Google seeks tips to speed the web

Google is asking for suggestions on how to speed up the internet, and has launched an open conversation on the subject with a new Let's make the web faster site where developers can leave their ideas.

Google operations and engineering executives Bill Coughran and Urs Hoelzle said in a blog post that Google will share what it learns about web performance with the wider internet community.

"To optimise the speed of web applications, and make browsing as fast as turning the pages of a magazine, we need to work together as a community to tackle some larger challenges that keep the web slow and prevent it from delivering its full potential," said the executives.

Developers wishing to comment need to log in to the new site with their Google user name and password and then choose a topic.

However, developers posting a suggestion first have to agree to a disclaimer giving Google the right to use their idea freely and without compensation.

The topics all relate to web speed, and include broadband access, browser technologies, internet protocols and webmaster tools.

Coughran and Hoelzle noted the importance of updating web protocols, and picked out the launch of HTML 5 as a good example.

"With HTML 5 features such as AppCache, developers are now able to write JavaScript-heavy web apps that run instantly and work and feel like desktop applications," said the executives.

Google also called on browser developers to continue to increase JavaScript performance, and for all developers to come up with new ideas for tools that measure the performance and speed of web applications.