Microsoft Edge browser is dead, long live Chromium.

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mxnerd

Diamond Member
Jul 6, 2007
6,799
1,100
126
I'm glad there will be fewer rendering engines now. No good reason to maintain a proprietary one at this point.

Yeah. Though I hate that Chrome has become a memory hog, I welcome that there are fewer render engines to worry about, either from user or developer's perspectives.

We still have Firefox. :)
 

Raduque

Lifer
Aug 22, 2004
13,141
138
106
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.

Edge is a great browser and EdgeHTML is a great renderer. I'm upset it's going away. It legit ruined my mood for the rest of the day when I read it.

Now we just have Yet Another Chrome(ium) browser. There goes my Surface battery life! *sigh*
 

RLGL

Platinum Member
Jan 8, 2013
2,062
294
126
I am in the preview program and have seen references to something coming for Edge
 

Mukashisaigua

Junior Member
Dec 9, 2018
6
2
11
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. :p
Lynx, W3M, and with Server 2019: vim.
 

mikeymikec

Lifer
May 19, 2011
17,578
9,268
136
The move will allow deeper integration of Chromium and Chrome on Windows, which will lead to major improvements in performance and battery life.

https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/...on-chromium-will-fundamentally-change-the-web

That's a rather optimistic view, given MS's history. Is Chrome's licensing scheme GPL-ish? I doubt it. If I'm correct, then why on earth would MS spend time in committing particularly useful improvements back to Chromium and thereby helping its competitor?
 

mxnerd

Diamond Member
Jul 6, 2007
6,799
1,100
126
That's a rather optimistic view, given MS's history. Is Chrome's licensing scheme GPL-ish? I doubt it. If I'm correct, then why on earth would MS spend time in committing particularly useful improvements back to Chromium and thereby helping its competitor?

It seems the Chromium licensing scheme is BSD. So MS doesn't have to give the code back.

https://chromium.googlesource.com/chromium/src/+/master/LICENSE


However Microsof said:

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.

Let's see.
 
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KentState

Diamond Member
Oct 19, 2001
8,397
393
126
Still doesn't change the fact that there are a few ecosystems and Microsoft hasn't figured out how to fit into the mobile market. While Chrome hit the desktop first, the deep integration of Google Services in Android and availability on iOS make it very appealing. With the majority of content consumed and shopping on mobile devices, MS has to find a better way to dip into that space. Yes, you can install Bing, Outlook and their browser but it's not a great experience since there are holes in the stack like navigation/maps, wallets and a viable video/music experience. MS knows this, but a pop-up asking to link my phone to my Windows 10 desktop isn't going to do it.
 

phillyTIM

Golden Member
Jan 12, 2001
1,942
10
81
Ugh - I'll stay with Firefox until they pry it from my cold, dead hands - before I'd ever use Chrome again.

Such a wasted opportunity for Microsoft to not choose Firefox, and keep competition/innovation alive on the web! :(
 
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mxnerd

Diamond Member
Jul 6, 2007
6,799
1,100
126
Former Microsoft intern claims Google may have sabotaged Edge browser
https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/google-sabatage-microsoft-edge-web/

Software engineer Joshua Bakita explained why Microsoft chose to kill its EdgeHTML engine in favor of Chromium, and exactly how Google may have tried to trip up the Edge browser.

Bakita explained how Google would make changes to its YouTube property in such a subtle way that it would cause Edge’s browser engine to fail with specific tasks. In one example, it was noted that Google added a hidden bit of code, an empty div, over its YouTube videos. The modification caused Edge’s hardware acceleration to fail when playing videos, causing the browser to consume more energy. Moreover, as soon as the hidden code was added, Google began advertising how Chrome maintained better energy performance when watching videos.

==

Well, the above story might be true, but a while ago, Edge can't even display PDF files correctly on some non Google related websites, the docs were always half loaded then stopped.
 

Raduque

Lifer
Aug 22, 2004
13,141
138
106
Former Microsoft intern claims Google may have sabotaged Edge browser
https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/google-sabatage-microsoft-edge-web/

Software engineer Joshua Bakita explained why Microsoft chose to kill its EdgeHTML engine in favor of Chromium, and exactly how Google may have tried to trip up the Edge browser.

Bakita explained how Google would make changes to its YouTube property in such a subtle way that it would cause Edge’s browser engine to fail with specific tasks. In one example, it was noted that Google added a hidden bit of code, an empty div, over its YouTube videos. The modification caused Edge’s hardware acceleration to fail when playing videos, causing the browser to consume more energy. Moreover, as soon as the hidden code was added, Google began advertising how Chrome maintained better energy performance when watching videos.

==

Well, the above story might be true, but a while ago, Edge can't even display PDF files correctly on some non Google related websites, the docs were always half loaded then stopped.

Doesn't surprise me that Google figured a way to cause problems in EdgeHTML. I got so upset at those stupid "HUR DUR USE CHGROME!~" popups that I stopped using most of their websites and avoid their apps on Android as much as possible.

Do no evil my fat ass.
 

Ichinisan

Lifer
Oct 9, 2002
28,298
1,234
136
Doesn't surprise me that Google figured a way to cause problems in EdgeHTML. I got so upset at those stupid "HUR DUR USE CHGROME!~" popups that I stopped using most of their websites and avoid their apps on Android as much as possible.

Do no evil my fat ass.
Well, it doesn't look good for EdgeHTML that an empty div object disables hardware acceleration and causes extra power draw.
 

Raduque

Lifer
Aug 22, 2004
13,141
138
106
Well, it doesn't look good for EdgeHTML that an empty div object disables hardware acceleration and causes extra power draw.

Yes, but Google engineers are being assholes exploiting it to force people onto Chrome. I hate Chrome, and I hate Firefox. I'll still use Edge, I'm just sad it's now Yet Another Chromium Browser.
 

mikeymikec

Lifer
May 19, 2011
17,578
9,268
136
Yes, but Google engineers are being assholes exploiting it to force people onto Chrome. I hate Chrome, and I hate Firefox. I'll still use Edge, I'm just sad it's now Yet Another Chromium Browser.

Internet Explorer ? :)
 

coffeemonster

Senior member
Apr 18, 2015
241
86
101
anyone have much experience with Brave browser? I just installed it to try out as a chrome alternative and I'm liking it so far. It supports chrome extensions now.
 

mikeymikec

Lifer
May 19, 2011
17,578
9,268
136
Former Microsoft intern claims Google may have sabotaged Edge browser
https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/google-sabatage-microsoft-edge-web/

Software engineer Joshua Bakita explained why Microsoft chose to kill its EdgeHTML engine in favor of Chromium, and exactly how Google may have tried to trip up the Edge browser.

Bakita explained how Google would make changes to its YouTube property in such a subtle way that it would cause Edge’s browser engine to fail with specific tasks. In one example, it was noted that Google added a hidden bit of code, an empty div, over its YouTube videos. The modification caused Edge’s hardware acceleration to fail when playing videos, causing the browser to consume more energy. Moreover, as soon as the hidden code was added, Google began advertising how Chrome maintained better energy performance when watching videos.

==

Well, the above story might be true, but a while ago, Edge can't even display PDF files correctly on some non Google related websites, the docs were always half loaded then stopped.

It would be funny if MS ended up complaining about abuse of a monopoly and underhand browser-related tactics.
 

UsandThem

Elite Member
May 4, 2000
16,068
7,380
146
Bumping this thread up for new news / update on Chromium Edge. It also appears that Microsoft will have its own extension store, but users can apparently use most Chrome extensions as well:

https://www.theverge.com/2019/3/23/...hromium-browser-screenshots-features-hands-on
You’ll also be able to install Chrome extensions from Google’s online store, just by flipping a switch in the extensions settings. We’ve tried a number of extensions like 1Password and Ghostery, and they work just like you’d expect them to in Chrome.

twarren_edgechromium_11.jpg
 

Raduque

Lifer
Aug 22, 2004
13,141
138
106
If I can avoid it, I will never install this. Wonder how long I can keep using the Real Edge.
 

Raduque

Lifer
Aug 22, 2004
13,141
138
106
Until Windows 10 2019 April update next month?

I was hoping Edge as it is now would remain in the OS much like IE is still there, and that Chromedge would be a separate download.

EdgeHTML is truly a superior HTML rendering engine, and I really don't like the fact that Microsoft is taking the knee to Google.