Suggestions

Can i suggest that GR make this site accessible to All members

I have had my suspicions that GR for what ever reason? want their entire membership to use a specific browser

I may be wrong but i thought the laws changed about having a monopoly on a specific browser and people had to be given a choice? so (correct me if I'm wrong)

but i still think it's wrong to expect members to change just for one web site, most members do use other web sites

Today Estelle actually said what i had suspected that we really should update our browser to YES Google Chrome just as i thought

(You do need to be using the Chrome browser)

posted at 08:56 today

http://www.genesreunited.co.uk/boards/board/genealogy_chat/thread/1307682

So that appears to be your real agenda

I have been trying to help members with problems using the site thinking that you would eventually sort the problems out with the different browsers but it appears i have been wasting my time

Roy

Roy, I think that GR staff need more communication between them:

Phil has stated that the browser is irrelevant.

Joy, I don't believe that a SMALL team such as GR have such a large lack of communication, We are going to have Chrome forced on us like it or not

it also won't be the first time GR have forced something on their members

I wonder if members will receive more than the standard 2 hours notice

I will not be forced or cajoled into changing to something i don't want

Their are plenty of other sites i could use,

I have only stayed on GR for the community and i had actually decided not to renew my subs when their due in December months ago but have continued to help on the boards with look ups and helping members who are having problems but as i said i now feel even this is a waste of time

Roy

I have asked Phil "is it true now that one must use the chrome browser in Genes Reunited?" and his reply, that he is happy for me to quote, is:-


No, most modern browsers are fine. We support IE7 thru to IE9, Chrome, Firefox.

We recommend latest browsers as this will improve the performance of all websites, not just Genes.

My personal recommendation is Chrome, as it performs better than any of the others for most websites in general.

Joy, When i said to the team at GR that i had used IE 9 and reverted back to IE 7 because i prefer ed IE7 they then told me to update back to a newer version

IF GR support IE 7 through to IE9 why are they Telling members to update to a "newer" version?

Load of rubbish :-P

I use abt 20/30 other web sites on a regular basis and never have a problem

they want members on Chrome and it's just a matter of time before members will be forced to switch just as they have been forced to use the new tree

They have probably got some sort of understanding/contract ;-) with Google

That's just my opinion

Roy

Google ad tracking works better on Chrome and is harder to turn off. Chrome will also automatically upgrade itself which may not be what you want.

By far the best browsers (in addition to Chrome) if PM is concerned about the latest standards are IE10 Safari and Opera. Firefox 14.01 is ok (ish) with some bugs. Opera makes it easier than the others to override the default site appearance ...
Pale Moon is a stripped down version of Firefox and quite fun.

IE7 -IE9 need a bit of extra work by the site but not that much on a low graphics site such as Gru.

If you have a fairly recent computer with decent graphics there is a fairly good chance that yr browser (Firefox, Opera, IE9/10, Chrome ) will support hardware rendering. This makes the display of graphics and video (eg YouTube, iPlayer) a lot faster and smoother. You need to turn it on though.

Chrome is not a reference site for w3c standards. However it does currently have the highest html5 compliance, IE 7/8/9 worst. Perhaps more importantly Chrome gives easily the best performance on older computers which are probably running XP or u/g from Xp to Win7.

Interestingly there is an upcoming web standard which integrates the browser with yr web cam and mike (which are auto enabled on many laptops and smartphones, tablets). Chrome already supports this. Think about it.

Carrying on with IE8 on XP has the advantage of familiarity. And that's about it. The downside goes on for ever. My great grandfather preferred his horse and trap even though he owned a car. Times do move on, eventually. Home james.

Roy, I believe Phil's advice :)

I use firefox and am happy with it. I have Adblock and don't get the adverts, I am more than happy with that.

Joy, what advice? to use Chrome? i would agree but where i disagree is that members should have the choice of browser,

People with older PC's are being excluded from using the basic functions of the tree because its obvious that the main inpetus from GR's point of view is to make the site favour newer browsers specificaly Chrome

Rollo, My PC/laptop is windows 7, with ATI radeon HD5470 graphics, Intel (R) core (TM) i5 CPU procesor, 4.00 GB memory, and is only just two years old and was at the time one of the best money could buy

as i said before i can work around any problems on this site but other members are finding it hard and not all could afford to update their PC's

Roy

Roy, in answer to my question:
Phil, is it true now that one must use the chrome browser in Genes Reunited?

he said
No, most modern browsers are fine. We support IE7 thru to IE9, Chrome, Firefox.

Joy, I think i never made my point clear?

If as Phil said most modern browsers are fine. ( We support IE7 thru to IE9, Chrome, Firefox )

I have not seen a reply from any member that they are using anything older than IE7

And Estelle did amend/edit her comment of the thread i posted above, then Added another post/comment;
We test the site and the tree in all browsers and are happy that everything works well.

If both Phil's and Estelle's comments are an accurate assessment of the site then why are so many people still having trouble even after given further help from both the GR team and other members,

if they are confident the site is working well why are they still asking for feedback?

either the site is working well or it isn't

or is the problem with the browser choice?

If they support IE7 thru to IE9, Chrome, Firefox then every one should be happy with no errors and no problem


Roy

I use Mozilla Firefox, with Adblock ................ and am very happy with it.


I have no intention of downloading Chrome just because GR cannot, or will not, make their site accessible to all and every browser.


I use this site only for the Community Boards, and because I enjoy helping other people with their researches ......


................. but it is no skin off my nose if I no longer do that. There are other sites




sylvia

"either the site is working well or it isn't

or is the problem with the browser choice?"


In my opinion it is not working well all the time; for instance, error messages still appear now and then. I cannot comment on records as I do not use the ones in this site, nor on the tree as I removed mine at a time when the site was unstable.

I also use Firefox and have done now for several years. Currently on V15. I have Adblock too and don't get the adverts either. I tried Chrome but like all Google offerings found it too obtrusive and removed it altogether.

I have IE 9 installed as a backup browser but rarely use it. However whenever testing errors members report on here I usually find GR works ok with that too.

In my experience keeping your browser up to date, making sure your temp file cache is as big as you can afford and clearing it regularly solves the majority of problems.

Well I have plugged in an old box and given Gru + IE8 a whirl and it works fine inc the tree (adding / editing / deleting). Tried it with compat on/off worked fine either way. The background seemed a bit more white than on Firefox, Cannot say I cared much for IE8 though. Some things are best forgotten. IE9 is fine.

( fine as in no worse / better than Chrome, not fine as in the new site design is fine )

Web site performance can be dramatically affected by network performance. Rught now Ancestry has problems which are due to problems with Verizon networks. Early this year we had a lot of problems with Gru networking (now fixed).

The ISP too can deliver poor performance eg high contention ( Talk Talk), dodgy routers ( Virgin ) and your ADSL connection may be on the ragged end of the exchange reach.

The network set up at the user end makes a real difference too yet people having a moan about connection / timeout errors rarely say anything about their own network connexion or router.

USB keys are nigh on certain to give poor performance and wifi hot spots make them less useful than at one time. Beloved of students et al with no fixed connection.

You will always get a better connection with an ethernet cable between computer and router. Wifi is more comfortable. It also needs careful setting up - make sure the channel is not the same as all the neighbours use, make sure the security is set to WAP, keep the router away from the TV, microwave etc and don't expect the signal to have great reach through sold walls.


good luck

Just one other point about people using a router,

problems can be caused through your routers cache

The "cache" on your computer router is a section of the router's memory dedicated to storing instructions. As with a regular computer, if an error gets accidentally stored in this cache it could cause your router to malfunction and drop your Internet connection altogether

To clear your router cache simply use the reset button or switch it off and leave for around 10 seconds after all the lights have gone out and then back on again



Roy