6 ms·

Do any people use Edge voluntarily? I know it’s better than IE6, but still...if you’re on Windows, what does Edge have that is better than Firefox or Chrome?

kd913 6y ago
The question is why would people download/install chrome? Edge is built in, it can't be removed, it's updated automatically and is integrated. It has all the functionality of chrome, so why would I download/install another chrome browser when it's already built in? Downloading and installing chrome at this point provides 0 benefits compared with edgeium which is why I think Microsoft's move was pretty smart. It turned Google's main advantages with chrome and throws it straight back at them. It also has specific pen/touch/battery optimizations that aren't present on chrome. That and I would rather more market share goes to Microsoft on the web over Google. Google has more to gain from turning the web into a closed monopoly, and Microsoft is the only realistic competitor (other than really Amazon) who has the resources and investment to maintain a hostile fork that can compete with Google. If Google decides to implement something nefarious like blocking adblockers, Microsoft has the resources to maintain a fork of chromium that is feasible and usable. Firefox the only benefits it has is better quality addons, container support, better customization and better privacy. On my systems I main Firefox, but I am not averse to having edge as my secondary.
- sgerenser 6y ago
  This exactly. I'm primarily a Mac user, so I've always used and preferred Safari. On Windows I would normally install either Firefox or Chrome. With Firefox kinda going downhill and still having issues with certain sites, one almost needs to have a Chromium-based browser, at least as a backup if not a daily driver. Why would I bother to download Chrome if I already have a good Chromium-based browser preinstalled?
skohan 6y ago
I know it aggressively tries to become your default browser on Windows almost to the point of bullying you as a user.
- pbalau 6y ago
  No, it doesn't. I'm running a fairly new Windows install and I didn't see Edge since I unpinned it from the task bar. I'm using Firefox as my default browser.
  - millstone 6y ago
    If you type Firefox into the Start menu on Windows 10, it shows you Edge first (and twice). https://i.imgur.com/H550NCa.png https://i.imgur.com/H550NCa.png
    - nzyat 6y ago
      Because you don't have it installed. If you did, typing Firefox and pressing intro would bring up... Firefox.
      - millstone 6y ago
        I installed Firefox, and found that typing Firefox still brings up Microsoft Edge, though Firefox is at least above it. https://imgur.com/IH1TnQE https://imgur.com/IH1TnQE
        pbalau 6y ago
        Windows Search: https://i.imgur.com/OGi3exB.png https://i.imgur.com/OGi3exB.png Start Menu: https://i.imgur.com/3gOkfBv.png https://i.imgur.com/3gOkfBv.png
      - skohan 6y ago
        It's still pretty aggressive. You have a user searching for Firefox explicitly, and the UX is clearly pushing you towards Edge instead.
  - krimpenrik 6y ago
    Yes it does, it even takes top position for opening PDFs when I go right click > open with.
dublin 6y ago
IMO, the new Edge is a better Chrome than Chrome - and has the advantages of bing nearly 100% compatible with it. For a while, there wasn't much reason to use it, but it's gotten quite good over the past year - you might be surprised.
nzyat 6y ago
I trust Microsoft a little bit more than Google (which is not to say much), and Edge and Chrome are the only reasonable alternatives we have in 2020 for a web browser (now that Brave has been killed in my opinion by a thousand paper cuts)
Barrin92 6y ago
>what does Edge have that is better than Firefox or Chrome? an extremely good text-to-speech engine built in together with a good reader mode. My primary reason for using Edge.
- Spivak 6y ago
  The old Edge had the best PDF reader I've ever used which makes it a little disappointing that it's going away.

kd913 6y ago

The question is why would people download/install chrome? Edge is built in, it can't be removed, it's updated automatically and is integrated. It has all the functionality of chrome, so why would I download/install another chrome browser when it's already built in? Downloading and installing chrome at this point provides 0 benefits compared with edgeium which is why I think Microsoft's move was pretty smart. It turned Google's main advantages with chrome and throws it straight back at them. It also has specific pen/touch/battery optimizations that aren't present on chrome. That and I would rather more market share goes to Microsoft on the web over Google. Google has more to gain from turning the web into a closed monopoly, and Microsoft is the only realistic competitor (other than really Amazon) who has the resources and investment to maintain a hostile fork that can compete with Google. If Google decides to implement something nefarious like blocking adblockers, Microsoft has the resources to maintain a fork of chromium that is feasible and usable. Firefox the only benefits it has is better quality addons, container support, better customization and better privacy. On my systems I main Firefox, but I am not averse to having edge as my secondary.

sgerenser 6y ago
This exactly. I'm primarily a Mac user, so I've always used and preferred Safari. On Windows I would normally install either Firefox or Chrome. With Firefox kinda going downhill and still having issues with certain sites, one almost needs to have a Chromium-based browser, at least as a backup if not a daily driver. Why would I bother to download Chrome if I already have a good Chromium-based browser preinstalled?

skohan 6y ago

I know it aggressively tries to become your default browser on Windows almost to the point of bullying you as a user.

pbalau 6y ago
No, it doesn't. I'm running a fairly new Windows install and I didn't see Edge since I unpinned it from the task bar. I'm using Firefox as my default browser.
- millstone 6y ago
  If you type Firefox into the Start menu on Windows 10, it shows you Edge first (and twice). https://i.imgur.com/H550NCa.png https://i.imgur.com/H550NCa.png
  - nzyat 6y ago
    Because you don't have it installed. If you did, typing Firefox and pressing intro would bring up... Firefox.
    - millstone 6y ago
      I installed Firefox, and found that typing Firefox still brings up Microsoft Edge, though Firefox is at least above it. https://imgur.com/IH1TnQE https://imgur.com/IH1TnQE
      - pbalau 6y ago
        Windows Search: https://i.imgur.com/OGi3exB.png https://i.imgur.com/OGi3exB.png Start Menu: https://i.imgur.com/3gOkfBv.png https://i.imgur.com/3gOkfBv.png
    - skohan 6y ago
      It's still pretty aggressive. You have a user searching for Firefox explicitly, and the UX is clearly pushing you towards Edge instead.
- krimpenrik 6y ago
  Yes it does, it even takes top position for opening PDFs when I go right click > open with.

dublin 6y ago

IMO, the new Edge is a better Chrome than Chrome - and has the advantages of bing nearly 100% compatible with it. For a while, there wasn't much reason to use it, but it's gotten quite good over the past year - you might be surprised.

nzyat 6y ago

I trust Microsoft a little bit more than Google (which is not to say much), and Edge and Chrome are the only reasonable alternatives we have in 2020 for a web browser (now that Brave has been killed in my opinion by a thousand paper cuts)

Barrin92 6y ago

>what does Edge have that is better than Firefox or Chrome? an extremely good text-to-speech engine built in together with a good reader mode. My primary reason for using Edge.

Spivak 6y ago
The old Edge had the best PDF reader I've ever used which makes it a little disappointing that it's going away.