Against which Mac OS version and broswers do we test our website?

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Hi,

We are about to get a Mac laptop and we don't want to spend a fortune on it, however, we want to be sure we can use that machine to test our Web applications (primarily AJAX/DHTML/CSS website) for compatibility with the latest Mac's OS updates, i.e. Leopards and whatever animal comes next.

Can anyone give me a hint as to what we should choose? I've been advised we should go for the cheapest of Intel-based Macs which is not as cheap as we'd want it to be, probably iBook. However, there are G4s in the marketplace which are relatively inexpensive.

Like I said our primary goal is to use that laptop for our testing needs which would involve testing general compatibility and Flash/Flex.

We would want to use Safari and Firefox for Mac for that. Probably we'd use some specialized software to automate testing routines and do a kind of regression testing.

So, the bottom-line, what should we go for given our requirements, would an Intel-based Mac be better? I'm afraid that we get an outdated laptop and newly release updates of OSs and browsers won't work with it so we'll face this problem again.

Please advise!!

Thanks!
 
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Hi,

but it's not much help. I'm looking for specific advice. Figures don't tell me anything.
 
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Hi,

but it's not much help. I'm looking for specific advice. Figures don't tell me anything.
Not sure what you are looking for then. Your thread asked, "Against which Mac OS version and broswers do we test our website?".
The links I gave have the most current stats of which browsers are being used and in what percentage. Since that would show you what is being used and in what ratio, it should give you a very good idea of what browsers to use in your testing.

In your post you also mentioned the use of AJAX/DHTML/CSS. There is nothing out of the ordinary with any of that and all modern browsers (regardless of OS) are compliant with these. As long as your code is compliant and correct, the browser should display it properly.
The same would apply for Flash and Flex. If your ActionScript is correct and the latest plugins are installed in the browser, then it should work.

The choice of processor in the Mac wouldn't really make a difference, since it is the browser's function you are testing. If you are worried about getting an older system, then a Macbook would be the better choice. Check out Apple's refurb section and you could save a few bucks.
 

dtravis7


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Ibooks would work fine right now for testing sites. In the future though there is no guarantee that the next CAT will run on an iBook. I have a 1.33Ghz 12" (Last iBook made) and it runs Leopard great. It would work fine for your site testing.

If you just said Mac and not a Notebook I would recommend an Intel Mac Mini for your testing as it's small and cheap.
 
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MAC OS versions 10.3, 10.4 & 10.5. I am assuming most of the MAC users will be using either of them.

Browsers - Mozilla, Safari, Opera & Camino
 
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The choice of processor in the Mac wouldn't really make a difference, since it is the browser's function you are testing.

That's not entirely true. Especially with AJAX, Web2.0 animations, transitions, opacities, and transparencies. A horrible frame rate is as detrimental to a user experience as is something not working.

Also... I've written a javascript-only multi-track audio engine. The fallback (if the browser does not support audio natively) is to use the quicktime plugin. That takes a bit of horsepower to start. Not such a big deal for music. But for small UI sounds, it can be bad...

Test here:
http://www.webveteran.com/temp/pop/
There is no animation at all on a 400Mhz machine. That's probably worse case, but you get my meaning.
 

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