Need to find decent approach to testing web rendering on Macs

[cvgd]

I've recently transitioned into basically a full time web developer. I sort of unintentionally fell into it, when I discovered that I was a bit more artistic than I'd given my self credit for in the past.

I've been a windows guy for long time, and started using Linux, Fedora and Ubuntu, heavily a few years ago. When I wasn't doing front end work, my options were sufficient. Now that I've got to be more thorough in dealing with cross-platform issues, I need to branch out into macs.

I basically need to be able to test email rendering on OSX and iOS devices, and I need to test browser rendering on Mac Safari, Mac Firefox, iOS Safari, and Opera Mobile.

I've considered building a Hackintosh, but I don't want to muck around with hardware compatibility issues, and I don't want to have to struggle to keep the system updated. I'm not certain that rendering issues are completely hardware independent, and don't want to introduce that variable into the equation, even though it's unlikely to present itself. Nonetheless, depending on the hardware, I could see this saving some money, or letting me dual boot one of my current systems with only minor tweaks. Is there a foolproof way to accomplish this that I'm missing?

I'm leaning toward just getting a Mac Mini, and being done with it. I have plenty of monitors (too many, according to some), so don't think the an iMac makes sense. I'll probably go with a new one, as the refurbished discounts are mediocre. Is there a product refresh expected soon? The Core 2 processors will be fine for my purposes, but if there's something looming, I can wait.

When it comes to testing iOS rendering, does anyone have experience with the developer SDK? I'd rather not have to buy an iPad and iPhone, but with the different resolutions, am feeling pessimistic.

Hardware aside, I need to install the relevant email applications. I understand that Mac Mail is the default and most used. Is there anything else that's particularly popular I need to be testing?

And yes, this is a somewhat lazy post. I'm sure that I could find all this out with a bit of google work, but I find that atmosphere here to be reassuring.

 

[Cyberdemon]

Why not just buy a used Mac off Craigslist? You can probably find one for fairly cheap that will do everything you need. If it's just a test box no reason to spend much money if the most complex app you'll run is a browser.

I'd avoid the Hackintosh route. I've done it on my Dell Mini, but like you mentioned you'll spend as much on a legit copy of OSX as you probably would to find a used Intel Mac Mini online.

 

[silicide]

With regards to refreshes,
http://buyersguide.macrumors.com/
that tends to be pretty accurate. I'm not a mac expert by far, but I would guess you'll be safe enough with a mini with regards to cross-hardware rendering differences.

 

[cvgd]

I've been looking on Craigslist. Thus far, prices have been in the $4-500 range. A new Mac Mini is $660. I'd like to save the $200, don't get me wrong, but it's not a deal breaker. I've only been looking for a few days, though, and can be patient.

Thanks for the link, Lord_of_Doors. I'll probably make a decision by the end of the month, so if there's nothing scheduled, I'll either go the craigslist route (which I imagine is much better just after a product refresh) or I'll splurge.

The rate of churn in the Mac ecosystem is rather high. It's a bit of a shock to someone who's not used to it.