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Has anyone else here experienced a huge slowdown with the (Java) puzzles on this site after upgrading Opera to a version 10 beta? It's become unbearably (unplayably) slow for me (though this isn't a very fast computer).

I actually can't load puzzles at all in my browser to solve - it says the java applet class is undefined.

Helen, do you use Opera? If not, what browser do you use?

I've tried Safari, Firefox, and Opera. None of them work - it says the java applet either failed or the class wasn't defined. If it helps, I'm on a Mac and I have checked that my java is up to date.

This was not the only problem with the applet on Opera 10, but I've found a few workarounds and a few clues since I last posted.

1. Problem: An "Applet not found." message where the puzzle Applet is supposed to go.
Details: The problem does not always happen, and if it does, even reloading the page won't help. The following exception is listed in the Java console output:
Code:

 java.lang.ClassNotFoundException: ipp.Main
 	at com.opera.AppletClassLoader.findClass(AppletClassLoader.java:369)
 	at java.lang.ClassLoader.loadClass(ClassLoader.java:307)
 	at com.opera.AppletClassLoader.loadClass(AppletClassLoader.java:433)
 	at java.lang.ClassLoader.loadClass(ClassLoader.java:252)
 	at com.opera.AppletPanel.runLoaderThread(AppletPanel.java:410)
 	at com.opera.AppletPanel.run(AppletPanel.java:384)
 	at java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:619)
 Caused by: java.io.FileNotFoundException: <a href="http://www.puzzlepicnic.com/ipp/Main.class" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.puzzlepicnic.com/ipp/Main.class</a>
 	at com.opera.URLConnection.getInputStream(URLConnection.java:137)
 	at com.opera.AppletClassLoader.readClassFile(AppletClassLoader.java:380)
 	at com.opera.AppletClassLoader.access$100(AppletClassLoader.java:34)
 	at com.opera.AppletClassLoader$4.run(AppletClassLoader.java:360)
 	at java.security.AccessController.doPrivileged(Native Method)
 	at com.opera.AppletClassLoader.findClass(AppletClassLoader.java:358)
 	... 6 more

Workaround: close the tab with the puzzle, open the Java console (Tools -> Advanced -> Java console), type 'x' in the Java console (clear classloader cache), and reopen the tab (CTRL-Z in the main browser area).
Suspected cause: The Java runtime tries to start the applet before it is completely loaded, and as the loaded (incomplete) applet is cached, reloading the page doesn't work. Probably a bug in Opera.

2. Problem: Puzzle Applet is extremely slow.
Workaround: Open the 'More information' link in a new tab, and close it again.
I have no idea why this workaround works. It's got something to do with the applet on that page, but if I instead open another Puzzle page, Opera will seem to hang altogether.
The workaround will only improve the situation from 'extremely slow' to 'slow' though, and after the workaround, the following exception is thrown every time something is drawn in the applet:
Code:

 Exception in thread "AWT-EventQueue-3" java.lang.NullPointerException
 	at ipp.Main.storeCookie(Main.java:723)
 	at ipp.Main.update(Main.java:373)
 	at ipp.Main.paint(Main.java:362)
 	at sun.awt.RepaintArea.paintComponent(RepaintArea.java:248)
 	at sun.awt.X11.XRepaintArea.paintComponent(XRepaintArea.java:56)
 	at sun.awt.RepaintArea.paint(RepaintArea.java:224)
 	at sun.awt.X11.XComponentPeer.handleEvent(XComponentPeer.java:688)
 	at java.awt.Component.dispatchEventImpl(Component.java:4706)
 	at java.awt.Container.dispatchEventImpl(Container.java:2099)
 	at java.awt.Component.dispatchEvent(Component.java:4460)
 	at java.awt.EventQueue.dispatchEvent(EventQueue.java:599)
 	at java.awt.EventDispatchThread.pumpOneEventForFilters(EventDispatchThread.java:269)
 	at java.awt.EventDispatchThread.pumpEventsForFilter(EventDispatchThread.java:184)
 	at java.awt.EventDispatchThread.pumpEventsForHierarchy(EventDispatchThread.java:174)
 	at java.awt.EventDispatchThread.pumpEvents(EventDispatchThread.java:169)
 	at java.awt.EventDispatchThread.pumpEvents(EventDispatchThread.java:161)
 	at java.awt.EventDispatchThread.run(EventDispatchThread.java:122)

I wouldn't be surprised if this is another bug in Opera.

3. Problem: The Java applet hangs for several minutes after pressing the 'check' button.
Workaround: none so far.

Thanks for the detailed account! These stacktraces are very helpful in pinpointing the exact problem.

We're working on a fix for problem 2. There is an issue with storing your puzzle progress in a cookie. In the meantime, clearing your (puzzlepicnic) cookies can be used as a workaround.

We've fixed a number of issues concerning the stability of the puzzle applet. See this thread for more information of the fix for problem 2.