Supermium browser

[jtr1962]

Last week Chase in all its infinite stupidity decided to no longer support versions of browsers which are compatible with Windows 7. Specifically, they now require:

• Apple Safari 16.3 and higher
• Google Chrome 116 and higher
• Microsoft Edge 119 and higher
• Mozilla Firefox 115 and higher

None of these can be installed on Windows 7. In fact, they all require at least Windows 10. So I looked around for solutions, and found Supermium. It's basically an open source fork of Chrome. I'll continue to use Chrome for most of my browsing, but now I have Supermium for those sites which require a more up to date browser.

I could have started doing my banking on my laptop I suppose but this is far easier. I'm obviously not upgrading my desktop to Windows 10 or 11 just to log on to Chase.

This is the second time Chase fucked its customers over. I was using their app on a Samsung S5 for the rare times I had to cash checks. Then they stopped supporting the Android version that phone used.

Anyway, I'm posting this in case anyone else has a similar problem.

 

[LunarMist]

Mainstream Windows 7 support ended in January 2015. Almost 10 years later is not bad at all.
What are you using on that 6 YO computer? We know your laptop runs 11, so no issues there.

 

[jtr1962]

Mainstream Windows 7 support ended in January 2015. Almost 10 years later is not bad at all.
What are you using on that 6 YO computer? We know your laptop runs 11, so no issues there.

I'm using 7 on the desktop. I can even boot into XP using another drive but I haven't needed to for a long time. My brother still has XP on his desktop, although he says a lot of sites don't work properly any more. I knew someone who was on Windows 3.1 at least until before the pandemic. Haven't heard from them since.

The thing is almost no other sites stopped supporting the versions of Chrome which work with Windows 7, including other banking/investment sites. So why the sudden need for Chase to do this? Glad I found a workaround.

 

[Mercutio]

Specifically for Chase Banking, the Android application is a better tool if only because it supports biometrics directly and it can be used for check cashing.

 

[sedrosken]

Yeah, back when I used Chase, I preferred the mobile app to their web interface. Now I'm with a local credit union and their app is still somehow better than their web experience.

I've used Supermium for some experimentation I did with Vista on my Dimension 9200 project (namely seeing how viable a QX6700 was for web browsing -- answer, it is still usable but it wastes gobs of power to do it), but I can't say I did my banking with it. Honestly I'd just retire the desktop entirely as far as day-to-day usage is concerned, and maybe invest in a dock for your laptop if the bigger/better peripherals matter to you.

My dad has at this point stopped using traditional computers entirely it seems like. He was an XP holdout for a very, VERY long time -- I finally managed to get him to be okay with 7 in 2017 or so -- only for MS to force-update him to 10 right after. I think he was right to be pissed about it, especially since at that time 7 was still in support and my attempt to roll back the upgrade failed.

The S5 topped out at Android 6 as far as I remember. I don't think that was too terrible a run out of a version of Android that's from 2015.

 

[jtr1962]

Honestly I'd just retire the desktop entirely as far as day-to-day usage is concerned, and maybe invest in a dock for your laptop if the bigger/better peripherals matter to you.

Doing that would be a shit ton of work I'm not in any mood to do. Still fighting major depression over losing my mother. I have so many programs I use that I'm not sure would even work on Windows 11, plus I have three printers, a scanner, and two monitors. The laptop doesn't have enough ports for all that. Of course, I'd use the laptop screen. The 3K OLED screen is one of the reasons I purchased the laptop in the first place. I'd still have to connect one of my monitors. I need two screens sometimes.

Also, the laptop only has a 500GB drive. I'd probably need at least 2TB for all my programs and my saved data. I'm still on my honeymoon with the laptop. Haven't really settled into daily use with it yet.

Eventually I'm sure the desktop will become too limited for day-to-day use. When that happens, I'll build a new system, but reuse the same case. Maybe I'll put the current desktop in an older case in order to continue to use the stuff that doesn't work on 11.

I don't think that was too terrible a run out of a version of Android that's from 2015.

Perhaps not but annoying nonetheless. I don't know why their web interface won't let you deposit checks scanned with a scanner. Not that I get many checks, but it seems like something which should be available.

 

[sedrosken]

My guess is that it has something to do with OCR and how scanners build an image vs. a camera. I'm impressed every time at how easily my CU's app picks up through my boss's nigh-unto doctorlike handwriting on reimbursement checks for various and sundry.

 

[Mercutio]

I don't know why their web interface won't let you deposit checks scanned with a scanner.

Android supports some DRM and application trust that is important for things like video streaming companies, banks and medical information services. Not that I'm looking too closely, but the banking app itself makes you take the photo using its own photo interface, which presumably verifies the photo was taken on your device in real time. I don't think there can be a similar chain of trust with a Windows computer or desktop web browser.

 

[LunarMist]

Doing that would be a shit ton of work I'm not in any mood to do. Still fighting major depression over losing my mother. I have so many programs I use that I'm not sure would even work on Windows 11, plus I have three printers, a scanner, and two monitors. The laptop doesn't have enough ports for all that. Of course, I'd use the laptop screen. The 3K OLED screen is one of the reasons I purchased the laptop in the first place. I'd still have to connect one of my monitors. I need two screens sometimes.

Also, the laptop only has a 500GB drive. I'd probably need at least 2TB for all my programs and my saved data. I'm still on my honeymoon with the laptop. Haven't really settled into daily use with it yet.

Eventually I'm sure the desktop will become too limited for day-to-day use. When that happens, I'll build a new system, but reuse the same case. Maybe I'll put the current desktop in an older case in order to continue to use the stuff that doesn't work on 11.

Perhaps not but annoying nonetheless. I don't know why their web interface won't let you deposit checks scanned with a scanner. Not that I get many checks, but it seems like something which should be available.

Get a docking station. There is generally plenty of bandwidth from one of the USB 4 ports. You can find 2TB NVMe drives at decent prices especially if you are willing to go with QLC and read-intensive drives. I have no issues running older programs in 10 or 11; some are from over 20 years ago. Get Hamrick for older scanners/all in ones. Maybe Merc can tell you what software/hardware won't work, but despite all the MS issues, they have surprisingly good longevity and some run in compatibility mode. The main issue I have with old software is that many don't scale on hi-res displays so icons or graphics appear tiny at native resolution.

 

[jtr1962]

Honestly, this is way more work (i.e. probably hundreds of hours) and money that I'm interested in right now, plus I'm not really seeing what I gain by it when my desktop is still more than adequate for all the things I currently use it for. I'll put any future programs I use on the laptop which don't work well or at all on my desktop. That might include 3D design software once I get a 3D printer.

The drive in the laptop in mSATA. Cheapest I've found for 2TB is $113.

 

[LunarMist]

I thought you had a brand new laptop recently, but maybe I misunderstood. mSATA is pretty archaic and a system that old may not be worth it.

 

[jtr1962]

I thought you had a brand new laptop recently, but maybe I misunderstood. mSATA is pretty archaic and a system that old may not be worth it.

Apparently it has PCIe 4.0:

My bad. I could swear I looked at another site and it had mSATA. Such is my state of mind these days.

If/when I upgrade the SSD, I'll wait until 4GB drives drop in price to under $100. Right now the lowest I'm seeing for any brands I'd trust is ~$300. Way more than I'd want to spend, especially given that I just bought it not long ago.

EDIT:

Apparently the laptop won't take anything larger than 1TB:

https://www.reddit.com/r/pcmasterrace/comments/18szasb
So really, no point at all upgrading the drive.

 

[Mercutio]

That seems like something that could be fixed in firmware. It wouldn't even shock me if
I like Asus for being a generally hassle free brand but when you need something from the support side, woe be unto you.

 

[jtr1962]

That seems like something that could be fixed in firmware. It wouldn't even shock me if
I like Asus for being a generally hassle free brand but when you need something from the support side, woe be unto you.

And I'm getting conflicting reports on it. Some say they have successfully installed 4TB. My Zenbook 14x is actually the newest model so I might be OK in that regard. If/when I do this I'll just make sure I can return the drive if it doesn't work.

 

[LunarMist]

Of course you mean 4TB, and they are about as costly as two years ago. By the time 4TB is regularly $100 I'd be looking at 16TB mainstream SSDs, though they might be MLC-5 by then.

 

[Santilli]

I dumped Chase a LONG time ago.
Never again...

 

[LunarMist]

What is so much worse with Chase than others?

 

[jtr1962]

To me the big banks are all the same. From what I've heard Citibank is probably the worst but it's a close contest.

 

[Santilli]

What is so much worse with Chase than others?

Do a search. I use a small bank, and been with em forever. If you want, I'll send you the name in messaging.

 

[sedrosken]

I'm with a local credit union because I left Chase when I moved to Florida. At the time I moved, I think the closest branch was all the way in Mobile, and that was the reason I left -- my CU has given me good rates on my car loans I've had since then, so I find it very difficult to complain.