Windows 10 to force you to use Edge, even if it isn't default browser

The Register ^ | Mar 18, 2018 | Simon Sharwood

[dayglored]

Grab some popcorn: Redmond has asked for feedback

Microsoft’s about to test a new feature of Windows 10 that will force users to employ its Edge browser under some circumstances.

Revealed in the announcement of Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 17623 for Skip Ahead, the change means “we will begin testing a change where links clicked on within the Windows Mail app will open in Microsoft Edge”.

Microsoft’s justification for the change is that Edge is the best, most secure browser on Windows 10.

But the change will reportedly override users’ preference for default browser.

While that’s naughty in lots of ways and makes Microsoft’s efforts to boost its browser’s market share pretty lame, this change won’t have a massive effect because Windows Mail isn’t a big deal. A firm named Litmus tracks email client use and in its analysis of the email market in 2017 found Outlook has six per cent of the email client market, Outlook.com has four per cent and Windows Live Mail had one per cent market share. Windows Mail didn't get a mention. That means it is behind even Yahoo! mail’s two per cent market share not in the same postcode as the 28 per cent share for the iPhone’s email client, 26 per cent for Gmail, and even the five per cent market share for Samsung’s mail client.

And of course the change also applies to a Preview, meaning there’s a decent chance this “feature” won’t ever make it into a proper version of Windows 10.

Microsoft’s post is also peppered with calls for feedback: The Register imagines few comments Redmond receives will be positive. ®

[The Truth Will Make You Free]

This is why I didn’t take the “free” Windows 10 “upgrade” some years back.

[daniel1212]

Thank God for variety and freedom, though I only use the Firefox installs and Waterfox. and Cyberfox, and sometimes Edge and Chrome, and IE. :

[daniel1212]

I have noticed of late that my browser (Firefox) has been experiencing slowdowns that also appear in Opera and Chrome. When you look under the hood there are some things that Microsoft inserted in the latest patch that deliberately slows down these browsers and you have to unwind the inatallation of those DLL’s

What DLLs are those?

[philman_36]

All I do is offer you an observable proof in daily life.

Does light reflect off of a curved surface or a flat surface?
Where would the reflection end on an arc?
Certainly not on the beach as is seen here.

I'm sure gunner has seen that or something close to it many times
and never thought twice about it.

Sooner or later everybody finds out that fairy tales aren't true.

Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to reform (or pause and reflect). Mark Twain

[philman_36]

a state-of-the-art physical model...

Flat rectangular pieces on flat rectangular table which will be glued together on a flat floor.

You can even watch it being built...all flat like. Pick the pic.

"179 miles of river, from Donaldsonville to the Gulf of Mexico," said Rudy Simoneaux, Project Manager for the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority.

[philman_36]

[dayglored]

> More FUD. “we will begin testing a change where links clicked on within the Windows Mail app will open in Microsoft Edge”. Are you using the Windows Mail app? It's Microsoft to Microsoft. They're not forcing Edge for everything. They're just locking down link handlers within their own application.

Of course, quite true, and as I noted above in #67, the headline is overstated.

OTOH, it's an indication that Microsoft is still Microsoft, and it's obviously and demonstrably to Microsoft's advantage to have complete control over the Win10 environment, top to bottom. "Windows As A Service" and "Win10 is the final 'version' of Windows, from now on it's just 'Windows'" indicate clearly that the days of an open platform for third parties are coming to a close. The rules have changed.

Only a fool would believe or argue that Microsoft does not want tight control over the Windows ecosystem.

Note that I don't condemn this. It's Microsoft's right to do so, and it's to their business and market advantage, long term, to do so. They're doing what they need to do.

The reason this little kerfluffle is interesting (other than the sensationalist/FUD aspects) is that it's a "feeler" about whether they can get away with locking things down again.

So first they mention it happening in an application almost nobody cares about. If nobody bitches, they'll be encouraged to try elsewhere. If there's a lot of pushback -- which could only be on principle, given the infinitesimal use of the Mail app -- they have tested the water in a safe way and can try something else.

[stuck_in_new_orleans]

Misleading title. Forced to use if you use the windows mail app. Much like a iphone that forces you to use safari

[Rebelbase]

Windows free for five years now. I’ve probably forgotten more about it than I knew.

[philman_36]

Some help for the math. 176 miles.

176 miles!

[NoLibZone]

HotBot was de besssst!

[dayglored]

> Misleading title. Forced to use if you use the windows mail app. Much like a iphone that forces you to use safari

Quite so. I wouldn't have written the headline that way, myself, but the FR rules are "Don't change the headline".

[Still Thinking]

I don’t think you CAN forget more than you know, can you?

[Rebelbase]

Trust me, with my brain anything is possible.

[cranked]

Dec 3rd, 2017 - Classic Shell is no longer actively developed......

[Bikkuri]

You should try Foxit (PDF Reader).

I have been using it for years as a replacement for Adobe reader... it is fast and not resource heavy.

https://www.foxitsoftware.com/

[Bikkuri]

I have a woodblock game installed from the Windows playstore.

It’s intrusive (video) ads (that had to be viewed, and were timed..if you click out to another window, it paused) were driving me nuts.. I searched and searched all over the net trying to find out how to block the ads..... nothing.

I finally tracked where the darn thing was installed.. found the ad folder, took ownership.. deleted everything inside the folder.. stripped all access from SYS/ADMIN and anything/anyone else listed.

Now, every time an ad is supposed to pop up, it is a blank window with an x in the corner to close it. MUCH better ;^)

[Bikkuri]

**its**

[Bikkuri]

OH... I also deleted the file that contaned my “Windows” ID number; that seemed to help too ;^)

[Bikkuri]

I can’t even remember my first email account... it was @juno.com, or something like that.