Microsoft joins Google in the race to speed up the web

The Internet Engineering Task Force is meeting this week to discuss the future of the internet, and ways to make it faster and more responsive. If Microsoft has anything to say about it, that future will involve the replacement of the familiar HTTP standard with something much faster.

The existing HTTP (hypertext transfer protocol) is the computer language by which computers communicate with each other on the web. It's been the workhorse of the internet for over 15 years, but with the internet having evolved so much since, it's generally agreed by tech experts that a more modern, faster approach is needed — an HTTP 2.0, if you will. Read more...