Every day I see more and more tech benchmarks. Years ago it was mostly for PC video cards and CPUs. To me that makes sense. You need a relative perspective to see how much you're getting for your money.
But now it seems there are benchmarks for everything. JavaScript runs faster in Chrome than Firefox. People are obsessing with Windows 7 benchmarks to see if it boots up faster than XP or Linux. Boot times? Seriously? Do these things matter to anyone without an agenda to persue? Is your time so valuable that you would pick an operating system based on whether or not it saves you 5-10 seconds a day? Does anyone writing or running these benchmarks believe anyone but the ubergeeks care?
In general, people do not care. No one will choose an operating system because of boot time. They want to know if their software runs on it. No one cares if JavaScript is faster in Chrome. Maybe their browser of choice just "feels" better to them. Many people decide what vehicle to buy based purely on it's looks and/or the status it provides. And they spend a heck of a lot more money on that vehicle than on any software product you're likely producing.
Most low-end computers purchased in today's market have far more resources than consumer applications can consume. We have reached a plateau. People are hesitant to switch from Windows XP because it already does everything they want it to. They aren't upgrading their computers as often because their current one is still as faster or faster than they need it to be.
If you want a larger customer base for your audience, speed is not going to give it to you*. I think we would all do well to take a look at the big picture. Focus on what your users want. Give them uncomplicated features they can and will use. Streamline your UI, then streamline it again. Ensure everything works rock solidly and as expected with no unpleasant surprises. Quality is king.
I know Ubuntu uses less resources. I know Chrome is faster. But I will still be using Firefox when my copy of Windows 7 arrives. I have a few seconds to spare, and I'm not afraid to use them. And so will many other people.
* Of course, in the web realm, this is all bunk. If your site doesn't load quickly, people will go elsewhere. Welcome to the new ADD world!
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Irony: I switched to Chrome as my main browser. Why? It loads instantly while Firefox takes 15+ seconds to load.
ReplyDeleteWell, the real reason is that the newest Firefox runs like a dog at all times and sucks memory like a vampire on a fresh cadaver, but I couldn't resist the opportunity to poke fun at myself.