We're not entirely sure of the time line here, but it looks like Google has now rolled out the
SPDY HTTP replacement to its full bevy of Web services, including Gmail, Docs, and YouTube. If you're currently using Google's Chrome browser you're probably already using SPDY.
We originally reported on SPDY
way back in November 2009, when Google introduced it as yet another experiment in making the Web faster, like
Go,
Native Client and
speculative pre-connections. Over the last 18 months, though, SPDY support has found its way into the stable build of
Chrome.
SPDY is basically a streamlined and more efficient version of
HTTP. At its most basic, SPDY introduces parallel, multiplexed streams over a single TCP connection -- but at the same time, SPDY allows for prioritization, so that vital content (HTML) can be sent before periphery content (JavaScript, video). All in all, the SPDY protocol can
halve page load times, which is obviously rather significant.
The best bit, though, is that SPDY is an open-source project. HTTP 1.1 is a lumbering beast that needs to be replaced before low-latency real-time computing really becomes a reality, and SPDY is one of the best options currently on the table. To be honest, we're not sure why SPDY hasn't received more coverage -- it's awesome in every way. At the moment, though, the only way to help speed up SPDY's proliferation, is with an
experimental Apache mod.
As far as actually 'trying it out,' your best bet is
downloading Chrome, hitting up some Google sites, and then checking
chrome://net-internals to see your active SPDY sessions. SPDY is a transparent replacement for HTTP, though, and as such it's rather hard to
see its effects. Google's sites definitely feel fast in Chrome, but there are more technologies than just SPDY at work.
Google Chrome now uses SPDY HTTP replacement, halves page load time originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 11 Apr 2011 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/11/google-chrome-now-uses-spdy-http-replacement-halves-page-load-t/
ELECTRONICS FOR IMAGING ELECTRONIC DATA SYSTEMS ELECTRONIC ARTS
Google is making a serious push with NFC on Android. As we detailed last night, Android product management director Hugo Barra revealed yesterday that Google is now shipping 1 million NFC-equipped devices every week. Beyond Google Wallet, the company announced some cool new features to Android Beam at I/O on Wednesday, including giving users the option to share video through NFC or pair their phones to other NFC-enabled devices just by tapping it. Last night, Google showcased Beam's new functionality with two apps, Paper Camera and Tagstand's Task Launcher. Y Combinator-backed Tagstand, in particular, has been on a mission to make NFC more of a mainstream technology and is starting to pick up steam as a result. 
