Google on Tuesday introduced a new way to assess the speed of one’s Web browser, a JavaScript benchmark test suite called Octane. Google has long been concerned about the speed of Web applications because slow online interactions drive users away. The company talks about speed constantly and regularly introduces software such as its Page Speed browser extension, which helps publishers assess Web page performance. Many of Google’s Web applications rely on JavaScript, so naturally the company wants to make sure that its Chrome Web browser, as well as other Web browsers, run JavaScript code as fast as possible.