MS Edge Morphs To Chrome/Chromium?

[Sob__]

... the standard will literally be the one implementation of the standards and nothing else.

It would be bad and dangerous for web, it's too big to depend only on one implementation. But I have to say, as someone who used to have web development as main job (since last century to about six years ago), everyone in the world using one common browser (or different ones with same internals) was how I imagined paradise back then.

[hujan86]

Like IE, Edge is a lost cause.

[CharmCityCrab]

After previously having a good mobile version of its site that recognized Firefox for Android as a mobile browser, huffpost.com now displays a desktop or psedo-dekstop version of its site, where the width of the main page and individual articles is double the screen width, instead. I tried another Gecko-based Android browser and also got the desktop type site.

Meanwhile, Blink-based Edge for Android still correctly displays the mobile version of the same site.

That was fast. Maybe its just a coincidence, but it sure seems like they said "Well, Gecko's a goner, we only support Blink and Webkit now", and flipped a switch. If this was just a coincidence, I think we'll see it happen more often as not a coincidence with more sites in the months to come. I wonder if a site specific user-agent changer would help- and if one works well with Firefox for Android.

Interestingly, troubleshooting this a little did reveal one advantage of Edge for Android over Chrome for Android- Edge has ad-block plus built in (Though you have to manually enable it under settings and then manually turn off acceptable ads under advance settings.). It'd be better if Edge for Android had a full add-on infrastructure like Firefox for Android, but Edge just having the one ad-blocker makes it better than Chrome for Android, which has nothing.

[CharmCityCrab]

Are there any good open-source Blink-based Android browsers with either an add-on infrastructure or built in ad-blockers?

I'm thinking having a secondary Android browser to use on mobile sites that abandon coding for Gecko might be a good idea at this point. I'm leaning towards Edge for that job, but I'd prefer something more like Vivaldi with more built in options and add-ons than Edge has (Vivaldi has no Android browser as of yet, though, and though there are plans for one, it may lack add-ons when it appears because its Windows browser just uses Chrome's add-on store, and Chrome has no mobile add-on store).

Recommending other Gecko-based Android browsers wouldn't help here, because this would be for sites that are now or may in the future break mobile compatibility with Gecko and only allow people with Blink to browse their mobile sites.

[CharmCityCrab]

I should add that one issue with Edge for Android with just the one content blocker that can be optionally enabled relative to a browser with add-ons like Firefox for Android is that not only is there the obvious array of other options and the ability to go beyond just content browsers with Firefox that Edge doesn't have on that platform, there is also the issue of Edge for Android only having essentially the options to enable a default install of Ad-Block Plus with or without "acceptable ads" and to whitelist or not whitelist individuals sites, that excludes (as far as I can tell) the ability to pick your filter lists. So, Ad-Block Plus for Edge is probably running on something like EasyList filters, which is better than nothing, but you can't add the filters for malware sites, social media stuff, etc., or select elements to block individually (As near as I can tell, anyway, I literally spent only perhaps 15 minutes with the browser). UBlock Origin on FFA is much more fully functional in that regard, though Edge having something makes it better than Chrome with nothing- and Edge does build in some options like having a dark mode (Not sure if that's present on Chrome for Android or not, I've not used the latter in a long time).

[athenian200]

I agree that Edge would probably be the best choice if you're looking for a mobile browser that uses Blink aside from Chrome. Edge does have a few extra useful features, as you mentioned, and can also sync up fairly well with its counterpart on PC if you use Windows 10. I have heard good things about Vivaldi as well, though I think they're still working on their Android version. However, I have been warned by several people to stay away from Opera because it has ties to a Chinese company or something, I don't know much about that. The only other one I know of is Brave, and that's basically the same thing as Edge... Chromium with an adblocker.

[Night Wing]

However, I have been warned by several people to stay away from Opera because it has ties to a Chinese company or something, I don't know much about that.

It's true. A chinese consortium owns Opera.

https://www.engadget.com/2016/07/18/ope ... 0-million/

[Moonchild]

And the words have not left your mouth yet and we're seeing a very practical example of the implementation monoculture biting web developers. See https://forum.palemoon.org/viewtopic.ph ... 18#p157918

[snertev]

I agree that Edge would probably be the best choice if you're looking for a mobile browser that uses Blink aside from Chrome. Edge does have a few extra useful features, as you mentioned, and can also sync up fairly well with its counterpart on PC if you use Windows 10. I have heard good things about Vivaldi

Good things about customization, but it's buggy as hell, especially for video decoding.

Edit:

The only other one I know of is Brave, and that's basically the same thing as Edge... Chromium with an adblocker.

A very weak adblocker.

It doesn't block first party ads (OK, for "moral" reasons) and first party fingerprintig that, indeed, it's rather strange, IMO.

[Thehandyman1957]

Saw this, thought I would share. Interesting and believable.

Is Google purposefully breaking Microsoft,
Apple browsers on its websites? Some insiders are confident it is.

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/12/1 ... se_claims/

[van p]

Google is pure evil. I try not to use anything that starts with the letter 'G'. Clicking the Start Menu button, there are only 2 entries under 'G', and they're both M$ stuff. That leaves me with GeForce Experience for my video card. We all have our crosses to bear (not that there's anything wrong with NVIDIA--I just have to put up with a 'G' in my computer life).

[Night Wing]

Have you ever heard the old saying, "What is good for the goose, is also good for the gander". Or the other adage, "All is fair in Love and War".

Google; by way of their Chrome browser, is just giving to Microsoft's Edge browser what Microsoft gave to the Netscape browser when Microsoft came out with their Internet Explorer browser.

[Nigaikaze]

I try not to use anything that starts with the letter 'G'.

I'd have trouble living a fulfilling life without things like grapes, garlic, ginger, gorgonzola, gyoza, gumbo ....

[CharmCityCrab]

Have you ever heard the old saying, "What is good for the goose, is also good for the gander".

I've also heard of the saying "Two wrongs don't make a right".

Microsoft had legal and regulatory rulings that went against it in both the US and the EU based on this type of behavior when they attempting to use their operating system monopoly to give themselves a browser monopoly. Google has been busily attempting to use their search and video monopolies to give themselves a browser monopoly, and, largely, it's working, and though it's a clear violation of anti-trust law, we're not yet seeing governments step in to stop it or penalize Google forit.

Note that a monopoly does not mean that something has to be on the market. Being the only thing on the market is just the easiest most extreme example of a monopoly to point to. There are situations short of that which still clear the monopoly threshold. And what you look for if you are a regulator or someone else charged with preserving a fair competition is exactly the thing that the ex-Microsoft Edge engineer pointed out YouTube was doing. Pale Moon's developers have had similar complaints about Google in the past, so it's not *just* Google targeting Microsoft's browser or *just* Microsoft developers who have mentioned problems like this.

The good and bad news about most browsers now or soon being based on Blink/Webkit from this perspective is that if Google does something to artificially throttle another browser, it'll be very obvious, which means they probably won't do it, but the bad news is of course exactly what we already covered upthread- a one size fits all monopoly on rendering engines that will make it incredibly hard on anyone trying to do something different and will give Google almost complete control of the future of the web, and to a lesser extent the future of computing. That's a lot of power for one company to have. And, of course, if there is an unpatched vulnerability in Webkit, in theory that could be used by the bad guys to stage an attack on basically every web browser one earth. Slight exageration there, but when we combine the current Blink and Webkit numbers with Edge on desktop and mobile, it's well over 90% of installs. Basically, Gecko and forks thereof (Like Goanna) are going to be the only alternative left- unless one wants to count legacy browsing engines like Internet Explorer's Trident, which I doubt is getting much active development these days- and how long they will be able to exist and still access most websites is in question, given that web developers are more and more just designing for and testing with Blink/Webkit.

[Daikun]

The Chromium-based Edge has been leaked months ahead of its release.

Here's an article with details.
Here's a video showing it off.

[Moonchild]

Here's a video showing it off.

And so we have someone stating the obvious that a Google website (YouTube) loads snappy, and that chrome extensions can be used on a chromium-based browser...
How is this in any way shocking or worthy of mentioning? Do people really not make the step from "edge based on chromium" to "it will work like Chrome"?

[Daikun]

Microsoft has officially released preview builds.

[loxodont]

Thanks, but thanks no (for edge). From snapshots it looks such interesting as tetrisised Chrome; both not for me. I wouldn't even test install it to see how it runs.

Off-topic:
In the comments there is a more interesting zdnet article linked about mozilla cliqz and new magic "privacy-by-design architecture technology,"... with Cliqz engine "based on "Human Web" methodology" - the words alone let me just WOW!

[New Tobin Paradigm]

I like Edge.. Still rough and early in development atm but it is a fine Chromium Browser.. Ain't got shit on us but putting that aside, I like running Edge over Chrome for my Chrome related tasks.. but only just.

[F22 Simpilot]

However, I have been warned by several people to stay away from Opera because it has ties to a Chinese company or something, I don't know much about that.

It's true. A chinese consortium owns Opera.

https://www.engadget.com/2016/07/18/ope ... 0-million/

And there's no mention of that at Wikipedia. https://forum.palemoon.org/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=21345