Microsoft aren't a company we exactly cover often but it seems fitting to cover it here, especially given their history with Linux. Today they're properly releasing Edge for Linux.
Their browser, now based on the open source Chromium tech, was already available on Linux for a while but this was only in their preview channels but that changes today. On their official Edge blog, they announced that Edge will be launched today via the stable channel making it generally available for Linux. This means Edge will now be supported across Windows, Mac, iOS, Android and Linux.
It feels like a pretty big occasion, although not the first official Microsoft application to actually land on Linux, it might end up being the most used since it's a web browser and so much depends on you using one nowadays. Hey, you can even play a ton of AAA games in your browser now too.
Will many traditional Linux users switch? That's not really a needed question and plenty will of course say no but having it available is important. Even though most browsers feel largely the same, having the exact same application across platforms is good so people don't need to re-learn so much and keep their accounts together for bookmarks, passwords and whatever else.
To celebrate, Microsoft added a Tux character to their little surfing game available at the "edge://surf" address in Edge.
You can download from their website or whatever package manager you use.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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The comments on this article are closed.
Quoting: wytrabbitQuoting: rea987Only reason that I would allow it in my PC alongside with Firefox and Chromium would be to be able to watch Netflix 4K but it's still not happening on Linux. Hence, I'll pass.
https://help.netflix.com/en/node/13444
Edit: Out of curiosity I downloaded and installed Edge to see whether at least 1080p Netflix streaming is available aaaaaand it couldn't play a thing on Netflix. lol Though, it's probably Netflix's end as they are quite strict with browser support, they probably block Edge on Linux due to unknown user agent.
On the other hand, I am able to stream 1080p on Firefox thanks to Netflix 1080p add-on.
https://addons.mozilla.org/tr/firefox/addon/netflix-1080p-firefox/
https://www.netflix.com/watch/80018592
Be the change you want to see, contact Customer Service and ask for 1080p and 4K support in Linux via Edge browser now that it's available. Maybe they'll bump the request up the chain for you.
Well, I'll act both spoiled and responsible here.
Spoiled: I don't require higher than 1080p Netflix on my 15" laptop that Firefox can provide thanks to the aforementioned add-on. For TV, I have my 4K 50" Android TV that can handle pretty much anything regardless. :-)
Responsible: As a loyal Firefox advocate, I rather prefer Netflix to keep considering Firefox as an officially supported browser on Linux. Having Microsoft made Edge may or may not change their mind.
https://help.netflix.com/en/node/23742
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ElectricPrism Nov 2, 2021
As a webdev who suffered over a decade at poorly made Microsoft Browsers, they earned this.
Last edited by ElectricPrism on 2 November 2021 at 7:52 pm UTC
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Quoting: Purple Library GuyLately I'm seeing a marked return to the old days of seeing Microsoft as the dangerous enemy and nasty monopolist that I personally have considered it all along. I wonder why?
Because you were right all along.
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heidi.wenger Nov 2, 2021
Quoting: Sojiro84Quoting: SchattenspiegelQuoting: Liam Dawenot popular - people are just to lazy to google chromeQuoting: BeamboomOh ffs. Do even windows users use that one? What does the browser stats say?It's actually more popular than Firefox overall, going by multiple stats websites.
This.
The general user base on computers barely manage to turn on their PC, let alone know what a browser is and that they can change it to others.
This so much. Puts in the perspective why it is nothing short from out right crazy to assume that making say an AppImage executable before you can run it, is SO EASY in general!
If a single click won't do it in the "AppStore" (that's clearly indicated as such in Linux distro), the hands are already up and head spinning. This issue has to be solved and we the so called power users don't have to touch this solution and can keep on typing like crazy to our terminals even while asleep you know ....
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Quoting: Sojiro84and has tab groups like Chrome, those are so good to have.
The "Simple Tab Groups" addon for Firefox is 100 times better. I don't know how I can live without this addon.
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I use Edge at work for our intranet. It requires credentials to view pages and Edge can access the Windows "keyring" (don't know the Windows term) for my login. Saves me from having to login endlessly.
That said, if it's a chrome clone, like opera, I don't really have a use for it on Linux. Firefox and Chromium are just fine for me.
Ironically, our IT people tell us to use Firefox or Chrome at work when going onto the internet. They are an older bunch, so they might have IE PTSD.
That said, if it's a chrome clone, like opera, I don't really have a use for it on Linux. Firefox and Chromium are just fine for me.
Ironically, our IT people tell us to use Firefox or Chrome at work when going onto the internet. They are an older bunch, so they might have IE PTSD.
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Quoting: GuestQuoting: ShabbyXI'm glad they realized they lost this war, and now the poor people that trust microsoft have a working browser. If only they'd realize the same with NT and switch windows's kernel to LinuxThey didn't make edge chromium based because they thought chromium was better. They were "forced" to because google was changing how youtube displays videos, which broke hardware decoding.
I can't find anything on this specifically but I'm guessing you are talking about the youtube switch to vp9 from avc. If so I will say, a website using free codecs that are part of the w3c standard instead of patented ones that aren't is a good thing always.
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Quoting: natis1Quoting: GuestQuoting: ShabbyXI'm glad they realized they lost this war, and now the poor people that trust microsoft have a working browser. If only they'd realize the same with NT and switch windows's kernel to LinuxThey didn't make edge chromium based because they thought chromium was better. They were "forced" to because google was changing how youtube displays videos, which broke hardware decoding.
I can't find anything on this specifically but I'm guessing you are talking about the youtube switch to vp9 from avc. If so I will say, a website using free codecs that are part of the w3c standard instead of patented ones that aren't is a good thing always.
This, and also, edge was just garbage with video anyway. For example, you couldn't do video calls in facebook with it. My aunt who like most people have always gone with windows default even installed Chrome because of that. So obviously Edge just didn't cut it and they were losing users, so microsoft decided to do the easy thing and rebrand an open source browser.
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Quoting: Liam DaweQuoting: BeamboomOh ffs. Do even windows users use that one? What does the browser stats say?It's actually more popular than Firefox overall, going by multiple stats websites.
Many Corporations force the use of MS Tech on business PCs and Notebooks. Not everyone has a choice...
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Quoting: GuestQuoting: ShabbyXI'm glad they realized they lost this war, and now the poor people that trust microsoft have a working browser. If only they'd realize the same with NT and switch windows's kernel to LinuxThey didn't make edge chromium based because they thought chromium was better. They were "forced" to because google was changing how youtube displays videos, which broke hardware decoding. Microsoft developers were even suspecting that google was doing it intentionally to make other browsers perform worse than chromium.
And that is EXACTLY why nobody in their right minds should use ANY chromium-based browser nowadays...
Quoting: foggerQuoting: Sojiro84and has tab groups like Chrome, those are so good to have.
The "Simple Tab Groups" addon for Firefox is 100 times better. I don't know how I can live without this addon.
I prefer "Panorama Tab Groups" - it's a delight that this removed feature got such a great revival! ^^
Last edited by Termy on 3 November 2021 at 9:14 am UTC
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Arehandoro Nov 3, 2021
Quoting: BeamboomOh ffs. Do even windows users use that one? What does the browser stats say?
Most devs in the company I work for, use Edge now. On MacBooks.
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slaapliedje Nov 3, 2021
Quoting: Liam DaweSure, since MS has all but crammed it down the throats of it's users. With literal ads sprinkled into Windows to use it instead of whatever else you're using.Quoting: BeamboomOh ffs. Do even windows users use that one? What does the browser stats say?It's actually more popular than Firefox overall, going by multiple stats websites.
Funny, wonder if they'll ever release a non-broken, non-preview of Teams. Though it truly is the worse piece of software I've used since Outlook...
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Projectile Vomit Nov 3, 2021
So I was willing to give it a run, just to see the difference, and "Cannot install from unsigned repo".
That was encouraging.
That was encouraging.
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Quoting: slaapliedjeOh God yes. A while ago I got a cheap little box to attach to our TV so my wife can watch the internet instead of watching TV, so we could ditch cable. It came with Windows installed, and so I thought hey, I'll just do proof of concept on Windows before taking the time to do the Linux install. Downloaded Firefox and Chrome, and off to the races, right? I'm a lazy guy in many ways, I might have just left it at "I'll switch the box to Linux when I get around to it"--except for all the annoying crap on Windows, which absolutely refused to just shut up and let my wife watch stuff. Constantly bugging us to use Edge instead was definitely one of the things that motivated me to quickly rip Windows out and put Linux in. The experience since has been much more relaxing.Quoting: Liam DaweSure, since MS has all but crammed it down the throats of it's users. With literal ads sprinkled into Windows to use it instead of whatever else you're using.Quoting: BeamboomOh ffs. Do even windows users use that one? What does the browser stats say?It's actually more popular than Firefox overall, going by multiple stats websites.
Last edited by Purple Library Guy on 3 November 2021 at 4:17 pm UTC
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slaapliedje Nov 3, 2021
Quoting: rea987Only reason that I would allow it in my PC alongside with Firefox and Chromium would be to be able to watch Netflix 4K but it's still not happening on Linux. Hence, I'll pass.Heh, I recently bought a 77" OLED LG TV, when I logged into the Netflix app on it, it prompted me to upgrade to the 4k version of Netflix. When I finally got around to trying to test it, my bandwidth simply wasn't enough to sustain the quality. Not everyone has gigabit internet available to them...
https://help.netflix.com/en/node/13444
Edit: Out of curiosity I downloaded and installed Edge to see whether at least 1080p Netflix streaming is available aaaaaand it couldn't play a thing on Netflix. lol Though, it's probably Netflix's end as they are quite strict with browser support, they probably block Edge on Linux due to unknown user agent.
On the other hand, I am able to stream 1080p on Firefox thanks to Netflix 1080p add-on.
https://addons.mozilla.org/tr/firefox/addon/netflix-1080p-firefox/
https://www.netflix.com/watch/80018592
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slaapliedje Nov 3, 2021
Quoting: Projectile VomitSo I was willing to give it a run, just to see the difference, and "Cannot install from unsigned repo".Ha ha ha! Brilliant. I'm guessing this is one of those .deb/.rpms that create a repo file to get updates from (their Teams install does the same) and they forgot to include the signing portion.
That was encouraging.
Projectile Vomit... Trying Edge on Linux. Name checks out.
Last edited by slaapliedje on 4 November 2021 at 12:21 am UTC
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Given how crappy Microsoft Teams is on Linux (To the point it actually hurts communication with devs in our company), and how they keep trying to switch back to the usual tactics whenever they feel like they are losing control of a technology (See the recent attempt to tie C# features to their ), I'll probably avoid installing Edge unless it becomes necessary for some unfathomable reason.
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Quoting: slaapliedjeQuoting: Liam DaweIt's actually more popular than Firefox overall, going by multiple stats websites.Sure, since MS has all but crammed it down the throats of it's users. With literal ads sprinkled into Windows to use it instead of whatever else you're using.
I've not been on Windows for decades now, but I have a friend who got a new PC just last week with latest Windows version on. He's not too computer literate (to put it mildly) but had a go at installing the apps he was used to use from before.
He called me the other day to tell me that he was warned against installing Firefox on his computer and felt he had to ask me if he could or should still install it.
Let me say that again. He were fucking warned, by an app installed with the operating system (Edge, I presume - I don't know) to NOT install Firefox. I haven't seen the message, but the way he perceived the warning was that Firefox was an unsafe browser to use.
My jaw dropped. The nerve of that company... The nerve!
Last edited by Beamboom on 3 November 2021 at 8:44 pm UTC
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Quoting: BeamboomQuoting: slaapliedjeQuoting: Liam DaweIt's actually more popular than Firefox overall, going by multiple stats websites.Sure, since MS has all but crammed it down the throats of it's users. With literal ads sprinkled into Windows to use it instead of whatever else you're using.
I've not been on Windows for decades now, but I have a friend who got a new PC just last week with latest Windows version on. He's not too computer literate (to put it mildly) but had a go at installing the apps he was used to use from before.
He called me the other day to tell me that he was warned against installing Firefox on his computer and felt he had to ask me if he could or should still install it.
Let me say that again. He were fucking warned, by an app installed with the operating system (Edge, I presume - I don't know) to NOT install Firefox. I haven't seen the message, but the way he perceived the warning was that Firefox was an unsafe browser to use.
My jaw dropped. The nerve of that company... The nerve!
As much as I hate the practice, your friend was probably only warned to not install an "unknown app" downloaded from the internet, which is a standard protection scheme on Windows. Warning him out and out about a competing product like Firefox is so illegal that in fact MS have already been legally condemned for this exact practice a few years back and forced via a Windows Update patch to offer their users the explicit choice to install third-party browsers.
That said, the incident is still very concerning (no less because this warning system very often ends up serving as a blatant if underhanded way to monopolize the market in MS's favor, and though the legislators know about it they choose to ignore it as long as it doesn't explicitly break the law) and it goes to show that we're in deep trouble as far as the browser wars are concerned. Just the other day I happened to check the browser market shares for the first time in years, and I was shocked to see that Firefox is down to ~3,5% on the desktop. Not 15%, not 10%, three and an effing half. Yup, we're in very deep sh-- trouble.
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