There are a variety of browsers to choose from including Internet Explorer, Mozilla, and Google’s updated Chrome 2. Of course, if you are lucky enough to own a Mac (my bias, not gap intel’s) there is always Safari. The difference between the browsers goes beyond appearances including speed, formatting, and application compatibility.
decided to test out which browser actually won the speed test when loading sites and to my chagrin Safari did not win. However, to those that just LOVE Google, you can stand proud, as Chrome won the majority of tests including loading MySpace and Wikipedia, which it loaded in 1.12 and 1.43 seconds, respectively. But don’t fret Safari users – the browser loaded Amazon’s homepage fastest!
In our small office alone, three out of the four browsers are utilized on a daily basis. Some prefer Chrome while most click on that orange fox for Firefox. A few are still probably using Internet Explorer but are encouraged not to, except for specific applications. That said, who would notice the difference between 1 and 3 seconds. Those loyal to Mozilla will still pick the browser over the faster Chrome if they like the appearance and feature set of it more.
As the Internet becomes even more saturated in our daily lives, the browser has become nearly as important as a computers operating system. With that has come competition from developers and the result has been a giant steroid injection of innovation – something we have not seen in the OS world in many years. Speed aside, it will be applications that deem which browser is given the blue ribbon ? much like what we are seeing in smart phones and game consoles. It was Halo that spiked sales of Microsoft’s XBOX over Sony’s play station, not an improved hardware processor or faster networking card. Its the user interface and application store that has lead to the iPhone’s dominance in the smart phone market, not multiple applications processes and dual processors, blah, blah, blah. And for the browsers – it will be some new application, compatibility, or platform that will decide the winner. Not for nothing, but it will probably be the linking of those three devices – computer, television (games), and the smart phone into a single online platform will win. I can’t wait to see.
