When you are in the internet business, you need internet tools. Pretty obvious right? However, when the discussion is between tech people on different platforms (Win/IE, Mac/Safari, Opera), they all have their favorite browser. In my mind this argument is over.
A great way to communicate this is to look at the graphics design world. No matter what people say, the designers always end up getting a copy of photoshop. It is the 800lb gorilla in that space. Everybody who does design work pretty much uses photoshop on a daily basis. I think even tech people get this at this point. Its a great tool for the job, and an amazing tool for the experienced user. People may still argue about the platform, but they don’t argue about Photoshop.
Now, if you focus on the people that actually work in the web industry, there still seems to be a bit of religion. This is strange to me since it is obvious how much better Firefox is. Just get a demo of the great tools and extensions that work with it. It is miles above every other browser. (This is easy to test, just run Firefox and the Web Developer Toolbar and Firebug. Explore those tools for the next hour. You’ll get it…There are no equivalents for any other browser.)
I think its time for a new meme about this. The web-dev techs should start saying, ‘hey, this Firefox thing… its kinda like the photoshop of the web’. I think this would get people to adjust their perspective and agree that this is the right tool no matter which platform. It would take Firefox to the next level.
(p.s. Sure, you should still test on IE and Safari. You just should develop on them.)