@chris, maybe it's just me but, when i load a page with netsurf, i have the impression that nothing happen, nothing moves or changes, and suddenly the finished page appear.
whereas on other browsers, when i load a page, it displays the load as it happens, text and images being loaded. (they might not have their final appearance or placement yet). what i'm trying to say is: on other browsers the page being loaded gets contructed before your eyes. on netsurf it less visible. it's more like: you click a link, nothing happens, you wait.. you wait, and then: 'done' all of sudden.
it would be nice if netsurf could show what it have loaded so far as it gets it, while structuring the datas in their final shapes and placements.
maybe showing the page without css (like ibrowse or aweb) while its parsing css and aranging the page layout in the background, and when its done flip the switch and show the correct final page.