I actually got asked this a long time ago by a co-worker and again today by @4stefan (BTW – I recommend @4stefan as a person to follow) asked me again over twitter

Q: “Why do you need so many web browsers (or Email Clients) installed on your computer?”. 

A: Why so many clients… well for several reasons;
  • Just to try it out and play with something new, I love technology and “new things” even if they are a passing fad that I only stick with for a short time (best part this one if free to play with)
  • To see how different webmail systems function and if the browser/email client affects rendering (important for new browsers – especially with the Google brand behind it)
  • To test my own site(s) for rendering issues – and to test yours… Look out I’m watching you ;D 
  • To be able to troubleshoot issues from clients – not everyone uses IE anymore… In fact more people using FireFox read this blog then any other browser (17% more then IE – the #2 browser)
With the launch of Google’s new web browser “Chrome” (download) today it seems worth talking about.  Read the Google Chrome comic.