Hey everyone, I have a random question about why some really old websites seem to load on older devices but not on modern ones. I've had a few instances of this, and the latest example was when I finished modifying my PSP. I decided to check out its web browser just for fun and searched for an old fansite I used to visit. To my surprise, I found an old version of the site hosted on Angelfire and it actually loaded! However, if I try to access the same link on my desktop, it doesn't work at all—even the Wayback Machine can't find it. I'm curious if the PSP's outdated browser uses a different protocol or if there's another reason behind this quirky access. Similar instances have happened to me before, like an old 8m.com domain I accessed on my iPhone 4S that wouldn't load on modern browsers. Any thoughts on what's going on here?
2 Answers
That's a fascinating question! The reason your PSP can access that specific site while your desktop can't might be due to User-Agent filtering. Old websites sometimes only respond to browsers they recognize, which means they could respond to the PSP’s user agent but not a modern one. Plus, there are some servers that might expect older versions of HTTP requests, which could explain this behavior too! Also, it could be that Angelfire serves different content based on how it's accessed. It's pretty cool that you were able to load an old site on your PSP!
Exactly, older devices might just slip through the cracks where modern security features are concerned!
Nice to hear you tried this out with your PSP! Sometimes it's just a matter of how outdated devices handle requests compared to desktops. They may use different protocols or cached content that newer systems don’t access. Plus, many old sites are quite quirky when it comes to how they deliver content, especially if they’re hosted on services like Angelfire that might prioritize old tech. It’s like stumbling upon a hidden treasure of the internet!
Interesting! So is it possible that the PSP's browser handles the requests differently than modern ones?