Why is my browser showing a page differently to my wife's browser?

I have a Dual 2Gig G5 running the latest version of Mac OS X. I'm having difficulty getting all of the "buttons" on a certain webpage from showing up in Safari. They show up fine when I log in to my account. They used to show up fine when logged in on my wife's account, but now they no longer appear. What could cause something like this to be blocked on one account, but not the other.

Dave's Answer:

Examining the Web page in question, it appears that the navigational elements you're talking about are actually implemented in Java, so there might be a difference in which version of Java you and your wife have on your computers.

The first step to make sure they're in sync is to run "Software Update..." from the Apple menu on both. When you run Software Update, you'll make sure that every element of your operating system and any Apple utilities are completely up-to-date. It should end up looking like this:

The other thing you should check are the preferences in your two browsers. Here's where you might find that one of the computers has Java disabled, for example. Get to the Preferences area off the Safari menu and you can find this:

Make sure that all are checked on both computers and you should find that they work identically when you and your wife visit the site.

Categorized: Mac OS X Help (Article 6403, Written by Dave Taylor)
Tagged: java, mac os x, safari
Previous: Can't get standalone music player to work on MySpace?
Next: Someone wants me to add them as a friend on myspace?

Subscribe!

Never miss another Q&A article! Click to subscribe:

Comments

I think you missed the fact that my wife and I are using the exact same browser on the exact same computer. The difference is which OS X user account is being logged into.

Oddly, since writing you, the navigational buttons have shown back up on her login, yet no installations and/or updates have been made!

Posted by: Jeff at March 28, 2006 10:24 AM

I have something to say, now that you mention it, but ...

I do have a lot to say, and questions of my own for that matter, but first I'd like to say thank you for all your efforts on this Web site by buying you a cup of coffee!

I do have a comment, now that you mention it!