Microsoft Might Bring Its Edge Browser To Linux (zdnet.com) 93
Microsoft appears to be porting its Edge browser to Linux, reports ZDNet:
"We on the MS Edge Dev team are fleshing out requirements to bring Edge to Linux, and we need your help with some assumptions," wrote Sean Larkin, a member of Microsoft's Edge team....
Chrome, of course, is already available for Linux, so Microsoft should be able to deliver Chromium-based Edge to Linux distributions with minimal fuss.... [I]n June Microsoft Edge developers said there are "no technical blockers to keep us from creating Linux binaries" and that it is "definitely something we'd like to do down the road". Despite Chrome's availability on Linux, the Edge team noted there is still work to be done on the installer, updaters, user sync, and bug fixes, before it could be something to commit to properly.
Slashdot reader think_nix shared a link to the related survey that the Edge team has announced on Twitter. "If you're a dev who depends on Linux for dev, testing, personal browsing, please take a second to fill out this survey."
Chrome, of course, is already available for Linux, so Microsoft should be able to deliver Chromium-based Edge to Linux distributions with minimal fuss.... [I]n June Microsoft Edge developers said there are "no technical blockers to keep us from creating Linux binaries" and that it is "definitely something we'd like to do down the road". Despite Chrome's availability on Linux, the Edge team noted there is still work to be done on the installer, updaters, user sync, and bug fixes, before it could be something to commit to properly.
Slashdot reader think_nix shared a link to the related survey that the Edge team has announced on Twitter. "If you're a dev who depends on Linux for dev, testing, personal browsing, please take a second to fill out this survey."
Good idea... (Score:5, Insightful)
....said nobody
A little useful (Score:3)
Remember IE4Linux
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]
I used them for automated testing of IE before.
If Microsoft does silly things like adding their own silly dialect of Javascript (like they did to Java before), this will be useful.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]
Re: (Score:2)
Yeah, I remember that. It was a waste of time. I guess it keeps the "Edge Team" look like they are doing something though.
Re:A little useful (Score:5, Interesting)
I wonder if you're hitting closer to home than you know.
I have a feeling MS's browser team is desperately looking for a reason to exist, aside from some residual "well of course Microsoft needs a browser" sentiments. Preventing complete Google web dominance with an alternative browser may have make some strategic sense. Unfortunately, adopting Chromium severely undercuts that sort of thinking, leaving the nagging question of "What good will Edge do for Microsoft?" hanging in the air.
I wouldn't be at all surprised if we find out that this team gets cut or repurposed within the next few years.
Comment removed (Score:4, Interesting)
Re: (Score:2)
Wow, that did indeed turn into a bit of a novella. I read it all, though. For the record, my primary development platform is Windows, and I neither love nor hate MS. But I definitely understand the ill will MS has engendered over the decades. Let's just say I don't quite share your... zeal.
Anyway, if MS didn’t have a browser, what would stop Google and Mozilla from ASS-FUCKING Microsoft the way they did everyone else by releasing new versions of their browser that don’t work with Microsoft’s OTHER shit?
According to MS, this was already happening with Edge. Google was making subtle changes to their web apps that kept breaking their browser. The karma is sort of perfect here, huh? But honestly, I'm not sure that ju
Re: (Score:2)
M$ can gain great territory, if it so chooses and lets not pretend any different. If they stop behaving by like insanely greedy privacy invasive dick brains and produced a reasonable copy of windows without the bullshit or registry, they could win back much of what they lost, even territory in phones. They won't they cannot, inherently because they are a bunch of dick brains, who can not see beyond their own greed and ego. Their path is set and they will follow it, to an inevitable greed obsessed demise (a
Re:A little useful (Score:5, Informative)
You know, I feel I have zero options on Android. All the browsers are owned by Chinese companies, which are therefore easily spied on by the Chinese state. Or, they are owned by US companies, which doesn't as easily hand info over to the state.. but instead, hands it over to a litany of private enterprise, which is a Bad Thing, and on top of that? Some of THOSE companies are state controlled. So the US state still gets data third party.
Even the privacy browsers are useless. Either they are buggy or not feature rich (eg, can't force zoom on pages, or miss loads of features).. or, they never get updates often enough, or again? Are from China and phone home.
Opera has been bought by the Chinese, now has all sorts of extra ads... more than one browser I've used? Sold to the Chinese.
So I figure, why not try Edge? I've hated M$ for literally decades, but I'm pragmatic. Companies aren't people, they can turn into different beasts at the drop of a hat.
I install? And what I do I get? Phone home, contact facebook, contact 100s of places. This was even after I turned off anything I could in the settings. Here's where it tries to phone home (it's currently firewalled off):
abs.twimg.com
app.adjust.com
assets.nfIxext.com
assets.nflxext.com
bat.bing.com
cdn.honey.io
dev.appboy.com
edge-safety-service.trafficmanager.net
en.facebookbrand.com
evoke-windowsservices-tas.msedge.net
images-eu.ssl-images-amazon.com
img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net
settings.data.microsoft.com
static-global-s-msn-com.akamaized.net
vortex.data.microsoft.com
www.theweathernetwork.com
And it's just relentless with the above. As long as it's running, it never, ever stops. Again .. I've never given it network access once, it's constantly blocked, but still?
WHY. This could be your market M$. Actual, real privacy. But you're just like everyone else. Just like Firefox (endless phone homes, endless connects to their servers for no reason.. even with everything off).
You could be the ONLY regularly updated, stable, secure, PRIVATE browser on the entire Android platform! You could even deploy to all those ALT browser stores, and again? PRIVATE.
I'd prefer open source. But after that, I'd prefer closed source but PRIVATE!
But of course, M$ is behind the times. Privacy is on people's lips, more and more lately. Another lost opportunity.
Re: (Score:2)
Chrome and firefox are open source, and there are builds of those which have all the telemetry removed...
Re: (Score:2)
Please point to an Android build (since that's what we're discussing in this sub-thread), which:
- Isn't compiled by someone in Russia, China, or whatever
- Doesn't have all sorts of permissions it shouldn't (contacts, etc, etc)
- Has other Trustworthiness factors (Someone I can somehow verify = good)
- Has all blather removed (as you suggest)
- Is updated frequently
And lastly:
- Doesn't suddenly become abandonware, or end up sold to the Chinese, or suddenly change permissions
I've used several good Chrome based b
Re: (Score:1)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.torproject.torbrowser_alpha&hl=en_US
Re: (Score:2)
Well, it's alpha for starters. There are lots of reports of it not working well, being slow.
How's the ability to pinch zoom, change the fonts, regardless of what the webpage specifics?
Lastly, I don't want a TOR browser. I want a standard browser, I have no need for TOR.
(My opinion, no I don't need it, no you're not right, my choice is MY choice.. not yours to second guess or dismiss)
Re: (Score:2)
Sorry if the () bit was over the top a bit.. I just detected a "But you MUST use TOR!" vibe.. maybe, I was wrong.
Re: (Score:3)
Browser-wise, on desktop you can use Iridium Browser or Ungoogled Chromium, but I haven't found anything for Android that really fits all your criteria. I use Kiwi Browser on Android mainly for the Chrome desktop extension support and built-in adblocker, but I have no idea what its privacy implications are.
Re: (Score:2)
>"You know, I feel I have zero options on Android."
Actually you do, if we are talking browsers (which it seems you at least partially were). It is called "Firefox". It doesn't run as well on Android as it does on desktops, but I use it on every Android device as my browser and it works fine. Takes longer to load and more resources than Chrome, but only because Chrome is "integrated"- so it is preloaded and has everything always "reserved" and "ready". To me, it is a small price to pay to have less Go
Re: (Score:2)
In my original post, I already covered Firefox.
It phones home, relentlessly. Doesn't matter if you turn off all reporting, all malware site updates, no matter what .. phones home.
For example, I simply open a blank copy of firefox on android and I get endless attempts at:
location.services.mozilla.com
firefox.settings.services.mozilla.com
I then try to connect a simple site, with everything on that domain, no js, everything on that site (it's a blank page) EG http://blank.page/ [blank.page]:
dynamicua.cdn.mozilla.net
addons.
Re: (Score:3)
Re: (Score:2)
> If Microsoft does silly things like adding their own silly dialect of Javascript (like they did to Java before), this will be useful.
If you haven't heard, they've just done that
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wik... [wikipedia.org]
Re: (Score:3)
Wrong and completely out of context. TypeScript is open source and addresses many shortcomings of regular Javascript. When it comes time to deploy, it's transpiled down to regular Javascript to run in all major browsers. Hence why popular frameworks have adopted TypeScript, e.g. Angular, NativeScript.
What 90's Microsoft did with Java and their own implementation of the JVM was completely different. Closed, proprietary, targeted at their own platform and deliberately incompatible with others. The same c
Re:Good idea... (Score:5, Informative)
Sometimes tabs will just stop working. That's it, no reason, they just stop, usually a bunch at once. If you're lucky they'll recover, if not, all you can do is close that tab, open a new one, and go back to that URL. If you're lucky, it will stop acting up if you wait long enough, until next time anyway.
Sometimes when you click the back button, it will take you to some random page in your history, although for some reason my history is randomly incomplete, so when a window crashes, you can't even scour your history. Still haven't been able to figure out what's up with that.
Occasionally, when switching tabs, the tab just pops out into a new window inexplicably. Sometimes, it closes. Why? No idea.
In short, Edge is a bad joke. I do not understand why it exists, and anyone who uses Edge for anything even remotely important is setting themselves up for a bad time.
Re: (Score:3)
Re: (Score:2)
So, this Chromium based Edge isn't any better than MS' non-Chromium based Edge. :(
Re: Good idea... (Score:2)
Re:Good idea... (Score:4, Interesting)
I bet this doubles the number of Linux users using Edge on Linux.
Are you from the past? (Score:2)
Hint: Nearly all Internet severs and all supercomputers run Linux. Your Androis phone runs its kernel and some/most of its user space. And even Microsoft Azure itself is over 50% Linux.
I think QNX has a better kernel design, but still, better Linux than *retch*.
Re: (Score:2)
If there are zero people running Edge browser in a year, then I win my be because that would be double the number of people running Edge on Linux today. :)
Re: (Score:2)
I don't track this very closely any longer, but supposedly you'll be able to run Linux apps on Chromebooks soon. That means Edge will run on Chromebooks if it runs on Linux.
This could be a bid to shore up their IT department and office monopolies against the infiltration of ultra-cheap Chromebooks. If users are running Office Online (or whatever MS has branded their web-based Office product as these days) on Edge in a Linux container on a Chromebook, MS still gets its revenue stream per screen. In fact s
Re: (Score:2)
Really? Because if Microsoft brought a browser that could emulate IE's fuckery to Linux, then Corporations would no longer have an excuse to suck at the MS teat and we'd finally get Linux in the workplace.
Knowing MS they'll leave this only possible useful feature out.
I guess M$ has nothing better to do.... (Score:5, Funny)
Windows and Office must be absolutely 100% bug free if they have the time to build a browser that virtually no one will use or trust.
Re:I guess M$ has nothing better to do.... (Score:4, Informative)
Well, according to StatCounter Edge got 4.71% market share on the desktop and is the fifth most popular browser after Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Internet Explorer. When on top of that it's based on the same rendering engine as Chrome and it's hard to test for on a non-Windows machine - because who wants to pay the Microsoft tax for web developers - it's starting to get near the pain threshold where people will simply drop support, it's tested on Chrome and that's it. Microsoft knows the power of supported configurations and want to make sure Edge remains on that list. That's what I'm thinking this is for, I don't think they can be so blissfully naive they think Edge on Linux will have any market share to speak of.
Re: (Score:2)
Edge has no distinct benefit on Linux.
1. Others have been debugged for years
2. Closed source, and no developer affinity or voice
3. Add-ins and extensions are highly problematic with Edge
4. Seems like a butt-inski sort of product as in - why? It's not like Microsoft is going to derive a lot of revenue or even developer love for bringing it out on Linux or other *nixes.
5. Browser interoperability is not what Microsoft has striven for. Proprietary seems to have been their mainstay-- why are they attempting to
Re: I guess M$ has nothing better to do.... (Score:2)
Their previous edge engine was actually really good. Fast as hell. But I'm baffled as to what yet-another-WebKit engine gets us. It worries me that the only competition is Firefox. Innovation works best when the competition is cut throat and right now chrome is a mess and desperately needs more competition to spur google to fix their shit in the same way Firefox spurred Microsoft out of their torpor
Re: (Score:2)
It seems that a port of Edge is their first foray into desktop linux software, everything else they produced for linux has been server-oriented.
What would actually get more traction would be msoffice for linux... They already have mac and android versions, so a linux version shouldn't be too hard and might actually pick up some customers but almost certainly at the expense of windows and/or crossover.
Re: (Score:1)
Re: I guess M$ has nothing better to do.... (Score:1)
Yes, you can save a copy locally.
Port it to something besides linux (Score:2, Insightful)
It's fine that microsoft wants to duplicate what Google does, but real progress would be porting Edge to FreeBSD or other open source platforms. Google's trying hard to do vendor lock in here and it would be nice to push past it. Browsing shouldn't be limited to 3 operating systems.
Re: Port it to something besides linux (Score:3)
Finally! (Score:5, Funny)
They listen to the chorus of people begging to bring advanced Edge technology to Linux!
Even better- does this mean a native Office 365 version is on the horizon? And the long-awaited "telemetry" to determine what the consumer really wants? Fingers crossed....
Re: (Score:2)
They listen to the chorus of people begging to bring advanced Edge technology to Linux!
Even better- does this mean a native Office 365 version is on the horizon? And the long-awaited "telemetry" to determine what the consumer really wants? Fingers crossed....
I would have loved the old Edge browser on Linux. Though only for web easier testing without CrossOffice or a virtual machine.
They pretty much gave up on their code base (Score:2)
That and the micro serfs I know donâ(TM)t use Edge, ever. So, why does it still exist?
Yeah (Score:3)
Re: (Score:3)
It's based on Chromium now, Linux support is free for them (except for whatever enhancements they bolt on top).
Not really. Chromium doesn't build out of the box on Linux unless you use the exact same combination Google uses. If they for instance don't use Google's own binaries of their fork of clang, then they wil have to at least apply all the same patches the Linux distros use to build with GCC (which is a quite a lot, Chromium is already full of bugs due to their clang monoculture, and plus one or two places things need to be worked around due to GCC bugs).
Comment removed (Score:4, Interesting)
Re: (Score:2)
Keep deluding yourself. That will make death quick (Score:2)
You're the only one in your 90s world, buddy. People just use LibreOffice nowadays. Because that is what geeks install for them. Because nobody can even tell a feature that they need from MS Office past '97.
I don't know on what planet E.g. Linux Mint is "wonky". I get constant complaints from noob users about Windows 100 being such a piece of shit and that I should disable Cortana, the "Store" and all the privacy leaking shit. While Linux is easier to use, stable, and needs no fuckin anti-malware-firewall-c
Re:the absolute state of Microsoft. (Score:4, Informative)
for every other small business and home user that just needs an OS to access a web service, Windows is the last thing anyone wants at this point.
I think this might be a stretch too.
If it were the "last os" anyone wanted would it be #2 globally?
https://gs.statcounter.com/os-... [statcounter.com]
Logical fallacy *and you know it*. (Score:2)
Go ahead, find me a user who knows how to order a PC without Windows on it.
Or a corporation not locked in and on their needle.
Ad populum is perhaps the most obvious logical fallacy in all of logic. And you know it.
Everyone hates Windows' living guts. Probably even most of those who programmed it!
They just don't think they have a choice. That does not make it liked.
Re: (Score:3)
If Azure is a dismal failure, MS will be happy to have a few more like them. Keep enough money on the books to keep things going for quite some time.
By the way, Azure is not just a captive customer base.. There are large vendors and retailers that don't want to run their infrastructure on a competitors' product and those conflicts are growing. If Netflix wasn't so wound up in AWS, they'd had left. Probably still will, there's only some much room in giving your competition a lot of money only to have them us
What's the point (Score:1)
Without all of the supporting software that they make use of in extending the browser to work with Windows frameworks it's just another Chromium clone.
Finally (Score:1)
Updaters (Score:3)
Yeah, but no. Keep your BS updaters off my Linux system, thanks.
Seriously, Google won't even produce a Drive sync for Linux, but they have no problem maintaining a yum/dnf and apt repo for Chrome.
Kindly shove your "updater" up your ass. And your installer, too. Provide a #$&@ package.
IT's possible, already (Score:2)
Just run Chromium! (Score:2)
Same thing! What does the skin matter?
Re: (Score:2)
I can hardly wait... (Score:1)
If you're a dev, complete this sentence (Score:2)
If you're a dev
a. We want you to fill out this survey
b. We need your skills; join us
c. Keep reading
d. We want you to come out of retirement
e. Perhaps you know of someone who can help
f. Don't get carried away, just complete this sentence. Focus!
Edge... (Score:2)
Is trash.
Sorry , not a lot to say.
Re: (Score:1)
Honestly, who gives a shit? (Score:5, Insightful)
The thing is basically just chromium now, so what's the point?
Honestly, I'm kinda pissed about the whole thing as it effectively orphans Chakracore, which was a positively amazing embedded Javascript API.
Netflix in 4k/1080P? (Score:2)
Say what you will, if this somehow lets us use Netflix in 1080p and 4k, I'll use it...at least for Netflix
Uum, Firefox does thar. (Score:3)
It had digital restriction management anti-features, if you really like cactuses up the ass...
I don't know why you would watch movies in the browser though. Why not run a browser in that browser first? ... Kidding. Why not play it with your video player?
And you are paying for that cactus "privilege" too?
I bet you wonder how they can rip you off so much. lol. Or maybe not even that.
Welcome to (Score:2)
So now ... (Score:2)
Gross (Score:3)
>"Microsoft appears to be porting its Edge browser to Linux"
No thanks. Chrome is bad enough, EdgeChrome is even worse. Speaking for many (including myself), please concentrate on making sure all your products work well with the only browser that already runs on all platforms, respects privacy, and is based on open source, open standards, AND community based- Firefox. Thanks!
We already have that! It's called Chromium! (Score:2)
I don't need your stupid skin and a different set of evil and spying.
And actually, Firefox is still better.
Man, corporations really get deluded when they get old ...
hardware video acceleration? (Score:2)
if it supported hardware video acceleration out of the box, then i'd install it.
With that crap code? (Score:1)
Not in a million years.
If your provide a Docker-container with it I might use it. Jailed in his own container without access to the rest of the pc.
Thanks but no thanks (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
It may be painful because it is stupid. Chrome has some issues with phoning home, but what is your beef with Chromium?
Re: (Score:1)
On top of this, there is no official builds with auto-update, which make it unsuitable to be recommende
Sweet (Score:2)
Now I can have two layer of stuff I don't use.
So ... (Score:2)
...for the people interested in that?
Both of them?
Microsoft Trick? (Score:2)
Before going further I needed to go back to my previous page for some reason and the back button would not work! Is it just me or is this another Microsoft trick, disable your back button to keep you there ? I'm running Firefox on Devuan.
Installer? Updater? (Score:2)
Please no...
Just produce packages in rpm/deb format and let the built in package manager of the distro take care of installations and updates.
Embrace. Extend. Extinguish. (Score:2)
Old habits -- and suspicions -- die hard.
Preparation for windows with Linux kernel (Score:2)
While I am still not completely convinced that MS will put the next Windows version on a Linux kernel, this is one more indicator that they are preparing to do it.
Cowardly Lion (Score:1)
Group Policy (Score:2)
Make Edge-impacting GPO's work on domain-joined RHEL/CentOS workstations. A contemporary chromium-based browser with GPO-based policy management on all of my corporate workstation platforms would be fantastic.
Edge, bleah (Score:2)
Edge, AKA "The Little Browser That Couldn't".
It has trouble loading Slashdot and delivers a stilted, jerky experience. Video playback stutters, pages don't load all the way (or sometimes at all), extensions are haphazard and incomplete....yeah, let me know when it's done being coded by programmers with obvious head injuries and I'll take another look.
Oh, and also- fuck your flat, low-contrast UI.
proud to be ms free (Score:2)
Starting a rumor.... (Score:1)
The replacement for Windows will be Linux based, because Google did it and it made them money, so monkey see monkey do. They need a browser for that, so Edge For Linux, voila.
The new operating system will be called Microsux, a marriage of Microsoft and Linux.
You heard it here first!
everything is web based (Score:2)
all applications are web based (or at least that appears to be the end game).
MS is pushing web based apps so they can run across different architectures.
Putting Edge on Linux, including whatever specific MS technologies it has, will make it so that MS can make Linux their own.
They don't need to redesign Windows (what some people are saying they need to do - Linux Kernel + Win GUI), they will have the browser on it and that is all that matters.
Edge: The Worlds Greatest Application... (Score:1)
It's about time! (Score:2)
...said nobody ever.
Still waiting for Edge on Windows 7 (Score:1)
bigg boss 13 today (Score:1)