The following table displays a list of manual timings made by Professor Mike Smith at the London School of Economics on 2nd February 2001. All timings are seconds, using an Netscape 4.7 browser and are published in ascending order of first access time:
| Site | 1st Access | Refresh
|
|---|
| http://www.medix-uk.com | 2 | 2
|
| http://www.primarycareonline.co.uk | 7 | 3
|
| http://www.ukpractice.co.uk | 7 | 4
|
| http://www.bmj.com | 8 | 3
|
| http://www.doctors.net.uk | 9 | 7
|
| http://www.netdoctor.co.uk | 12 | 10
|
| http://www.medisearch.co.uk | 12 | 5
|
| http://emc.vhn.net | 12 | 6
|
| http://www.doctoronline.nhs.uk | 20 | 12
|
A followup test was conducted 14 April 2001 between 1930 and 2000 in London. ADSL (256kbps) was used and Microsoft Internet Explorer 5. The first access was measured twice after clearing the browser cache each time. The best times are given. These are the results.
| Site | 1st Access (sec)
|
|---|
| http://www.medix-uk.com | 1
|
| http://www.doctorsworld.com | 2
|
| http://www.medix.to (Medix backup) | 2
|
| http://www.doctoronline.nhs.uk | 3
|
| http://emc.vhn.net | 4
|
| http://www.medisearch.co.uk | 4
|
| http://www.doctors.net.uk | 5
|
| http://www.netdoctor.co.uk | 5
|
| http://www.ukpractice.co.uk | 5
|
| http://www.bmj.com | 6
|
| http://www.primarycareonline.co.uk | 7
|
The results confirm that Medix is the fastest site by a considerable margin. A survey conducted last year indicated that the vast majority of members see speed and ease of use as the most important assets a website can have. On the basis of these results, we will endeavour to keep Medix as fast as possible to access now.
