SeaMonkey 2.46 requires CPU with SSE2 support

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isaacschemm
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Re: SeaMonkey 2.46 requires CPU with SSE2 support

Post by isaacschemm »

Someone could probably build a release off of 2.42.x branch as a "final version" for people who don't have SSE2.
I don't have any computers that don't have SSE2 so I couldn't test if it worked or not.
frg
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Re: SeaMonkey 2.46 requires CPU with SSE2 support

Post by frg »

There is a chance that an unzipped 2.48 package will work. 2.48 is done with VS2015 update 3 and not sure if the compiler flags for Windows where already changed. I have a VS2015 update 3 SeaMonkey 2.42.7 I use for occasional regression testing but it needed a bunch of backports to get rid of the most annoying errors in 2.40.

Personally I would just call it a day and get a new PC or retire the old. Unlike old cars old computers don't age well unless you are into vintage gaming. And for the reason: The compiler can just optimize the code better with newer instructions.

FRG
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therube
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Re: SeaMonkey 2.46 requires CPU with SSE2 support

Post by therube »

Fire 750, bring back 250.
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frg
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Re: SeaMonkey 2.46 requires CPU with SSE2 support

Post by frg »

I know because there is a block in the installer but the unpacked SeaMonkey from the zip might work: http://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/seamonkey/ni ... .win32.zip
LordOfTheBored
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Re: SeaMonkey 2.46 requires CPU with SSE2 support

Post by LordOfTheBored »

cuppettcj wrote: I should also point out that Windows Vista is still an officially supported OS, albeit for only a couple more months. I find it strange that many applications continued to support XP for years after support ended, but are quick to drop support from Vista even before it's support window closes.
Not that strange, really. Microsoft's OS support policies have no effect on anyone's development cycle.
Application development is targeted to goes the platforms people are using. XP had an unusually long real-world usage run, in part because people didn't want to use Vista.
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therube
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Re: SeaMonkey 2.46 requires CPU with SSE2 support

Post by therube »

there is a block in the installer but the unpacked SeaMonkey from the zip
Oops, should have mentioned, I don't "install", rather manually unpack the .exe installer.
And with that manually unpacked .exe installer, seamonkey.exe does not run without SSE2.

(There is no difference between the .exe installer & the .zip, except for the actual install routine. Really don't see why .zip are even built. .exe are smaller & can easily be unpacked.)
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frg
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Re: SeaMonkey 2.46 requires CPU with SSE2 support

Post by frg »

Ok,

then SSE2 is a must.

>> Not that strange, really. Microsoft's OS support policies have no effect on anyone's development cycle.

There is a lenghty discussion about continuing Vista support in the Bug:

https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1130266

Used it a lot for testing SeaMonkey in VMs because the licenses were/are cheap. But with support even faster dropped than XP and almost non existent userbase not worth to still support it beyond ESR 52. SeaMonkey 2.49 will be ESR too and so continue to support it for another year.
cuppettcj
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Re: SeaMonkey 2.46 requires CPU with SSE2 support

Post by cuppettcj »

BenoitRen wrote:Inexcusable. There's no good reason for requiring this. Instruction support should be detected, and similar instructions should be used that aren't as fast if SSE2 isn't supported.
frg wrote:And seriously its 2016 almost 2017 not 2001 and there are good reasons to do this.
BenoitRen wrote:No, there are not. Nothing will be lost by not requiring SSE2 and making it optional instead.

Also, 2001? My CPU is from 2004, as AMD was really late to the SSE2 party. And it's not like I can just pop a newer CPU into my motherboard that has SSE2 support.
frg wrote:And for the reason: The compiler can just optimize the code better with newer instructions.
Question 1:
So who's correct here? Is it not possible to compile the source in such a way as to support SSE2 instructions for those machines that can use it, but fallback to similar instructions on those machines that can't?

Question 2:
What is the last relatively stable version of SeaMonkey that still supports machines without SSE2? 4td8s mentioned "Adrian Kalla's unofficial SM 2.45 release build" as being compatible with non-SSE2 processors. Can anybody confirm that this is compatible? If so, can he/she provide a link to this build? libertyernie mentioned forking 2.42.x release branch. Why is that a better option than 2.45? If 2.45 won't work, then can somebody provide a link to last relatively stable build that will work?

Question 3:
Is there any large obstacle that would prevent a highly motivated person with a reasonable level of programming skills from learning how to compile SeaMonkey from source and compiling a version that doesn't require SSE2 instructions for all future releases? If not, then I may give this a shot in my spare time. I know of at least 3 people on this forum alone that would benefit.
isaacschemm
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Re: SeaMonkey 2.46 requires CPU with SSE2 support

Post by isaacschemm »

I can't answer most of those questions very well, but the reason I suggested 2.42.x is because then it could have more current security updates - at the cost of an otherwise older code base (I imagine there are more bugs.)
cuppettcj
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Re: SeaMonkey 2.46 requires CPU with SSE2 support

Post by cuppettcj »

libertyernie wrote:I can't answer most of those questions very well, but the reason I suggested 2.42.x is because then it could have more current security updates - at the cost of an otherwise older code base (I imagine there are more bugs.)
Thanks for your response, but I would think that 2.45 would have a newer code base than 2.42.x, unless there is something I'm missing. What I may be missing is that 2.45 is not actually compatible with non-SSE2 processors. I have no way to confirm because I don't have a link yet to the 2.45 build that 4td8s referred to.
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therube
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Re: SeaMonkey 2.46 requires CPU with SSE2 support

Post by therube »

FF 49 is where Mozilla required SSE2.
FF 49 is akin to SeaMonkey 2.46.
So you would expect the prior version, FF 48 or SeaMonkey 2.45 to not require SSE2.

SeaMonkey jumped from 2.40 to 2.46, there were no intervening releases.
Though if you dig around the "latest" directories, I'd imagine you'd find something that says, 2.45a#, perhaps.

http://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/seamonkey/nightly/
http://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/seamonkey/ni ... mm-aurora/
http://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/seamonkey/ni ... comm-beta/
http://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/seamonkey/ni ... ral-trunk/

See what might be there.
(And then not sure which to tell you to get, but I guess the latest [most recent] that you seen in the 2.45 line.)


[IMO, when using a LOT of tabs/windows & a LOT of RAM, 1500 MB+, SeaMonkey 2.40 works MUCH better then 2.46 [or 2.48], FWIW.]
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isaacschemm
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Re: SeaMonkey 2.46 requires CPU with SSE2 support

Post by isaacschemm »

cuppettcj wrote:
libertyernie wrote:I can't answer most of those questions very well, but the reason I suggested 2.42.x is because then it could have more current security updates - at the cost of an otherwise older code base (I imagine there are more bugs.)
Thanks for your response, but I would think that 2.45 would have a newer code base than 2.42.x, unless there is something I'm missing. What I may be missing is that 2.45 is not actually compatible with non-SSE2 processors. I have no way to confirm because I don't have a link yet to the 2.45 build that 4td8s referred to.
I meant to say that 2.42 has an older code base than 2.45, but it also might have security fixes that 2.45 would not.
cuppettcj
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Re: SeaMonkey 2.46 requires CPU with SSE2 support

Post by cuppettcj »

libertyernie wrote:
cuppettcj wrote:
libertyernie wrote:I can't answer most of those questions very well, but the reason I suggested 2.42.x is because then it could have more current security updates - at the cost of an otherwise older code base (I imagine there are more bugs.)
Thanks for your response, but I would think that 2.45 would have a newer code base than 2.42.x, unless there is something I'm missing. What I may be missing is that 2.45 is not actually compatible with non-SSE2 processors. I have no way to confirm because I don't have a link yet to the 2.45 build that 4td8s referred to.
I meant to say that 2.42 has an older code base than 2.45, but it also might have security fixes that 2.45 would not.
Ah, I read your previous reply again and realized that I misread what you were saying. I get it now, thanks.
LordOfTheBored
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Re: SeaMonkey 2.46 requires CPU with SSE2 support

Post by LordOfTheBored »

cuppettcj wrote: Question 1:
So who's correct here? Is it not possible to compile the source in such a way as to support SSE2 instructions for those machines that can use it, but fallback to similar instructions on those machines that can't?
As with many such discussion, who is right depends on what you think is most important.
It is possible to compile the program with an alternate "fallback" code path to increase compatibility, but it results in additional complexity, a larger executable, and I think it places limits on what kinds of optimizations the compiler can explore.
And in this case, the NEWEST affected processors are well over a decade old.

I am actually surprised at how much trouble the SSE2 requirement has caused. It warms my heart to see how many elderly computers are still chugging along.
4td8s
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Re: SeaMonkey 2.46 requires CPU with SSE2 support

Post by 4td8s »

therube wrote:FF 49 is where Mozilla required SSE2.
FF 49 is akin to SeaMonkey 2.46.
So you would expect the prior version, FF 48 or SeaMonkey 2.45 to not require SSE2.

SeaMonkey jumped from 2.40 to 2.46, there were no intervening releases.
Though if you dig around the "latest" directories, I'd imagine you'd find something that says, 2.45a#, perhaps.

http://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/seamonkey/nightly/
http://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/seamonkey/ni ... mm-aurora/
http://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/seamonkey/ni ... comm-beta/
http://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/seamonkey/ni ... ral-trunk/

See what might be there.
(And then not sure which to tell you to get, but I guess the latest [most recent] that you seen in the 2.45 line.)


[IMO, when using a LOT of tabs/windows & a LOT of RAM, 1500 MB+, SeaMonkey 2.40 works MUCH better then 2.46 [or 2.48], FWIW.]
Um did anybody try the unofficial SM 2.45 release from here:
http://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/seamonkey/ni ... taller.exe
I know that one worked on an old Compaq SR1303WM computer with an AMD Athlon XP 3200+ (2.2Ghz) CPU that doesn't have SSE2 because I tried it myself.

I'll eventually replace the motherboard on the old Compaq PC with one that uses at least AMD Athlon 64 X2 dual-core CPUs and I won't have those SSE2 requirement problems.
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