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from the it-ain't-what-you-do-its-the-way-that-you-do-it dept.
Microsoft is trying a new brute-force tactic to boost adoption of its Edge browser. In the latest preview version of Windows 10, Microsoft’s Mail app will automatically open web links in Edge, even for users who’ve set a different browser as their default. Doing so, Microsoft says, will ensure “the best, most secure and consistent experience on Windows 10 and across your devices.”
That’s not exactly true. Although Edge has gotten a lot better since it replaced Internet Explorer as the main Windows browser in 2015, and is now available on iOS and Android, it doesn’t yet sync tabs across devices like Chrome and Mozilla Firefox can. Also, the iPad version is still in beta, and the Android version isn’t compatible with tablets.
Besides, ignoring people’s default browser choice only makes the experience less consistent, because users end up with open web pages scattered across multiple browsers.
CNET has the following to say:
In a note to testers published on Microsoft's website Friday, the company seems to acknowledge it's a bit heavy-handed, and an unusual shift. But, the company believes it's worth doing anyway.
"We will begin testing a change where links clicked on within the Windows Mail app will open in Microsoft Edge, which provides the best, most secure and consistent experience on Windows 10 and across your devices," the company said in a note to "Windows Insider" testers.
The move struck some people as odd, particularly because of Microsoft's colorful history with web browsers. Two decades ago, the company chose to offer its Internet Explorer web browser for free with Windows, effectively beating its rival Netscape. But it also attracted the attention of regulators, kicking off one of the most high-profile antitrust suits in the industry's history.
Industry watchers and users raised concerns about Microsoft repeating similar mistakes with this move, noting that the company has touted diversity of apps by different developers as a selling point.
(Score: 3, Informative) by FakeBeldin on Sunday March 18 2018, @08:05AM (3 children)
Browser market share: https://www.netmarketshare.com/browser-market-share.aspx [netmarketshare.com]
Edge is barely distinguishable from 0%, unlike other browsers.
Mail clients: MailChimp's blog [mailchimp.com], or https://litmus.com/blog/email-client-market-share-trends-1h-2017 [litmus.com]
Conclusion: MS clients have between a 0% and 11% market share.
Conclusion: Microsoft doesn't have anything close to a monopoly in these markets. If they manage to consolidate all their users into one browser, it'll mean a significant bump for their browser, and it might *just* push it over the edge between "who cares" and "let's care".
Apple doing this might resemble monopoly: their mail apps combined constitute over 50% of the market.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 18 2018, @02:56PM (2 children)
That not the point.
The problem is that they abuse their Windows monopoly in order to force things down their users' throat.
(Score: 2) by FakeBeldin on Sunday March 18 2018, @10:58PM (1 child)
No, the article is about Microsoft abusing their mail app "monopoly" to froce things down their users' throats.
The point I made is that they do not have a monopoly there, not by a long shot.
And that's why I don't think any jurisdiction will slap this down. No court will say "ooh that's a monopoly" if Microsoft's market share is so small that it can easily be overlooked.
Back when the EU fined Microsoft for forcing users to use Internet Explorer, Microsoft controlled a huge percentage of the home and work desktops (don't have numbers, but I wouldn't be surprised by 90% or higher). But that's not what this is about. This story is about Microsoft leveraging its tiny, tiny marketshare of at best (combined over all MS's mail offerings) 11%, to promote its browser that has a share of 3.99%.
First of all, if Apple did this, it would be a different ball game. Apple accounts for 49% of mailers (see reference above), but its browser has a tiny install base. Getting the 49% of Apple mail users to use Safari for the web would be something. Getting the 7% of folks using Outlook to also use Edge? Likely, half of them already do.
Which leads to the second point. The interesting story here is that MS is choosing to deviate from OS-level preferences. This basically undermines the whole premise of using preferences. And they are deliberately willing to do so, in order to give their own browser a push.
That's much more of a story than "MS will use its non-existent market share in one area to boost its non-existent market share in another."
(Score: 2) by lentilla on Monday March 19 2018, @08:50AM
You mean like how Windows ignores the HOSTS file whenever it feels the urge?
This is just another chapter documenting a consistent, ongoing and untrustworthy pattern of behaviour.