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Microsoft Edge On Windows 10: the Browser That Will Finally Kill IE
An anonymous reader writes: Windows 10 launches today and with it comes a whole new browser, Microsoft Edge. You can still use Internet Explorer if you want, but it's not the default. IE turns 20 in less than a month, which is ancient in internet years, so it's not surprising that Microsoft is shoving it aside. Still, leaving behind IE and launching a new browser built from the ground up marks the end of an era for Microsoft. “Knowing that browsing is still one of the very top activities that people do on a PC, we knew there was an opportunity, and really an obligation, to push the web browsing experience and so that’s what we’ve done with Microsoft Edge," Drew DeBruyne, director of program management at Microsoft told VentureBeat.
Because if so, it'll be just as dangerous as it ever was.
I think Firefox dealt it the mortal blow, and then Chrome finished the job.
The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
New Browser code from Microsoft written from the ground up? Time to go look up details on Microsoft's Bug Bounty program.
YEAAAAAAAAAHHHHH
You might be wondering, why didn’t Microsoft put Cortana in a different place in Edge; why the address bar? DeBruyne spelled it out for us: “Second to the start menu, it’s probably the most trafficked place in the Windows user interface.”
So why did you remove the start menu in windows 8?
"He then laid out Microsoft’s three goals with Edge:"
1) Build a browser that feels “responsive, fast, and lightweight” but that is also “clean, doesn’t get in your way, and also works great with the modern web.”
No, idiot, build a browser that IS responsive, fast, and lightweight. I don't care how it makes me 'feel'.
2) Build a browser that is trusted and lets people feel safe.
Again, no, I want the browser to BE safe, and don't care how it makes me 'feel'. All this touchy feely crap you can leave to the hippies. Also if you want me to trust your browser, then make the code open-source and the software FREE (as in speech, not beer)
3) Build a browser that is “personal and productive,” fitting in with what Microsoft is trying to do overall as a company.
No, I don't want a personal browser, I want a simple browser that answers 1 and 2 without the bloat that is IE (or worse Office)
I tried Edge on my Windows tablet and wasn't impressed. The controls were smaller and harder to manipulate. My IE shortcuts were not imported to Edge, so I would have had to start all over.
I installed Windows 10 on my tablet, tried Edge, then uninstalled Windows 10 from my tablet.
The changes in Windows 10 make it more of a desktop OS, but make it much harder, imo, to start the programs you want on a tablet. The large buttons on the Metro 'Start' menu are gone. Apps open in floating windows. Essentially, everything became tiny and hard to manipulate with the touch screen.
It wasn't enough to keep Windows 10. Luckily there is an 'uninstall' option and my tablet is reverted back to 8.1 now. You have 30 days after upgrading to revert. The revert was quick, it only took about 20 minutes.
Nope, we just keep supporting the standards, and Edge will work just fine. If all goes well, we'll actually be able to DROP support for more older browsers as more people migrate off XP & Vista.
That's the dream, anyway. :)
...still needs work. Here's what I saw this morning on twitter from Jeff Atwood (of CodingHorror / StackExchange fame)
errr.. is there any way to use MS Edge browser in fullscreen mode on tablet? I see a lot of wasted toolbar space here.
Richard Gregg @odgregg 10h10 hours ago
@codinghorror No. And even F11 doesn't go fullscreen
Jeff Atwood @codinghorror 10h10 hours ago
@odgregg :( so much screen space wasted, toolbar at bottom, 2 toolbars at top. Bad regression now I see what @drpizza was on about
Richard Gregg @odgregg 10h10 hours ago @codinghorror @drpizza Yeah, edge definitely seems only 2/3rds there so far. Web notes should have been lower priority
pretty good...only filed about 450 bugs
Only Microsoft can lower expectations so much that 450 bugs is considered "pretty good."
"IE turns 20 in less than a month, which is ancient in internet years , so it's not surprising that Microsoft is shoving it aside."
Hard to get into the article when the summary is already so full of B.S.
Let's see now, the internet itself is over 25 years old; guess it's got to go. Linux is also nearly 25 years old; what a fossil. Heck, Windows is nearly 30 years old; how can Microsoft justify selling such an outdated P.O.S?
The reason I.E needs to go has little to do with it's age and more to do with it's design/implementation. As with many high-profile Microsoft products, the focus on useability for novices has caused severe problems over the years:
Microsoft Windows nearly single-handedly created the antivirus industry by neglecting security (and still does to this day).
Microsoft Outlook (aka Outbreak) allowed these problem to be sent/received from people all over the world.
Microsoft Internet Explorer just spread the problem beyond the people on your mailing lists.
Think about all the other security problems Microsoft introduced as 'features' (like ActiveX and embedded scripts).
What do we get in return, operating systems that constantly ask the novice user if they are sure they want to run this program (for seemingly any program to be run). Novice users don't know any better and the constant annoyance means they click yes faster than an I Agree on a EULA.
I just wish Microsoft could put a little more effort into making an operating system that is still usable by novices without sacrificing the security that we all need and deserve in the 'internet age.'
I guess you haven't found the "tablet mode" feature.
IE is like the horror movie killer that keeps coming back after repeated stabbings, burnings and exorcisms. Call it Chuckie, Freddie or a Leprechaun, it will be back.
I don't see why people think IE can be "killed." Until you convince curmudgeony old people (like governments) whose web-based tools break on anything other than IE to pay green money to update their websites, IE will stick around. And, since some people (mostly governments) will never be willing to pay money to fix something that "isn't broken" (as long as you use it on IE), IE will never, ever be completely dispensable.
Other than superficial UI bullshit, does Windows 10 have any features? Was there any kernel development? If so, what was produced?
Yes, they've now added an "Ex" suffix to every system call. You now have to specify an average of 17 flag constants each with a name that averages of 30 upper-case characters, as well as initialize and provide "long pointers" to an average of five large C structures for each request you make to the OS.
IE turns 20 in less than a month, which is ancient in internet years
Look, the Internet has been around more than 25yrs. Can we stop this internet speed "really moves fast" thing. Really. Facebook has been around since 2008 and Google since 1998. And look at their progress. Not much since 2006-2008. If you want beta, crappy apps and ideas, and stupid trends, yes, the Internet "moves fast" in that context. If you want services & products that you incorporate into your life, aka the real "Internet" (ignoring the hipsters that adopt anything), it's actually a slow process on par with other industries.
I did not expect to come here and fine someone complaining about how great Windows 8 is.
The Daddy casts sleep on the Baby. The Baby resists!
Windows 7 fell out of mainstream support January 13, 2015. That means no new features.
It's a shame that Microsoft is unable to develop a browser that is not part of the operating system, as it results in disappointed customers who want to try the new version of the browser app.
.
Oddly, both Mozilla and Google seem to have the technical wherewithal to develop browsers that are not part of the operating system. I wonder why Microsoft is so incapable of such a technical accomplishment.
The core browser functionality is there and working, but there is still a lot missing. For example, the right-clicking on a hyperlink only has options for opening in a new tab or new window. All the other options (Copy Shortcut, Properties, Save Target As..., etc.) are missing. As previously mentioned, F11 doesn't do anything and there doesn't seem to be any way to run full-screen at all (just maximized, which leave the title bar). Also, when first launched, the address bar is not shown - this feels very strange (I'm not in the habit of typing URLs into search boxes, and it makes actually searching for pages containing a URL to not work as expected.).
Hopefully with their new "continuous releases" process, these things will come incrementally and regularly.
It's great when you can get away with that, but all too many companies (like where I work) have to deal with our customers as they are, not how we would wish them to be.
It's all the people like you who are the problem. If "use something standards-compliant or have a bad experience" were the universal norm, we wouldn't have these problems.
You say that like you think it's my decision to do this. I assure you, it is not.
I still run the Zune software and have a Zune Subscription. I don't know what you're talking about, because I'm still enjoying my 10 free songs per month!
Hey Cortana, how can I block ads when I'm using Edge?
systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
Who the hell modded this clown up?
There is a tablet mode, which you failed to figure out!
What! Windows 10 isn't sophisticated enough to figure out if it is running on a tablet?
If you are not allowed to question your government then the government has answered your question.
I just installed windows 10 yesterday as an upgrade to windows 8.1.
it kept all my settings, in a very accurate way except for one : it replaced my browser with edge. So at the first reboot I launched chrome, and it whined about not being my defaut browser, so I clicked the "make chrome my defaut browser" button, and a window came, recapitulating my prefered apps for music / videos / etc, I thought to myself that it was thoughtful to show me all those settings, but I had other things to do, so I closed that window.
Well, next reboot, same problem : chrome wasn't my default browser, you actually have to go to the bottom of the window that pops up, and the deselect edge for your prefered browser at the bottom of the window. So I finally did it.
I thought about the same thing : " ... browsing is still one of the very top activities that people do on a PC" yes, so why the hell don't they change the browser as chrome requested, and why the hell do they put this option on the bottom of the window, which is not visible unless I scrolled down (I have a 1920x1080 screen) ?
well I think I know why, I'll be sure to check edge's market share in the next months.
-- moo
The irony here is that Microsoft never had interest in 'web browsing' on the internet. IE was simply a response to the popularity of Netscape in the 90s. Microsoft envisioned an internet where desktop apps would use web services under the covers to get data over the internet. Being locked in and locked down is essentially what they wanted. Also Microsoft attempted several times to kill off development of the browser once IE had marketshare. They also claimed there was no more innovation to be had in the modern web browser. So after all of this, perhaps Microsoft is changing their mind.
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