Birbla

Discussion summary

MacSurf 1.68 brings NetSurf to OS 9, appreciated by retro computing enthusiasts. Users discuss browser options for old Macs and share experiences with the software.

What the discussion says

  • Retro computing fans are excited about MacSurf and NetSurf.
  • Some users mention alternative browsers like PaleMoon and Chrome via Boot Camp.
  • There is interest in contributing to NetSurf's development.
“Very cool to see this progress, and I am a big fan of NetSurf.”
— system7rocks
“I wish more people contributed to Netsurf and it gets the momentum it needs.”
— thisislife2

Comments

Hacker News

Awesome stuff! I love retro computing especially with Macs.

But it's a bit weird that old PPC Macs get modern browsers, but Intel Macs running 10.14 are stuck with Firefox 115esr.

by MetalSnake

Hmm, no, you have latest Chrome, via Boot Camp ;)

by cgyvbunji

Wow. Just wow, I will give this a run on my old iMac G4 later today. Very cool to see this progress, and I am a big fan of NetSurf.

by system7rocks

Yeah, I wish more people contributed to Netsurf and it gets the momentum it needs to compete with Blink, Gecko and Webkit. So many divided efforts in this area - there's Ladybird, Flow, Servo, Goanna. Even just improving Webkit and making it truly multi-platform (it isn't available for Windows, and the Linux version is apparently not as performant) would greatly even the field.

by thisislife2

Not working, “Bad Parameter”

by pKropotkin

I'm trying to figure this out now, I can't replicate it myself. Actual hardware of emulation? Spinning disk drive of SSD?

by mplsllc

This is awesome and greatly appreciated, going to boot up my iMac G4 and give it a go.

by crims0n

Awesome! Please let me know how it goes (good or bad) I am always open to feedback.

by mplsllc

Writing a JS engine for OS 9 in 2026 is like, genuinely impressive

by LetsGetTechnicl

Seriously. I am going to check this out. Otherwise, I can only use the last release of tenfourfox on my g4 but only through the https://github.com/ttalvitie/browservice proxy running on another machine.

by steve-atx-7600

The single biggest change since 1.5 is under the hood: MacSurf's JavaScript engine has been replaced. Duktape (ES5) is gone; MacSurf now runs macQJS which is a QuickJS port for Classic Mac OS and executes modern ES2023 JavaScript natively on Mac OS 9.

by mplsllc

This needs to backported to main Netsurf ASAP.

by anthk

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  • Hacker News
  • Awesome stuff! I love retro computing especially with Macs.

    But it's a bit weird that old PPC Macs get modern browsers, but Intel Macs running 10.14 are stuck with Firefox 115esr.

    by MetalSnake
  • Hmm, no, you have latest Chrome, via Boot Camp ;)
    by cgyvbunji
  • You can use PaleMoon - https://www.palemoon.org/download.shtml
    by thisislife2
  • They are not!

    https://github.com/aobaharuki2005/momiji-web-browser

    by Wowfunhappy
  • Wow. Just wow, I will give this a run on my old iMac G4 later today. Very cool to see this progress, and I am a big fan of NetSurf.
    by system7rocks
  • Yeah, I wish more people contributed to Netsurf and it gets the momentum it needs to compete with Blink, Gecko and Webkit. So many divided efforts in this area - there's Ladybird, Flow, Servo, Goanna. Even just improving Webkit and making it truly multi-platform (it isn't available for Windows, and the Linux version is apparently not as performant) would greatly even the field.
    by thisislife2
  • Not working, “Bad Parameter”
    by pKropotkin
  • I'm trying to figure this out now, I can't replicate it myself. Actual hardware of emulation? Spinning disk drive of SSD?
    by mplsllc
  • This is awesome and greatly appreciated, going to boot up my iMac G4 and give it a go.
    by crims0n
  • Awesome! Please let me know how it goes (good or bad) I am always open to feedback.
    by mplsllc
  • Writing a JS engine for OS 9 in 2026 is like, genuinely impressive
    by LetsGetTechnicl
  • Seriously. I am going to check this out. Otherwise, I can only use the last release of tenfourfox on my g4 but only through the https://github.com/ttalvitie/browservice proxy running on another machine.
    by steve-atx-7600
  • The single biggest change since 1.5 is under the hood: MacSurf's JavaScript engine has been replaced. Duktape (ES5) is gone; MacSurf now runs macQJS which is a QuickJS port for Classic Mac OS and executes modern ES2023 JavaScript natively on Mac OS 9.
    by mplsllc
  • This needs to backported to main Netsurf ASAP.
    by anthk

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