Microsoft dangles $1 million prizes and Mercedes-AMG cars inside Edge as persistent pop-ups potentially spark fresh “bribery” backlash.
“our browser is so good, we have to offer bogus prizes to get people to switch to it!”
Hey Microsoft, how about innovating instead? Edge is a Chrome engine browser like dozens of others out there. Why not write a new browser engine to give customers a choice? Or at worst, how about contract with Apple to license Webkit bringing a third solid choice for a browser engine to Windows. You’re not going to out-Chrome Google Chrome browser, so stop trying.
I’m gonna go out on a limb and play the devil’s advocate. Edge actually makes a lot of optimisations and improvements that are merged into upstream chrome. While Microsoft is the shady corp that is forcing the ai garbage and data collection, the Devs are actually very competent.
Edge has one huge benefit which causes me to use it across Windows, Linux and even android and that is extension support on all even mobile. No other chrome based android browser has mobile extensions and a competent or seamless sync both figured out. I like being able to check something on my phone and seamlessly pick it up on any other device.
I like Vivaldi’s workflow but they have yet to add mobile extensions.
You want another version of IE?
Right now, Chrome is basically IE6. It rushes in standards with little compliance, bloats your memory, and everyone is forced to use it. All browsers are just skins, and if Google’s recent Android moves are any indication, they’ll likely close off source at some point so they can load it through with spyware.
In terms of making a bad situation slightly better, I’d be in favor of MS re-vamping their browser division. It has little to do with AI or murdering Palestinians though, so I doubt they will.
As a web developer, I would happily support current chrome over literally any version of IE. It’s not even a contest.
The majority of standards are properly implemented in chrome, and it tends to be edge cases that are not. Whereas for IR you needed IE specific “hacks” to do a number of everyday things.
Of course they’re implemented properly in Chrome. They wrote those standards, and pushed them through without review. Hence why technologies like WebRTC and simple gradients had about 8 half-working implementations in Chrome, while the later IE team put a hand up and said “Hang on, let’s implement this the right way and agree on a spec.”
The way you describe IE-specific hacks was true up through around IE9. Once they got to Edge, they retired importance of major versions and insisted people auto-update their browser, getting companies off the idea of retaining an old browser for “compatibility”.
They were doing the right thing for a short time before the end. I suppose a lot of people didn’t even see that period.
I’d need a reason to use Edge. If it used a different browser engine, that would be a compelling reason.
Did you use IE when it was still around? Edge is their “new” offering, because of how terrible their own engine was. Moving back to their own engine would be a step backwards.
They might with a built in ad blocker 🙃
Thats the description of both Vivaldi and Brave browsers, which also haven’t out-Chromed Chrome. Both are Chrome engine with built in ad blockers.
Exactly, the average person using installing browser add-ons. They want a lightweight, simple browser from a familiar brand that just works. Adblocking alone isn’t enough to convince Average Joe to switch, when they don’t even know that adblockers exist.
Edge is a Chrome engine browser like dozens of others out there. Why not write a new browser engine to give customers a choice?
they tried that with Edge 1.0
Writing your own rendering engine that works exactly like chrome, has the same features and preferably no exploits is not something you or even a big company can whack out in a week or so. You need to support js, css, html, hardware acceleration, https, certificate checks, support notifications, location, camera and mic, video play and a whole lot of other features you take for granted. A modern browser is light years away from the first browsers that came out around 2000.
Yeah and the only good thing about it back then was the PDF viewer tbh
Literally, one of the richest companies in the world and can’t figure this out.
This disease is simply testing AI systems on your browsing data. It’s trying to collect data from your services and analyze it with AI. That’s all. If something is offering you big rewards, free services, or discounts, it’s probably using you as material for its services.
One of the last things I used to respect about Microsoft was when they kept up the development of their own rendering engine, even as Chrome ran away with its popularity. IE6 was a monster, but for a time MS was doing a good job as an underdog by pushing standards compliance. Even if it wasn’t as nice as Firefox, it was important to have more horses in the game of competing browsers rather than creating a monoculture around Chrome.
Needless to say, the Edge appearing in this contest is nothing like what I ever had hope for.
Awwww, silly little Microsoft is upset the browser monopoly isn’t theirs
Microsoft is a very large lumbering giant that seems to lack a cohesive vision forward, especially on the consumer front. Every single piece of consumer facing software lacks a cohesive design language, and seems to be regressing in usability. No one is truly primed to replace them yet in either the corporate or consumer businesses however, something like the MacBook Neo can certainly take a few points of market share away from the standard consumer
This is what happens when they get MBAs in charge. Same thing happened at Apple. The original guy with a vision in charge (Gates, Jobs) goes away and the company suffers for it.
What vission did Gates have beyond using money to crush competition? Being a pedophile?
At the time of Gates, they wanted to monopolize the operating system market because that was the way to lock people in. People owned hardware and in order to make the most money your needs your OS to be their platform so they had no choice but to pay you.
Now in 2026 everyone’s OS is Chrome. So the goal is to make everyone depend on your cloud storage, on your productivity suite, on your chatbot, your automation platform, your cloud database. Then you give them just a state and then rent it to them in perpetuity.
This is why they don’t mind making RAM too expensive. Drives people to inexpensive devices and subscriptions for services for the hardware they can no longer afford and don’t have the skills to maintain.
Don’t forget jumping over office chairs
Steal the best parts of every other system, make Windows easy to develop for, and corner the business market.
Does Edge support Linux? Actually, never mind. I’m good.
Should you ever feel the urge to do something wild and stupid: yes, actually Microsoft offers an official Linux version of Edge.
Currently, for some inexplicable reason, Teams calls are broken on my Debian Trixie in all browsers except edge. I suspect foul play.
Use Ferdium. Works flawlessly.
Wow, they finally got Teams to work in Edge?
That’s crazy. It must just be super easy considering it’s chromium now.
I have edge installed on my steam deck, I used it to play bf6 on game pass before they jacked up the price last year.
Yes but they do zero tests on the build, if it compiles, it ships. For example it crashes if you try to open a file dialog and the copilot button is not working and can’t be hidden
Flatpak
Native persistent pop-up that doesn’t go away and stays on multiple tabs is truly the best way to advertisme your browser /s
I used to use Edge at home, then ditched it. I used it recently at work and it is getting really enshittified. Now I’m between Cromite which works until suddenly the interface freezes, or Ungoogled Chromium which I haven’t got to work on the work laptop (it works now on my home Linux so whatever).
Edge used to be so much better before today.
Try out Firefox. It works incredibly well
Or Librewolf, which is a fork from Firefox and removes the telemetry that Firefox collects.
That’s too extreme for most people. A lot of people do want certain services to remember they logged in for example. Waterfox is typically the better recommendation - or, was. I’m less trusting of them after they chose to use Brave Browser code for an AdBlocker
I do use Firefox as well, for non-work activities at home and in the office.
Edge before it adopted Chromium was an excellent browser - fast, standards compliant, rock solid. Adopting Chromium is basically them doing the absolute minimum to ship a browser at all without showing someone else’s logo. We use Edge at work - Chrome and Firefox are also supported - and it shocking how many MDM policies we have to have to make Edge usable.
Well, cars suck and 1million would be nice but still won’t but me a home where I live.
Eyo who’s got a botnet? I have an idea
Oh man, I needed that. A good belly shaking laugh.
Not the Onion?
What’s the small print? Edge is already a requirement for me at work.
