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Microsoft Edge comes to Linux in October as a preview

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That's right, no need to wipe your glasses as that's a real headline here. Microsoft are bringing their Microsoft Edge browser to Linux in October.

Not a huge surprise, as this was already confirmed previously but having a launch month is the next step. Writing on the Windows Experience Blog, Liat Ben-Zur, Corporate Vice President confirmed the Linux launch plan:

Our mission to bring Microsoft Edge to the platforms our customers use daily takes its next step: starting in October, Microsoft Edge on Linux will be available to download on the Dev preview channel. When it’s available, Linux users can go to the Microsoft Edge Insiders site to download the preview channel, or they can download it from the native Linux package manager. And just like other platforms, we always appreciate feedback—it’s the best way to serve our customers.

What's not entirely clear is what they mean by the native Linux package manager, since there's a few. Most likely though, since they (like a lot of others) target Ubuntu directly, they might mean the Snap Store.

All of this is as Microsoft appear to continue treating Linux less like a hostile target, and more like something to take advantage of themselves. Linux has ended up being a big part of Microsoft, from integrating it into Windows with Windows Subsystem for Linux and Linux is a popular and supported choice by Microsoft on their cloud Azure platform too. Heck, they even admitted they were 'on the wrong side of history when open source exploded'.

It's going to be a bit of a hot topic, and I'm sort of dreading asking this because the comments will be quite colourful but here we go anyway: will you use it and what do you think of Microsoft getting certain applications on Linux?

Personally, I am all for it. A key part of the computing experience is having access to the applications you like and want to use, even if it's a browser with a few key differences - it all adds up. The more Linux gets, the better.

Note: this is actually not the first modern Microsoft application to arrive on Linux, as Microsoft Teams became available on Linux late last year. There's also Visual Studio Code and Skype too which have been on Linux for some time now.

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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I am the owner of GamingOnLinux. After discovering Linux back in the days of Mandrake in 2003, I constantly came back to check on the progress of Linux until Ubuntu appeared on the scene and it helped me to really love it. You can reach me easily by emailing GamingOnLinux directly. Find me on Mastodon.
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57 comments
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wvstolzing Sep 23, 2020
Quoting: Purple Library Guy
Quoting: PhlebiacThe problem is that Google intentionally hinders other browsers; for example, YouTube is using deprecated HTML which other browsers don't support, just to make the experience there slightly worse on browsers other than Chrome. I wouldn't trust Microsoft not to start doing the same for Edge.
Now that's an old song. Remember when Microsoft Internet Exploder used to pull exactly that kind of crap? The more things change . . .

The other day I was thinking how they had mocked the antitrust deposition with a spoof of the famous SNL sketch:

https://youtu.be/IY2j_GPIqRA

Assholes
Mountain Man Sep 24, 2020
Quoting: RaabenHonest question - why would I want to use this over Firefox or Chrome, especially on Linux? It seems an odd choice to port over.
Especially since Edge is little more than Microsoft's own custom build of Google Chrome.
Cyba.Cowboy Sep 24, 2020
Quoting: pbI think it's just another step closer to Linux(kernel)-based Windows. They'll keep porting stuff so the future inevitable switch is easier.

I doubt this will happen... Microsoft have invested an awful lot of time and money in the NT kernel.

More likely (though not by much!) is that Microsoft will buy something like Ubuntu, and then do a "commercial" version like Red Hat did way back in the day, whilst spinning-off a "community" version into a separate distro.


Last edited by Cyba.Cowboy on 24 September 2020 at 3:11 am UTC
bidinou Sep 24, 2020
I guess the more the better too.

Although my concern is really to make Mozilla more powerful.

For the same reason I don't only get a game for the induced experience, but because of : its development model, if it makes us more clever, if it doesn't incite us to get powerful / polluting machines, if it doesn't have stupid addiction mechanisms...

But of course, the fact I personally don't buy AAA titles won't make a difference. But the fact Mozilla can sustain itself can make a difference.
robredz Sep 25, 2020
Quoting: [email protected]Let's see where they go with Bethesda.
That will be interesting.
Nanobang Sep 26, 2020
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Whatever's going on here, it's nothing to do with Linux, or the community, or FOSS.

Microsoft is only about Microsoft, always has been, always will be.


Last edited by Nanobang on 26 September 2020 at 2:29 pm UTC
prosoor Sep 27, 2020
Will it need root authority to install? Or subscription to Microsoft apt source? If it can't run in snap in user space, or something similar, I doubt I will install it.
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