Microsoft's FishIE Tank benchmark test.

(Credit: Screenshot by Seth Rosenblatt/CNET)

The Web browser is the most-used kind of software in the world, having become the de facto way that people access the Internet. Today, virtually all computing tasks can be completed in the browser.

Testing browsers can veer from incredibly complex to shockingly simple, depending on what you're looking for and why. At CNET, we prefer a holistic approach to browser benchmarking, looking at a combination of tests that benchmark general browser behavior, as well as several "real-world" tests that look at browser performance in common scenarios.

Note about mobile testing: We are still finalizing our standards for mobile browser testing, and will update this post as soon as they're ready. For now, the following procedures apply only to desktop browsers.

Is your favorite browser on our test list?

Unless your favorite browser is some obscure remixed version of Netscape, chances are we test it. However, browser testing is made even more complex than it would otherwise be by the fact that two of the five major browsers, Firefox and Chrome, update on a six-week release cycle. Sometimes those updates bring dramatic changes, but often they don't. Because of the sadly human limitations of your humble editors, CNET will not be testing all browsers simultaneously.

Instead, we will conduct qu... [Read more]

Imagine you're surfing the Web or playing Temple Run 2 for the umpteenth time. Sometimes in life there are things that deserve full concentration without the needless distractions of phone calls and text messages or anything of that sort. Unfortunately for Android users, a disruptive phone call can mean the difference between life and death (in a game).

Small Call by Apps Falyf thinks it has the solution. The app displays incoming phone calls and texts in a small pop-up widget on your phone instead of interrupting your current activity.

Having a feature like this while using GPS, for example, is especially useful, and one I personally appreciate the most since my smartphone is my main navigation unit.

You can tweak various settings like the opacity of the notification and setting custom text responses at the touch of a button. In testing, performance varied from app to app. While it worked fine for most stock apps like e-mail and maps, performance-intensive games seemed to noticeably freak out a bit or take a ring or two before activating. Apps FaLyf actually encourages users to reach out to the respective developers for any related app crashes.

Small Call isn't perfect by any means but when it works, it's an appreciated feature that leaves us wondering why no one came up with it sooner. For 99 cents, it's a useful tweak worth downloading.

[Read more]

Google's newest interactive browser "experiment" transports you from your desk to Oz, highlighting cutting-edge browser tech along the way.

Created in conjunction with Disney and the production company Unit9 to help promote the upcoming movie, "Oz the Great and Powerful," the experiment leverages the latest in Web standards to create a browser-based experiment that previously could have been completed only with Adobe Flash.

In the experiment, called Find Your Way to Oz, you can compose music, goof around with a photo booth, and make a short movie with a zoetrope. If you survive the tornado that attempts to whisk you away, the wizard himself reaches through your screen to shake your hand.

Other Google Chrome experiments:

• Behind the curtain at Google's Cirque du Soleil show
• Arcade Fire and Google's The Wilderness Downtown
• Zoom past the Milky Way in a browser

Just kidding, Web tech isn't that advanced yet. Instead, you get to watch an exclusive, unreleased clip... [Read more]

Microsoft's Quick Start Guide for Word 2013.

(Credit: Screenshot by Lance Whitney/CNET)

Office 2013 users who need a helping hand can find one through Microsoft's Quick Start Guides.

Now available online, the nine guides offer advice on using each of the applications in Office 2013, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Access, OneNote, Project, Visio, and Publisher.

Each guide comes packaged as a PDF that you can download or view online through Adobe Reader.

The guides provide screenshots and descriptions of the new features and layouts in Office 2013. They also clue you in as to what's changed in the new applications compared with previous versions. As with any PDF, you can zoom in to any page to get a closer look and search for specific words and terms.

Office 2013 carries on with most of the same features as in prior editions. But the suite has a more streamlined look and dangles some touch-friendly options geared toward tablet users.

[Read more]

Samsung's ARM-based Chromebook

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

Those who've bought the low-cost Samsung Chromebook will be able to watch Netflix streaming video -- at some point.

"We are collaborating with Google on a solution for ARM-based Chromebooks," said Netflix spokesman Joris Evers last night.

He didn't share details on the company's schedule or its technical approach to bringing its service to Chrome OS, Google's browser-based operating system.

Most Web apps work just fine on the $249 Samsung Chromebook even though it has a Samsung ARM processor rather than the x86 chip found in all other computers running Google's Chrome OS. That's because the Web is inherently a cross-platform medium -- Web sites, at least in principle, work on any PC, smartphone, or tablet with a browser.

Related stories

• Hewlett-Packard's Pavilion 14 Chromebook (pictures)
• Pavilion 14 Chromebook shows HP's 'multi-OS approach'
• Spec sheet shows HP entering Chromebook market

To bring its video-streaming service to Google's Chrome browser a... [Read more]