Browser testing services: caveat emptor

1
by on December 13, 2008 at 5:48 pm

It’s time for some MonT-SteR Consternation™.

One of the maddening things about building Web pages is cross-browser compatibility. Most modern browsers are standards-based, which means that solid CSS designs will display consistently whether you’re using Firefox, IE7, Safari, Opera, etc.

The fly in the ointment is IE6, which is regularly cursed by beleaguered Web designers the world over by virtue of its plethora of CSS rendering bugs.

“IE6 is old, Rob,” you say. “Just stop supporting it. People need to upgrade.”

Au contraire, mon frère (ou mon soeur, s’il vous plaît). People do need to upgrade, but somewhere around a third of all Internet users continue to use IE6 for a multitude of reasons. I’m sure there are plenty of individual users who don’t upgrade because they don’t know how, or IE6 feels like home, or they heard someone badmouth IE7 because of its updated UI, or they don’t know about Firefox, ad infinitum. But it’s not just home users. There are plenty of corporations with beefy IT departments out there refusing to upgrade as well.

Until usage statistics for IE6 drop to infinitesimal levels, it stubbornly remains a thorn in the flesh. And beleaguered Web designers who use the Mac tend to curse IE6 even more, because Microsoft stopped building IE for the Mac at version 5.2. How do we test our designs?

Enter Browsershots.org and CrossBrowserTesting.com, which provide free (and paid) online browser testing without the hassle of finagling your system to run IE6 alongside other modern browsers. The former will give you a screenshot of your web design displayed in the browser of your choice. Helpful, but slow — even if you pay the $15 for a month of priority testing. On the other hand, CrossBrowserTesting.com provides what amounts to a remote desktop session in your browser window using your requested computer/browser configuration. And it offers more flexibility for paid users with subscription and pay-as-you-go models.

Sounds good, right? Yes, but with one significant caveat (and here’s where the “emptor” comes in).

I was excited about CrossBrowserTesting.com until I noticed that my credits were disappearing way too fast for how much I was using the service. It turns out that partially used credits are not carried over from one remote session to the next. For me, the net result was that I lost almost a third of the 30 credits I purchased. When I discovered this, my slack-jawed disbelief turned to anger. And I vowed to warn others.

Consider yourself warned. If you go with the pay-as-you-go service, you will lose credits unless you use all of them in a single remote session. It doesn’t matter how unused a partial credit is; whether 20% or 99%, that credit goes bye-bye forever when you end your remote session. And so does your money. Granted, credits cost about 20 cents each or less, but it can add up — especially if you go whole hog and opt for 500 credits at $200. Imagine losing a third of that, and you’ll see red as well.

To be fair, CrossBrowserTesting.com does state that partially used credits do not carry over. My surprise at this after the fact was my fault — chalk it up to failing to read the fine print. And there is a monthly subscription option with a flat fee of $29.95 for the first month and $19.95 each month thereafter for unlimited priority testing (FYI: these rates will soon be raised by $10 a month). Obviously, that would solve the disappearing credits issue.

In the interest of full disclosure, I should also mention that when I complained bitterly to CrossBrowserTesting.com about losing almost an hour of testing time, they gave me complimentary credits to cover the loss. But they were also unapologetic about their pricing structure, stating that it’s a common practice in the industry.

Funny, but that everybody-else-does-it argument never worked on my mom.

Blessings,

Rob
aka The MonT-SteR

in Life, The Universe, and EVERYTHING, Uncategorized

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Making lemonade out of a lemon

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by on October 2, 2008 at 3:33 am

The lemon, in this case, is my 24″ iMac’s hard drive. I officially pronounced it dead today.

So, the new one is on its way. Once it gets here, a couple of Mac nerds at work are going to help me perform hard-drive transplant surgery on my poor ‘puter. My sister had the unmitigated temerity to suggest that I just bag it and buy a PC. The only problem with that is that I would have to use the PC. What do you think I am, a glutton for punishment?

“But Rob, but Rob,” my handful of readers exclaim, “isn’t your iMac causing you aggravation already? What’s the diff?”

The “diff,” as you so eloquently put it, is that PCs are contemptible gutter trash. How’s that grab ya!

Honestly, though, I’m blogging right now on my Frankenmac, which is a blue and white G3 with all kinds of funky, extraneous upgrades in it. A little slow, yes, but it’s reliable as anything, in spite of the fact that it’s nearly a decade old. I’ve owned a number of Macs over the years, and they’ve generally been durable and dependable. This iMac is one of two exceptions. The other was a venerable Performa 6200 that is still operational to this day. In each case, the hard drive died prematurely — obviously a lemon. In the case of the Performa, the machine was still under warranty when it croaked, so the repair was free. The iMac, unfortunately, is not.

Even more unfortunate is the treatment I’ve received from local repair shops. The Apple store in Norfolk won’t let me buy a hard drive on my own; they will only do the repair if I pay through the nose for Apple parts. Thanks, but no thanks — my money doesn’t grow on trees, you know. There’s another Apple authorized dealer in town called the Mac Specialist that could probably fix it, but the gentleman I spoke with on the phone today was just insufferably rude and condescending. Plus, they wanted to charge me a ridiculous sum for a SCSI cable several years ago. I just can’t bring myself to do business with them.

So, I’ll make lemonade out of this lemon by making the repair myself. In the meantime, here I am, kvetching and rambling to nobody in particular about my iMac while the economy is in turmoil and the world teeters on the brink of mass conflict and upheaval. That’s perspective for ya!

Blessings,

Rob
aka The MonT-SteR

in Life, The Universe, and EVERYTHING

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Puttin’ the hurt on daddy

2
by on September 23, 2008 at 4:01 am

My little Mark really did a number on me last week with a headbutt to the eye that would have made George “The Animal” Steele proud:

Blessings,

Rob
aka The MonT-SteR

in Life, The Universe, and EVERYTHING

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Wacky Wednesday News Digest #4

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by on September 11, 2008 at 1:51 am

As promised, here’s the return of this tMR feature.

Listen as I laugh through stories of burglars who do laundry and use sausages as weapons, as well as a recalcitrant lawn mower that met with a grisly end at the hands of its owner.

Blessings,

Rob
aka The MonT-SteR

in Life, The Universe, and EVERYTHING

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Why so serious?

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by on September 10, 2008 at 3:13 am

The MonT-SteR’s favorite childhood friend, David, had an amusing response to the “About Me” section of my Facebook profile, which reads as follows:

Howdy. I’m Rob.

I’m a Christian man who loves God, family, and friends. If you ask those who know me, they might tell you I’m a study in contrasts — simultaneously one of the silliest and most serious people they know.

David wrote the following on my Facebook wall:

You ARE one of the silliest and most serious people I know. You nailed that one. I wonder if you are the only person on Facebook to list both The Office and The Bible as your favorite ways to spend your time. A great example of how polemics and spaghetti go well together with a side of garlic bread. Actually, that sounds delicious.

Quintessential David. I’m still chuckling over it. In any case, to honor the astuteness of David’s observations, I’m making a post that focuses on lighter fare. And given that I’ve been kvetching about politics and the state of American Christendom lately, I think a new edition of the Wacky Wednesday News Digest is in order for tomorrow (take a listen to episodes 1, 2, and 3).

In other news, I have a new favorite salsa. Baja Cafe salsa has been on sale at the local Food Lion for half price, so I picked up some recently just to try it. The verdict?

YUM!

Definitely restaurant quality stuff. It just has that special tang that the salsa at good Mexican restaurants has. My favorite thing about the restaurant salsa is the taste of fresh cilantro that comes with every bite. Baja Cafe approaches that flavor, which is why I love it so.

Check it out! I’ve found it in the refrigerated section at our store, in the general area of things like cream cheese and all those canned Pillsbury doughs (doesn’t the idea of canned dough kinda wig you out?).

Finally, I can’t let the night pass without mentioning Barack Obama’s horrific gaffe today in Lebanon, VA. In an attempt to cast doubt on the authenticity of the McCain-Palin ticket’s change mantra, he said, “You can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig.” This would probably be a non-issue if it weren’t for the humorous line in Palin’s acceptance speech about lipstick being the sole differentiator between a hockey mom and a pit bull. Whether Obama intended to capitalize on that line for his own zinger or not, the audience almost certainly took it that way — which had the net effect of making it look like Obama publicly called Palin a pig.

Did he really mean to do that? I want to give him the benefit of the doubt (honestly, though, I have my suspicions). In any case, I do feel a little bad for the guy; if it really was a slip, I have to imagine that he’ll be kicking himself for such a poor choice of words. In the meantime, friends, sit back, relax, and enjoy tomorrow’s media frenzy.

Blessings,

Rob
aka The MonT-SteR

in Life, The Universe, and EVERYTHING

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MonT-SteR Cookin’

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by on July 20, 2008 at 3:53 am

I just made my own guacamole for the first time based on a recipe by Dr. John La Puma. I customized it considerably for my own tastes, so I’m claiming this recipe as my own.

MonT-SteR Guacamole

Ingredients

  • 3 avocados
  • 2 small tomatillos
  • Half a small onion, finely chopped
  • 1 tsp minced garlic
  • 2 Serrano chile peppers
  • 1 Roma tomato, diced
  • 1-2 tsps each of lemon and lime juice
  • 1 tbsp of sour cream
  • Salt to taste

Directions

  • Mash up the avocados until they’re a nice green paste (yucky visual, I know).
  • Add the onion, garlic, tomato, and tomatillo.
  • Cut the chile peppers in half from top to bottom. Then, take a spoon and scoop out the seeds (this will reduce their spiciness a good bit — thanks to Dr. La Puma for this tip). Mince the peppers and add to mixture.
  • Add the sour cream, and the lemon and lime juice. Salt to taste. Stir thoroughly.

Enjoy on tortilla chips, as a sandwich spread (especially on a deli-sliced turkey sandwich with brown mustard — YUM!), or as a vegetable dip.

Let me know what you think!

Blessings,

Rob
aka The MonT-SteR

in Life, The Universe, and EVERYTHING

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RIP, Tony Snow

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by on July 12, 2008 at 8:11 pm

I was very sad to learn this afternoon that Tony Snow — journalist, commentator, news anchor, radio host, musician, intellectual, public servant, and family man — died of cancer early this morning at 2 a.m.

He was one of a kind in politics. Friends and colleagues have labeled him something of a renaissance man, which he certainly was; just look at all the roles he fulfilled and how expertly he discharged them. He’s credited (however begrudgingly by some) with changing the culture of the White House press corps during his short tenure as press secretary.

How?

I first heard Tony Snow on talk radio, and I was impressed with the breadth of his knowledge, as well as his eloquence and erudition on the fly. I always found him very stimulating to listen to. But his unique way with contentious callers was even more impressive. It didn’t matter how stridently they disagreed or how vehemently (or insultingly) they argued, Tony had a cool head that just didn’t get rattled. Even when he was hard-hitting in his rejoinder to an interlocutor, there was an undeniable kindheartedness that came through — so much so that my wife, who doesn’t really like political theater or commentary, would say, “Tony’s a good guy,” and gladly listen to him. I suspect that his ideological polar opposites found themselves doing much the same thing in spite of themselves.

“Civility in political discourse” is reverently and longingly bandied about a great deal these days, usually in association with a call to “bipartisanship” — a political cuss word that, in today’s climate, means ideological compromise for one side of the aisle and not the other. Tony Snow embodied civility in political discourse, and he proved that it can be done without sacrificing core principles.

Others have spoken of him as a man of deep faith, which was doubtless the reservoir of his gentility. I remember a mailbag segment on FoxNews Sunday featuring a viewer’s scathing attack on Tony’s belief in the resurrection of Christ, likening it to belief in Xenu and the Easter Bunny. Tony’s response was rendered in unabashed fashion, but with a kindly smile: “Atheistic jabs notwithstanding, yes, I believe!”

It seems fitting, therefore, to close with some of Tony Snow’s own words from a Christianity Today article about reconciling the faith that so guided and informed his life and the disease he finally succumbed to this morning:

Picture yourself in a hospital bed. The fog of anesthesia has begun to wear away. A doctor stands at your feet; a loved one holds your hand at the side. “It’s cancer,” the healer announces.

The natural reaction is to turn to God and ask him to serve as a cosmic Santa. “Dear God, make it all go away. Make everything simpler.” But another voice whispers: “You have been called.” Your quandary has drawn you closer to God, closer to those you love, closer to the issues that matter—and has dragged into insignificance the banal concerns that occupy our “normal time.”

The moment you enter the Valley of the Shadow of Death, things change. You discover that Christianity is not something doughy, passive, pious, and soft. Faith may be the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. But it also draws you into a world shorn of fearful caution. The life of belief teems with thrills, boldness, danger, shocks, reversals, triumphs, and epiphanies. Think of Paul, traipsing though the known world and contemplating trips to what must have seemed the antipodes (Spain), shaking the dust from his sandals, worrying not about the morrow, but only about the moment.

There’s nothing wilder than a life of humble virtue — for it is through selflessness and service that God wrings from our bodies and spirits the most we ever could give, the most we ever could offer, and the most we ever could do.

Farewell, Tony. Your heart, intellect, and aplomb endeared you to so many; among public figures on the scene today, you really were one of my heroes. Thanks for giving the most you ever could offer to God and man. You will be sorely missed.

Blessings,

Rob
aka The MonT-SteR

in Life, The Universe, and EVERYTHING, Politics

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They’re playing my song…

1
by on May 23, 2008 at 12:32 pm

Stumbled across this late last night, and wanted to share. I’ve always regarded this to be one of the most beautiful, soulful Christian songs written in more modern times.

Your Love Broke Through – Keith Green

There was nobody like Keith Green…

Blessings,

Rob
aka The MonT-SteR

in Life, The Universe, and EVERYTHING, Theology

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His Eyes

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by on May 22, 2008 at 5:21 am

That is the title and refrain of a Steven Curtis Chapman song that has ministered to me deeply over the years.

Some of the lyrics I love most:

Sometimes His voice comes calling
Like rolling thunder
Or like driving rain
And sometimes His voice is quiet
And we start to wonder
If He knows our pain
But He who spoke peace to the water
Cares more for our hearts than the waves

In the days ahead, the Chapman family will need to abide in the conviction that God does indeed quell storms and quiet hearts. I saw a late-breaking story tonight describing how their youngest adopted daughter was struck and killed by an SUV that was being driven by an older brother. It all happened in their driveway and, from what I’ve read, the whole family witnessed the horrific event.

Please keep them in prayer. My own prayer is that, amidst their grief, they are aware of His eyes, His hands, His comforting touch upon them.

Blessings,

Rob
aka The MonT-SteR

in Life, The Universe, and EVERYTHING, Theology

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Lost and found, dadgum it!

0
by on April 29, 2008 at 4:19 am

I’m in the process of sending out a birth announcement I made for my new son (you can see it here), and so I’m searching for the e-mail addresses of some long lost friends.

One such friend is my college roommate, Evan Price, who was lead violinist for the Grammy-winning Turtle Island String Quartet, and now plays with the Hot Club of San Francisco. In the process of looking for his e-mail address, I stumbled upon this article at NPR’s Web site.

It turns out that Evan lost his violin a few years back by leaving it on the curb at the airport. As a former bassoonist whose axe was badly damaged one day by a wayward restroom door (I’ll tell the full story another time), I can imagine how devastating this was for Evan. Unfortunately, concert obligations didn’t allow him much time to grieve; Evan was forced to find another instrument, pronto. Eight months and one police sting operation later, however, his long lost violin was miraculously recovered.

You’d think that would be a “happily ever after” ending to the story, but it presented a sticky dilemma for Evan. Check out the article.

Just a fun little tidbit of trivia I thought I’d share…

Blessings,

Rob
aka The MonT-SteR

in Life, The Universe, and EVERYTHING

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