New google sprite: July 2009
July 17, 2009
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Google has updated its 'sprite' - the one image it uses to render all its graphics.
If you're not sure what a sprite is, it's a way to speed up page loads by downloading just one image, and then using CSS to just show the right bit on relevant parts of the page. This is quicker than downloading lots of different images.
The new one has lost a couple of symbols (presumably no longer used) and added the map marker.
New sprite (left) vs old sprite (right)
New google sprite (left); old google sprite (right)
The new (left) one is 150*106 pixels and 5,805 bytes. The old (right) one was 168*119 pixels and 7,121 bytes. Every little helps ...
About sprites
- Google's Sprite Image is a Thing of Beauty
- Design patterns for accessible, crawlable and indexable content
- Google Search Page with Styles Disabled Reveals CSS Sprites
- CSS Sprites: What they are, why they're cool, and how to use them
- How to minimize load times for fast user experience.
