This is what it has come down to. For even the most basic website development you need to be looking at your site in a bunch of different browsers. If you don’t have the energy to put into it you can get away with just looking at Firefox and Internet Explorer, but that’s not a very good plan. I’m now looking at everything I do in 5 browsers: Firefox, Internet Explorer, Chrome, Opera, and Safari. I try to see if from a couple of different operating systems, too.  And this is just for the desktop view. You also need to be aware of what your projects look like from mobile phones – at the very least iPhone, Android, and Blackberry.

Here’s how I’m looking at the US Grappling site now:

www.usgrappling.us in Chrome

www.usgrappling.us in Firefox

www.usgrappling.us in IE

www.usgrappling.us in Opera

www.usgrappling.us in Safari

Seem like overkill? Consider this: on the PC I use 90% of the time I didn’t have Internet Explorer installed. According to our Analytics 48% our visitors are using Internet Explorer. I didn’t know it until I happened to see the site in IE, but our shopping cart does not work in IE. I’m still trying to fix it. I have no idea how long this has been a problem, or how many sales we missed.

I found this in an old notebook.  I’m not sure why I wrote it. It’s a like a blog entry from before I had a blog.

About a month ago I retired the SideKick II and replaced it with the Tmobile Wing.  After almost 2 years I knew the SKII inside-out.  I knew all the short cuts and even the easter eggs.  Granted, it offered  limited functionality compared to today’s smartphones, but it was a great messaging device.   I’m still not aware of a better device for email and instant messaging on the go.   The keypad alone out the SKII in a class of its own.  Even the SK-III doesn’t have as good a keypad.  The IM application was stable, reliable, and in theory it allowed you to join chat rooms.

But perhaps the best thing about the SideKick was its method of storing data online.  The SKII is truly an internet device.  It’s unhappy when it can’t find the network, but all your information is still accessible.  Anything you type in the SK (except SMS messages) automatically syncs with the Tmobile website.  There’s no need for cables to connect with your PC (it doesn’t even come with any).  All your emails, contacts, appointments, notes, and the pictures you take with the lame-ass camera are instantly available on the Tmobile website (Desktop Interface).  Off-network everything is available because it’s stored in the SKs tiny, non-expandable memory.

Eventually I decided the SKs limitations were holding me back.  I needed to be able to do more from my phone.  I need more applications, more memory, a faster processor, a better camera, a faster internet connection.  Enter the Wing.  the Wing is T-Mo’s rebranding of an HTC phone that other carriers have been offering for a while.  They made a few changes, including a  rubberized blue finish, “improved” keypad layout, a new stylus that doesn’t telescope.

Improvements over the SideKick?  Well, it has more apps, more memory, a faster processor, and a better camera.  In theory it’s a step up.  In practice – well, I’m writing this with a pen…

Ultimately I decided the Wing wasn’t going to cut it.  The Windows Mobile OS is garbage, the phone couldn’t maintain a network connection for more than a couple of hours, and the instant messaging was a joke.  It’s been replaced with a Blackberry.