There is a new update for Safari on the Mac and now version 5.1.4 is available for download. To get this browser update, go to the Apple menu and select Software Update. After it has scanned your Mac it will list the updates available and Safari 5.1.4 will be among them if you haven't already updated it.
Among the benefits are a promised 11% speed increase for JavaScript. It is easy to make claims like this, but is it really any faster? Will you notice the speed boost? I thought I would run a few tests to find out if Apple's claims really are true.
There are lots of speed tests for web browsers on the internet and the question is which one should you use? I selected Dromaeo, which runs not just one test, but dozens of them and they analyse every aspect of the web browser. I specifically selected the JavaScript tests rather than the complete browser test suite because I wanted to see how much faster JavaScript was on my Mac.
Before using Software Update I ran the tests and it produced an overall score of 344 runs/s. After installing Safari 5.1.4, and only this, I rebooted and ran the same test again. This time it managed 381 runs/s, which is an 11% speed improvement rounded up to the nearest whole number. So Apple is right and it is always great to have more speed for free, so go and download Safari 5.1.4.
(Note that the number of runs/s depends on the processor speed, so you can't compare your Mac to mine, but you can compare Safari before and after updating it on the same Mac.)
In addition to boosting the speed, there are some bug fixes in the browser, such as web pages flashing white when switching Safari windows, screen dimming while watching HTML5 video, and a security issue that left information behind when you used the Remove all Website Data button in Preferences/Privacy. You thought you were covering your tracks by clearing website data? It seems not!
Go and get the new Safari and browse the web faster.
Tuesday, 13 March 2012
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
0 comments:
Post a Comment