Advice Request Am I crazy for wanting to use the Edge browser?!

[ParaXY]

I have been using Firefox 1.x for many many years. I stopped using IE when IE7 came out (couldn't stand the GUI). I don't use IE at all anymore. I use Chrome as a backup browser.

Since installing Windows 10 on my machine I haven't really considered using or trying out the new Edge browser. So last night I started reading up on it and experimenting. I like the sand boxing feature.

So I imported all my bookmarks from Firefox and added the Adblock Plus extension. I also installed the Roboform extension but I need to upgrade my version of Roboform before it'll work.

I then had Edge and Firefox side by side on my dual monitors and interestingly, they almost look the same!

There are some nice touches like setting tabs aside and pinning a tab. The one thing that is annoying is that you can't set new tabs to open to a specific URL...grrr.

I also have a folder of daily links I always open in Firefox (you right click the folder and select open all in tabs and every bookmark opens). I tried this in Edge and it worked too. If I do this in Edge it does use more memory though:

This is with about two dozen tabs. I don't mind the memory usage at all as I have 32GB and free memory is wasted memory!

So before trying Edge I hated it. Not sure why as I had hardly ever used it or given it a chance. Now I am now planning on using it for a month to see how it goes.

Am I crazy for joining the 2% of the market share that actually use Edge? Is Edge a waste of time? Is it more secure than Firefox? (I do use Chrome as a secondary browser but this is rare).

I'm interested to hear the forums thoughts on this!

 

[LahiruRajinda]

I'm going to use it as my primary browser until the end of March

What are send notifications? What videos fail to play? I've only tried YouTube using HTML5 and it seems to work ok. What is IDM?

I meant Web Notifications. Can't seem to stop them popping up. I heavily rely on streaming video share sites such as Gorillavid, openload ... They have their own customized players and most of the times Edge won't play them. IDM stands for Internet Download Manager.

 

[ParaXY]

Interesting, I've been finding the launch time of Edge REALLY fast compared to Firefox. Less is more when it comes to security!

Out of curiosity this is the version 1709 used:

On my Windows Insider install (17604) it's running:

 

[Deleted member 65228]

Interesting, I've been finding the launch time of Edge REALLY fast compared to Firefox. Less is more when it comes to security!

It's not so much the actual launch of Microsoft Edge, but the time it takes for it to actually become "usable" once it's started in comparison to other browsers for me.

If I open Google Chrome, it's pretty much instant. It'll be open before I could even blink. From the minute it's open, I can start typing and searching.

If I open Microsoft Edge, there's at-least a 10-20 second wait period before it's actually usable for me. Sometimes longer. Then it bugs out for a bit longer with the spinner on the tab and I have to make a new tab, close the original one, then it will work.

It's been this way across many different systems since the Windows 10 preview for me.

It's a shame really because I am a fan of Microsoft Edge, but that's life.

 

[Andy Ful]

...
Edit: I think I like the using Edge as a PDF viewer. I have been using PDF XChange Editor but since upgrading it to version 7.0 I don't like the new interface so much.

You can also consider Adobe Reader Touch from Windows Store. It is a little bit faster when you read magazines that have many pages with diagrams, graph-charts, and photos.
I also use Edge - no issues at all. I think that actually, Edge is in practice, the safest web browser. In theory, Google Chrome is as safe as Edge, but it is much more popular than Edge. The more popular software, the more popular malware for it.

 

[Cast]

It depends on the speed of the internet, a week ago I wanted to load pages that I frequent and finish doing the search and it takes time to appear the content. I discard Edge

 

[ParaXY]

You can also consider Adobe Reader Touch from Windows Store. It is a little bit faster when you read magazines that have many pages with diagrams, graph-charts, and photos.
I also use Edge - no issues at all. I think that actually, Edge is in practice, the safest web browser. In theory, Google Chrome is as safe as Edge, but it is much more popular than Edge. The more popular software, the more popular malware for it.

I dumped Adobe years ago and don't plan on using their software again. I also dumped Foxit as I thought they had lost their way with too much bloat. I've also gone off PDF Xchange since their latest update to the GUI. I may make Edge my PDF viewer to see how it goes.

That's a good point. Because everyone hates Edge and its market share is just plain sad (2%) hackers will obviously target the browsers with the biggest market share which will be Chrome and Firefox. Why bother with Edge if you can only cause damage to only 2% of users?

It depends on the speed of the internet, a week ago I wanted to load pages that I frequent and finish doing the search and it takes time to appear the content. I discard Edge

Luckily I have 100mb fibre so maybe that helps

It's still early days using Edge, it's only been one day (!) but it'll be interesting to see if I can make it to the end of March using Edge as my primary browser.

 

[ParaXY]

Edge has some interesting processes it uses when its launched:

Chakra JIT Compiler? Ok!

Also, Edge and Firefox with only the home page displaying Google used roughly the same amount of RAM:

 

[Andy Ful]

I dumped Adobe years ago and don't plan on using their software again. I also dumped Foxit as I thought they had lost their way with too much bloat. I've also gone off PDF Xchange since their latest update to the GUI. I may make Edge my PDF viewer to see how it goes.
...

I also did not use the desktop Adobe Reader for years. But, Adobe Reader Touch is not a desktop application, but very handy, quick and simple Universal Application, so is protected by AppContainer like Edge. It is always safer using document reader independently of web-browser.

 

[ForgottenSeer 69673]

Reference. How to change the Netflix video quality on your computer - gHacks Tech News

I was using Edge at first for watching Netflix but had some issues and support had me install their app which has had no issues.

I only use Edge since it stops more phishing and malware site then the other two
Microsoft Edge is safer

 

[Deleted member 65228]

Chakra JIT Compiler? Ok!

It's a JavaScript virtual machine.

Architecture Overview · Microsoft/ChakraCore Wiki · GitHub

The above is for ChakraCore though, may still be interesting.

 

[ParaXY]

I also did not use the desktop Adobe Reader for years. But, Adobe Reader Touch is not a desktop application, but very handy, quick and simple Universal Application, so is protected by AppContainer like Edge. It is always safer using document reader independently of web-browser.

Thanks for the handy tip! I installed Adobe Reader Touch and it actually looks quite good. I like your point about using a separate document reader to the browser for security reason.

How do I know if an app is protected by an AppContainer? Is there a way to monitor this? I was looking in task manager and it looks as follows:

I've not bothered with Universal Applications so this is all new to me. I avoided them as I (for some reason) thought they were evil/bad!

 

[ParaXY]

It's a JavaScript virtual machine.

Architecture Overview · Microsoft/ChakraCore Wiki · GitHub

The above is for ChakraCore though, may still be interesting.

Thanks! I shall give it a read.

 

[ParaXY]

I was using Edge at first for watching Netflix but had some issues and support had me install their app which has had no issues.

I only use Edge since it stops more phishing and malware site then the other two
Microsoft Edge is safer

Thanks but this info is provided my MS so I wonder if there is independent info that backs up their claims?

 

[TairikuOkami]

I'm interested to hear the forums thoughts on this!

Why? If you like it, use it. There is nothing wrong about being crazy, as long as it is not hurting anyone else.

MS apps always were/are/will be behind the rest of the world (~5 years). They are simplist enough, so fairly easy to use, but they lack everything else.
Edge is so heavily scripted, that I can not even run it with my settings, it crashes upon launch (virtually all MS apps do), no other browser/software does it.
MS keep releasing news and tests, how super cool, secure and advanced his apps are, but facts usually say otherwise, but who can blame them for trying.

 

[Andy Ful]

How do I know if an app is protected by an AppContainer?
...

As it is seen in your attachment, there should be the 'Runtime Broker' along with the opened Universal Application.
.
Post edited (Brocker -> Broker)

 

[ParaXY]

As it is seen in your attachment, there should be the 'Runtime Brocker' along with the opened Universal Application.

I also see it in Process Explorer:

 

[Andy Ful]

Why? If you like it, use it. There is nothing wrong about being crazy, as long as it is not hurting anyone else.

MS apps always were/are/will be behind the rest of the world (~5 years). They are simplist enough, so fairly easy to use, but they lack everything else.
Edge is so heavily scripted, that I can not even run it with my settings, it crashes upon launch (virtually all MS apps do), no other browser/software does it.
MS keep releasing news and tests, how super cool, secure and advanced his apps are, but facts usually say otherwise, but who can blame them for trying.

Generally, it is true that the vendors glorify their software, and this is also true for Microsoft.
But, the opinion about Edge security does not come from Microsoft, but from several independent sources.

 

[ParaXY]

Why? If you like it, use it. There is nothing wrong about being crazy, as long as it is not hurting anyone else.

MS apps always were/are/will be behind the rest of the world (~5 years). They are simplist enough, so fairly easy to use, but they lack everything else.
Edge is so heavily scripted, that I can not even run it with my settings, it crashes upon launch (virtually all MS apps do), no other browser/software does it.
MS keep releasing news and tests, how super cool, secure and advanced his apps are, but facts usually say otherwise, but who can blame them for trying.

Because sometimes I have crazy ideas so like to hear what others think

Not sure what you mean by "Edge is heavily scripted"?

I like the idea that Edge runs in an AppContainer which is the lowest integrity level. I assume each tab is protected from each other as each tab runs in its own AppContainer?

Firefox doesn't seem to have the protection of AppContainer so I'm guessing that this helps Edge be more secure than Firefox.

 

[ParaXY]

Generally, it is true that the vendors glorify their software, and this is also true for Microsoft.
But, the opinion about Edge security does not come from Microsoft, but from several independent sources.

Feel free to share any independent sources about Edges security

 

[ParaXY]

Can you see if something is running in an AppContainer using task manager?