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The browser wars have been going on for how long now? Back in the day – sometime in the early 90s, Netscape’s Navigator was... Chrome Versus IE 10

The browser wars have been going on for how long now? Back in the day – sometime in the early 90s, Netscape’s Navigator was the dominant browser . Then came Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, which eroded the influence and market share of Navigator in the late 90s. Thus the concept of the browser wars came to existence.

Instead of abating, the competition simply gained traction when new browsers entered the market, namely Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Safari, and Opera.

While I know people who will not go anywhere near Internet Explorer, no matter which version, there is no doubt that the browser is not going to disappear any time soon. It has, in fact, taken a slight beating with regard to market share in the first part of this year, but with the upcoming release of Windows 8, the debate is starting to rage once again.

Google Chrome Versus IE 10

Google Chrome Versus IE 10

Even though the official release date of Windows 8 is still a month or so away, the browsers are already being pitted against each other. Let’s see what the numbers have to say.

Benchmarks

Ciprian Adrian Rusen used four tests to compare the major browsers today, but let’s pay particular attention to how Google Chrome and IE 10 perform.

HTML5 Test

First up is the HTML5 test, which shows Chrome as the clear leader. IE 10, on the other hand falls short.

Google Chrome Versus IE 10

HTML5 Test

SunSpider

Google Chrome Versus IE 10

SunSpider

SunSpider, which is used to benchmark the speed of JavaScript engines, gives IE 10 a slight advantage. In this benchmark, the lower the score, the better the performance. In this respect then, IE 10 comes out on top!

PeaceKeeper

Google Chrome Versus IE 10

PeaceKeeper

As with the first test, this benchmark favors the higher numbers. As the graph shows, Chrome has a huge lead over IE 10.

V8

Google Chrome Versus IE 10

V8

The same can be said for this last test.

If speed is all we’re looking at, then, it seems that IE 10 does not stand much of a chance against Google Chrome.

Usability

Speed is all well and good, but what about the other aspects of the user experience? Let’s take a look at a few specific points and see how the two browsers compare.

Opening New Tabs

In Chrome, you simply have to click on the right-most tab – just as you have always done.
On the other hand, in IE 10, you have to go through several steps – some swiping, right-clicking, and some more clicking. Additionally, there is a 10-tab limit, which may or may not be a good thing.

Full-screen Viewing

IE 10 is always on full-screen mode, so you have no issues here – if you like this view, that is. As for Chrome, you can either swipe from the top or press F11.

Default Search Engine

I imagine you won’t want to use Bing as the default, but the bad news is you can’t change the settings on IE 10. The semi-good news is that you can tweak the desktop settings to change the default search engine for both the desktop IE10 and the Metro IE 10. Be prepared to go through a list of more than a hundred search engines, though!

Even a blind man can see that the signs are pointing toward Google Chrome at this point, and I don’t see that changing in the near future. Do you?

[Image via Rigel Jensen]