In 2015, Microsoft announced that it was replacing the Internet Explorer browser with a new browser called Edge, which would be included in Windows 10. When I tried it out it was very clear it was an unfinished product that had been rushed into production. It lacked very basic capabilities, with the indication that they would come at some later point in time.
In the past day or two, you may have heard that Microsoft is introducing a feature in the edge mobile browser to warn you of “unreliable” news sources. Just a couple of days ago, Microsoft announced it was going to end support for Windows for phones, so I was puzzled who the audience for this incredible update was. Surely there are people running tablets using Windows, but…
Much to my surprise, I learned that Microsoft Edge is now available for IOS and Android! So I went ahead and downloaded Microsoft Edge to my Amazon fire tablet (from the Google Play store) and fired that puppy up. After about 2 minutes, I said to myself “hold your horses – this is Chrome!”
It turns out that Microsoft did abandon their own browser and replaced it with the open source Chrome that was released by Google. I am struggling to think of any reason people would want this product. Because it defaults to using Bing?
The NewsGuard feature is turned off by default. All it does is put a little red warning icon if you go to Drudge Report or Info Wars or Daily Mail (.uk). At least for now, it doesn’t block you or your children from accidentally viewing dangerous news.
Free speech. What a concept!
Edge was landfill fodder from the day it materialized. Our security at work is set so high that when you actually try to access an intranet site using Edge, you get a credentials prompt – even though you are already logged in. I assume that makes it a ‘Feature’ from Microsoft.
Polish has a word for Edge – gówna. (pronounced: goo ve nah)
Today there was a link (on Drudge) to an article over at Breitbart, exposing the blatant deceit of the NewsGuard ‘feature’. Apparently, Edge (MS censors) are marking numerous fake news articles as ‘credible’, while labeling many legitimate stories from Breitbart as ‘fake’. Edge will lead sheep to the edge…
With AI systems, the biases of the programmers (‘teachers’) will be amplified. This is noticeable on Alexa, Siri, etc where Jesus is cited as a ‘fictional’ character, but other religious figures are not.
Edge was aptly named; perhaps ‘Brink’ might have been better. Microsoft has a big cloud of irony hanging above it. MS has been the New Big Blue since roughly 2013.
In fact, you answered your question. Edge is for Windows 10 sheep. For many people, a computer is now just an ‘appliance’… they use whatever features come ‘built-in’.
When I joined the Windows 10 Insiders fast ring back in 2014 (I left after 3 weeks), it quickly became apparent that MS was using us as ‘alpha’ testers, and end-users were going to be the beta testers. MS really didn’t listen to the advice and input from more experienced Insiders; it was like dealing with IBM, except they had ditched the suits.
The MS zealots and ‘Metro’ team holdovers quickly became tiring. Windows 10 was “going to be the greatest OS ever” according to them. Many of the snarky MS people had no clue as to the Windows lineage, ‘NT’ kernel evolution, etc. It was astounding how often they would try to add new features before cleaning up the mess of bugs.
So, ‘Windows 10 SaaS’ is an apropos term for their OS team. Win 10 is obnoxious.
‘Brink’ Good one Chairman ! Hope you don’t mind if I pass that around at work : )
best
Parrott