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Microsoft's Chromium-Based Edge Browser Looks Just Like Chrome (neowin.net)
Last December, Microsoft announced that it has embraced Google's Chromium open source project for Edge development on the desktop, a move that shocked many. We now have some leaked screenshots of the browser in its current state, and they appear to show a browser resembling Google Chrome. Neowin reports: A lot of the design language and icons have remained similar to what they were like before, but there are definitely many changes that will be familiar to Chrome users. For one, the options to see all your tabs and to set aside the currently open tabs have been removed compared to the current version of Edge. To the right of the address bar, you'll be able to find your extensions, as well as your profile picture similar to what Chrome looks like. Bing is integrated into the browser -- as you'd expect of a Microsoft-made browser -- and the New Tab background can be set to rotate based on Bing's image of the day. Scrolling down will reveal a personalized news feed powered by Microsoft News, similar to the old Edge. The layout of the feed can be customised based on your preference from among a number of options.
The settings options for the browser have also changed. While Edge settings are currently available via a slide-out menu from the right, the new Edge's settings are accessible through a new tab similar to Chrome. It'll show the Microsoft account you're logged into, as well as the usual array of toggles and tidbits you'd expect. Ominously, the about page for the browser now acknowledges the contributions of the Chromium project, as well as other open source software, a stark reminder that this isn't the Microsoft of yesteryear. This is a new browser, and a new Microsoft.
The settings options for the browser have also changed. While Edge settings are currently available via a slide-out menu from the right, the new Edge's settings are accessible through a new tab similar to Chrome. It'll show the Microsoft account you're logged into, as well as the usual array of toggles and tidbits you'd expect. Ominously, the about page for the browser now acknowledges the contributions of the Chromium project, as well as other open source software, a stark reminder that this isn't the Microsoft of yesteryear. This is a new browser, and a new Microsoft.
Maybe MS is going for the "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" tactic here. Personally, if I were the execs at MS I would've wanted to team up with Firefox to try to take down the giant rather than pretend to be just like the giant.
And the second best time is today. It is a sad day for the Web when Microsoft shifts not to making Edge's code free software and developing a community around it but throwing in their lot with the Apple/Google/Opera behemoth based on Blink/WebKit. And to be clear, I don't even have a beef with their browsers and rendering engines on a technical level (other than proprietary components of Chrome, Opera, and Safari) but how can it be good for the Web if virtually everyone is using the same browser that is controlled by a handful of mammoth companies?
One more time, "Embrace Extend"
.....Extinguish.....
Another consultant who stuck it out.
"We are the Priests, of the Temples of Syrinx..."
You mean to tell me that a relatively new customization of an open source project... still looks a lot like the original!? I'm shocked!
Embrace, Extend... Extinguish.