My Browser

This time I AM serious...

But as both a web developer and a web surfer, I feel someone needs to take the initiative and and do something about stuff.

I will start with browsing. There was the Internet Explorer 6, we all knew, before I learnt Linux existed. I also used browsers like Opera and Netscape Navigator... but they never stuck. IE was this simple thing to use without much complicacies.

Then I discovered Mozilla Firefox 2 (of course that was before Download Day). I discovered tabbed browsing.. which meant a cleaner taskbar (I hate messy taskbars). It let me go of Internet Explorer instantly and no matter how it tried (Internet Explorer 7, with tabbed browsing and more)... Firefox was there to stay!

Meanwhile I discovered Mandiva Linux, and found that I never had to worry about IE again....

But fate had other plans... I became a Web Developer...

Because as a Web Developer it is your duty to see that the website you create runs (and looks ... and more often looks) equally good on all platforms and resolutions... and leaving aside small players.. I had to take into account both Firefox and Internet Explorer.

So, the last one year (I have been developing websites) this has been a constant irritation... people say its a part of a web developers duty.. but I beg to differ...

Why I start ranting about this now... because :

1. Firefox 3 that so far was running absolutely fine in my system.. (and I was loving and recommending it as I was in love with its Awesome Bar) dosn't run anymore... no matter how hard I try... and always gives the following error :
Error: in (function call): procedure or syntax required but got: Error: fatal: looped fatal error
[heart break]

2. Making the Orkut app for Muziboo.com I had the most difficult time as a developer... because as a developer our goal should be being creative and productive... not taking care of the glitches in the browsers...

3. The new and in Chrome is actually good but not as extensive as Firefox is .. and it is not yet out for Linux.

4. Today I saw an innocent little boy suffer making the CodeCracker interface just because what was appearing to be perfect on Firefox... was getting messed up in IE. Of course I was suffering with him... but I was quite used to this. But am I? Incidentally it was not always IE that screws up... because of a div which was there in Firefox 3 .. was missing in Firefox 2.

I mean what is this. Some freaking company comes up with a new browser of its own.. and now we Web Developers have to tune in to the innie minnie idiosyncrasies of that new browser too. Wasn't Web Designing all about productivity on web? Why do we have to be slaves to these browserish nightmares?

I think someone (some individual/ organisation/group) needs to stand up for this. We need to have some well defined rules, something that all browsers have to comply to, for them to legally call themselves browsers. And Web Developers should not care about illegal browsers, when illegal queries are what they should be taking care of. There should be some norms for all browsers that will take care of this cross-browser hell, so that we as Developers get more time and energy to whet our creativity...

The Internet is a great place... Why do these clients have to to spoil the experience ?