Browser Compatibility
Browsers now divide into those built on the open source 'WebKit' code (Apple Safari and Google Chrome plus others listed below); Microsoft Internet Explorer; 'Gecko' powered browsers such as Mozilla's Firefox; & Opera.
WebKit "powers the Apple Safari and Google Chrome browsers. As of July 2012 it has the most market share of any layout engine at over 40% of the browser market share according to StatCounter. It is also used as the basis for the experimental browser included with the Amazon Kindle e-book reader, as well as the default browser in the Apple iOS, Android, BlackBerry Tablet OS, Bada, Tizen and webOS mobile operating systems' (Wikipedia 28 Nov 2012). Also the PS3 and Adobe AIR and for rendering some interface elements in Creative Suite 5.
Many innovative features in CSS3 and HTML5 work on WebKit browsers first, a full list of which browsers support what can be found at caniuse.com
Dreamweaver attempts to show your images and text they way they should appear in a browser. Despite despicable tactics by Micro$oft there are still a number of browsers in use and they each display pages slightly differently. Test, test and test again...
Data provided by HitsLink Market Share
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Firefox – Windows, Mac & Linux
www.getfirefox.com
First full version was released in November 2004. Mozilla's open source browser has good w3c compatibility and a great logo.
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Google Chrome – Windows & Mac
https://www.google.com/intl/en/chrome
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Internet Explorer – Windows
Versions up to 6 or 7 suffered from virus attackes, poor .png transparency support & poor w3c compatibility - MicroSoft seemed to be trying to get the world to become MicroSoft compatible instead. Web developers spent many hours trying to work around Explorer's issues. |
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Opera – Windows, Mac, Linux, Mobile
www.opera.com
Targetted by MicroSoft when it started to gain popular
momentum.
Compact and available for wide range of systems inc. mobile devices such as PDAs and phones. |
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Camino – Mac
www.mozilla.org/projects/camino/
A fast Mac-only browser in development by open source Mozilla organisation. |
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Safari – fast standards-compliant Mac, iOS and Windows browser from Apple based on open source 'K' coding.
www.apple.com/uk/safari for extensions try pimpmysafari |
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Netscape – previously Windows & Mac
Destroyed by MicroSoft once they had 'discovered' the net, about 5 years late. MicroSoft simply gave their browser away, undercutting Netscape's core business. Version 7 was built on top of open source code from Mozilla, and was said to be powering the AOL browser. |
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