Just wanted to rant a little.  I’ve been causing myself fits trying to position elements inside of table cells.  IE handles it just fine but Firefox barfs immediately.

I know what you’re saying, “don’t use tables for positioning, fool.”  Thanks for the advice,  and watch your mouth – this is a family blog.  As anyone who has done a lot of web work knows, tables are much easier to use and normally are the most faithful to the layout you are intending to produce.  For the code snobs out there, divs MAY work just as well but you have to admit that they are not nearly as flexible – right now.  When browser support, nay, when cross-browser support of div positioning is more consistent then I’ll officially make the switch.  Attributes like min-width and auto margins are, on paper, the answer to a lot of layout issues.  The trouble is that they are simply W3 guidelines for future browsers.  By the time Joe Q Public gets around to having a standards-compliant browser installed on their home machine, well, I’ll probably be dealing with cell phone browser layout issues.

Now I hear you saying, “but you can always use the [insert your favourite] hack to make it work, dummy.”  If I have to use a hack then I’m not likely to go that route.  Hacks inevitably lead to support issues and eventual outdating.  Today’s hacks are tomorrow’s bugs.  [and I'll thank you to cease with the name calling]

No, for now I’ll just motor along with tables, where I need them, and I’ll use divs where columns aren’t important.

You know, none of this would ever have become an issue if some of you out there didn’t have a real hate on for Microsoft.  I’ve got nothing against Billy G and the Midnight Racers but having competing browsers out there is making my job more desired.  Thank you, haters.

Stay tuned for my next post entitled, “Cross-browser headaches with lists.”  My one tip for fledgling pros out there is test in IE and Firefox often.  The only consistent thing between them are the inconsistencies.