As with all web development, FreeTextBox requires that I work in multiple browsers to ensure that it works well for everyone. Both CSS and JavaScript have a lot of idiosyncrasies in the various browsers out there. Even Mozilla occasionally behaves differently in OS X than it does in Windows or Linux.

I thought I would show my setup in hopes that I might give anyone out there ideas on multiple browser development. My main machine is a Windows XP box (currently a Dell Inspiron 9100, moving to a Dell Precision M65 next week) with a second monitor on the right. I also have an older G4 running OS X that sits under my desk. This machine has an identical monitor to the laptop and it sits to the left of my main monitor.

To synchronize the machines, I use an open source application called Synergy2 which allows me to move my mouse from the main machine over to the OS X machine. In effect, I have 3 connected monitors, but the left one is really an OS X machine. This allows me to work with Safari (1.3) and the OSX version of Firefox while simultaneously working with Windows. For Linux, I use VMWare. I like to download pre-made Linux images from thoughtpolice like Fedora Core 5 (which is also a great way to test Mono apps) so I don’t have to spend time installing Linux and handling updates.

Here is a picture from above of my setup:

Here are some links:

• Synergy2 - software KVM
• VMWare player - free virtual mache
• Linux VMWare images (thoughtpolice) and more at VMWare
• Portable Firefox – in order to text multiple versions
• Portable IE – I have IE7B3 installed and download 4.0, 5.0, 5.5, and 6.0 from evolt.
• Launchy – I use this to launch various browser versions