How Many Colors?

As a Web Designer, you have probably been faced with the challenge of displaying colors in different browsers. You have probably asked yourself the question, “Am I limited to 256 colors? And if so, how do they look on a Mac?” Well here is the answer: You are limited to 216 colors [not a typo…really – it’s 216]. Most graphics [i.e.. Adobe Photoshop] editors will elude to this with reference to something called a “safety” palette or “web safe” colors. In order to preserve the multi-platform/browser web environment, someone has actually taken the time to find out exactly what colors look the same across the board; in the process 40 of the colors were eliminated, leaving us with 216.

And just where can you view these colors for real?