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Geocaching Freezing


Suzaku

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Obviously it's been awhile since I've been here and did some geocaching and look up caches. I guess there was some sort of upgrade recently??? To me, it seems more of a downgrade because I can't get anything to work.

 

I can log in and bring up a list of caches without any problem. My problem is that when I go into a cache page, the browser window freezes. Occasionally, I can open the cache page but then when I go to open a map, the same thing happens. I tried several times on two very different computers with the same results. The computer I'm currently using, I can kind of understand since it is old and senile compared to today's standards. But, my work computer does the same thing and it never used to even slow down.

 

It's very frustrating to be a paying member of the site and not be able to use it.

 

Can anyone tell me what is wrong and why this might be happening?

 

Thanks,

 

Home Computer - Dell Pentium 3, Windows ME, 2GB hard drive, 300 MB ram

Work Computer - PC, Windows XP, huge hard drive, plenty of ram

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Obviously it's been awhile since I've been here and did some geocaching and look up caches. I guess there was some sort of upgrade recently??? To me, it seems more of a downgrade because I can't get anything to work.

I can log in and bring up a list of caches without any problem. My problem is that when I go into a cache page, the browser window freezes. Occasionally, I can open the cache page but then when I go to open a map, the same thing happens. I tried several times on two very different computers with the same results. The computer I'm currently using, I can kind of understand since it is old and senile compared to today's standards. But, my work computer does the same thing and it never used to even slow down.

It's very frustrating to be a paying member of the site and not be able to use it.

Can anyone tell me what is wrong and why this might be happening?

Thanks,

Home Computer - Dell Pentium 3, Windows ME, 2GB hard drive, 300 MB ram

Work Computer - PC, Windows XP, huge hard drive, plenty of ram

There have been a LOT of complaints with the recent upgrade (yes, there was one) and some bugs (many of which have since been patched) but freezing is not one that has been reported by anyone, I believe.

 

Thanks for specifying the OS and computer, but in both cases, you neglected to say what browser you're using, and what version of that browser.

 

First thing that I would try is clearing your cache, though. How you do that would depend on your browser.

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Home Computer - Dell Pentium 3, Windows ME, 2GB hard drive, 300 MB ram

 

P3, 300mb ram, and Windows ME? Well, unfortunately, your going to have trouble all over the place.. websites are built and tested on computers with more resources... it's an unfortunate side effect of the "web 2.0" world.

 

I have IE 6 on my work computer and IE 5 on my home one.

 

Both of those are insufficient for browsing modern websites and both have massive security flaws. IE6 (and I suppose IE5) both handle java-script poorly.

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Home Computer - Dell Pentium 3, Windows ME, 2GB hard drive, 300 MB ram

 

P3, 300mb ram, and Windows ME? Well, unfortunately, your going to have trouble all over the place.. websites are built and tested on computers with more resources... it's an unfortunate side effect of the "web 2.0" world.

 

I have IE 6 on my work computer and IE 5 on my home one.

 

Both of those are insufficient for browsing modern websites and both have massive security flaws. IE6 (and I suppose IE5) both handle java-script poorly.

 

True, but up until now, I could get the website to at least operate for me. It was a bit slow, but it worked. Now, all of a sudden, I have the same problem with geocaching.com as the OP except that it sometimes seizes my computer up altogether & I have to get offline & start completely over. I can't afford to go buy a new computer just so I can participate in caching! I wish TPTB had just left things alone!

zookeepertx

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True, but up until now, I could get the website to at least operate for me. It was a bit slow, but it worked. Now, all of a sudden, I have the same problem with geocaching.com as the OP except that it sometimes seizes my computer up altogether & I have to get offline & start completely over. I can't afford to go buy a new computer just so I can participate in caching! I wish TPTB had just left things alone!

zookeepertx

 

Try running a different browser. FireFox would be light-years more efficient in rendering javascript and might just fix the problem.

 

I'm sorry your having trouble. It's unfortunate. However, look at it from Groundspeak's point of view: it doesn't make seance to hold back on improvements just because of the 1% who have 15 year old computers.

 

Maybe a "simplified" or "lite" version of the website would make sense. Not just for low-end computers, but for smartphones/etc.

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Try running a different browser. FireFox would be light-years more efficient in rendering javascript and might just fix the problem.

 

I'm sorry your having trouble. It's unfortunate. However, look at it from Groundspeak's point of view: it doesn't make seance to hold back on improvements just because of the 1% who have 15 year old computers.

 

Maybe a "simplified" or "lite" version of the website would make sense. Not just for low-end computers, but for smartphones/etc.

 

Run a different browser? Firefox?...... I forgot to mention that I'm about as techn-illiterate as they come. Guess I'm a cave person, to go with my cave-painting..... I mean, dialup connection. :rolleyes:

 

A "lite" version would be fine with me, if it'd let me keep hunting!

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Sorry...

 

Firefox is a "Browser" very similar to Internet Explorer.

 

You can download it here:

http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/personal.html

 

However, if your still running IE6 it is very likely there are a number of "spyware" programs running on your computer.

 

I would recommend downloading and running Malwarebytes from here: http://www.malwarebytes.org/. I clean up computers for a living and It's one of the tools I frequently use.

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Sorry...

 

Firefox is a "Browser" very similar to Internet Explorer.

 

You can download it here:

http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/personal.html

 

However, if your still running IE6 it is very likely there are a number of "spyware" programs running on your computer.

 

I would recommend downloading and running Malwarebytes from here: http://www.malwarebytes.org/. I clean up computers for a living and It's one of the tools I frequently use.

Thanks for the info. Isn't it going to take forever to download something on a dialup connection, though? (Remember, I did already confess my tech-illiteracy :rolleyes: )

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Sorry...

 

Firefox is a "Browser" very similar to Internet Explorer.

 

You can download it here:

http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/personal.html

 

However, if your still running IE6 it is very likely there are a number of "spyware" programs running on your computer.

 

I would recommend downloading and running Malwarebytes from here: http://www.malwarebytes.org/. I clean up computers for a living and It's one of the tools I frequently use.

Thanks for the info. Isn't it going to take forever to download something on a dialup connection, though? (Remember, I did already confess my tech-illiteracy :rolleyes: )

 

It will take a while, but Firefox is a good browser. You will probably find it to be faster rendering pages than the old IE.

Edited by briansnat
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Freezing! (Okay. Temp is 36, and it's raining...)

We had that problem on my caching buddy's computer. Windoze XP with MSIE 6. The problem is only on GC.com, and only since the last upgrade. My puter is XP with MSIE 8. I had no problem. So buddy upgraded to MSIE 8, and now has no problem.

So, I would hazard a guess that there is something in MSE 8, that was not there in MSIE 6, that is required for GC.com to work.

Not all of us are techie people. Some of us try to work with what we have. I have not interest in this FoxFire thingie that people seem to tout. I got a basic puter. Websites should work with it. Especially one like GC.com.

So, to resolve the problem, I suggest upgrading to MSIE 8. I would also suggest the the lackeys investigate this problem, before too many of us non-techies get left behind. Or post that the website is only available to MSIE users 7(?) or higher. Otherwise it does sound a bit elitist.

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15 year old computers ? Really ? You think it's only 1% ?

 

Mine is five years old . Came with XP and IE6.

Had to "upgrade" to IE7 just to log on to the site (would freeze up each time with IE6)

 

I asked everyone I knew for info on what they had. THOSE WHO KNEW were using IE6. My employer uses IE6 (over 2,000 computers.), they ARE upgrading now.

I'm in the "over 50 " crowd and didn't have computer tech in school. Heck, the first calculator I ever saw came out in my senior year of high school !

You buy a computer with whatever comes with it. I still have dial up.

 

See, this is the FORUMS - no where's NEAR an indicator of "average" computer users and probably less than a percent of geocaching.com members.

NONE of the people I regularly cache with are on the forums and only a handful I've met.

The rest of the folks come to GC.com to cache. And if they're even less able than me (not sure if that's possible), may not have even figured how to get ON to the site yet, much less try to sort out any other problems associated with it..

Edited by cerberus1
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Same problem, also XP and IE6. It's a work computer and I have no control over the software build!

 

The IT department have decreed that all our PCs will have windoze XP and IE6, so the tens of thousands of PCs the company owns across umpteen offices will have XP and IE6. Us grunts who merely use the things don't get any say in the matter.

I guess a lot of us are like that - work PC and no option to uplift the software - but want to hit the cache trail as soon as we leave work. I'm repeating what others have said, hoping that this is helpful and not cluttering up the forum.

 

Summary:

Home PC: Windows XP & IE8 - all works fine, quite fast actually.

Old work Laptop: Windows XP & IE6 - intermittent freeze accessing site, 100% freeze accessing Google Maps.

New work Laptop: Windows XP & IE6 - intermittent freeze accessing site, maps show cache symbols but not the Google map itself, 100% freeze eventually.

 

My new work laptop (received two hours ago!) is a fresh build - i.e. not used previously. The basic problem persists, but for the cache symbols mentioned above. I don't know if that improvement is because:

 

- the site admins have fixed something or

- my new laptop has a newer version of Java etc.

 

I know... IE6 is ancient. I agree but I have no choice.

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Handling a couple of the issues.

 

Download time - Opera is a fairly compact and quick download. If still want all the features and speed offered by either Firefox or Chrome, go to your local Barnes & Noble, Look at the magazine rack. Several mags come with a disk that has one if not both browsers. Maximum PC in particular.

 

You can also buy a wifi card for your laptop and use McDonalds, Panera, local library, etc. to do the download.

 

Work PCs - Sorry, fairly certain your not being paid to cache. Non-issue. This "complaint" is almost laughable.

 

Having just retired from a company where the department I managed was responsible for for far more than the example given here, Even smaller companies with less than 2500 computers will be slower with their internal upgrades because, aside from time/cost and lease contracts, their exposure is much less if employees are following the guidelines and only going outside the firewall to approved sites, of which I am sure GC is not one.

 

Older PCs - PCs age fast. In fact, XP had been scheduled to stop being supported around 2 years ago but was extended due to an installed virus called Vista. Windows ME wasn't even supported when it was released. 10, or even 15 year old computers are the same as owning a 72 AMC Javelin. Usable, high maintenance and difficult to find parts. The difference is that the old computer, OS and browser have no protection against attacks.

 

Sorry, but yes, you are in the minority of cachers if you have an older PC. 1%? Maybe not but far too small to impact a business model. Many want to take advantage of new technologies and to do this requires that upgrades be done on the user side and less attention be given to older, out of date packages.

 

One of the issues OS and browsers developers have had is trying to cater to the least common denominator. The "common" denominator is now demanding features that make backward comparability to 2 and 3 generation old packages less and less feasible. This issue is only going to worsen for you in areas far less critical than geocaching.com.

 

Moore's law indicates that computer speed/performance will double every 18 months. In some areas it is even less. GC is just, like every other company, trying to keep up.

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Handling a couple of the issues.

 

Download time - Opera is a fairly compact and quick download. If still want all the features and speed offered by either Firefox or Chrome, go to your local Barnes & Noble, Look at the magazine rack. Several mags come with a disk that has one if not both browsers. Maximum PC in particular.

 

You can also buy a wifi card for your laptop and use McDonalds, Panera, local library, etc. to do the download.

 

Work PCs - Sorry, fairly certain your not being paid to cache. Non-issue. This "complaint" is almost laughable.

 

Having just retired from a company where the department I managed was responsible for for far more than the example given here, Even smaller companies with less than 2500 computers will be slower with their internal upgrades because, aside from time/cost and lease contracts, their exposure is much less if employees are following the guidelines and only going outside the firewall to approved sites, of which I am sure GC is not one.

 

Older PCs - PCs age fast. In fact, XP had been scheduled to stop being supported around 2 years ago but was extended due to an installed virus called Vista. Windows ME wasn't even supported when it was released. 10, or even 15 year old computers are the same as owning a 72 AMC Javelin. Usable, high maintenance and difficult to find parts. The difference is that the old computer, OS and browser have no protection against attacks.

 

Sorry, but yes, you are in the minority of cachers if you have an older PC. 1%? Maybe not but far too small to impact a business model. Many want to take advantage of new technologies and to do this requires that upgrades be done on the user side and less attention be given to older, out of date packages.

 

One of the issues OS and browsers developers have had is trying to cater to the least common denominator. The "common" denominator is now demanding features that make backward comparability to 2 and 3 generation old packages less and less feasible. This issue is only going to worsen for you in areas far less critical than geocaching.com.

 

Moore's law indicates that computer speed/performance will double every 18 months. In some areas it is even less. GC is just, like every other company, trying to keep up.

I'm a retired network administrator and Web developer, and I agree with baloo&bd 100% on this. I've been contemplating adding a post that said the same things, but they beat me to it and said it better. To go one step further, once IE7 came out, we almost immediately implemented it on all the PCs in our network, chiefly due to the huge security holes in IE6. Legacy applications that require IE6, and won't run in more recent browsers, need to be replaced. Personally, it surprises me whenever I hear that any outfit still permits IE6 on PCs under their purview.

 

Regarding cachers "needing" to access the geocaching Web site from work, whether that's permissible is, of course, each company's decision. On the other hand, I really doubt you'll get much sympathy from GC.com if you're trying to access their Web site using IE6 from the office while you should be paying attention to your work.

 

--Larry

Edited by larryc43230
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Regarding cachers "needing" to access the geocaching Web site from work, whether that's permissible is, of course, each company's decision. On the other hand, I really doubt you'll get much sympathy from GC.com if you're trying to access their Web site using IE6 from the office while you should be paying attention to your work.

 

--Larry

 

I can understand why *my employers* would have something of an issue if I was spending enough time on the internet to impact the amount of work I get done, but why on earth would the owners of GC.com/the BBC/UKC/ebay/metcheck/mwis or any of the other websites I may be browsing care whether I'm getting any work done or not??

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I can understand why *my employers* would have something of an issue if I was spending enough time on the internet to impact the amount of work I get done, but why on earth would the owners of GC.com/the BBC/UKC/ebay/metcheck/mwis or any of the other websites I may be browsing care whether I'm getting any work done or not??

I never claimed they would care, just that you might not get any sympathy from them. I'm just guessing here, but I can imagine there might be some companies out there with which GC.com might want to maintain good relationships. Openly encouraging workers to entertain themselves on GC.com from the office could be counterproductive in those cases.

 

--Larry

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I can understand why *my employers* would have something of an issue if I was spending enough time on the internet to impact the amount of work I get done, but why on earth would the owners of GC.com/the BBC/UKC/ebay/metcheck/mwis or any of the other websites I may be browsing care whether I'm getting any work done or not??

I never claimed they would care, just that you might not get any sympathy from them. I'm just guessing here, but I can imagine there might be some companies out there with which GC.com might want to maintain good relationships. Openly encouraging workers to entertain themselves on GC.com from the office could be counterproductive in those cases.

 

--Larry

Nobody said that they were accessing gc.com while they were supposed to be working... they were accessing cg.com on a work PC that they could not change the IE version of. Different things.

Having said that, I'd be surprised if gc.com (who's salaries I pay) would take any moral position on my use of an employer's PC or when I did it. Nor would I expect them to assume what limitations my company places on use its equipment. As it happens, my use is completely within their rules.

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As it happens, my use is completely within their rules.

 

Yes, likewise. (The rule in this case being that a little personal use of the internet is Ok, but don't extract the urine.)

 

However, I'm not convinced that turning this into a huge argument over the morals of using the internet with work equipment/what kit we think large IT companies should issue their staff with is actually going to do anything to help the GC.com techy people identify what the problem is and how big a problem it is.

 

So:

Anyone else having this problem, and if so what kit are you using? Anyone getting this with a browser other than IE6?

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Nobody said that they were accessing gc.com while they were supposed to be working... they were accessing cg.com on a work PC that they could not change the IE version of. Different things.

Having said that, I'd be surprised if gc.com (who's salaries I pay) would take any moral position on my use of an employer's PC or when I did it. Nor would I expect them to assume what limitations my company places on use its equipment. As it happens, my use is completely within their rules.

The issue at hand is less about company policies or whether you're cheating at work than Groundspeak's continued support for IE6, whether the user is at the office or at home. They have made no "official" statement on whether they will or will not continue to support that browser. In my personal (but reasonably educated) opinion, I would understand completely if they decided to leave that browser behind and discontinue support for it, for reasons that have already been brought out.

 

As the years go by, it becomes less and less feasible to continue supporting older platforms while adding the new features that Web site visitors expect to find. They can't simply stop progress so that visitors using ten-year-old software can take full advantage of the site, especially when browsers are free and the vast majority of site visitors have already moved to more recent browser versions. They have to cut the cord sometime.

 

--Larry

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Nobody said that they were accessing gc.com while they were supposed to be working... they were accessing cg.com on a work PC that they could not change the IE version of. Different things.

Having said that, I'd be surprised if gc.com (who's salaries I pay) would take any moral position on my use of an employer's PC or when I did it. Nor would I expect them to assume what limitations my company places on use its equipment. As it happens, my use is completely within their rules.

...They have to cut the cord sometime.

 

That's a very fair comment Larry. All I would ask - but not demand etc. - is that cg.com do not do that just yet but make it clear when they do. My guess is that this issue was a surprise to them too... which is unfortunate but not completely unreasonable. So we're back to where I came in... trying to help confirm IE6 as one of the causes.

 

Oh crap!!! I'm supposed to be working...!!! :huh:

Edited by JF20938
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Until today, I've had no problems with gc.com freezing. But this morning I was trying to replace the data in my profile using WinXP and Firefox v3.5.7 as usual. The page just froze and I had to exit Firefox manually. It reloaded the pages and the same thing happened again. Next time I tried to replace my profile using IE8 (which normally I don't like using because of its performance and security problems) and it worked.

 

Firefox is fine again now (on all other pages at least. Could this have been because of server trafic problems perhaps?? The time would have been around 11:30 GMT.

 

Chris

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All I would ask - but not demand etc. - is that cg.com do not do that just yet but make it clear when they do. My guess is that this issue was a surprise to them too... which is unfortunate but not completely unreasonable. So we're back to where I came in... trying to help confirm IE6 as one of the causes.

It's only speculation on my part, but I'm guessing that Groundspeak was caught a little off-guard regarding the conflicts with IE6. If they knew ahead of time that the upcoming changes would cause serious problems in one or more browsers, one would hope they would have given some sort of warning. And I agree that, if they truly intend to discontinue support for IE6, they should somehow let users know ahead of time.

 

Might be a good idea to include a note to that effect in the weekly newsletter as well as in the "Groundspeak Announcements" forum....

 

Oh crap!!! I'm supposed to be working...!!! :

Alright, get back to work! :huh:

 

--Larry

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We had that problem on my caching buddy's computer. Windoze XP with MSIE 6. The problem is only on GC.com, and only since the last upgrade. My puter is XP with MSIE 8. I had no problem. So buddy upgraded to MSIE 8, and now has no problem.

So, I would hazard a guess that there is something in MSE 8, that was not there in MSIE 6, that is required for GC.com to work.

There is a known problem with IE6 and GZIP. If a javascript file is compressed with GZIP or DEFLATE than sometimes IE6 locks up.

Currently GZIP is enabled on the geocaching.com site, and I don't know if it is explicitly disabled for IE6. If it is not (ie GZIP is always used on IE6) that could very wel be the reason for the problems with IE6

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Did a little research on Microsoft's Website, if you reference this page you will see a date for end of Microsoft support for IE6 listed as 13-Jul-2010, with other cases referencing the service pack support cycle. Looks like IE6 may be phased out by Microsoft soon which is unfortunate for some who have the Legacy Apps. However, it is possible to run more than one browser; for instance on my personal computer I have IE8, Chrome, & Firefox all installed. I use Firefox, my wife prefers Chrome, and IE is just there. At work I am stuck with IE6 (which I use for GC on breaks & lunch) and am currently unable to access GC.com aside from the home page (even when using the Alternative Refresh option previously noted), there has been talk of upgrading to IE7 here, but no actual move towards it yet. But with the above data from Microsoft looks like they may have to upgrade out of necessity! Still awaiting a definative answer from Groundspeak re: IE6 support status though...

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If your computer hardware and software are working just fine for you, keep on using them until they break -- UNLESS you want to interact with the outside world (email, gc.com, etc). These days probably 99.9% of computer users want to interact with the ourside world -- it's the main reason most get computers nowadays.

 

The rest of the world moves on. Often it does so without my permission and over my objections, but if I want to continue interacting with it, I have to move on too. I can fight it or I can go with the flow. Fighting it is a lot harder than herding cats.

 

Yes, there's a real problem with computers: despite the claims of MS and Apple, no general-purpose computer (which includes everything in the category of personal computers and workstations) is usable without some technical knowledge. If you don't have that technical knowledge and you want to use your computer to interact with the outside world, then find someone to help you. I know that's a poor answer, but it's the current state of affairs. I have the technical knowledge, and I act as the first line support in varying degrees for my wife, my two sisters, and my father-in-law (and for my mom until she died last year), and off and on for others. Luckily there are lots of technical people who enjoy helping others with computers. Unluckily having one at your disposal is not guaranteed.

 

This situation will endure until everyone alive has grown up with computers. And by then, what else will have come along? The telephone was initially for the tech-savvy; so was the automobile.

 

Any company which requires the continued use of IE6 (and allows access to the outside web, not just an intranet) is asking for total destruction. One computer gets a virus because of IE6 and it can spread to the others. The entire operation could be down for days, even weeks. Such a company probably hasn't even updated IIS to prevent SQL Slammer from taking them down when a consultant brings in an infected laptop (happened one place I know about). Continuing use of IE6 in a business is at least misfeasance, and possibly criminal malfeasance depending on who the managers have a fiduciary responsibility to.

 

In two or three years, you'll need to move off XP too. I don't recall what MS's latest deadline to stop security fixes for XP is, but new computers are shipping with Win7, and Win7 isn't getting the pushback that Vista did. The world is moving on without my permission.

 

BTW, I prefer Opera, but you'll find a lot more people to help you with Firefox. I'd recommend Firefox for that reason.

 

Edward

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What I find disturbing is that GC.com was not aware that the update would cause problems, and that it has not yet said what the end result is going to be. Will it continue to support MSIE6, or not? Someone cited/made up statistics that 10 to 14% of computer users still use MSIE6. I find it hard to believe that a company such as Geocaching would be willing to lose 10 to 14% of its customers.

If it had been intended to drop support for MSIE6, I would think that GC would have made its customers/users aware of the upcoming problem.

I ignore the bloviated supertechies who insist that everyone must run right out and buy the newest bestest products everytime an upgrade appears. Or, that, obvously, everyone should be using FireFly or Operas. Get real. Not all of us are that geeky or wealthy. We are happy with what we have. Of course, I refuse to pay that extra ten cents a month for touch tone service.

And, thus, we are curious to hear GC's answer as to whether it will continue to support MSIE6? Or whether it is willing to write off a percentage of its users. The silence is deafening.

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I've experienced the same problems for the last several days.

 

1. When I hit the "go to" button from the home page, I get a screen that shows the nearest caches title, but I don't see any caches. I also get and I/O error. To clear this, I use tha back arrow, and then I can get cache listings. Never had this problem before.

 

2. After viewing caches for a bit in map view, I get a warning that a script is running that will slow my system down if I let it continue to run. I can let it run for a while, but eventually, it will freeze my system. Then if I try to go back to my home page, I get a warning that the page is still running and if I close it, bad things can happen. It will not let me do anything at this point except close my browser.

 

I go ahead and close my browser and as far as I know, no bad things have happened. It's as if the page will not release.

 

I am running Windows XP Professional SP3 with IE8 on a 2.3GZ AMD dual core 64 (running in 32 bit) with 2gb of ram, 200gb drive on a high speed (1mb/s) broadband connection.

 

I'm sure this has to do with the upgrade because I have never had these problems before and I don't have them with any other sites I visit. Sure will be glad when these problems are corrected because I have just gotten back into geocaching after having to take several years off due to some health issues.

Edited by Fiver1
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