Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by janrinok on Sunday March 18 2018, @12:25AM   Printer-friendly
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.


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 1) by cocaine overdose on Monday March 19 2018, @04:21AM (8 children)

    I'm using OpenBSD 6.2 Patched with Firefox ESR 52. My fonts seem to be all in-order, because I'm only using the few freetypes that came with the install and my graphics card's default -- which after copying and pasting from xterm to this window, returns the regular arial. But, I'll try with Chromium on Windows 10:

    | This text was pasted as plain in Chromium |

  • (Score: 2) by RS3 on Monday March 19 2018, @06:00AM (7 children)

    by RS3 (6367) on Monday March 19 2018, @06:00AM (#654716)

    Very cool. I'm embarrassed to say I've never tried any of the BSDs. As such I have no idea what fonts are available to you, but you could experiment.

    For the record, I'm probably more open-minded than most people seem to be these days, and I don't care about your font. In fact, the variety is interesting. But I understand that some people are annoyed by it. I'm somewhat sensitive to some things, like bad sound mixes.

    I find Alpine Linux quite interesting for many reasons. It comes with midori web browser. Can't say I like it- barely tried it. It would be nice to have fewer, and better, web browsers.

    • (Score: 1) by cocaine overdose on Monday March 19 2018, @06:27AM (6 children)

      You are the first civilized face I've seen in what has felt like eons in a world of savagery.

      Anyway, I've never tried Midori, but hopes aren't high. Most off the shelf browsers are regressed towards the mean, and any open source ones are very lacking in the JS department. If you have the time, I would recommend grabbing a copy of the Firefox source and hacking, and slashing, around the source code to make something personalized. Everything's already there, all you need to do is get rid of everything you don't need (and there's a lot). Chromium source works too.

      The more people use web browsers, the more we'll inch closer to the perfect "average." It does no good for the individual user, but it sure does do a lot for Mozilla/Google/etc.
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 19 2018, @10:18AM (5 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 19 2018, @10:18AM (#654784)

        It's nothing to do with anything on your pc. Got to your Soylentnews page, https://soylentnews.org/~cocaine+overdose/ [soylentnews.org]
        Click on the 'Comments' tab.
        Scroll down to 'Comment Post Mode'
        Change the value from 'Code' to 'Plain Old Text'
        Save changes.

        Tell that silly fucker Arik to do the same.

        • (Score: 1) by cocaine overdose on Monday March 19 2018, @12:36PM (4 children)

          I've only got HTML Formatted in the dropdown.
          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 19 2018, @12:43PM (3 children)

            by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 19 2018, @12:43PM (#654847)

            Well that's weird. Most people get four options:
            - Plain Old Text
            - HTML Formatted
            - Extrans (html tags to text)
            - Code

            The Code option is what makes your comments monospace font. I guess try the HTML option.

            • (Score: 1) by cocaine overdose on Monday March 19 2018, @12:57PM (2 children)

              Here goes the HTML option. The same is true of the dropdown on this comment too. It's nothing but "HTML Formatted."
              • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 19 2018, @01:04PM (1 child)

                by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 19 2018, @01:04PM (#654859)

                And that comment is not monospace. Don't know how it will appear to other people though, my set-up is unusual. (Mageia linux with a bunch of odd setup choices.)