause a “Browser not supported “etc. and I switch to Firefox or IE etc.
You should only have one anti-virus program installed and running in the background. Having more than one can severely reduce system performance and cause various problems. You have plenty of RAM so that is not the problem. The two programs I recommended (Note: only the free version of Malwarebytes) will only run when you use them and not run in the background when closed. What Internet connection do you have.and have you ran the scans I suggested? Also what CPU do you have in your computer, anything less than a Pentium 4 will reduce performance with Firefox, http://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/11.0/system-requirements/
You can use this free program to determine your CPU type, http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html
Opera never had the zealot Firefox fanboys spreading lies to promote it (such as it is a perfectly secure browser, 824 vulnerabilities say otherwise, http://www.cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvekey.cgi?keyword=firefox), it did not come bundled with any PC operating system (IE for Windows, Safari for OS X) and it does not have Google advertising for it every time you go to Google.com. Initially Opera had a significant performance advantage which has largely been mitigate with the latest versions of the other browsers, noticeably Chrome. Opera also had many innovative features before other browsers (tabbed browsing, integrated search, pop-up blocking, http://operawiki.info/OperaInnovations). In the end it comes down to webpage compatibility and if one pages do not work right people will stop using it. Thus Opera’s market share still stands at around 1-2% on the desktop, http://marketshare.hitslink.com/browser-market-share.aspx?qprid=0&qpcustomd=0 but is doing better on mobile devices at 15%, http://marketshare.hitslink.com/browser-market-share.aspx?qprid=0&qpcustomd=1
Thanks, but no thanks IT-god (or goddess).
I’ve played with/used/compiled and ‘linked’ and used the communications packages (to move datasets or remotely ‘execute’ commands) on a number of platforms over the years from the big IBM iron (System/370 stuff in its day) through the minicomputer craze (TI 960, 990) and VAX 11/780 – 8800’s into the PC craze from DOS through to Xp with diversions to SCO and SUN UNIX (while at DSC – Digital Switch Corporation) when the job called for it … this ain’t my first rodeo (as we are prone to say here in Texas) … and all of this from an engineering perspective (and not just ‘computer engineering’) while doing defense work on airborne RADAR systems and their test environment.
I remember when your field was called “data processing” and TI’s corporate IBM mainframes were under TI’s CIC (Corporate Information Center) control, the minis were under TI’s DCS (Distributed Computer Services) control and there was no such ‘animal’ as a PC.
Later on I had a chance to get into cellular and there became with systems and computer resources (‘The Switch’ and ‘The HLR’ et al) and related architecture in that area … but that’s another rodeo and another story …
In the future, please also note the name is “_Jim” on account of all the Jims on the board.
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I’ve been having the same problem for a few weeks now. I’m on Firefox 3.6.24. And as I scrolled down WUWT tonight to view the posts, the problem did NOT occur.
Poptech says:
April 4, 2012 at 9:24 pm
Yada yada yada …
Phishing attacks can be very sophisticated and users might have …
I was going to say, all this might be applicable if you were addressing a fifteen year old; you’re not.
Back in the day it was EETimes, Network World, PC Mag, RF Design (Aviation Leak and Space Technology was available in the tech library) etc … I shied away from Byte magazine; the ‘digital’ stuff was just too simple (contrasted with antenna theory and network analyzers: YES) … now my reading has shifted to online-available resources e.g. to Bruce Schneier et al.
I did a final ‘product’ utilizing an embedded Z80 uC over the course of a couple semesters ’93 into ’94 … keyboard scan routine, LCD write, serial port service as well as active ‘accrual’ of a 3600 baud GMSK (Gaussian Minimum Shift Keyed) over-the-air ‘signal’ that incorporated a Rate 1/2 convolution code (for EDAC – error detection and correction) … all in ASSEMBLY and no cheating help using any of the Wind-River based uC real-time embedded ‘frameworks’ … wrote every last ISR (interrupt service routine) myself … it was my Master’s EE project back in the day ….
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That has nothing to do with having the relevant experience of building and supporting over 5000 PCs from DOS to Windows 7, currently supporting over 5000 Windows based PCs or handling more than 50,000 support calls. There is a reason IT departments set company PC policies and end users such as yourself do not. Jim please do what you wish just don’t give this irresponsible advice to others because I get to fix the problems bad advice like yours causes.
I was the one who wrote about this originally. As several have noted Firefox 3.6 is as far as I can go on OS 10.4. I have upgraded the memory on my iMac and plan to move to OS 10.7 soon. That should fix the problem, at least for a while. In the short term I installed Camino (thanks to those who suggested it, I didn’t know about it.). So far everything is cool. Now all I have to do is figure out how to merge bookmarks. Doesn’t look like fun. Thanks to all.
An obvious question for Mac Users who cannot upgrade Firefox, have you tried the latest version of Safari?
Android Dolphin on a Nook Tablet works fine for me.
I wonder if many of us actually understand what the latest supposed problem is. I don’t worry about story summaries down the page still loading, in part because Facebook does that some days. Maybe that’s why I don’t see a
I assume it is slow connection or slow server, people herein suggest some older browsers don’t respond quickly (“rendering engine” tech talk).
Sounds like a minor problem compared to WordPress’ recent faint font fiasco.
(As for Chrome, it has one known disadvantage: “Google”, whose privacy and IP policies are questionnable.
And java scripting is one of the worst things foisted on Internet users.)
Refer to my previous post in this thread and the two on the faint font fiasco for cautions regarding the notion of “just upgrade”. (And I agree with Hexe Froschbeing about feature and UI churn without defect fixes.)
And I add that for some people a solution is two computers – buy a new one, and use for old one for legacy applications. But do check out Windows 7’s compatibility modes, my very limited understanding of them is it can run old software in a constrained environment to reduce risk.
Note that the Comments fields of WordPress have been flakey for several months or more. I have not had much trouble myself lately, IIRC I have seen the minor annoyance of it not immediately clearing the title in a field, but just now it is fine.
Of course Keeping It Simple for Success is something too few web weenies agree with.
Performance issues relating to page loading times can be cause by many different things, including your Internet connection, browser rendering engine, computer performance and if you system is malware free. Those who experience performance problems can have any combination of a slow Internet connection (dial-up), an outdated browser, a really old computer, a computer with defective hardware or a malware infected computer.
Chrome has excellent privacy features, http://www.google.com/chrome/intl/en/more/privacy.html. The recent Google privacy hysteria was related to their accounts and services which had nothing to do with their browser. Simply don’t browse when logged into a Google account. If you use Gmail open a separate browser and log in there, then use the other to surf. I find it ironic that just about everyone who went hysterical over Google’s privacy policy changes has a Facebook account, which I consider a privacy virus. If you do not want something online don’t post it online anywhere.
While Windows 7 comes with a compatibility mode to run legacy applications it is recommend to only use applications designed for Windows 7. The virtual machined Windows XP mode is only available if you have Windows 7 Professional, Ultimate or Enterprise, http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/products/features/windows-xp-mode
Unless you are a business there is no real reason to continue to use obsolete software.
I just tested WUWT on an older P3 1GHz, 512MB PC with Windows XP SP3, Chrome v18.x, Firefox v11.x and IE v8.x that I threw together and while page load times and the continuous scrolling feature was noticeably slower than my other systems, WUWT was still functional and usable in all three browsers. These parts are over ten years old and running anything older than a P4 with 1GB of RAM even to browse the Internet is not recommended.
I became frustrated with newer firefox versions crashing, so I went back to 3.6.20 on a mac with 10.6.8, and I see no such problem. Safari 5.0.5 works just as well. It seems that your browser version and OS work together to cause WUWT viewing problems.