Microsoft has just unveiled modern.IE, a new resource for devs to test their apps in the newer versions of Internet Explorer.

Sure, IE is the browser we all love to hate, but Microsoft has really stepped up its game in the browser department. IE9 is — dare we say it? — daggone pretty. And IE10 is waiting in the wings. Meanwhile, Microsoft has taken IE6 out behind the shed where it belongs.

All this adds up to several steps in the right direction, helping IE to gain back a little lost ground in the ongoing browser wars. Which in turn means that developers of web applications and sites need to keep building and testing for IE.

So, back to the topic at hand: web-app testing.

Modern.IE features a code evaluation “wizard,” a set of cross-browser testing tools from BrowserStack, and some handy best practices for web development in these modern times.

As a Microsoft rep wrote to VentureBeat via email:

We’ve talked in the past about some of the experiences we’ve created for the web, with the goal of inspiring innovation on the web. The reality is, though, that there is a delta between where the web is currently, and the potential of where it can go with a modern browser, and a big part of this is time spent making sites work for old browsers.

For developers, testing can take up to 30 to 40 precent of their time — imagine if that time was spent creating new experiences leveraging the tools we’ve provided and not on addressing the past. We’re excited about what’s possible on the web and what developers will be able to create once they have more time to innovate.

Here’s a quick promo clip the modern.IE folks created to tout the service’s benefits:

Top image from the 1971 film adaptation of Fiddler on the Roof, a delightful music about life in a shtetl in Tsarist Russia. The screengrab above is from the number “Miracle of Miracles.” Neither the song nor the musical has anything whatsoever to do with Internet Explorer.

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Tickets On Sale Now

(Editor’s note: Will Herman is an entrepreneur who has founded or held senior roles in several tech companies.This story originally appeared on his blog.)

I’ll take a great team over a great idea in business any day of the week (of course, having both is even better). Ideas, you see, are often fleeting – markets change, technology evolves, competition is a moving target and customers are, sometimes, fickle. Great teams can adapt and continually innovate. Great ideas without great teams behind them stagnate.

This is even a bigger problem for startups than it is for established companies. In startups, ideas tend to be in more flux than in mature companies due to the limited time and resources startups have to completely understand the customer. While older companies aren’t immune to these challenges, they generally aren’t subject to the same limitations.

So, how does any organization hire the right people? Well, starting with a great team helps, of course, but understanding what’s important in expanding it is crucial. Here are a few things to ask yourself when trying to identify the next person you’ll add to your team.

Is there a cultural fit? Far more important than having the knowledge required for the job is whether the candidate will fit in with the rest of the team and, in fact be a driver and communicator of the culture you want in you company.

Is the candidate a risk taker? He/she should be. Why would you want someone who is going to move slowly and cautiously in your organization? The best people are aggressive in their actions and play offense all the time.

Does the prospective employee fear change? Better hope not. In fact, the candidate should love change and even seek it out. Many people are afraid of change and fight it in passive ways, slowing the organization down. If you want a hard-driving, fast-moving organization, you need people who love to drive and be involved in change.

Can the candidate work as part of a team? Not only are great people more effective as individuals, but when put together as part of a team, they can virtually make miracles happen.

Does he/she have the skills you’re hiring for? Duh. You’re probably hiring because you’re either stretched too thin or you need new skills in the organization. It’s good to thoroughly check if the candidate actually has these.

This is far from a complete list, of course. There are going to be criteria specific to your organization and core to your success that you’ll add to it. The key point here is that hiring the right people is critical when it comes to running a company or managing any group of people.

It’s the team you have that will make the difference in the end and having the best team possible should never be sacrificed.