Removing ActiveX, VBScript, and Browser Helper Objects, wow. (Clapping). There are malware writers over the world shaking their fists at Microsoft and wondering how much money they're going to lose over this.
MS needs to make this browser available to Win 7 and Win 8 users who don't upgrade from a security standpoint. At least Win 8.
@hughlle, I'm not sure if that was sarcasm or you were being serious but when you have reasons directly tied to technology then it's absolutely understandable that some thing are limited to specific versions of OSes. Also this might be a core component of the OS. Supporting it on other platforms may not be feasible.
How far back should software be supported in order for it to not be considered bad practice? And which features MUST be back-ported every time for this purpose? This isn't an updated IE it's a completely new piece of software, there's no reason to expect it to be available on OSes that are 5-6 years old.
If every single feature of every software out there were back ported to older versions then why would you ever buy the new one? They'll move to the subscription model which fits this perfectly and then people will complain that they have to pay constantly for new features.
Not every legal user, no. There is plenty of hardware out there that won't work properly on Windows 10. As an example, there are AMD graphics cards that have a Windows 8 driver that refuses to run on 8.1, and AMD never released an updated driver as the cards were EOL'd.
There's a generic driver in Windows update you can use. It's not great, but it's something. It's also one of the major reasons I'm quite wary about buying AMD hardware for as well...
From a security standpoint, 10 will be more secure than 8 and vastly more secure than 7 since no one will have had time to really work the OS over for holes and vulnerabilities like they have 7 and 8.
Every time Microsoft releases a new OS when tests are done it is always shown that the new one is stronger than the original. Of course over time new threats emerge but still I would take a clean install of 10 on release of a clean install of 8.1.
No I don't believe any other browsers have SIMD at the moment, although I believe Firefox added it to the nightly build and it's on the table for Chrome.
"Edge can now be updated through the Windows Store, which should allow them to quickly and easily roll out updates and fixes" Amazon would not state that changing from UPS to FedEx for deliveries is responsible for their expanded range, so why would MS changing to Store instead of Windows Update mean they will update the browser more frequently? True windows update is on a monthly cycle but the reality is that MS didn't do anything other than parching between versions so method of delivery is a moot point. A culture change were features and standards support are added at a faster rate, say monthly rather every 2 or 3 years, is what is required not a change of method of delivery.
Updating through the store mainly benefits the Mobile version, since you would no longer have to go through the carriers. It makes sense to make all versions of Edge work this way across all versions of Win10. I don't know how much it would help users of traditional systems, but I know some people that only install Windows updates once every decade (or so it seems), so this would keep their browser updated without them needing to do anything.
Edge is decoupled from the OS - it's an application like Chrome is, so it can be updated whenever the Edge team is ready to add new features. Previously, IE was never really upgraded outside of major OS releases. That's why IE10 and IE11 were considered fairly cutting-edge in a lot of ways when they were released, despite being well behind the competition about six months later.
They already support AAC. Why not just use multi-channel Opus or HE-AAC? Dolby codecs are fine in large capacity optical discs and where receiver support is paramount, but the web would value per-bit efficiency much more.
On one hand, it's nice to have the possibility of putting E-AC3/DD+ directly onto the web and be able to play it natively in IE. On the other, it's highly likely that the file was already transcoded from its original bitrates (because this is the **internet**, where access and load times are key), so I'd rather they'd push something technically superior.
lol spotted the term"Edge" and clicked on it expecting something on the S6 Edge SKYpe, Metro, Edge, seems like M$ just can't come up with any original brand names..
Opera was THE browser. Now it's dead, unfortunately. Killed by the marketing people that screamed for more market share.. and lost even the smallest one hey had. But now we have Opera 29.. don't you feel it as good as Chrome and FireFox which are on about the same order of magnitude for their latest version?
I wonder when this mania for versioning major release after some fixes and small improvements has ever started.
With Google and their Chrome. That was the browser that started the version upping with every slight change. Before that when IE9 was out it was going up against FireFox 4. Then Chrome came out and now even FireFox is doing the same thing.
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29 Comments
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lilmoe - Tuesday, May 26, 2015 - link
get over the icon people... it ain't gonna change.Flunk - Tuesday, May 26, 2015 - link
Sure it will, with every new version.sandwich_hlp - Thursday, May 28, 2015 - link
Actually, it's a good thing that the icon closely resembles the IE icon if they want laypeople to use Edge instead of IE.eanazag - Tuesday, May 26, 2015 - link
Removing ActiveX, VBScript, and Browser Helper Objects, wow. (Clapping). There are malware writers over the world shaking their fists at Microsoft and wondering how much money they're going to lose over this.MS needs to make this browser available to Win 7 and Win 8 users who don't upgrade from a security standpoint. At least Win 8.
SpartanJet - Tuesday, May 26, 2015 - link
Why when any legal user can simply upgrade to Windows 10, which is what they want and why they are giving it away for free.Brett Howse - Tuesday, May 26, 2015 - link
Yes they have been very clear with their intentions and this is not coming to any build prior to Windows 10.hughlle - Tuesday, May 26, 2015 - link
A company making a feature version specific to promote upgrade? How utterly abhorrent.Maybe they should also offer win 8 users the new start menu as well..
Brett Howse - Tuesday, May 26, 2015 - link
I believe they have with the free upgrade to 10 :)close - Wednesday, May 27, 2015 - link
@hughlle, I'm not sure if that was sarcasm or you were being serious but when you have reasons directly tied to technology then it's absolutely understandable that some thing are limited to specific versions of OSes. Also this might be a core component of the OS. Supporting it on other platforms may not be feasible.How far back should software be supported in order for it to not be considered bad practice? And which features MUST be back-ported every time for this purpose? This isn't an updated IE it's a completely new piece of software, there's no reason to expect it to be available on OSes that are 5-6 years old.
If every single feature of every software out there were back ported to older versions then why would you ever buy the new one? They'll move to the subscription model which fits this perfectly and then people will complain that they have to pay constantly for new features.
Gigaplex - Wednesday, May 27, 2015 - link
Not every legal user, no. There is plenty of hardware out there that won't work properly on Windows 10. As an example, there are AMD graphics cards that have a Windows 8 driver that refuses to run on 8.1, and AMD never released an updated driver as the cards were EOL'd.ZeDestructor - Wednesday, May 27, 2015 - link
There's a generic driver in Windows update you can use. It's not great, but it's something. It's also one of the major reasons I'm quite wary about buying AMD hardware for as well...jimmy$mitty - Wednesday, May 27, 2015 - link
From a security standpoint, 10 will be more secure than 8 and vastly more secure than 7 since no one will have had time to really work the OS over for holes and vulnerabilities like they have 7 and 8.Every time Microsoft releases a new OS when tests are done it is always shown that the new one is stronger than the original. Of course over time new threats emerge but still I would take a clean install of 10 on release of a clean install of 8.1.
Timbrelaine - Sunday, May 31, 2015 - link
Eh. It's definitely a great thing and will make IE more secure, but those malware writers have been working on flash and java plugins for years.tipoo - Tuesday, May 26, 2015 - link
Did IE11 use SIMD? Do other modern browsers?Just wondering if it was a novel feature, or just something they were reworking for it as it's not a final build yet.
Not using SIMD would be pooping away a large part of what makes modern processors fast. Ask the nearly SIMD-less Wii U CPU!
Brett Howse - Tuesday, May 26, 2015 - link
No I don't believe any other browsers have SIMD at the moment, although I believe Firefox added it to the nightly build and it's on the table for Chrome.tipoo - Tuesday, May 26, 2015 - link
Interesting. Some huge accelerations could be sitting right there on the table then. I'm surprised no one bothered before.dazzanz - Wednesday, May 27, 2015 - link
Existing browsers use SIMD internally for many functions. It is just that SIMD has not been directly accessible from javascript.toyotabedzrock - Wednesday, May 27, 2015 - link
Opera 12.x used SIMD. And profile guided complies. It is why certain test would run abnormally fast compared to every other browser at the time.lorribot - Tuesday, May 26, 2015 - link
"Edge can now be updated through the Windows Store, which should allow them to quickly and easily roll out updates and fixes"Amazon would not state that changing from UPS to FedEx for deliveries is responsible for their expanded range, so why would MS changing to Store instead of Windows Update mean they will update the browser more frequently?
True windows update is on a monthly cycle but the reality is that MS didn't do anything other than parching between versions so method of delivery is a moot point.
A culture change were features and standards support are added at a faster rate, say monthly rather every 2 or 3 years, is what is required not a change of method of delivery.
Alexvrb - Tuesday, May 26, 2015 - link
Updating through the store mainly benefits the Mobile version, since you would no longer have to go through the carriers. It makes sense to make all versions of Edge work this way across all versions of Win10. I don't know how much it would help users of traditional systems, but I know some people that only install Windows updates once every decade (or so it seems), so this would keep their browser updated without them needing to do anything.B3an - Wednesday, May 27, 2015 - link
"so why would MS changing to Store instead of Windows Update mean they will update the browser more frequently?"Because they've specifically fucking said so, multiple times.
althaz - Friday, May 29, 2015 - link
Edge is decoupled from the OS - it's an application like Chrome is, so it can be updated whenever the Edge team is ready to add new features. Previously, IE was never really upgraded outside of major OS releases. That's why IE10 and IE11 were considered fairly cutting-edge in a lot of ways when they were released, despite being well behind the competition about six months later.mavere - Tuesday, May 26, 2015 - link
They already support AAC. Why not just use multi-channel Opus or HE-AAC? Dolby codecs are fine in large capacity optical discs and where receiver support is paramount, but the web would value per-bit efficiency much more.On one hand, it's nice to have the possibility of putting E-AC3/DD+ directly onto the web and be able to play it natively in IE. On the other, it's highly likely that the file was already transcoded from its original bitrates (because this is the **internet**, where access and load times are key), so I'd rather they'd push something technically superior.
( Relevant: https://tech.ebu.ch/docs/tech/tech3324.pdf )
jjj - Tuesday, May 26, 2015 - link
lol spotted the term"Edge" and clicked on it expecting something on the S6 EdgeSKYpe, Metro, Edge, seems like M$ just can't come up with any original brand names..
Michael Bay - Friday, May 29, 2015 - link
>M$Look who`s talking.
B3an - Tuesday, May 26, 2015 - link
In the latest Win10 build Edge is beating Chrome at Googles own Octane benchmark.It's also the fastest with Sunspider and JetStream benchmarks.
I hope they update the browser through the Store atleast every couple of months to keep competitive with performance.
toyotabedzrock - Wednesday, May 27, 2015 - link
Opera 12.x used SIMD for their JS engine. It is why you it ran certain test so much faster than every other browser.CiccioB - Wednesday, May 27, 2015 - link
Opera was THE browser.Now it's dead, unfortunately.
Killed by the marketing people that screamed for more market share.. and lost even the smallest one hey had. But now we have Opera 29.. don't you feel it as good as Chrome and FireFox which are on about the same order of magnitude for their latest version?
I wonder when this mania for versioning major release after some fixes and small improvements has ever started.
jimmy$mitty - Wednesday, May 27, 2015 - link
With Google and their Chrome. That was the browser that started the version upping with every slight change. Before that when IE9 was out it was going up against FireFox 4. Then Chrome came out and now even FireFox is doing the same thing.