Microsoft's Edge browser is no longer in preview.

General
Microsoft's Edge browser is no longer in preview.

I like Microsoft's Edge browser. I don't just like it. So far I really like it. Before Microsoft rebuilt Edge around Chromium (the open source project underlying Google's Chrome browser), I didn't feel this way. But now it's a different, faster browser, and it's starting to roll out to Windows 10 PCs (and Macs); it's also available on Windows 7 and 8/8.1.

This is not the first time I've been in the driver's seat of the revamped Edge browser. I tried an early preview version last year. At the time, it wasn't even a beta, just a development build. Even then, it looked promising.

What is available now is the final build. Since it has just been released, I have not used the production release for an extended period of time, but it was a good first impression. Several sites I visited loaded fast, and during setup Edge took over my settings and bookmarks from Chrome with no problems.

I reserve the right to change my opinion over time. For example, if Edge starts consuming a lot of resources, crashing, or exhibiting other annoying behavior, I will remove Edge from my PC. However, I am willing to give Edge a try.

How I feel about Edge on a fundamental level is another matter; when Microsoft first announced that it was rebuilding Edge from the ground up using components sourced from Google's garage, Mozilla CEO Chris Beard blasted the company.

"This may sound melodramatic, but it is not.... Microsoft's decision allows Google to dictate what possibilities are available to each of us," Beard said in a blog post.

Beard further explained that Mozilla competes with Google in the browser space not because it is good business, but because "the health of the Internet and online life depends on competition and choice."

On a technical level, Microsoft got rid of the EdgeHTML rendering engine and Chakra JavaScript engine that powered the old Edge browser and replaced them with Google's V8 engine and Blink engine in the new Edge.

Regardless of how anyone feels, this is a decision Microsoft has made, and Microsoft is moving forward. In the coming days and weeks, the rollout will begin via Windows Update.

Categories