[sf-lug] OT: Car broken into on 7th and Howard, GPS and other items stolen -- is this common?

[Rick Moen]

Quoting Mark G Sobell (mark at sobell.com):

> FWIW the site says you need a Windows system -- it works fine under Linux 
> (Kubuntu Feisty) with Firefox.

A quite typical case, in which some webmonkey sought prospectively to
shrug off complaints from members of the public about his/her design by
saying (paraphrased) "Dude, just run exactly the same system I do;
you'll have no problem".  It's easier than thinking! 

In this case, at least the webmonkey hasn't gone out of his/her way to
_prevent_ standards compliance and functionality on uncertified
browsers.  Some others will use Javascript to test the User-Agent
string, and if the browser returns a string not on the approved list,
refuse to send it pages.

The proper counter-measure to that design error is User Agent Switcher
(see link below).  

Other webmonkeys will make sites have elements so tightly packed and so
dependent on the installed typefaces and software the designer he/she
uses as to be technically possible to browse using other software, but a 
miserable experience.

And the last category is those that make the sites critically depend on
specific proprietary software, e.g., ActiveX components, Shockwave, etc.
Those become difficult or impossible to properly use using only browsers 
supporting commodity Web protocols.

Pro bono publico, I keep a list of the Firefox plug-ins I find useful,
including User Agent Switcher:
http://linuxmafia.com/~rick/faq/index.php?page=kicking#linuxbrowser


Relevant essay, antique but always timely:  "This Page Optimized for
Arguing with Customers".  http://linuxmafia.com/faq/Web/opti.html

Why you _want_ User Agent Switcher:  To set your User-Agent string to
"W3C standards are important. Stop f---ing obsessing over user-agent
already."  http://linuxmafia.com/faq/Essays/agent.html