Classilla

Last Updated on: 21st November 2023, 04:16 pm

Web site: classilla.org
Category: Network
Subcategory: Web Browsers
Platform: OS X
License: GPL
Interface: GUI
First release: June 30, 2009

Classilla – a free, open source web browser for Mac OS 9*. Classilla focuses on the mobile web and mobile sites, a better fit for our old Macs and old code. It takes a little getting used to, but thanks to today’s smartphones, many of the most popular sites have mobile versions that are almost, if not more, functional than their desktop equivalents. And that pays off for us too: simpler pages render faster on old CPUs, use less memory and get more done.

While Mozilla is a cross-platform environment, and Classilla is based on its XPFE system, Classilla’s highest priority is whether it works on classic Macintosh, and any features that get added all have the same requirement. If it’ll work and it’ll help, it’ll be in Classilla. If Mozilla’s code won’t work as is and Classilla needs that feature, it’ll be rewritten if we can. Classilla isn’t designed as an application where MacOS support is an afterthought; it’s built to be Mac first and always.

Classilla requires any Power Macintosh with at least 64MB of RAM (virtual or physical), 100MB of free hard disk space and MacOS 8.6 or higher. A G3 processor with 128MB of physical RAM and OS 9.1 is the recommended minimum. (Although Classilla will run on OS 8.5, due to various bugs in that version we strongly advise updating to OS 8.6.)

Classilla is compatible with Apple Virtual Memory and Connectix RAM Doubler 9, but this may cause unpredictable performance problems and is recommended only for those systems with low physical RAM ceilings (such as the PowerBook 1400). You will observe better performance with adequate physical memory and Virtual Memory off, and better still if you use a RAM disk for your cache. You should also make sure you have adequate disk cache in the Memory control panel, as poor disk caching can also slow Classilla down.

The screenshot source: Wikipedia; author: Skedaddle; License: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported.


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