The idea of a Chromium based Edge probably came from Mobile

When Microsoft announced a new browser replacing the clunky Internet Explorer with a refreshed, lightweight and modern browser, the industry had a lot of expectation from the new browser, Microsoft Edge. Though, what followed was a release of a half baked browser with the initial version of Windows 10. The blue logo with "e" didn't help with the visual cues for user as well. That combining with the lack of extension and customization, Microsoft had a browser which needed some serious attention.

It's been three plus years since that happened, Microsoft has been refining Edge and adding new features to it but rather slowly as compared to the competition. The updates came with the major Windows 10 updates, that happened at irregular points of time before Microsoft decided to stick to two releases from last year. Extension support came almost after one year and the selection is still limited. Meanwhile, the demise of Windows 10 Mobile relieved the Edge team of updating it's mobile browser but Microsoft knew they had to keep their browser relevant to users, only way to achieve that was to release the browser to other mobile platforms. Hence they released Edge for iOS and Android, only this time, the browser was based on the web engine supported in the platforms, WebKit for iOS and Blink for Android.

The Realme's, Redmi's and M's

What a time is it for the smartphone world, to be a buyer of a phone at every segment has never been more compelling than today. But who are the ones causing this change, how is it beneficial for them? Let's take a ride across the ideas and offerings from the brands of the day.

The Redmi's

Redmi Note 5 Pro

Xiaomi has been one of the most sought brand for value for money smartphone in Indian and the Global Arena. Their Redmi line up, now a separate brand, has been selling like hot cakes which helped them become the most popular brand dethroning Samsung in the process. The Note series has been the best selling phone in each quarter. Last year, when the Redmi Note 5 Pro was introduced, it was a phone of different league with almost zero competition in the market. I think it really was the phone that upped the game when it came to mid-range offerings. But then again, when it looked like nothing would stop Xiaomi from their dream run, things happened in the real quick in the industry. 

Catching up! Windows, Android and more.

My dear followers and readers, I've not been actively engaged in blogging over the past year. Now I kind of look back at what happened last year, the biggest change in me has been the shift of interest from writing technical stuff to the artistic way of writing. Yes, you read that right, I've been lately writing quotes, poems and short stories at MycroLines. 

The last post I wrote was about a Windows Insider build. Since then we have had around 50 odd builds. But I'm not going to write anymore of builds, unless it brings something substantial. As time progressed, I've seen Windows phones going dark. Yes, my old Lumia 535 is now with my dad and my primary phone is a Android device. You can ask me, how difficult was the transition from Windows to Android was? I would say it was seamless, I managed to import all my outlook contacts into Google contacts using the in-built tool. I could have sticked to Windows phone but it was never a story that was going to succeed. Microsoft's actions to shift focus to third party platforms meant that apps were getting better in rival platforms while Windows phones were left behind sub-par experiences.

Why Android?

I was pleasantly surprised by the quality apps found in the Play Store, coming from an lacklustre app experience from Windows phones, Android as a platform, has a number of quality apps. I'll not talk about the quantity of apps because no one is going to install every app in their phone but whatever the need is, there is an app for you. This is why Android is the most preferred mobile OS, and it is the same reason why Windows phones never grew. Android is Open source, hence the OEM's have the capability of tailoring the experiences for their devices. My Redmi 3s runs MIUI 8.5 on top of Marshmallow. Before someone quickly dismisses MIUI as a clone of iOS, I can confidently say that it is a general misconception. At the first glance, the layout of home screen might resemble the iOS screen but it is Android, in very nature, supports high level of customization. I've started liking MIUI and the next major update, MIUI 9 is just around the corner making the Android experience a little more sweeter.

Windows, tablets and PCs.

I have tried Linux, Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Linux Mint and the beautiful Elementary OS. Although they are wonderful platforms, they share the same problem as Windows phones, lack of apps. Windows in PC is still the most productive desktop OS you'll ever need. Windows 10 with each update is progressing towards a unified and feature rich platform. The tablet and notebook experiences are moving together shared experiences in harmony. The integration of Cortana, OneDrive and Office in Windows,Android and iOS is forming a solid foundation for the future of Windows. At the end of the day, I'll still take Windows on a PC.

In the end, as a tech enthusiast, I believe it is good to stick with what works for you rather than worrying about the small differences and problems in the platform. Whichever the platform is, staying productive is the main purpose.

Windows 10 Build 14390 is available for PC and Mobile.

Hello Insiders, we have a new build waiting for us to test. Just like the previous builds, this one too concentrates on fixing those last of few bugs remaining in Anniversary update. We might very well get the RTM as soon as next week which will then be followed by small cumulative updates in order to make the Anniversary update available on August 2 worldwide for the general public.

Microsoft has fixed several bugs, significant ones include Improved Battery Life on Windows phones and overall polish and performance. Amazon assistant is a new extension available for Microsoft Edge. This build takes us almost there!

Improvements and fixes for PC

• You should no longer see the error code 0x80004005 when enabling Developer Mode on the “For Developers” Settings page if your PC is using a non-EN-US language.

Known issues for PC

• AWARENESS: A recent fix went into place for the Hyper-V firmware that will that affect the ability to boot Windows Server 2016 Tech Preview 5 VMs with Secure Boot enabled. A fix for TP5 builds has been developed however, due to release schedules, the Insider Preview build changes will be released before the TP5 fix is released. During that time, if you try to boot a new TP5 VM with Secure Boot enabled, it will fail. The workaround is to disable Secure Boot during this period.

Windows 10 Build 14383 is available for PC and Mobile.

Microsoft has just released a new build to insiders in the fast ring. Windows 10 build 14383 as expected brings a lots of fixes as the anniversary update is nearly done and set to be released on August 2 for both PC and Mobile devices. Microsoft will continue to release builds mostly with fixes this month. Key fixes include improved accessibility to Extensions in Store and battery life in mobile ( Yay!).

Improvements and fixes for PC

• The link to “Get more extensions from the Store” under the Extensions pane in Microsoft Edge now takes you directly to the Store to download available extensions.
• We have changed the keyboard shortcut to invoke Cortana in listening mode to Win + Shift + C based on feedback from Insiders experiencing a large number of unintended activations of Cortana while in listening mode. Speaking “Hey Cortana”, when enabled in Cortana Settings, continues to invoke Cortana in listening mode as it always has.
• Going forward from this build, updates to the Quick Action area of Action Center will be preserved across upgrades.
• We fixed an issue where disconnecting the Surface Book from an external monitor set as primary might result in the Surface Book screen showing in portrait rather than landscape until having detached and reattached the screen.
• We fixed an issue where the Settings app was showing media controls in the taskbar preview window.
• We fixed an issue where dragging the file comparison or manage library dialogs between two monitors with different DPIs would result in the dialog content no longer displaying correctly
• We fixed an issue where the checkmark used to indicate a selected state in app bar toggle buttons wasn’t visible in high contrast, for example in the Photos menu under “…”.
• We fixed an issue where connecting to a PC using Remote Desktop when a maximized window is immediately behind the Remote Desktop dialog would result in the subsequent the Credential UI window being displayed behind the maximized window.
• We fixed an issue where, with certain monitor configurations, Explorer.exe would hang after a tooltip is displaying.

How to dowload YouTube videos without extensions or software

So you just bumped up on a YouTube video which you want to download and watch it offline. It can be a cute cat video or the latest trailer of your favorite star's movie, anything literally as long as it is in YouTube, you can download it. But you are not interested in downloading a YouTube video downloader software or adding an extension to your already clumsy list of addons in your browser.

The video can be downloaded easily by using "ClipConverter" website. In addition to the download option, you also get the choice to select the quality of video. Also you get the choice to convert the video into mp4,3GP,avi, mov video formats or mp3,m4a,aac audio formats. Here are the steps which are fairly easy to follow.