Browser Testing (IE for the Mac) Worth it or not?

Discussion in 'HTML & Website Design' started by Blame Me, Dec 29, 2005.

  1. #1
    Hi all,

    I'm redesigning a website http://www.sandygolfers.com/ for a friend and trying to get it to work in most of the browsers that are used today (tall order I here you ask or just foolish?).

    I use Dreamweaver and CSS to design this small site and have tested it in Firefox, Netscape, Opera, IE (works on the PC only) and Safari on both the Mac osX & the PC (WinXP & Win98) and after a small amount of CSS positioning got it to look and work in all the browsers mentioned.

    BUT (and you knew this was coming)

    I tried the site using IE 5.2.3 for the Mac and it sucks - everything I do seems to fail - The main text always appears under the left sidebar.

    So the question I would realy like answering is should I bother trying to get this right?

    I understand that IE for the Mac is finished at the end of this year.

    Is it really woth bothering about and should I just concentrate on getting it right for the others which have a higher usage than IE for the Mac?

    Thanks all.
     
    Blame Me, Dec 29, 2005 IP
  2. blinxdk

    blinxdk Peon

    Messages:
    660
    Likes Received:
    27
    Best Answers:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    #2
    I'd concentrate on Safari and Firefox for Mac users, IE for mac is absolutely crap.
     
    blinxdk, Dec 29, 2005 IP
  3. Hon Daddy Dad

    Hon Daddy Dad Peon

    Messages:
    1,041
    Likes Received:
    49
    Best Answers:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    #3
    Microsoft are no longer supporting IE for Mac. That being said, IE for Mac actually follows the w3 standards more than any other browser.

    If your code doesn't work in IE for Mac it means there are fundamental flaws in it. (Hardly surprising since you were using dreamweaver which creates the worst code ever)
     
    Hon Daddy Dad, Dec 29, 2005 IP
  4. Rod

    Rod Well-Known Member

    Messages:
    869
    Likes Received:
    38
    Best Answers:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    155
    #4
    I've geven up worrying about IE for Mac (and I'm a mac user). Since it's on the way out, help it on its way.
     
    Rod, Dec 29, 2005 IP
  5. Blame Me

    Blame Me Guest

    Messages:
    162
    Likes Received:
    9
    Best Answers:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    #5
    I knew that IE for the Mac follows w3 standards more than all the other browsers. I thought there must be something wrong for it not to work in this browser but for the life of me I can't work it out. I'll try and do this tomorrow just for my on piece of mind:confused:

    I've never had any problems with Dreamweaver code (mainly used to get the base of a page design and then i do the rest by hand mostly;) ) and I keep everthing as simple as I can - When I started off this lark using notepad, everything was great but then I started using FrontPage. If ever their was a program that produced the worst code ever that is it.

    Thanks all.
     
    Blame Me, Dec 29, 2005 IP
  6. sonjay

    sonjay Peon

    Messages:
    13
    Likes Received:
    2
    Best Answers:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    #6
    IE for Mac absolutely does not follow the standards more than all the other browsers. If anything, IE Mac is possibly even less standards-compliant than MSIE.

    When it was first introduced (back in the Jurassic era), MacIE (v5) was possibly the most standards compliant browser at the time, but at the time, that was a ridiculously easy thing to accomplish. If you wrote a browser that was 10% compliant, your browser was possibly the "most standards compliant."

    Have you validated your code?

    I stopped concerning myself with MacIE a while back. MS ceased all development on it 2 1/2 years ago, and on Jan. 1 will completely stop any and all support, to the point where it won't even be available for download any longer.
     
    sonjay, Dec 29, 2005 IP
  7. Blame Me

    Blame Me Guest

    Messages:
    162
    Likes Received:
    9
    Best Answers:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    #7

    Correct! After a little more research I found this out. :D

    The page validates with w3c for html (except for the little affiliate link image on the page which is not my code!!) and also for the css too.

    I thought it was strange that it would validate but not work in the IE browser and this has confirmed to me that I should just forget about it.

    Thanks agian.
     
    Blame Me, Dec 30, 2005 IP
  8. Lisper

    Lisper Guest

    Messages:
    86
    Likes Received:
    4
    Best Answers:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    #8
    This is from Microsoft's own msn.com (the startpage of IE/Mac noless) when I open it in IE/Mac - especially note the last sentence.
    So really do not bother with this browser anymore if even it's creators don't. There are ways to hide all css from IE/Mac to at least have the site useable to it, but I wouldn't even bother with that anymore at this point unless you expect some users on IE/Mac still. Pretty much everybody on Macs uses Safari or Firefox now.
     
    Lisper, Dec 30, 2005 IP