[d] enclosed in brackets chaotic perfectionist for hire

In working on a couple of web design projects, I've needed to test out what the site looks like on various browsers, on different operating systems, all with different versions. Designers would have a much easier time if browsers worked more like TVs - you don't see a different looking show on a Sony than a Panasonic TV.

Unfortunately, some of the older browsers *cough-IE-cough* were really bad about rendering pages, and people coded for them because they were the most popular. In these cases it's old and outdated code that looks bad on modern browsers, but is in there to help the people who haven't upgraded since Windows 95 and IE3. blech.

Fortunately, there are ways to test these designs out, even if you aren't on Windows, or a Mac, or Linux. On the last project I did, The design looked great on Firefox, IE7, Opera, and Seamonkey. What I didn't know at the time was that it looked atrocious on IE6. I'm working on a new site for someone (more details soon), and finally got the theme together. He went to look at it while he was home and it came out... wrong. Again, I didn't know what it looked like, and couldn't fix it as is.

When it happened the first time, I half-looked for a way to check browser compatibility. At the time, I didn't find something to use, and stopped looking once I had fixed the issue. This time, I needed something... and I (re)found Browsershots.org. Yes, they've (he's?) been around for a while, and many people use them, but I hadn't realized how useful it is.

Now I know that the pngfix for IE 5.5-6 is what's breaking it in those two browsers, and I can work on fixing them. I'll post some screen shots soon, but in the meantime, go visit the site and check it out.

How do you have your home network set up? Is it secure enough?

I'm not selling anything, I'm just curious. What do people do to secure their networks at home? Do they even do anything?

For my day-to-day job, I manage two networks - mostly the stuff within those networks, and not the connections themselves. I know about the details of how networks function, and how to secure them, but want to look toward the next step.

There are quite a few ways to do it, and I think most people these days have a router connected to their Cable/DSL modem. If it's just the family computer connected straight out, that's a huge issue (assuming it's a Windows-based family). The router is probably enough, but then when the kids start using it...

Suggestions?

Not specifically for kids, but keeping people safe inside a home LAN, preferably cheap or free (software-wise). There's definitely the Astaro Security Gateway to look at, thanks to Leo Laporte and Steve Gibson. It'll go on a beige-box and takes care of a bunch of things from firewall and AV to Spam and content control. There's the *nix route, but I'm not sure I want to take on that much (although it would be a good learning experience).