These days, it’s easy to take technology for granted. We use so many different electronic devices on a daily basis, and even if they work 99% of the time – nothing makes us want to tear out our hair like malfunctioning technology.
Slow, inconsistent internet (or even worse, no internet at all) is about as bad as it gets. And while many different factors can contribute to slow page load times, new technology may help us take another step forward in the fight for instantaneous speeds.
Meet Polaris: a new framework from researchers at MIT & Harvard.
Polaris is expected to decrease page load times between 30%-60% by cutting down on the number of times an internet browser has to fetch data on each page.
From a recent article on PCWorld.com:
“‘It can take up to 100 milliseconds each time a browser has to cross a mobile network to fetch a piece of data,’ says doctoral student Ravi Netravali, lead author on a paper he’ll present at next week’s Usenix Symposium on Networked Systems Design and Implementation.”
‘As pages increase in complexity, they often require multiple trips that create delays that really add up,’ Netravali added. ‘Our approach minimizes the number of round trips so that we can substantially speed up a page’s load time.’”
Polaris uses a unique method to expedite the load process. It’s much more complicated than simply making less “trips,” as the system uses a complex algorithm to understand exactly how each object interacts with one another. By determining which objects depend on others, it then loads them in the ideal order.
It’s an interesting technology to say the least, though we currently have no timetable on when Polaris will be rolled out or made available for public use.
To get the full story, check out PCWorld.com.
