For the last few years Microsoft’s Edge browser has been mostly ignored by the average consumer. I myself have been guilty of not giving Edge much of a try until my recent switchover to an ARM based laptop (full review incoming in the next few days). Edge works beautifully if given the chance, especially with the right plugins installed. Rumors of Microsoft dropping their in house EdgeHTML engine in favor of Chromium have now been confirmed.
In a blog post at blog.microsoft.com Belfiore commits Microsoft to becoming a large contributor to the open source project, in an effort to
“make not just Microsoft Edge — but other browsers as well — better on both PCs and other devices.”
Microsoft has shown a growing shift of adoption and contribution to the open source community. This is a good thing not only for Windows users, but for users of every operating system. Open source development is the best way to ensure transparency in software development community. Will this “fix” the widespread use of the Edge browser? … Probably not. It may pan out in the long run, but it will take time. Additionally, Belfiore talks about the continuing push for Windows on ARM devices, by calling out ARM and ARM64 projects within the blog post. ARM powered portables running Windows are the future. You simply can’t beat the battery life and instant on capability with current generation Intel chips.
On the whole, this is a good move for Microsoft, not only from a PR standpoint but from a development standpoint. It will help the standardization of the web continue to move forward. I’m eager to see how this pans out, and how the new Chromium infused Edge will work. Test builds are expected to be available in the first part of 2019. Stay tuned for more information as we have it. Cheers!
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