WIndows Interrupts Chrome and Firefox to Promote Edge

AlphaAtlas

AlphaAtlas

[H]ard|Gawd
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Microsoft is getting more aggressive in its attempts to push the Edge browser. In Windows 10 insider build 17744, whenever users try to install or open Firefox or Chome, they get a pop up reminding them Edge is already installed on their system. This feature isn't in mainstream builds of Windows yet, but seeing how the October 2018 update is just around the corner, it could be there soon.

"You already have Microsoft Edge -the safer faster browser for Windows 10" and offers options to "open Microsoft Edge" and install anyway.
 
how often does it pop up? can you disable the reminder from showing again when you say no the first time? if it will keep on popping up regardless then yea, that is way too much.

As for safer, and faster do they even link to any neutral third party review that manage prove their claim?


the worse abuse was when they forced a windows 10 upgrade
https://www.pcauthority.com.au/news...lawsuit-over-forced-windows-10-upgrade-485569
 
That's pretty damn shady. Don't that realize that people will simply use the browser that works best. This isn't about brand loyalty or any of that. They simply need to make the best browser with the least clutter and people will flock to it. Doing shenanigans like this will make me if anything LESS likely to use it and I will now be MORE likely to berate (lightly) anyone actually choosing to use any IE variant.
 
Well, how about this for a solution? Remove the Edge browser from the system. It should stop telling you it is available when it is not available. Or do they still serve a pop-up?

I admit, I am working from a bit of ignorance as I have never installed Windows 10 on anything I needed to depend on.
 
As long as it only triggers once, I don't mind it.

IMO, Microsoft has done an absolutely horrible job communicating exactly what the hell Microsoft Edge even is. Pop-ups like this are a little knee jerk, but they're probably needed.
I work with two separate companies that just moved to Windows 10 and anecdotally I'd say 75% of the people don't realize that Edge is essentially the new IE. Again, anecdotally, but my own extended family is in the same boat. They don't know what Edge is. Windows 10 has like 40 "modern" apps installed that nobody uses and a lot of people think Edge is just another one of them.
 
Grimlaking said:
That's pretty damn shady. Don't that realize that people will simply use the browser that works best. This isn't about brand loyalty or any of that. They simply need to make the best browser with the least clutter and people will flock to it. Doing shenanigans like this will make me if anything LESS likely to use it and I will now be MORE likely to berate (lightly) anyone actually choosing to use any IE variant.
Click to expand...

I disagree. They could create the most amazing browser the world has ever seen and people wouldn't use it because they created it.
 
faster, more secure etc etc...hmm, there is a reason why I no longer use IE and went to ONLY using chrome when I can...it was different say 4 or 5 years ago before all the changes for PDF being built in without requiring constant update/download of various java or flash player stuff, chrome just has less crap have to deal with compared to IE, it just works and needs less babysitting.

the amount of nasty stuff had happen to machines using IE was the primary reasoning for me to swap to chrome in the first place and it has gotten better and better over the last few years whereas IE has "not kept up" IMO

I like substance over "flash" and Edge seems just like Win10 to chase the flash or bust type approach and borks things HUGE, they want and do try to do everything they can to basically hogtie user choice into "do what we tell you" and the user has to go out of their way to tweak, disable, turn down all the crud which is not a good thing.

a browser is a browser, if MSFT really wanted people to use theirs, they would make it better then others and not pull the same crap that they did with the GWX program, for me, as a user, MY COMPUTER and internet that I paid for not MSFT, I want the CHOICE of what goes on it, how I use it or how I update or not update things that work perfectly fine.


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vast majority of the WHQL certified drivers of various things such as printer, graphics, LAN etc more often than not broke functionality, not helped it..likely Win 10 would not be any different from everything I have read over the last while where they seem to care even less that it "just works"

stupid shenanigans ever since Windows 7 SP1 (which IMO seemed to "fix" a bunch of things to be "better, smarter, faster, more usable", they royally dropped that ball harder than they needed to or should have, does it (win 8-8.1/10) have some "neat" things, yes, but for the most part seems to my eye to not truly be much of anything worthwhile (lipstick on a pig) which is pretty bloody sad, considering they had many many years to "perfect it" because they sure as hell were mega campaigns to "drive opinions" vs just being BETTER than what was.

anyways, give users the choice, a real genuine choice not a loaded trap, if they made their pick, stop trying to butt into their choice, quality speaks for itself, as does unneeded BS that is not as it was marketed in the first place.
^.^
 
I think Microsoft has went a little far with Edge.


BH6hg2p.gifv
 
Microsoft really has become a joke. They don't seem to realise that they're not the 800lb gorilla any more.
The only reason most of their products are used is forced compatibility, legacy reasons or because its pre-installed. Nobody chooses Microsoft these days.
 
Help Europe!!! Slap them another fine or something!!! :p

(Disclaimer: I was actually on MS's side in the old IE case... Now they've pissed me off too much... :D )
 
Used to be a big fan of firefox and chrome, but I've since switched to Brave browser ecapecially mobile and have never looked back.

Its default block settings are goldilocks compared firefox w no script or chrome. Just wish I could get brave on my kindles.
 
Like I've suggested many times before around various treads here on HardOCP, if you're apt with your PC, have a legit Windows 10 key as I do not promote piracy, you can very simply get a copy of Windows 10 lite ( your legit Windows 10 key will work ) and use that. All the digital filth has been removed, no Cortana, tons of MS bloatware has been ripped out. There are no nags, will never be any nags, in fact, I think the Microsoft Edge cancer has even been cut out and removed. Windows 10 Lite is around 2gbs and installs in just a few minutes. And, it has better performance and stability.

As far as updates and security, it's very simple, easy, and fast to image your drive and re-deploy it daily if you want. It takes me 8 1/2 minutes to deploy my backup image which I do a few times a week. Games are unaffected as I keep those on a massive external that Steam finds.

This is the method I use that keeps me out of this hell hole a lot of you guys are in or will be dealing with. It also keeps malware and other types of BS off my PC. I love it.

I would hate to see ads, nags, pop-ups while using my PC. I would lose my freaking mind after the second or third one.

If you have a legit Windows 10 key, do a search for Windows Lite v1 thru v5, there could also be others.

Also, Gigabyte makes a free tool that will install Windows 7 onto a thumb-drive for you that has NVMe support out of the box that works perfectly if you want to go that route. It's a turn key solution with almost not user input needed. Works perfectly on my Asus Hero Wifi ( newest version ) with a NVMe drive.

https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/GA-Z170X-Gaming-G1-rev-10#support-dl-utility
 
It's pretty sad when IE still has more browser market share than Edge. Begging users with annoying prompts will make it worse.
 
This is a shitty way to go about that. Pretty sure the EU will have some words with them over that.
 
Tak Ne said:
Microsoft really has become a joke. They don't seem to realise that they're not the 800lb gorilla any more.
The only reason most of their products are used is forced compatibility, legacy reasons or because its pre-installed. Nobody chooses Microsoft these days.
Click to expand...

I know some Microsoft shills. They swear by MIcrosoft and everything they do and then cast an evil eye if you say anything negative about Microsoft,....even if it is true.

They are almost as hyper-irrational about Microsoft as Apple people are about Apple.
 
BSmith said:
I know some Microsoft shills. They swear by MIcrosoft and everything they do and then cast an evil eye if you say anything negative about Microsoft,....even if it is true.

They are almost as hyper-irrational about Microsoft as Apple people are about Apple.
Click to expand...

Hehe, when I worked there, they wanted everyone internally only using their products. They'd send out communications about using Bing, or please don't use other browsers. I did no such thing. I tend to like using what gets the job done best.
 
SixFootDuo said:
Like I've suggested many times before around various treads here on HardOCP, if you're apt with your PC, have a legit Windows 10 key as I do not promote piracy, you can very simply get a copy of Windows 10 lite ( your legit Windows 10 key will work ) and use that. All the digital filth has been removed, no Cortana, tons of MS bloatware has been ripped out. There are no nags, will never be any nags, in fact, I think the Microsoft Edge cancer has even been cut out and removed. Windows 10 Lite is around 2gbs and installs in just a few minutes. And, it has better performance and stability.

As far as updates and security, it's very simple, easy, and fast to image your drive and re-deploy it daily if you want. It takes me 8 1/2 minutes to deploy my backup image which I do a few times a week. Games are unaffected as I keep those on a massive external that Steam finds.

This is the method I use that keeps me out of this hell hole a lot of you guys are in or will be dealing with. It also keeps malware and other types of BS off my PC. I love it.

I would hate to see ads, nags, pop-ups while using my PC. I would lose my freaking mind after the second or third one.

If you have a legit Windows 10 key, do a search for Windows Lite v1 thru v5, there could also be others.

Also, Gigabyte makes a free tool that will install Windows 7 onto a thumb-drive for you that has NVMe support out of the box that works perfectly if you want to go that route. It's a turn key solution with almost not user input needed. Works perfectly on my Asus Hero Wifi ( newest version ) with a NVMe drive.

https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/GA-Z170X-Gaming-G1-rev-10#support-dl-utility
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info, I was starting to seriously consider LTSB (renamed LTSC for some reason)
 
Microsoft has always had the capacity to make great products. Instead, they have pretty much always relied upon their ability to manipulate the market, instead.
Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door.
Microsoft is like a highway all slowed down with traffic and constant construction; people only use it if there is no other usable, decent choice available for them.
 
I wonder if this "feature" will make it into the final release ? I can see some "anti competitive" uproar about it if does. Microsoft could fall foul of EU lawmakers again !!
 
Considering Google keeps prompting me to install Chrome when I use Edge - even though I already have Chrome installed on the same machine....
 
I have no problem if they do it once during initial download or whatever. All browsers nag you to make them default. The problem I have is claiming Edge is more safer and secure. Heck they are not even in the top 3 securest browsers. That's pretty deceiving.
 
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*IF* I go to bing using chrome/firefox then sure ...
*IF* I am using my hardware wanting to use my software, what is with this plug... why is my CPU and other resources being used to scan,check,UI about something I have made a choice about
 
Maybe if they put more effort into getting their browser up to date with modern standards, it'd be more popular? There's still a lot of CSS that is partially implemented or not implemented at all. It's hard to take their "safer/faster" browser seriously if they don't have everything in place.

It's kinda like racing two very similar cars except one of them is missing all of the interior so it goes faster and doesn't burn as long in a fire. At the end of the day, it's a bitch to drive without a seat.


Dead Parrot said:
Wonder what other software is on the Pop Up "You already have a better product" notification list? And will this be expanded in the future? "We see that you are trying to install Libre Office. Here is a nice link to Office 365 instead."
Click to expand...

Try to install a non-store app and you get a pop-up telling you it's potentially unsafe to do so and you should really use the Windows Store.

I've gotten so used to it that I just click through it without much notice.
 
Exavior said:
This is a shitty way to go about that. Pretty sure the EU will have some words with them over that.
Click to expand...

Great, and next they can get on Google for doing the same thing when you go to Google or Gmail YouTube in Edge, only they do it every time, instead of (apparently) just once, when you try to install Chrome.
 
To really understand this browser issue, you need to ask yourself "why does any software company create a web browser in the first place?".

I'll start off my answer with a limiting statement in that I am only talking about the current, modern era of the last ~10 years and not historically as what I am about to say may have not always been the case. Browsers are seen by tech companies as one platform for customers to access "the cloud" of their software as a service offerings. And these tech companies dont want to rely on a competitor to have success in order for them to have success. Example: if Google didnt have a browser, Google's growth is dependent on the success of Microsoft (because they would have the market share in browser space). Google wouldnt like this is for a number of reasons, but the biggest thing they would fear is Microsoft specifically not supporting some strategic feature of Google, then developing their own. Case in point would be using Google Drive over Microsoft's OneDrive. Microsoft could just make their browser make Google Drive work like crap and not do this to OneDrive. They make their own browser so they can serve as a comparison and stop Microsoft from doing this sort of thing.

The reverse is also true. If Microsoft loses the market share on browsers, their competitors will dictate the user experience to "the cloud" which Microsoft is hugely leveraged in. Microsoft is never going to let this go, so they are in it for the long run. The issue Microsoft has right now is as much as people want to beliece they are open to whatever works best, the reality is people use things they are used to using (for the most part).

Technically, the Browser is even more important than Windows (to Microsoft). If they do feel they are losing the browser battle for real, expect them to start leveraging their Windows share to drive browser adoption which.......... is EXACTLY WHAT THEY ARE DOING! :)

So the moral of the story is no one is out to make a better browser... They are only interested in using the browser to screw their competitors over and gain share in the new battleground of AI, Big Data, and Cloud Computing.....
 
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