News New Edge Browser now available

[Chiefcrowe]

This is the new chrome based Edge.

They probably won't push out the automatic update for a while but you can manually download it now here:

Get to Know Microsoft Edge

<p>Microsoft Edge is the AI-powered browser. A smarter way to browse. Learn more about built-in Edge features and capabilities that help you achieve more.</p>

www.microsoft.com

It seems pretty nice! I didn't realize they would have a macOS and iOS version and android version as well.

 

[CJones33]

I'm going to have to check this out and see how it runs. I didn't realize a new version was out.

 

[UsandThem]

They probably won't push out the automatic update for a while but you can manually download it now here:

The article I read says that Microsoft will begin rolling it out today in Windows Update, so I imagine Microsoft won't take too long to get this new browser installed on every Windows 10 PC out there. They want to be relevant again in the browser market share.

That said, I manually installed it and got everything configured. Seems fast, not bloated, and they even have extensions enabled on day 1!

I've only used it for about 10 minutes, but I already like it a lot better than the previous Edge.

 

[CJones33]

The article I read says that Microsoft will begin rolling it out today in Windows Update, so I imagine Microsoft won't take too long to get this new browser installed on every Windows 10 PC out there. They want to be relevant again in the browser market share.

That said, I manually installed it and got everything configured. Seems fast, not bloated, and they even have extensions enabled on day 1!

I've only used it for about 10 minutes, but I already like it a lot better than the previous Edge.

Well that's definitely good news, I'm always a bit hesitant when updated browsers get released haha so this is a relief.

 

[Chiefcrowe]

So far so good in testing here - it is very fast, and works on several of our sites that Edge did not work with!!

More info here:

Microsoft launches Chromium Edge for Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10, and macOS

Microsoft launched Edge based on Google's Chromium open source project for Windows 7, Windows 10, and macOS. This is Edge 79 stable.

venturebeat.com

 

[lxskllr]

What does it bring to the table over Chrome(ium)?

I don't like seeing a reduction of browsers. It'll give google defacto control over the web. Firefox is the last major(?) competitor that isn't using a reskinned chrome.

 

[jpiniero]

What does it bring to the table over Chrome(ium)?

I don't like seeing a reduction of browsers. It'll give google defacto control over the web. Firefox is the last major(?) competitor that isn't using a reskinned chrome.

It'd be good for developers so they don't have to support IE/Edge as much.

You still have Apple.

 

[Chiefcrowe]

FYI - Here is the link to download the msi version for businesses:

Download and Deploy Microsoft Edge for Business

Download and deploy the latest version of Microsoft Edge for Business for your organization. Get this fast and secure enterprise browser on Windows, Mac, or Linux.

www.microsoft.com

 

[Chiefcrowe]

On windows I think it is a great alternative for those who don't want to use the google brower. I think that it sends back less info than chrome does. It should allow all the same extensions as well.

From reading this review, the Collections feature sounds like it could be useful:

Microsoft ‘new’ Edge review: Microsoft’s Chromium-based browser gets the job done

Microsoft's new Chromium-based Edge will show up soon on your Windows 10 PC. It performs adequately and has a few unique features, but it faces an uphill battle against Chrome.

www.pcworld.com

I do agree with you about the reduction of browser engines. I am going to use this new Edge as a secondary browser, still preferring Firefox.

Unfortunately, the old Edge wasn't really that great and we saw a lot of incompatibility issues even with our own Microsoft platform websites!!!

What does it bring to the table over Chrome(ium)?

I don't like seeing a reduction of browsers. It'll give google defacto control over the web. Firefox is the last major(?) competitor that isn't using a reskinned chrome.

 

[quikah]

I have been using the Dev build for 6+ months now. It has worked great except for one week where they broke embeded video. The release build looks to be the same.

 

[UNCjigga]

OK, allow me to go off topic and rant about something for a minute. I tried the new Edge browser. First thing I noticed--it scrolls "better" on my PC. Smoother scrolling, with seemingly a higher "refresh rate" than Chrome. That makes no sense, right? And yet, the difference is clear as day.

Mind you, this is something that crops up every now and then on my main laptop. I don't have a slow machine--8th gen Core i7 with 16GB RAM and PCIE storage, discrete graphics, etc. But inevitably after a few months, certain apps (primarily Chrome and Office, so like 80% of my usage) seem to get "slow" at scrolling or refreshing content on the screen. I thought the culprit may have been some Logitech mouse/keyboard drivers, so I killed those and removed any Logi extensions from Chrome. Didn't fix it. The only way to fix it (at least for a few months) is to completely "refresh" my PC, lose all my apps, and start from scratch (and not install any drivers outside of Windows Update.)

Why is this so hard? I'm pretty convinced my next machine is a Mac.

 

[Chiefcrowe]

That is really strange about the slowness.. maybe it's a video driver issue? I haven't seen that before.

In testing, it looks like the new Edge is doing quite good compared to the others -

Browser Benchmark Battle: Chrome Vs. Firefox Vs. Edge Vs. Brave - Slashdot

An anonymous reader writes: It's been some 18 months since VentureBeat's last browser benchmark battle. What better time to get the latest results than the start of a new year? Over the past year and a half, Google Chrome has continued to dominate market share, Mozilla Firefox has doubled down...

news.slashdot.org

 

[EXCellR8]

Yea I don't have that issue; I've been using the Chromium Edge since beta

Enjoy your Mac though...

 

[UsandThem]

But inevitably after a few months, certain apps (primarily Chrome and Office, so like 80% of my usage) seem to get "slow" at scrolling or refreshing content on the screen.

Yea I don't have that issue; I've been using the Chromium Edge since beta

+1

Not sure why things like Office and Chrome would cause those type of symptoms. I haven't had that behavior on any of my machines. Maybe after using it for a while many programs getting automatically added (when installing various programs) to startup and are working in the background?

As long as you have a good CPU, a fast SSD, and enough RAM (which it sounds like you do), there is either too many background tasks or a component is getting flaky. You can always use Windows Task Manager (I like to use MSCONFIG for this) to see what is using your resources.

 

[balloonshark]

I might have to try this instead of Chrome as a backup browser if it works in Windows 8.1. Actually, it looks they have a download for Windows 8.1

I also just read that Google is going to phase out Chrome Apps. I assume this affect the new Edge.

Google said Wednesday that it will begin to phase out traditional Chrome apps starting in June, and winding down slowly over two years’ time. Chrome extensions, though, will live on.

Google said Tuesday in a blog post that it would stop accepting new Chrome apps in March. Existing apps could continue to be developed through June, 2022.

More info at this link.

 

[WelshBloke]

What does it bring to the table over Chrome(ium)?

I don't like seeing a reduction of browsers. It'll give google defacto control over the web. Firefox is the last major(?) competitor that isn't using a reskinned chrome.

How is the vanilla Chromium browser on windows? I might give that a go. I'm not seeing the utility in another branded version of it though.

 

[lxskllr]

How is the vanilla Chromium browser on windows? I might give that a go. I'm not seeing the utility in another branded version of it though.

I don't know. I haven't used windows in over ten years. Chromium on gnu/linux supposedly funnels less data to google, but I'm not convinced it's zero. I'm philosophically "married" to firefox. It works fine for me, and the up and the coming android version looks like it'll solve my complaints there. It's also a competitor to google, giving some modicum of diversity to the web, so I'm sticking with it.

 

[RLGL]

Quite frankly it sucks, never cared for Chrome either. Time to look at Firefox!

 

[UsandThem]

Quite frankly it sucks, never cared for Chrome either. Time to look at Firefox!

Since you haven't looked at Firefox, what browser have you been using?

 

[VirtualLarry]

OK, allow me to go off topic and rant about something for a minute. I tried the new Edge browser. First thing I noticed--it scrolls "better" on my PC. Smoother scrolling, with seemingly a higher "refresh rate" than Chrome. That makes no sense, right? And yet, the difference is clear as day.

Mind you, this is something that crops up every now and then on my main laptop. I don't have a slow machine--8th gen Core i7 with 16GB RAM and PCIE storage, discrete graphics, etc. But inevitably after a few months, certain apps (primarily Chrome and Office, so like 80% of my usage) seem to get "slow" at scrolling or refreshing content on the screen. I thought the culprit may have been some Logitech mouse/keyboard drivers, so I killed those and removed any Logi extensions from Chrome. Didn't fix it. The only way to fix it (at least for a few months) is to completely "refresh" my PC, lose all my apps, and start from scratch (and not install any drivers outside of Windows Update.)

Why is this so hard? I'm pretty convinced my next machine is a Mac.

Look up Memory Management and Large Pages or Huge Pages. It's a Group Policy setting, I believe, to enable them.

Same thing happens to mining software that uses a large expanse of Virtual Memory. Page mappings become fragmented, and slow everything down, once that happens. This is not "paging" per se, meaning moving pages of memory between RAM and backing store, or vice-versa, rather, that the data-structures for these virtual-to-physical mappings, become fragmented heavily, so that, say, copying a large area (screen scrolling, and displaying images, etc.), becomes slower, because every 4MB page, you need to re-looking the mapping for the next page. This happens semi-transparently in the processor, and is partially also handled in software (page fault handler).

It's vaguely similar to the internal block fragmentation that you don't get to see, inside an SSD (mapping tables), only, this has to do with the mappings between a processes' virtual address space, and physical RAM (and additionally, any space used in the backing store, aka "pagefile").

 

[JEDIYoda]

The article I read says that Microsoft will begin rolling it out today in Windows Update, so I imagine Microsoft won't take too long to get this new browser installed on every Windows 10 PC out there. They want to be relevant again in the browser market share.

That said, I manually installed it and got everything configured. Seems fast, not bloated, and they even have extensions enabled on day 1!

I've only used it for about 10 minutes, but I already like it a lot better than the previous Edge.

I just installed it and so far so good! I also like it better than the old Edge!!

 

[JEDIYoda]

sorry double post!

 

[biostud]

I really like it as well. Normally I'm a FF user, but I have installed Edge both on android and Win10. I prefer not to use chrome, so it is good to have two good browsers.

 

[Muadib]

First thing I noticed was ads! Took care of that quick!

 

[RLGL]

Since you haven't looked at Firefox, what browser have you been using?

The old Edge