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Microsoft Edge

2.0/5 1,319
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Chromium-based evolution of Microsoft's browser, built with a brand new engine and sporting a different yet familiar look, while also offering a bunch of new features along with support for Chrome extensions. #Internet Browser  #Web Browser  #Chromium Edge  #Browser  #Internet  #Edge  

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Ever since Mozilla Firefox, followed by Google Chrome, started luring users away from Internet Explorer, Microsoft has been trying to bring them back. While Edge was an ambitious project, it failed to convince enough users to return to the default Windows browser. The reasons for this are varied, but among the main ones is definitely the EdgeHTML engine used to power it.

After trying for a long time to make things work, Microsoft has finally relented and switched to Chromium and its Blink engine. They have assured users that Edge will still look and function more or less the same, but changes are inevitable.

When coding a website, developers have to make sure that it works in every browser out there, or at least the major ones. The main engines to look out for are Google’s Blink, Mozilla’s Gecko, Apple’s WebKit and Microsoft’s EdgeHTML. With the latter on the way out, creating new websites and maintaining compatibility will be that little bit easier.

There are advantages to switching to Blink for Microsoft as well. Implementing new web standards will now be simpler, as everything will be available in the latest Chromium release, presuming it is kept up-to-date by the Edge development team.

Most Edge users have never had many complaints about the browser’s visual design, and the UI has always been one of its strong suits. It is understandable, therefore, that Microsoft is trying to keep everything much the same in this regard.

The browser isn’t going to be 100% identical to its EdgeHTML counterpart, but you won’t spot too many differences before accessing its various menus. However, the Chromium-inspired settings page has replaced the old Edge sidebar, which many users will see as an improvement.

If there is one area that still needs some work, it’s user personalization. Aside from toggling the home button and favorites bar, there isn’t much else that can be changed, apart from the default fonts.

The dark theme, which originally could only be enabled from the edge://flags page, is now an option in the browser's settings. Edge can either stick to the default system setting or let you select whichever theme you prefer.

At first glance, the new Edge runs smoothly and pages load quickly, as expected from the very popular engine. Essentially, it feels just like Chrome, which is great news for users who are thinking of switching browsers.

While RAM usage varies quite a lot, it seems to be lower than Chrome’s when a large number of tabs are open, and higher when only one or two are active at the same time. It seems to do better than the old EdgeHTML variant across the board. However, keep in mind that RAM usage is affected by a number of parameters, so your results may differ.

It is no secret that the Chrome Web Store outshines all other such repositories when it comes to the number of available extensions. If you can’t find an add-on here, you are unlikely to find it anywhere else.

Naturally, only Chromium-based browsers support these extensions, and Edge is now one of them. While Microsoft still promotes its proprietary store, users are free to install Chrome extensions as well.

So far, Microsoft’s decision to switch to Chromium is looking like a wise one. The new engine hasn’t changed too much about the browser’s design and feel, and it opens a whole new range of possibilities and promises good things for the project’s future.

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Microsoft Edge 122.0.2365.92 / 123.0.2420.20 Beta / 124.0.2438.2 Dev / 124.0.2449.0 Canary

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PRICE: Free
  runs on:
Windows 11
Windows Server 2019
Windows Server 2016
Windows 10 32/64 bit
Windows 8 32/64 bit
Windows 7 32/64 bit
  file size:
1.5 MB
  filename:
MicrosoftEdgeSetup.exe
  32 screenshots:
Microsoft Edge - While it doesn't look too different from the old Edge, the visual design has certainly evolvedMicrosoft Edge - The browser menu is mostly unchanged, so Edge users should feel right at homeMicrosoft Edge - While the Dark mode hasn't been fully implemented yet, it can be enabled via the flags screenMicrosoft Edge - screenshot #4Microsoft Edge - screenshot #5Microsoft Edge - screenshot #6Microsoft Edge - screenshot #7Microsoft Edge - screenshot #8Microsoft Edge - screenshot #9Microsoft Edge - screenshot #10Microsoft Edge - screenshot #11Microsoft Edge - screenshot #12Microsoft Edge - screenshot #13Microsoft Edge - screenshot #14Microsoft Edge - screenshot #15Microsoft Edge - screenshot #16Microsoft Edge - screenshot #17Microsoft Edge - screenshot #18Microsoft Edge - screenshot #19Microsoft Edge - screenshot #20Microsoft Edge - screenshot #21Microsoft Edge - screenshot #22Microsoft Edge - screenshot #23Microsoft Edge - screenshot #24Microsoft Edge - screenshot #25Microsoft Edge - screenshot #26Microsoft Edge - screenshot #27Microsoft Edge - screenshot #28Microsoft Edge - screenshot #29Microsoft Edge - screenshot #30Microsoft Edge - screenshot #31Microsoft Edge - screenshot #32
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