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Safari - "page reload" issue

ladyk28

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Hi there, I don't like that Safari only allows you to open 9 windows at a time. But my main issue is you cannot reuse the same window..it opens up a previous used window with the new link it decides to open. Is there a setting somewhere to re- use the same window when you click the link? I can never remember which window had which information..

Also how can u change your toolbar saved links from the iPad? I changed them on my MacBook pro and thought when I sync it will change them...

Thanks,
K
 

Tim SPRACKLEN

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The problem with Safari and it re-opening windows (webpages) is a technical limitation because of the limited amount of memory (RAM) that the iPad has - 256 MB for the iPad1 and 512 MB for the iPad2. Depending upon the complexity of the web page visited, the iPad may simply not have sufficient RAM to hold a copy of a visited page when you ask it to switch to another page. As a result, when you return to a particular page that you visited earlier, it may have to re-load that page. There is no way around this problem because the RAM of an iPad cannot be expanded - unlike a typical PC or Mac, which can be and which usually has more RAM in any case.

Tim
 

DM51

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Good explanation, Tim. It's one of the most annoying things about Safari that it refreshes a page when you don't want it to. I have an iPad 1, and it does it the whole time. Is the problem slightly less on the iPad 2, with its extra memory?
 

DM51

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That is an excellent link, and a very convincing demonstration. Does it mean the iPad 2 NEVER has this 'page reload' problem? If so, it's almost enough to persuade me to upgrade now, rather than wait for the iPad 3 next year...
 

Tim SPRACKLEN

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Unfortunately not, I suspect - the complexity of the web page being cached will clearly influence the amount of RAM needed to store it; I've not seen a demonstration, yet, of the opposite perspective, though - i.e. trying to force Safari on an iPad2 to reload pages by surfing to *very* complex and/or memory intensive pages. However, for sure, it's the one reason that I can convince myself it would be worth upgrading for as I have no interest in the cameras or the enhanced graphics/CPU - but that extra RAM would be just great!!

I'd be interested to know if any iPad2 user has had a page reload issue with Safari.

Tim
 

Megapril

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iPad 2 still has reload issue

I tried out an iPad2 at the Apple store and it still has the same reload or automatic refresh issue that the original iPad has... I don't understand why they can't put more RAM in there when an 8GB flash drive comes in a form factor about as big as your thumb nail... I've seen the inside of an iPad, there is plenty of room. 512 is pretty pathetic in this day and age. My cell phone has more memory and it is three years old!
 

Tim SPRACKLEN

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The problem is that flash memory - the sort that the iPad uses to store apps - is different to RAM (random access memory - also known as read/write memory).

Flash memory has a very slow write time - of the order of a millisecond (1/1000 of a second) in some cases - compared to RAM, where the write time is of the order of nanoseconds (1/1000,000,000 of a second) or about one million times faster than flash memory. The iPad uses RAM as its main working memory. When you open an app it is copied from flash to RAM and it executes from RAM, where all the data and variables are also kept.

So Safari is copied to RAM and keeps all the webpage contents there too. It would be impractical for it to use flash for this purpose as the access speed of flash is so slow and this would make the iPad incredibly slow too.

Flash memory retains its contents even when the power is switched off - so the iPad does not lose its apps when you power it down (of course!). RAM, on the other hand, requires continuous power to maintain its contents and everything in RAM is lost when the iPad is switched completely off (as opposed to sleep).

A byte of memory in RAM takes up more physical space on the silicon chip than in flash, so its always going to be the case that a computer will have less RAM than flash. RAM, too, as I've mentioned, takes power to maintain its contents. For sure, Apple could have given the iPad several gigabytes of RAM, but that would have impacted the battery life and they took the decision that users were more interested in that fabled 10-hour battery life.

Tim
 

ceiswyn

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But the iPad already caches the page information, or you wouldn't be able to preview what's on all your tabs. The annoying thing is that all the information I want is right there, I can see it, I just need it to be a bit bigger; and then I open the tab, I see the page I want for just a fraction of a second, and then it vanishes.

The page is actually there, and Safari makes it go away.

Also, I've noticed that it doesn't actually reload the page. I read some fast-moving forums, and after a Safari-reload I keep needing to do a manual reload in order to actually reload the page properly and get the latest posts.

It seems to me that the root problem isn't the RAM, it's some oddity in the way Safari is coded, which more RAM might compensate for.

Either way, it's an absolute pain, and has wasted hours of my time when I've been in a mobile dead zone and could have done some work if only there were a way to convince Safari to not attempt to reload the perfectly good reference page that I can see in the preview.

What was the name of that alternative browser, again?
 
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CoachB007

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Has anyone else solved the tab reloading problem this way? Turn Settings > Safari > Open New Tabs In Background to OFF. I was about to find a new browser because keeping tabs loaded is a feature I just need. After I changed that one setting, all tabs stay open and loaded, including filled forms or text. I've tried opening numerous tabs and going back and forth and the problem has never returned.
 

Nagyur

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Has anyone else solved the tab reloading problem this way? Turn Settings > Safari > Open New Tabs In Background to OFF. I was about to find a new browser because keeping tabs loaded is a feature I just need. After I changed that one setting, all tabs stay open and loaded, including filled forms or text. I've tried opening numerous tabs and going back and forth and the problem has never returned.
Will try your suggestion. Hopefully will remeber to report my experience in a few days. Thanks
 

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