Veteran Mac expert and writer Joe Kissell is among the first to report that Chrome appears “way faster” than Safari.
Early today, after a quick, informal test, Kissell told Cult of Mac, “Chrome launched in the blink of an eye (really shockingly fast) and I tried a few web pages side by side in Chrome and the Mac Safari, and they loaded noticeably faster in Chrome.”
Chrome is Google’s entry in the web browser sweepstakes, currently a Windows-only offering that launched today. The browser is based, however, on Apple’s webkit, the same rendering engine that powers the Safari browser. Mac and Linux versions of Chrome are in the works but Google has yet to announce a timeframe for releasing those versions.
Kissell’s initial report came over Twitter, saying he ran Chrome in XP under VMware Fusion on a MacBook Pro and that it “is way faster than the Mac version of Safari on the same machine. Wow.” But some of his reaction may be chalked up to perception, and later off-the-cuff speed tests presented a mixed bag.
In tests done on a regular work machine with a zillion things running in the background, not a clean environment to be sure, but representative of the “real world” in which many are likely to use the browser,
- Chrome launched in < 2 seconds in XP under VMware Fusion
- Native Mac Safari launched in ~9 seconds
LifeHacker Stopwatch
- loaded in 7.254 seconds in Chrome
- loaded in 9.531 seconds in Safari
How To Create Css Test
- rendered in 162 ms in Chrome
- rendered in 37 ms in Safari
Despite his admittedly highly unscientific testing, Kissell reported “AJAXy things like Google Docs seemed zippier in Chrome, but it’s possible that my perceptions are incorrect, because I expect everything in a Windows VM to be slower.”
Let us know in comments below how Chrome works for you.
Written by Lonnie Lazar on September 2nd, 2008 with 1 comment.
Read more articles on Opinions and Quickies and Rumors and Software.
Via Gizmodo
Apple has scheduled a “special event” for September 9th at San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. The event is presumably to announce long awaited, much-rumored updates to the iPod product line and, who knows what else?
Written by Lonnie Lazar on September 2nd, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on Apple and Media and Quickies and Rumors and iPod.
UPDATE: You can fix the hole by remapping the “Home” button. In the iPhone’s Settings/General/Home Button, assign double clicking the Home button to “Home” — not “Phone Favorites.”
iPhone’s 2.0.2 firmware allows almost full access to your iPhone even when it’s under password protection, according to a report in MacRumors. Access can be gained through the “Emergency Call” keypad that appears on the passcode entry screen, allowing unrestricted use of Safari’s browser as well as access to Mail, SMS, Contacts, Maps and more.
Here’s how it works:
1. On the passcode screen hit “Emergency Call” button at bottom left.
2. In the Emergency Call screen, hit the “Home” button twice. You’ll be taken to the Favorites screen.
3. From there, hit the blue arrow next to a contact’s name.
4. You can now access all the iPhone’s functions by selecting their email address, homepage URL or address.
5. For example — hit the contact’s “Homepage” URL — and you are straight into Safari.
6. Hit the email address, and you enter Mail. Cancel the message, and you have full access to the iPhone’s email.
Via MacRumors
Written by Lonnie Lazar on August 27th, 2008 with no comments.
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Pre-release testing of the Blackberry Bold 3G smartphone appears to show the new handset may suffer from connection problems similar to those that have plagued the iPhone 3G. Citigroup investment research analyst Jim Suva reported occasional 3G signal dropping troubles at some locations, “especially on high-rise building streets on our 34th floor… which may be why AT&T has yet to launch the product,” according to AppleInsider.
Because the Blackberry uses a component of its Marvell processor as its 3G modem, where iPhone 3G uses a different Infineon chipset, previous speculation about problems with Apple’s hardware appears less likely to be the cause of iPhone 3G connection instability.
3G network performance varies greatly among different 3G carriers throughout the world, according to survey released this week on the Wired blog. Users in Europe, which has some of the most mature 3G networks, reported the fastest overall results, while US-based iPhone owners suffer the largest number of failed data speed tests, particularly in dense urban areas, according to the Wired survey.
Citibank’s Suva speculates that the Bold won’t be released in the United States until AT&T rectifies its 3G network issues.
Written by Lonnie Lazar on August 26th, 2008 with no comments.
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It’s been evident to anyone paying attention (even those of us who have been jonesing for new MacBook Pros since early June) that Apple would hold off on any product launches throughout the summer to put maximum focus on the iPhone 3G. Apple just wasn’t going to do anything to distract from that, nor were they going to launch major product in the doldrums of late August.
So it was obvious Apple would wait until after Labor Day to take care of much-needed updates to the iPod and MacBook Pro product lines. According to rumormongers, it might be just a week after Labor Day that such welcome udpates arrive — eight days to be exact, with an as-yet-unannounced Sept. 9 launch event. Kevin Rose is leading this charge, claiming new, non-stubby widescreen iPod nanos, but I think most people care more about cheaper iPod touches and MacBook Pros with Montevina than anything else.
I think an actual Town Hall event would be a bad move. These are going to be evolutionary updates, and they don’t deserve the fanfare of the iPhone 3G or AppStore launch. My prognostication is that Apple will unveil new product on just about every Tuesday in September. First new iPods, then new MacBook Pros, then new MacBooks, than new Mac minis and AppleTVs. Just keep it coming and pour it on…
Written by Pete Mortensen on August 25th, 2008 with no comments.
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