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tvfollower · Sep 13, 2003, 06:38 PM

I am an amateur web designer, and I am planning on switching to a Mac...but I'm just scared that when I'm testing web pages, I won't be able to test what the majority of my viewers will see.

Xeo · Sep 13, 2003, 06:48 PM

That's a good concern. Most Mac browsers render pages similarly to their Windows counterparts. However, it might be best to invest in Virtual PC so you can have Windows browsers at your disposal. It's not speedy, but all you care about is that your page renders properly. The last option is to keep your PC around for testing purposes. Personally, I just write my pages to be compliant with the HTML specs, and verify them at w3.org. If browsers don't render it properly, that's the browsers' fault, not mine.

eizzumdm · Sep 13, 2003, 07:17 PM

Dreamweaver MX 2004's new "Check Browser Support" feature helps a little bit. However, it can only flag known browser bugs, not minor aesthetic irregularities. And IE6 has just enough irregularities to make things interesting; unfortunately, Microsoft announced (more or less) that IE's rendering engine is feature frozen until Longhorn in 2006.

I also try to author to W3C standards, but most web users are not savvy enough to blame the browser-maker when something renders incorrectly, and instead blame the site developer.

My primary development platform is the Mac OS, and I either use Virtual PC at home or test my sites on a Windows computer at work. Virtual PC can be "bash your head into the wall over and over" slow at times. I am tempted to buy myself a sub-$500 PC. Mostly for testing against IE6, but also to test against the evil non-compliant Netscape 4 without loading Classic into Mac OS X. (I wish I could abandon NS4, and I envy Wired.com and ESPN.com's boldness in abandoning that browser, but I digress.)

osxisfun · Sep 13, 2003, 07:55 PM

tvfollower, i would recomend this,

keep your PC, put it on the same local network as your mac (i have a linksys hub that also shares my dsl line)

don't bother hooking up a monitor to your pc

get this program:

http://www.microsoft.com/mac/otherpr...edesktopclient

install and run program (its free and easy to set up)

test your pages with it...

its like running your pc in a window. fast enough for web testing for sure...

tvfollower · Sep 13, 2003, 07:58 PM

Virtual PC is fast enough for me...I think...

But there isn't anything that just emulates a Windows browser, is there? I mean, instead of the whole Windows OS?

tvfollower · Sep 13, 2003, 07:59 PM

Originally posted by osxisfun:
tvfollower, i would recomend this,

keep your PC, put it on the same local network as your mac (i have a linksys hub that also shares my dsl line)

don't bother hooking up a monitor to your pc

get this program:

http://www.microsoft.com/mac/otherpr...edesktopclient

install and run program (its free and easy to set up)

test your pages with it...

its like running your pc in a window. fast enough for web testing for sure...

The thing is, I'll be going to college, and I want to leave my PC at home.

And I don't see why I'd need Remote Desktop...I can just use VNC.

osxisfun · Sep 13, 2003, 08:02 PM

i am not sure but i bet RD is faster..

don't know what to do other then VPC then..

:XI: · Sep 13, 2003, 08:13 PM

I don't mean any offence, but can 'web developers' read?

I only ask because of this thread.

tvfollower · Sep 13, 2003, 08:14 PM

Haha, my bad.

:XI: · Sep 13, 2003, 08:22 PM

I'll let you off.

THIS TIME!

*1 post to go.

wallinbl · Sep 13, 2003, 08:44 PM

Originally posted by tvfollower:
And I don't see why I'd need Remote Desktop...I can just use VNC.

Because RDC is 20x faster than VNC, can transfer files and can redirect printing. It also supports sounds and some other, generally worthless things.

tvfollower · Sep 13, 2003, 09:19 PM

It supports sounds? Sweetness!

The problem is, what if I don't want to run XP Pro?

Xeo · Sep 13, 2003, 09:45 PM

There's a forum for threads like this, actually. I should have moved it there when I first posted. Better late than never, I suppose.

smeger · Sep 14, 2003, 03:13 AM

One thing that's nice about developing on a Mac and using VirtualPC to test pages is that you can have a bunch of different Windows OSes installed locally and switch between 'em (pretty) quickly. This can be good for tracking down the obscure javascript bug (people with Windows 98 who have installed HackYourOS v3.2 can't use your pages).

ameat · Sep 15, 2003, 07:25 AM

check out browser cam. i've never used it but if you want to check a page for static visuals, this'll do the job for just about any browser you could think of. of course if you're high on instant gratification...

Arkham_c · Sep 15, 2003, 09:05 AM

There's no real substitute for a real PC if you need one. I have a Mac and a PC under my desk. The PC is not current (p3/733), but it works perfectly for verifying web pages created on the Mac. You can get an older machine like this used with Windows installed for about $200.

For what you're looking to do, you could even use something older. My wife has a Celeron 366 that she uses for Quicken and web surfing. It has Windows 98 on it, but it has Internet Explorer 6 on there as well. Even that machine (which in fiscal terms is worthless) would be fine for testing web pages.

Do what I do -- get a USB KVM switch, a cheap PC, and a nice Mac. It's a great web-dev setup.

tvfollower · Sep 15, 2003, 01:41 PM

I'm already planning on buying a cheap $20 computer to run a Linux server, so I think having 3 computers might be a little much.

ameat · Sep 15, 2003, 01:59 PM

Originally posted by tvfollower:
I'm already planning on buying a cheap $20 computer to run a Linux server, so I think having 3 computers might be a little much.

...is this a production server or a test server? if it's just for testing/playing, set it up for dual boot...

redJag · Sep 15, 2003, 03:00 PM

Originally posted by osxisfun:

I can't believe I never found this client. I've thought about how someone should create such a thing..I can't believe it is free. After I get home today I'm going to download it and try it out. If it is as awesome as I imagine, I will be so, so happy..I hate switching monitor/keyboard/mouse and am too cheap for a switch

CobraNT · Sep 15, 2003, 03:27 PM

Just for reference. Remote Desktop only works on XP Pro. I spent 2 hours trying to get it to work on XP Home and gave up. I then found a document on Microsofts site stating it is only available with XP Pro....grrrrr.

tvfollower · Sep 15, 2003, 05:00 PM

Originally posted by ameat:
...is this a production server or a test server? if it's just for testing/playing, set it up for dual boot...

It's a test server, but I want to keep it always on, so dual-boot isn't an option.

mixin visuals · Sep 16, 2003, 08:32 PM

get or keep your 300 dollar pc running xp

problem solved