The newest web browser from Microsoft will be called Microsoft Edge which will be the official name of the project codenamed Spartan.
Microsoft’s vice president of operating systems, Joe Belfiore, said at Microsoft’s annual build developer’s conference in San Francisco, that the new browser will ship with Windows 10 on all devices and will eventually replace the aging Internet Explorer web browser.
Microsoft Edge will be able to run Google Chrome and Firefox extensions allowing developers to carry their favourite plugins between browsers. However exactly how users will be able to download and install other plugins is still uncertain.
The name “Edge” is actually taken from the new rendering engine called EdgeHTML which the new web browser will try to use as default in Windows 10.
Microsoft Edge is designed to be basic and have minimal standard features so you can bolt on exactly what you want using plugins and extensions. However the review version of Microsoft Edge does come with some features like digital ink annotation, Cortana integration, and a built-in reading list. Microsoft Edge is designed to give users new ways to interact with the code behind websites, offering them new degrees of website interactivity rather than just the bland “read-only” style we currently see today.
There was no mentioned of a release date for the Edge browser, only that it will ship with Windows 10 so it’s unlikely you’ll be able to download it as a standalone browser until sometime after the release of Windows 10.
The Author
10 Comments
In my opinion, Edge browser completely sucks. But I think the same about Windows 10 now anyway having been fool enough to upgrade to it. I haven’t had such a slow browser which stops scrolling for so long since long in the past. I know Microsoft were aiming to bring back familiar aspects with Windows 10, slow web browsing is NOT something I imagine was on the agenda but nevertheless, here it is! Welcome to Microsoft Edge!! – Edge of insanity, maybe?
So far I have had to completely disable Windows update because it updates drivers without your consent and there is no choice to stop it. They update at any time they like and even default specific options such as using your upload bandwidth to provide torrent swarm like facilities to help other Windows 10 users update quickly. There are so many advertising nasties and neatly hidden away. You really have to do some reading to know they are they and then turn them off, or, if no option is available, disable them completely.
Windows update also now interferes with things like Nvidia GFE which locks the system in an infinite loop of updating drivers like a crazy game of infinite driver tennis. But back to Edge browser…
No extension or plug in capability at launch, even though it is supposed to be possible to incorporate chrome plugins. Slow as hell like being back on 14.4. Doesn’t use include support for a number of platforms, such as java, but offers no solution bar that of using another browser instead. Who the hell wants to keep swapping backward and forward between browsers? Not I.
Why is it that Microsoft always cock up the simplest and most obvious of things. Wood, Trees, problem with sight? Who knows. Needless to say in my opinion Windows 10 has been the biggest setback for Microsoft to date, comes as no real surprise when you think of all the other cockups made along the way and is a perfect note to end my use of a Microsoft operating system on for good.
Stop playing at providing suitable front ends, either do it or don’t. We don’t want to be tied in to privacy violations which you state in the middle of small print, dancing between the legal and moral lines. I have just installed Ubuntu today and feel the better for it. Once I have transferred my files over to that directory I will be deleting MS once and for all. I think 20 years of patience is enough, right? I mean, in my opinion it’s been the same garbage since 95. That and blame 3rd parties for pretty much everything that doesn’t work. Outta here.
Thanks Graham, I really appreciate your input.
Damn, Graham just nailed it.
These are exactly my thoughts on Windows 10 overall. I found MS Edge just a skinned IE 11. With ALL the problems IE 11 had still there and most notably the plugins/extensions incompatibility. I couldn’t even install an AdBlock plugin and MS expects from me to use a browser that refuses to block ads that are shoved down our throats like a chocking torture.
As for Windows 10 itself I haven’t seen anything spectacular and I don’t expect to see anything new in the future.
I believe that Windows 10 is MS’s last card in the desktop market and they just blew it. Cortana doesn’t work except 4-5 languages and even then it’s useless, the privacy issues are mind boggling, the minor speed improvements does NOT justify a whole “new” OS, the tiles are still there and you don’t have the option to change them only if you heavily modify the system, Windows Store is just a failure and mark my words on this: like Windows 8 Store, it won’t be a success, hardware compatibility is still epic fail due to all those 3rd party providers that just refuse to release drivers for Windows 10 (I still can’t find a Touchpad driver to make it Autoscroll…), they brought back the Start Menu only to make it 10 times worst than it was in Windows 7 or even in Windows 8 with Classic Shell (Live Tiles are useless and very few people are gonna use them, the navigation in the Start Menu became much more complicated for NO reason whatsoever and so many other issues…
But, HEY! You got a useless Cortana! Workspaces that KDE invented since 1995, beautiful Tiles, TIIIIIIILES!, so upgrade today for free and hand us over all your personal info so that we can make a fortune out of you…………..
The ONLY good think I’ve seen after upgrading it was that for some devices Windows Update found and installed the most current drivers. That’s all. No further innovation. No further improvement to justify a new Windows release.
All those “new” features in Windows 10 are usually coming to Linux in a single update in a 6 month period and even earlier. The time has come, for me at least, to dive deep into Linux and no more staying away from it cause I am too bored to solve some minor problems I might encounter.
Like Graham said I’m counting days with Windows 10 before changing once and for all to an Ubuntu based distro and that’s cause I am in my final step towards completely stop playing games and wasting my time. Why? Because Ubuntu has everything I need without privacy issues, driver/registry/dll mayhem, and a beautiful customization world full of options that lets every user make the OS truly personal. Because I want convenience, no more searching for bad written blob drivers. I want security and peace of mind from spyware/crapware/viruses/hidden installation programms etc. I want an OS to USE and NOT and a constant advertisement suite. I want an OS in MY machine and NOT a cloud OS.
Goodbye Windows, thanks for nothing and you won’t be missed cause I refuse to become your product.
Oh I forgot something in my previous message and please if you have any way of informing MS or any other famous troubleshooting website about Windows please transfer to them the solution to an issue I ‘ve encountered during a Windows 10 upgrade on an Asus laptop from a friend.
After the upgrade to Windows 10 from Windows 7 to secure the device ID and then clean install Windows 10 the desktop icons were missing after a couple of hours. Windows file explorer was crashing constantly and I couldn’t do anything. Also the startup time was almost 2-3 minutes longer than the first boot.
After a lot of trial and error, many hours of web searching for a solution and completely dissasebling the laptop to identify the faulty part (I thought at first the HDD had died but even with a second HDD the issue persisted as I couldn’t boot from USB pendrive to reinstall) I came to find that the MemCard Reader had a mounted MicroSD card. After removing the SD card Windows 10 booted up and worked normally.
I still can’t understand why this happened and now the Card Reader works fine like before without reinstalling the driver or any other ‘fix’ done by me or Windows Update.
Microsoft Edge:
(1) You cannot create a short-cut of a website, to your desktop.
My response – Are you kidding me? It’s 2015 and you removed that functionality?
(2) You cannot create your own speed dial websites.
My response – Are you kidding me? It’s 2015 and you still haven’t included this feature that just about every single web browser out there, supports.
Microsoft is run by a bunch of clowns that haven’t a clue what the average user wants.
I’m not kidding at all – who in their right frame of mind would remove or simply not include these features?
To any Microsoft employee reading this – you’re a clown and should frankly be embarrassed.
I know just about nothing when it comes to computers. If we delete Microsoft Edge and replace it with Internet Explorer 11 would it cause things not to run properly on Windows 10? I hate Microsoft Edge because from what I can see, you can’t even set your homepage to whatever you want it to be, like I usually set mine to google.com. Its like an MSN Page, which I hate. I tried the highlight feature, and once you use it, it wont quit unless you close the page and start it up again, at least from what I can see. Its like they create all these things for 12 year olds. Like a little kid who wants to doodle on the page and use gigantic tiles to click on. They don’t seem to realize that some of us actually use our computers for WORK, and not entertainment.
Let’s see–it took me over an hour to figure out how to get rid of a bunch of News Feed crap that automatically comes up with video thumbnails and all in the Edge. I read several articles and finally was able to get my workplace Web site set as my Home Page, only to discover that there is no discernable search bar anywhere. What I hate the most is the inability to right-click on stuff anymore almost anywhere. I am a right-clicker. Since day one I have taught all my students to right-click. Now no one can right-click anymore. Sucks!!! I will get rid of Windows 10 and may it burn in hell!
The problems with Windows 10 has just about been covered by the above. I took the downgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 10. It is very annoying to have the applications (programs) called apps. There is no search bar in Edge most of the time and I refuse to search from the Address bar. I hate when you type in an IP address and it comes back and says it can’t find it. Then you have to go punch in http:// in front of it to go to a device or site by the IP. It is an improvement over Windows 8 but it is a huge setback from Windows 7. I though having square or rectangular icons went out with Windows 3.11. You can’t even click on the Settings to get to the control panel any more. Windows 10 is bad and Edge completely sucks. Been dabbling with Ubuntu for some time, but since I’m in the tech business I am forced to use Microsoft. I think it will be some time before some of the Industry related programs will be running on Windows 10 I don’t know of any that ever used Windows 8. Very disappointed with Microsoft. It seems that with every “upgrade” Microsoft takes away something that made sense and now have to make an extra step or two to do the same thing.
I stopped in to let any readers know that Edge has not gotten any better; in fact it’s gotten worse. I have 3 windows open with about 7 tabs per window. I know that sounds like a lot; but I work off of 4 monitors with a lot of information needed at all times. Now when I close 1 tab (from any Edge Window) it shuts down Edge completely. Not just the 1 Tab; all 7 Tabs in 3 Windows. I agree with the poster above; Microsoft has no clue what it’s customers need and if you think making a crap OS and Web Browser for millennials is going to keep you relevant; you’re sadly mistaken. We need business machines; not web browsing screens. Also if you trade the markets; watch out, Microsoft pushed through an update (disregarding my settings, good job..) at 7:55am; this update restarted my computer and took over 30 minutes. Well the FOMC Minutes were released during that time and I was unable to place or close any of my trades. Microsoft cost me a good bit of money that day. Do they care? No. Some half backed teenager from some other part of the world is going to read a script of step by step instructions; totally disregarding anything you have said or done already. Microsoft is a crap company and so is Apple. Unfortunatley due to program restrictions; I’m stuck with this p.o.s. OS and Web Browser. Also use LibreOffice; Microsoft Office is a steamy pile.
Yes, it sucks. Tried to print a mailing label through USPS.com after clicking on PRINT and nothing happens. Switched over to Chrome and printed immediately. What a joke.