

Ask HN: What's the best tool for browser testing on a mac? - stopachka

I've moved over to a lot of CSS3, and I know my websites might look like crap on IE. What's the tool that you use to cross browser test, if you're on a mac?<p>I'm looking for something that integrates very seamlessly with workflow. I've looked around the options and they don't seem so different to me.
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nwh
I've tried a lot of testing services like this, mainly web based ones that
either take screenshots of a virtual machine, or allow you to remote control a
virtual machine with a web browser. You really don't get a feel for the
performance and responsiveness of a browser unless it's in real time and
latency free. A lot of the services I've seen also have to have the page
available on a web server for them to be viewed, which isn't optimal when you
are attempting to make tweaks.

I've found it a lot faster and more effient to use VMWare Fusion and a series
of prefabricated Virtual Machines. A couple of installs of OSX (you'll need to
patch VMWare to get around their restrictions) and Windows will get you a very
nice testing suite that can handle a variety of configurations.

The main caveat to virtual machines—licensing aside–is that you'll have to
store a very large amount of data to have them all running. I've around 8
installs that I run at least once a week, totalling over 100GB. It won't break
the bank, but it's something to think about if you are resource-limited.

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dreamdu5t
All the IE's packaged as VirtualBox machines with an easy install script:
<https://github.com/xdissent/ievms>

