[Moscool]

I have been using the slightly quirky version of IE for Mac for several weeks now and cannot say that I am impressed...

SO, a couple of questions:

1) Is there any reason NOT to switch to Safari at this point?

2) When developing pages on Dreamweaver, is there a way to test how they will look on other browsers if I remove IE from my machine? And incidentally, does Dreamweaver support Safari?

Thanks

 

[andreww]

Is there any reason not to switch? No. But I keep a copy of IE around just in case something doesnt work.

 

[sputnik]

As far as I can see Dreamweaver MX works fine with Safari.

 

[VertiGoGo]

I downloaded Safari and discarded IE as soon as the former was available on the Apple site.

I simply LOVE

Safari!!! It is sooooo much better than the MS offering. And talk about FAST!

If you haven't already made the switch, do it! You will not regret it!

 

[Urban_Legend]

I made the switch to Safari when it came out. However, I can't dump IE until Safari gives me access to all the websites I need to visit. Some websites you can access with Safari, but you can't get any of the links to work. Or some of the sites won't allow you to access the secure side with Safari because it lacks the security. Safari has along way to go before I can actually dump IE for good. Another thing is Safari handles Java as slow as a turtle on some sites, making it impossible to use java sometimes. So, once again I have to resort to IE in those cases. I did the IE update, and will be using it until Safari is equal to or better for my web surfing needs.

 

[spinz]

When using Dreamweaver you can set it up to preview pages on any web browser you have installed on your machine.

So the answer is no, don't get rid of IE! As much as it sucks, it is still closer to what PC people using IE see when they look at your site. In fact I would say to download Mozilla or Netscape as well because the more browsers you have to test on the better for web development.

Plus there is the problem people have already mentioned about not being able to see some sites yet on Safari

 

[Podboy]

In my [web development] experience, the pages presented to users by IE:Mac and IE:Win have little similarity. For a long time, IE:Mac was the best browser in the world for standards compatibility, but since the upstart Safari has lightly skipped onto the scene and all but annihilated Microsoft's slightly deformed, unpopular progeny, the quickly declining mutant is revealed to be less and less future-compatible than it first appeared [see note]. Regardless, people still use it, and if you want to allow as much accessibility as possible (read: don't want to commit career suicide), you'll keep it kicking around, along with Camino, Netscape, OmniWeb, Mozilla, and the new Mozilla trunk, Firebird. (Note: I of course mean several versions of each. We'll look the other way if you decide to ditch the 4.x browsers, though... )

My next task is to convince you to ditch Dreamweaver and start pounding out the markup by hand

(Seriously; DW, along with any other program like it, will inevitably produce horrid HTML that kicks standards-compliance in the shins in a few places, and outright sets it on fire in others. I pray for a decent program for people like you, though [that don't want to bother learning SGMLs]; I myself am far too in love with hand-"coding" to waste my time using DW clones anymore)

Hope that helped in some small way.

Cheers,
Podboy


Note: though I realize that Safari's standards support is far from complete, I'm comparing it to IE here. Also note that when I say "all but annihilated", it's a Schroedinger statement: I may or may not be referring to actual statistics about Safari adoption and IE:Mac desertion. It's impossible to know.

 

[Moscool]

Waow Podboy! Now that's comprehensive... I'm just a poor weekend designer tarting up my business's site, but recommendations gratefully accepted