The recent release of Chrome with its lightning-fast JavaScript execution has led many people to question how other browsers handle processing JavaScript. It's evoked response from many, including Microsoft, who has recently commented on the performance aspect of Internet Explorer 8. Interestingly, they revealed something we all could have guessed – that IE8 has not been designed with execution speed in mind.

That doesn't mean they were admitting it was slow. On the contrary, they said that it was built with responsiveness and feel in mind, claiming that the actual discernible difference between Chrome opening a page and IE8 opening a page would be negligible. That's their own words, of course, and only the real world can actually judge how fast a browser “feels.” They also reminded the world that IE8 is a beta – and performance could improve as it is developed further.

Even though you could infer all of that information without needing to hear it from Microsoft, it is interesting that they would choose to comment on the Chrome browser at all. Perhaps Microsoft is worried about their market share eroding further.