Today, Apple released the public beta of Safari 4, and subsequently I spent much of the day marveling at how many people I know who are passionate about browsers. Seriously, I read about people’s trial runs, the new features and (seemingly few) drawbacks all day long.

If you would have told me 5 years ago that I would know dozens of people who are emphatically and adamantly opinionated about not only their own browser but also about the browser choice of the general public, I probably would have laughed in your face.

Late in the afternoon, I found a position that I was interesting in applying for while job hunting. The online job application stated, “you must use Internet Explorer” and I closed the window in disgust.

And then I realized the implications of what I had done. I’ve been out of work for almost 6 months, and yet I declined to apply for an open position in a nosediving economy because they stipulated that I had to use Internet Explorer.*

That, my friends, I believe may be an indication that I too have become a person who is opinionated about browsers. Didn’t see that coming…

*For those who think this is completely irreponsible, I’ll get to a computer that has Internet Explorer and I’ll apply. Please don’t lecture.