I feel the same way about cross-browser testing. Everybody knows that this is the worst part about web development. A number of startups already exist to solve it, but there's easily room for more solutions. This is a blindingly obvious startup idea.
But I get indigestion just thinking about it, because this means taking on the worst aspects of everyone else's job. There's no major win that I can offer for being clever, just for being more willing to focus on unpleasantness.
Or am I kidding myself? Is that focus on something unpleasant the very soul of entrepreneurship?
Sometimes you luck out, and something that everybody hates is something that you love. But there are some things which are probably universally unpleasant to even think about.
Thanks for the link, that's a great way to evaluate ideas.
As for this specific problem - it's hard to say without doing surveys, but I'd say every webdev shop in the world does all 5 to some degree, unless they are developing for a corporate intranet with a controlled client base.
The spread of browser platforms right now is the largest it's ever been. There are many shops who have to fight IE6 on the rearguard while trying to be iPad-compatible in the vanguard.
The higher end shops do some formal or scripted testing, but my intuition is that what the average person really want is to do a quick check by hand in one browser, and somehow magically know that it works on all the other ones.
But I get indigestion just thinking about it, because this means taking on the worst aspects of everyone else's job. There's no major win that I can offer for being clever, just for being more willing to focus on unpleasantness.
Or am I kidding myself? Is that focus on something unpleasant the very soul of entrepreneurship?
Sometimes you luck out, and something that everybody hates is something that you love. But there are some things which are probably universally unpleasant to even think about.