http://www.microsoft.com/windows/internet-explorer/beta/videos.aspx?vindex=14

This is a really interesting video. In past benchmark tests I always felt disconnected on how they measured my internet experience. They go through tons of websites with and without java-script rending at a blurring speed – finalizing the results with a bar graph. The question I seem to ask inside is – are these results reflective of the sites I visit regularly and in the manner that I visit them? In the end does one browser lead in performance over the others so significantly that I can tell a different, myself?

This embedded video says ‘no’. The difference between browsers for the top internet sites is negligible – some leaning favorable to IE8, some to Chrome, and some to Safari. There is no clear outlier within the data set for all even most of them. This brings me back to the primary issue, like so many other products, that we are dealing with issues of perception not reality. Even if a browser is 30 milliseconds faster than a competing browser, like the video points out, that is the same time it takes to blink your eye. Who cares?

So the IE8 team needs to continue to reach out through organic and developed marketing campaigns to stay involved in the speed conversation. Perception will determine reality in minds of users. I have heard many people say “x-browser “feels” faster”. Now we know that is perception not reality – but in the end they are both equally important.

I would also like to see more focus and data around 3 additional benchmarks – ones that impact the overall browser experience:
Time to launch the program.
Time to open a new tab.
How fast it recovers from crashes.

And there is one more area that will be more important with time but not yet a fundamental benchmark. How many clicks or steps does it take me to get things done on the internet. From searching to finding to viewing to buying might take 10+ clicks. Can my browser help make that only 5 clicks or 4 clicks? The less the better. The Accelerators in IE8 are aimed at addressing this exact situation but it is early on and the product still young.