Google Chrome not yet on Mac
Generally I must say that all Mac OS X based browsers including Safari and the Intel optimized Firefox version are relatively slow. This is especially apparent when you run Windows XP under OS X in emulation using VMWare and try any browser, be it IE, FF or the brand spanking new Google browser Google Chrome. Windows based browsers are snappy and fast compared to a just acceptable performance on OS X.
I hope with time things will improve and I won't have to envy the Windows browser responsiveness anymore. Just maybe Google Chrome will come out for OS X soon and it will be as light as fast as it seem on my Windows emulation. But the Google Mac team is not committing itself to any deadline. Push Google to make it happen, sign up for their list to be notified when Google Chrome for OS X comes out.
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Interesting you find windows browsing faster...
I've always found it slower, more noticable recently.
Can't wait to test out Chrome at work in the morning.
Safari screams...
In my experience, Safari is an absolute speed demon, whether on OS X or Windows. Firefox 3 is close to as fast, and IE is the laggard.
I work on a very large and complex enterprise web application, and the lowest performance we see is IE6, followed by IE7 and FF2 (about the same), then FF3, then Safari. On the screens I work on, Safari is often 6-8x faster than IE. (This is not due to Safari-specific optimizations; in fact, we optimize so that IE runs faster, even to the detriment of other browsers, just because it's so freaking slow to start with.)
It would be interesting to
It would be interesting to compare the same application against Chrome.
Here is a speed test: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-10030888-92.html?part=rss
Real-world performance
Actually, I had already run that test. Here are the results on one of our performance benchmarks (which times the actual load times for a very complex AJAX-based screen). The benchmark is run on a pretty wimpy Windows XP machine, and part of the time recorded (except for Test2) includes waiting for the server to respond.
WebKit (Safari nightly)
Test1: 8812ms
Test2: 2517ms
Test3: 7250ms
Safari 3.1.2
Test1: 8842ms
Test2: 2608ms
Test3: 7655ms
Chrome
Test1: 12010ms
Test2: 4253ms
Test3: 10509ms
Firefox 3
Test1: 13194ms
Test2: 4571ms
Test3: 10833ms
Internet Explorer 7
Test1: 17608ms
Test2: 9859ms
Test3: 17641ms
As a point of comparison, here is the same benchmark run on my MacPro (which obviously spanks the Windows XP machine in terms of raw computing power):
WebKit (Safari nightly)
Test1: 6113ms
Test2: 1541ms
Test3: 4709ms
So you see, for our real-world purposes, Safari is still the Michael Phelps of browsers, with Chrome performing well, but not extraordinarily.
don't agree
I disagree that browsers on windows are faster.
I have vmware running on a macbook @ 2.4GHz w/ 4GB RAM.
FF3 and Safari are much faster on a mac than on a PC.
I just ran that benchmark on a Vista image and got 37
In FF3 on the mac I get 175.
Obviously this is not a scientific analysis, but on all PCs I come across in day to day usage, they are slower at browsing the web.
I think there may be a problem with internet or FF plugins for you to be finding it so slow.
BTW, Ivan have you tried using OpenDNS ?
--
http://www.macscan.net/
Yes
OpenDNS is quite nice.
i have to say, chrome is
i have to say, chrome is *fast* compared to my firefox setup.
not sure if i'll make the switch, but it's running on my system.
I have a few techy friends
I have a few techy friends in New Zealand on Twitter who've done some benchmark tests and Chrome is far and away the faster browser. However, I'm inclined to let some time pass, and the caches fill, before making a final judgement.
I'm curious why the Chrome way of handling javascript (as modular, separate from browser process) hasn't been implemented in Firefox to date?
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Natobasso
dirtandrust.com
"Powerpoint is not a design application"
Hah!
I don't understand how you can possibly say this, you are going against hundreds of benchmarks that say otherwise, and the judgement of just about every single Mac user.
Safari is significantly faster than Firefox, regardless of what platform you're running on, it is very significantly, noticeably faster at rendering pages.
Jt Hollister
www.whywaitwebs.com
No, it's not ME saying this
No, it's not ME saying this but my friends in New Zealand, programmers in their own right, saying this. That's how I can "possibly say this". Safari might be faster that FF under some conditions, but does it have nearly as many features? I don't think so.
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Natobasso
dirtandrust.com
"Powerpoint is not a design application"
I'm not saying FF is a bad
I'm not saying FF is a bad browser. They both have their place. But Safari is undoubtedly faster, and its lack of features is exactly why I love it. It's what I need, no more, no less.
I don't know why your programmer friends are under this mistaken impression, but countless benchmarks are out there that prove otherwise.
Jt Hollister
www.whywaitwebs.com
Again, it's not a "mistaken"
Again, it's not a "mistaken" impression. They've done their own benchmark testing.
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Natobasso
dirtandrust.com
"Powerpoint is not a design application"
Am I missing something?
Natobasso,
Wasn't your original claim that Chrome (based on WebKit) was the fastest browser in your friends' benchmarks? If so, why is it that you and Luminousnerd seem now to be arguing about whether Firefox is the fastest?
Which browser is the fastest at a given task is fairly easy to test. Which browser has the best balance of performance, extensibility, and features is a judgment call and hardly something that can be benchmarked.
I have an uncanny ability to
I have an uncanny ability to get into pointless arguments...
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Natobasso
dirtandrust.com
"Powerpoint is not a design application"
No clear winner yet between
No clear winner yet between FF and Chrome, according to Lifehacker.com:
http://lifehacker.com/5044518/enable-chromes-best-features-in-firefox
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Natobasso
dirtandrust.com
"Powerpoint is not a design application"
DUH!
Most software is not on you peoples tiny little candy colored wannabe underpowered fringe boxes!
You can have this one though.
http://fakesteveballmer.blogspot.com
Wow. You've contributed SO
Wow. You've contributed SO much to this discussion. Not.
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Natobasso
dirtandrust.com
"Powerpoint is not a design application"
You People are sooooo Sensitive!
So, I come here to have a little fun and educate and all you people do is poke fun at me!
My efforts at reforming you iTards may be wasted?
http://fakesteveballmer.blogspot.com
Vista Boy
I've yet to notice any sort of educational information coming from you, just a lot of unpunny jargon. iTards...nice. That's nearly as bad as calling someone a Vistahole.
"Without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible."
— Frank Zappa
What an Office Ass.
What an Office Ass. :)
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Natobasso
dirtandrust.com
"Powerpoint is not a design application"
I am very impressed with
I am very impressed with Chrome. On my Windows machine running SP3, its very light and runs pretty smooth; definitely faster than FF. I really hope Chrome will run as light and fast in Leopard; i find FF and Safari a tad slow still. It could be fast but i dont know, they dont feel light to me (probably i'm just too OC about my browsers).
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