Jul 31, 2015

Should you try the EDGE, Microsoft's new Web Browser?

With the release this week of the new operating system by Microsoft, called "Windows 10", the world can also now experience their new browser called EDGE.

It's being promoted as a totally new browser, and by dropping the IE (Internet Explorer) name, Microsoft is making an obvious attempt to try to lure millions of users back that they've lost over the past several years, mainly to Google's CHROME browser.

So far in 2015, although there is conflicting research data/results showing up online, IE still holds the top spot for worldwide browser popularity - according to NetMarketShare data - IE is showing at 27%, Chrome at 17%, Firefox at 9%, Safari at 3%, with a bunch of other minor players in the game making up the rest of the total percentage (17%).

What has Edge got going for it?  Why should you try it?  Here's a few reasons:

SPEED: Edge is supposed to be FAST - some studies are stating that it's almost twice as fast as the current industry leader Chrome.

However, I'm not seeing super fast...I'm seeing super slow (at this time).  However, we just upgraded our office operating systems to the new Windows 10.  Perhaps (I'm hoping!) some tweaking needs to be done to settings/configuration, but at this moment my entire computer seems to be running slow - significant lag time between mouse click to select and action taking place - software starting, new tab opening, etc.  Note that comments about the new Microsoft operating system (Windows 10) will be the focus of a separate upcoming blog post.

So back to Edge...

SAFETY: IE has been the primary focus of hackers and other bad guys, due to it being the most popular browser for many years. Edge was created to stand alone, separate from the rest of your PC - sorta like having a moat around your castle.  The SmartScreen filter, the came out as part of IE8 continues to provide additional protection.

SIMPLICITY: There is a lot to customize under the hood, but the surface is very clean and uncluttered.  The default initial display is "google-ish" or "apple-ish" - the browser screen simply asks "Where To Next?", with a search box to type in a website address or search engine query.

There are several other reasons that might make you consider using Edge as your default or secondary browser (and a few reasons you might not like it - such as no support for certain 3rd party extensions such as "password managers") but these are just a few GOOD reasons that I think make it worth checking out.