Items tagged with Chromium
Microsoft Explains Why Chromium Edge Browser Was Crashing With Google Set As Default Search Provider
Something weird and seemingly fishy was going on with Microsoft's retooled Edge browser, whereby changing the default search engine from Bing to Google was causing it to crash. Was that by nefarious design? The answer is no, even if some people will never believe it. Instead, the culprit turned out to be a change in Google's search service, and not a tweak to Edge. The suspicious issue manifested around a week ago, when Edge users noticed that typing in the browser's address bar would cause it to crash, though only if Google was set as the default search option. At the time, Microsoft offered up a temporary workaround while it investigated the cause, and worked out a fix, which is now available....
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Google has just developed a very handy new Chrome extension that will likely prove to be very popular once people catch window of it. The extension is called Link to Text Fragment, and will automatically generate a URL that will take you to a specific section of text on a website, no matter how it's formatted. You'll first need to add the extension to your browser. Once Link to Text Fragment is installed, you simply have to highlight any text on a website, right-click, and then select "Copy Link to Selected Text" using the contextual menu that is presented. At that point, the extension automatically generates a link that you can share with anyone. When you or the recipient of the link that you...
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The cogs are turning behind the scenes at Microsoft as the company continues development on its Surface Duo dual-screen Android device. Microsoft is working to give developers the tools they need to ensure websites and other software will function optimally in a dual-screen form factor. Microsoft has begun rolling out support for the Surface Duo emulator to the stable version of the Edge browser. Previously, the Duo emulator could be enabled on the Canary, Dev, and Beta branches for Edge and Chrome. The roadmap shows the emulator is supposed to be completed in July 2020, but it can be enabled now in the previously mentioned branches. Microsoft's developer tools page reportedly shows there will...
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Microsoft delivered the first production, public release of its new Chromium-based Microsoft Edge browser back in January. However, Windows 10 users actually had to go out and “seek” the software from Microsoft’s website and download the executable to install it on their machines. Now, however, Microsoft is rolling out the browser through Windows Update, which should make it available to a broader range of Windows 10 users. Windows 10 is currently installed on over 1 billion PCs around the globe, so that will give Microsoft a huge footprint with the Edge browser. According to the KB4559309 support article, Microsoft Edge will be pushed to Windows...
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Building a dual-screen device is one thing, leveraging it is another matter. The latter requires proper software support. To help with that, Microsoft is working on an experimental feature for Chromium called "dual-screen emulation," which is pretty much exactly what it sounds like—it adds dual-screen emulation support to Chromium-based browsers. Why Chromium? Microsoft has a vested interest in adding support ever since the company overhauled its Edge browser. The latest version of Edge is built around Chromium, the same foundation that Google's own Chrome browser is built on top of, so it makes sense. Interestingly, Edge is the second most popular browser, coming in behind (way behind)...
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Nearly 30 years ago, Microsoft first introduced us to an addictive little game called SkiFree. Available in the Microsoft Entertainment Pack 3 for Windows 3.x, the game had you skiing down a mountain jumping ramps, avoiding downed skiers, steering around (or jumping over) natural obstacles, and trying to avoid a seemingly unstoppable yeti. Microsoft is allowing a new generation to enjoy some of that same downward-scrolling gameplay with a new surfing game. But to play this new title, you’ll need to first install the new Chromium-based Microsoft Edge browser. One further stipulation is that the game is not available with the stable build of the browser; you have to install...
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Microsoft is investing heavily into its next-generation Microsoft Edge browser, which is based on Google Chromium. And as you might expect, Microsoft wants to get as many people over to the new Edge as soon as possible. With that in mind, the company has announced that Windows Insiders who are currently enrolled in the Release Preview ring will begin seeing Edge pushed to them automatically. If you are a regular consumer that hasn't already manually installed Edge, and don’t have any plans to use the browser anytime soon, the update will eventually makes its way to you whether you like it or now [more on that later]. “You can wait for it to be installed in a future...
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Microsoft officially launched the new, stable version of the Chromium-infused Edge browser to the public three weeks ago. At the time, Edge was relegated to only x86 devices despite the fact that the company publicly launched its ARM64-powered Surface Pro X around the same time. That meant that early adopters of the Surface Pro X were left out in the cold by Microsoft and had to run Chromium Edge in emulation mode. That changes today with the release of Edge 80 which supports Windows 10, Windows 8.x and Windows 7 along with Windows Server 2008 R2 and later. The most important addition with Edge 80 is that it finally brings native ARM64 support to the stable channel, after...
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Google Chrome may be the most popular browser out there, but Windows 10 users know that it can be a resource hog. This lack of regard for efficiency is particularly evident when running Chrome on a Windows 10 notebook that is on battery power. Microsoft may have a solution that will end the power and resource-hogging that Chrome is known for. Last summer, Microsoft noted that it may be possible to reduce Chrome's battery use by eliminating the unnecessary disk caching when watching videos. The caching of video during playback keeps the disk in an active state and consumes power. Microsoft has a second commit that shows it plans to add a check to verify if the device is running on battery. The...
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While Microsoft has closed one door (Windows 7), it has opened another one with respect to web browsers (Microsoft Edge). As promised, Microsoft has made available the public/stable release of its Chromium-based Edge web browser. Microsoft first made its intentions known that it would switch to Chromium back in December 2018, thus leaving behind the EdgeHTML engine. That move drew swift backlash from Mozilla -- the makers of Firefox -- but Microsoft continued development over the past year. After a steady stream of developer and public betas, the all-new Edge browser is ready for action. Due to the fact that Edge is based on Chromium -- the same engine that powers the world's most...
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Back in December, we reported on Microsoft's policy to get customers updated to the new, Chromium-infused version of the Edge browser. At the time, Microsoft indicated that the all-new Edge browser would be pushed automatically to allWindows 10 users in January 2020 via Windows Update. The only way that users would have been able to avoid getting the new version -- if they didn't want it -- was to install Microsoft's Blocker Toolkit for Edge. Today, however, Microsoft is clarifying its position on forced Edge updates and who it will affect going forward. Lots of speculation about automatic updates of the new Edge on Windows 10. We updated our documentation to make it clear that...
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Brave is a company that was co-founded by ex-Mozilla CEO Brendan Eich after he was booted from the organization in 2014. Brave today launched version 1.0 of its browser, and it is available for most platforms including Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS. Brave is launching into a market that is ripe with competition and is trying to differentiate itself from other browsers by positing itself as a fast option that is focused on privacy with strong default settings. The browser also has cryptocurrency-focused private ads that allow users to support content creators but promises to share no personal information about the user. To encourage users to watch Brave's ads, it has a Brave Rewards...
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Google Chrome has been focused on speed since the very beginning, with the browser aiming to open and load pages as fast as possible. Google now wants to let users know when a web page they are trying to visit typically loads slowly and at the same time, wants to reward sites that deliver fast experiences. In the future, Chrome may identify sites that usually load fast or slow with clear badges. The Chromium blog notes that the identification may take several forms and that it plans to experiment with different options to determine which gives the most value to users. Badging will identify sites that are designed in a way that makes them generally slow by looking at historical load latencies....
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Microsoft took us all by surprise when announced that its EdgeHTML-based Edge browser would be getting a ground-up redesign to leverage Google's Chromium engine. For Microsoft, it was a move that was meant to bolster the appeal of its first-party browser, which has been languishing far behind Google Chrome after once dominating the scene throughout much of the late 1990s and early 2000s with Internet Explorer. The new Chromium-backed Microsoft Edge browser has up until this point been available in both Canary, Dev and Beta channels, but the company has now announced that the first release candidate build has been released. The release candidate is available for both Windows (Windows...
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Google continues its steady march forward with the advancement of the world's most popular web browser: Chrome. The company this week launched the latest release with Chrome 77. Chrome 77 is available for all major computing platforms including Windows, Linux, macOS, Android and iOS. One of the biggest features is the addition of tab sharing, which will allow you to send pages to multiple devices. While you have the ability to browse open tabs on your other signed-in devices, this new feature makes it a bit easier to send over tabs if you want to switch from your desktop to say, your tablet for lounging on the sofa. The feature can be invoked by clicking/tapping on the menu button and selecting...
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Microsoft raised quite a few eyebrows when it announced that it would no longer develop the Edge browsing using the homegrown EdgeHTML engine, and would instead adopt Google's Chromium. Browser competitor Mozilla was quick to bash the move, saying that Microsoft was caving into Google and making it easier for the search giant to further control the web. Undeterred, Microsoft has continued to develop the Chromium-based Microsoft Edge browser, releasing Dev and Canary builds for Windows and macOS. Now, the company is ready to take the next step with the release of the Beta channel to the public. According to Microsoft's Joe Belfiore, the preview builds of Microsoft Edge were download...
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When Microsoft decided to move its browser to Chromium, significant changes were bound to happen with Microsoft working on code for Chromium. One of the things that Microsoft is working on improving for Chromium is battery life for devices when users are working away from an outlet. A new experimental feature is in testing that will improve battery life by disabling media caching to disk. The change lessens disk activity allowing the browser to consume less power. Microsoft had the battery life lead in browsers with Edge, and it is looking to extend its battery life lead to its new Chromium-based browser as well. The idea for the new feature that reduces battery consumption came from Microsoft's...
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Earlier this month, links to the Microsoft Edge Canary and Dev Channels for macOS leaked early. The spread of the Chromium-based Edge browser to macOS came months after the browser was first released for Windows 10. However, that early leak for macOS wasn't officially supported by Microsoft... until now. Microsoft today officially announced the public availability of Edge for macOS vis the Canary Channel. For those that are not up-to-date on Chromium channels, Canary builds are pushed daily and will likely be full of bugs. The Dev Channel is updated weekly and is generally more stable. Then there's the Beta Channel, which offers the most stable experience for early testers. "Microsoft...
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Microsoft recently announced a number of interesting features for its upcoming Chromium-based version of Microsoft Edge. The features are primarily aimed at helping businesses and enhancing privacy. Microsoft’s new version of Edge includes a new “IE Mode”, Collections, and web tracker blocking. Microsoft has specifically designed several things for businesses. Businesses are notorious for their slow adoption of new technology. Microsoft wanted to make the transition to Edge as seamless as possible. Their new “IE Mode” will allow businesses to load old sites directly into the new web browser. The mode will utilize Internet Explorer’s rendering engine and load...
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Microsoft is hard at work on its new Chromium-based browser and delivered its first Chromium-based browser test build about a month ago. However, a big issue with the Chromium-based browsers has been discovered on Windows 10, and it can seriously impeded performance. The issues was brought to light by browser maker Vivaldi and a Google researcher; for its part, Microsoft is working on a fix for the issue. The browser performance problem has to do with a Windows 10 security feature, but it's unclear if end-users of Chromium-based browsers are affected by the issue. The performance issue did pose enough of a challenge to Vivaldi that it appealed to Microsoft and Google for a fix. Microsoft's...
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Microsoft surprised many when it decided that was going to abandon its homegrown EdgeHTML rendering engine for Edge in favor of Google Chromium. The move particularly incensed Firefox developer Mozilla, which said that Microsoft was “officially giving up” and conceding to Google. In the four months since that initial announcement, we’ve learned more about the “new” Microsoft Edge browser, and early test builds of the browser have even leaked to the internet in recent weeks. Now, the company has opened up its official Microsoft Edge Insider Channel for those that want to legitimately test the new browser. Microsoft Edge is currently available...
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Microsoft is in the process of rebuilding its Edge browser around Chromium, the same open source project that powers Google's own Chrome browser. The transition will not happen overnight—Microsoft said in December that the move will happen over the "next year or so," with no specific date mentioned. That said, testing has already begun, and you can kick the rebuilt browser's tires right now, if you want. Just as Microsoft does with Windows, it is testing new builds of its rebuilt Edge browser through an Insider program. "Calling all developers and tinkerers: your voices will help us shape the next version of Microsoft Edge. Sign up to be the first to know when preview builds are available,"...
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