Microsoft Edge browser is dead, long live Chromium.

[mxnerd]

Microsoft is reportedly replacing Edge with a Chromium-based browser .

https://techcrunch.com/2018/12/04/m...-replacing-edge-with-a-chromium-based-browser

https://www.theverge.com/2018/12/4/18125238/microsoft-chrome-browser-windows-10-edge-chromium

https://www.windowscentral.com/microsoft-building-chromium-powered-web-browser-windows-10

 

[UsandThem]

Just like many of their various efforts, too little too late when it came to the Edge browser. Reminds me of when I first tried to use their online music store when Windows 10 first launched, overly complicated and not user friendly. Not to mention being among the last to offer tabs.

No extensions allowed when it first launched, and by the time they fixed that, the developers never really put much out in the Microsoft store. Even if this new browser turns out great, based on their past track record, I doubt I will even mess with it much.

 

[daveybrat]

If you can't beat em, join em! I'm actually glad they've decided to move to a more universal rendering engine. I am not a fan of Edge at all so any change is welcomed.

 

[EXCellR8]

They'll still find a way for muck it up I'm sure.

At this point any new proprietary web browser is simply not going to be widely used... is what someone probably tried to tell MS when they started developing Edge.

 

[UsandThem]

They'll still find a way for muck it up I'm sure.

At this point any new proprietary web browser is simply not going to be widely used... is what someone probably tried to tell MS when they started developing Edge.

What amazes me is Microsoft was so dominate with their market share of web browsers, and through their own incompetence, slowly gave it all away by doing things the "the Steve Ballmer way". It takes a special kind of incompetence from controlling 99% of the browser segment and somehow letting it go all the way down to around 10%. I mean it's the included default browser of the most used OS in existence, and it's so bad that most people go and download a competing product.

And I'm not a Microsoft "hater" at all, just a person who watched Ballmer make some really boneheaded decisions, and amazed the board of directors let him stay as long as he did.

 

[EXCellR8]

Is that the dude who dribbled basketballs down the hall?

I tried Edge a few times and there was just zero incentive to actually use it over existing reputable browsers.

 

[Alpha One Seven]

Vivaldi FTW. I will not give google anything that they can sell for money unless they cut me in.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Ok, this is all well and good for Chrome/Chromium browser fans (I am not), but what about Netflix 4K users? In order to play Netflix 4K on PC, you need a whole bunch of things, and among them, is using the MS Edge browser, or the Netflix app on Windows 10. No other browser supports Netflix 4K. (I presume that MS put a priority on implementing secure DRM for Netflix and other content providers in Edge.)

 

[Carfax83]

The main problem with Edge is that it never improved it fast enough to compete with other browsers. In the nascent stages of Windows 10, the slow pace of iteration caused irreversible damage to Edge's credibility as it was too unstable and buggy to be used as a primary browser for a long time. While other browsers are updated on a routine basis via a browser update function, Edge is only updated along with the OS itself which is ridiculous in the modern era. Combine that with lower than expected web page compatibility due to Chrome's dominance, and it's a tough pill to swallow.

Personally though I still use Edge as my main browser on desktop, because it's not from Google. I already use Chrome on my Pixel 3 XL, so that's enough data mining for me. Despite its shortcomings though, Edge has improved greatly over the years and offers comparable performance, stability, security and feature set as Google Chrome. In fact, I would say that Edge has the best hardware acceleration of any browser out now. The main problem for Edge currently is web compatibility rather than performance and stability, so switching to Chromium for the renderer would certainly improve things greatly on that front.

This is a good move for Microsoft!

 

[pcslookout]

You mean love live Firefox!

 

[mxnerd]

Ok, this is all well and good for Chrome/Chromium browser fans (I am not), but what about Netflix 4K users? In order to play Netflix 4K on PC, you need a whole bunch of things, and among them, is using the MS Edge browser, or the Netflix app on Windows 10. No other browser supports Netflix 4K. (I presume that MS put a priority on implementing secure DRM for Netflix and other content providers in Edge.)

I don't think MS will remove Edge at next Windows 10 release. It will leave it there like IE and just does not improve Edge any more. MS probably will also cooperate with Nexflix and bring DRM to Chromium project.

So you probably will see 3 browsers being bundled with next Windows update.

 

[pcslookout]

I don't think MS will remove Edge at next Windows 10 release. It will leave it there like IE and just does not improve Edge any more. MS probably will also cooperate with Nexflix and bring DRM to Chromium project.

So you probably will see 3 browsers being bundled with next Windows update.

That sucks.

 

[mxnerd]

That sucks.

People love free stuff. The more the better, even if they never use it.

 

[pcslookout]

People love free stuff. The more the better, even if they never use it.

I guess.

 

[SpaceBeer]

The main problem for Edge currently is web compatibility rather than performance and stability, so switching to Chromium for the renderer would certainly improve things greatly on that front.

Quite the opposite for me. Compatibility is/was good, but performance was sluggish

On the topic - After some thinking, this is actually good thing. Cause every new (version of) MS product failed and/or lost significant % of users. So I'm hoping this is the beginning of the end for Chromium. Even though I'm Vivaldi (but also Opera and Firefox) user

 

[quikah]

most likely they are just replacing the rendering engine, edgehtml, so the Edge the app will not change.

Edge works fine in Android which is already using chromium.

 

[Muse]

So, basically you're saying Edge is getting the Chromium engine so it will work and not crap, but it's staying Edge. I use Firefox and Pale Moon a lot, but sometimes things don't work in Pale Moon and I have to use a different browser. I don't remember a single customer support rep having heard of Pale Moon.

 

[GoodRevrnd]

Ok, this is all well and good for Chrome/Chromium browser fans (I am not), but what about Netflix 4K users? In order to play Netflix 4K on PC, you need a whole bunch of things, and among them, is using the MS Edge browser, or the Netflix app on Windows 10. No other browser supports Netflix 4K. (I presume that MS put a priority on implementing secure DRM for Netflix and other content providers in Edge.)

There's some Google DRM engine in Chrome which you can also load into other Chromium browsers. I expect Netflix will be motivated to find an alternative to Silverlight now, or MS may just add their own DRM layer into Chromium.

As far as Chromium browsers go, Brave ftw.

 

[quikah]

There's some Google DRM engine in Chrome which you can also load into other Chromium browsers. I expect Netflix will be motivated to find an alternative to Silverlight now, or MS may just add their own DRM layer into Chromium.

As far as Chromium browsers go, Brave ftw.

Silverlight has been deprecated for years. Netfiix uses an HTML5 player now. I think they still support Silverlight for old systems.

 

[quikah]

The official announcement:

https://blogs.windows.com/windowsex...etter-through-more-open-source-collaboration/

 

[Medeia]

Chrome is just a terrible browser though, for low end users it offers to slow down their pc just for their fancy interface. Google in general is just a bad company, with bad products, and I wouldn't forget to mention the amount of data they collect off of you. If you want a good browser use fire fox, if you want a good search engine use DuckDuck GO! They work really well together, and it doesn't steal info, or degrade performance as much as chrome.
Edit: I know the difference, I just don't care for either.

 

[Rifter]

Chrome is just a terrible browser though, for low end users it offers to slow down their pc just for their fancy interface. Google in general is just a bad company, with bad products, and I wouldn't forget to mention the amount of data they collect off of you. If you want a good browser use fire fox, if you want a good search engine use DuckDuck GO! They work really well together, and it doesn't steal info, or degrade performance as much as chrome.
Edit: I know the difference, I just don't care for either.

For PC sure but on android firefox is just horribly slow.

 

[lxskllr]

Putting all the eggs in google's basket isn't good for anybody. It'll be their game to do as they wish. Sound familiar to anyone?

 

[mxnerd]

Microsoft confirmed the move.

https://blogs.windows.com/windowsex...pen-source-collaboration/#kOXeo46p4S5papmb.97

1. We will move to a Chromium-compatible web platform for Microsoft Edge on the desktop. Our intent is to align the Microsoft Edge web platform simultaneously (a) with web standards and (b) with other Chromium-based browsers. This will deliver improved compatibility for everyone and create a simpler test-matrix for web developers.​

​

2. Microsoft Edge will now be delivered and updated for all supported versions of Windows and on a more frequent cadence. We also expect this work to enable us to bring Microsoft Edge to other platforms like macOS. Improving the web-platform experience for both end users and developers requires that the web platform and the browser be consistently available to as many devices as possible. To accomplish this, we will evolve the browser code more broadly, so that our distribution model offers an updated Microsoft Edge experience + platform across all supported versions of Windows, while still maintaining the benefits of the browser’s close integration with Windows.​

​

3. We will contribute web platform enhancements to make Chromium-based browsers better on Windows devices. Our philosophy of greater participation in Chromium open source will embrace contribution of beneficial new tech, consistent with some of the work we described above. We recognize that making the web better on Windows is good for our customers, partners and our business – and we intend to actively contribute to that end.​

​

 

[Ichinisan]

I'm glad there will be fewer rendering engines now. No good reason to maintain a proprietary one at this point.