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.

Microsoft Edge will become my primary browser but WHY ?

If you have been following me for a long time, you probably know that Chrome has been my browser of choice since I started blogging but that is about to change for several *good* reasons. With the recent tests and improvements made to Edge, it is time to reconsider the options available in the market.

What's wrong with Chrome ?

Chrome once represented what a modern browser should be. Be it the extensions and themes support or the simplicity of it's UI combined with good performance kept me hooked to it for a long time in my desktop. It still has all these features with Sync using Google account being a very useful feature for Android users.

Internet Explorer 12 spotted online !

A new version of Internet explorer is now visible in the HTML5test page, if you don’t know what the website does. I will keep it short, this site is used to measure a web browser's HTML5 capabilities.

The new version is shown as Internet Explorer Dev Channel under the upcoming browsers which shows a small increase in the score of HTML5 as compared to IE 11. It also indirectly shows that Microsoft has started the internal development of the next major version of IE which is expected to ship with Windows 9 or the next major version of Windows which is expected to come out later this month in the form of a technical preview. And don't take the score as a final one as it only represents the developer preview of IE, Microsoft may very well improve the browser’s HTML 5 capabilities in the coming days. Watch this space for more information as I have already asked out for a reliable source to know what the browser has to bring.

Update : It's IE 12 confirmed, Thanks Nawzil !! 

IE 11 in Windows 7 gets Enterprise mode : Screenshots leaked

Microsoft is busy building the next major Windows update which includes a improved version of internet explorer. It is not a major update for IE but it does bring a very useful feature called Enterprise Mode which helps you to increase compatibility with your website. Currently IE 11 has compatibility mode but it does not work perfectly in some of the sites. May be Microsoft is trying to bring in a better mode which will let the website use the browser to the fullest potential. Windows 8.1 update 1 will bring this update to Windows 8.1 users. Also Windows 7 users will get the update via the Windows update. The screenshots show the feature in action.

This mode has to be enabled by editing group policy for now. But this will change when the official version comes out.

Microsoft launches rethinkie.com to show off the power of IE 11

Rethink is about where the Web has come from and where it can go with a modern browser like Internet Explorer.

Microsoft has launched a beautiful animated website, rethinkie.com which explains the features of IE 11 with demos. “Rethink is about where the Web has come from and where it can go with a modern browser like Internet Explorer. We’ve taken a different approach than others by helping create experiences that work well not only with Internet Explorer but across any modern browser and device. People expect their browser to be fast and so do we. But that’s not enough, we’ve also built the best touch-first browser for your tablet,” Microsoft explained.
Last couple of years have been very good for IE team as the browser kept attraction more and more users. People have changed their ideas about the IE. Internet Explorer 11 is a modern,touch capable browser which supports the web with many new features like WebGL, HTML 5 and a lot more.

“We’ve made real progress over the past two years with continued gains in market share worldwide. People are starting to ‘rethink’ Internet Explorer as we’ve challenged them to reconsider their outdated perceptions of the browser by poking fun at ourselves in a series of videos, some nostalgic, some self-deprecating, including ‘Child of the 90s’ and ‘Do you know this guy?’ We even took to the streets to ask real people their thoughts on Internet Explorer,” the company noted.

Chrome gets it's 32nd haircut : Chrome 32 released

The much awaited Chrome update is here with several new features. Chrome 32 brings the aura UI to Windows. It also brings noisy tabs which shows the tabs which are making noise.You can now track down noisy tabs: You can now visually scan your tabs for a speaker icon to quickly find the ones singing in the background. You’ll also be able to see which tabs are currently using your webcam or are being cast to your TV.

Chrome on Metro mode in Windows 8.x gets a new interface which looks like the Chrome OS. Google has successfully ported their OS into Windows 8 without any problems.

Google writes "Chrome on Windows 8 “Metro” mode gets a new look: Manage multiple Chrome windows and quickly get to your favorite Chrome Apps with an integrated app launcher.  On the desktop, we’ve updated the default styling of UI elements like form controls and scrollbars to match the sleek design of the new Chrome Metro interface."

Other features include improved safe browsing which blocks the download if the file is found malicious.You can read more about the newest update in official blog of Google chrome.

Chrome and Google : Best together !

More chances that you know Google Chrome as it is one of the most popular and modern web browser available in the world. This time it's time to look deep at how Google uses Chrome.

Since the launch of Chrome, Google has invested a lot of fortune in it trying to make it one of the better browser. They have succeeded in it. The Stats show it. Keeping the browser simple and slick made the trick for Google as the users liked the new fast yet simple browser a lot. Chrome revolutionized the browsers after Firefox which was getting fat after competing with old IE. Let me not go deep inside the history of browser !

Firefox for Windows 8 touch : Screenshot

Yoyo ! Windows RT users will be the most happiest of the lot who are reading this post. Yeah, finally Mozilla has confirmed that Firefox in Windows 8 modern UI will be called as Firefox for Windows 8 touch and it set to reach the users by early 2014. IE 11 is the only browser which runs perfectly in Modern UI and Chrome in Modern UI is very similar to the desktop counter parts which will be updated soon. Mozilla will join this club and will become the third major browser which will run in Modern UI after IE and Chrome. It's a more functional and touch responsive full screen version of Firefox just like IE 11 in modern UI. Users can enjoy the browser with it's smooth edges and a Gecko web experience for the first time in Windows 8 UI !

Opera 18 stable gets a fix !

Opera 18 got a small build update which fixes a issue with Gmail. This update has been announced in a small but worthy post in Opera blog.

This of course doesn’t mean we neglect the Opera stable version. Recently you guys reported crashes when enabling notifications in Gmail. Thanks for the feedback and in return here is an update to fix this issue!

Opera since the transition to WebKit/Blink have been working hard to get back the old traditional features but also some cool new features. So every update brings in a lot of improvements and new features. Make sure that you get the update as soon as possible.

Inside IE 11 ! Get to know what makes this browser fast and stable

Internet explorer 11 has been around for sometime in Windows 8.1 and Windows 7 as an optional download. Microsoft has explained each and every improvement made to IE 11 in a very lengthy post. IE 11 is fast and has been improved to support the web with WebGL and more features which makes the browser faster than previous versions of the browser.

 

 

Page Prediction, Preload, and Prefetch are spotlighted in the post which explains how this technologies help IE 11 to be faster and responsive.

Page Prediction, preload (also called prerender), and prefetch in IE11 give the browser a head start in downloading and rendering the next page or downloading resources for the next page. For common browsing patterns, pages are pre-emptively fetched and even constructed in the background in a hidden tab so they appear instantly when you click on that link. These techniques speed up things you commonly do on the Web, such as searching, reading articles, browsing photos, and so on, making them feel like browsing local content.

Chrome stable updated automatically to Chrome Aura beta !

I was using Google Chrome stable build but suddenly it updated to the beta version,Chrome 32 aura. Chrome 31 was updated with some fixes few hours ago and this build was the one that I should have reached after updating. This sounds odd enough because Google has managed the updates pretty well till now . It's not only me but people are asking Google product forums for the reason why this update reached them. 

Here is a link to the forum thread about this issue. As far as the update's concern, Chrome brings the  new Modern UI to Windows 8 and Windows 8.1.It brings the new Aura UI with some new features and security fixes. Google is yet to comment on this issue, I will update this post when Google comments on this issue.

Internet explorer is becoming more popular again,Chrome and Firefox trail together !

It may sound odd but it is true. But According to the latest stats from net market share, Internet explorer has been increasing it's market share steadily since the launch of IE 10. IE 11 improves it by grabbing a share of 3.27% in the month of November.

You can see that IE has a share of nearly 58% while all the other popular browsers stay behind with a respectable share between 10 to 20%. Microsoft has been trying hard to improve their browser and they launched IE 10 and IE 11 with a gap of just one year, this is very rare to see till now as Microsoft launches a new version of browser whenever a OS comes after 2 to 3 years. IE 11 is a fast and modern browser which is highly competitive with other browsers

Looking at other browsers, Firefox has a share of 18% followed by Chrome which has 15% of the share. The real competition remains between Chrome and Firefox in terms of Market share but IE is now improving so that no one could become a real competitor to it.Safari and Opera are sitting in the back bench with 8% and 2% respectively. But it all comes to you, users. Which is your primary browser ?

Journey through the middle-earth,a new Chrome Experiment

Google has released a new Chrome Experiment which puts the power of Chrome to test . This experiment is directly promoting The Hobbit sequel. The graphics are pretty much impressive and this experiment works best on Chrome in any device. The 3D graphics are well rendered in Chrome with WebGL and HTML 5. It's always nice to see these powerful technology used in eye catching experiments like this.

Opera 18 is out !

Opera is now more feature complete after the transition from Presto to WebKit. With Opera 18, you can install themes in Opera.There are some bug fixes which will make the browser more stable and the browser's engine has been updated to Chromium 31. Opera users are recommended to get this update as soon as possible and this update will be delivered in the background via the automatic update feature.

Internet explorer 11.0.1 released for Windows 8.1

Microsoft has delivered IE 11.0.1 to Windows 8.1 users and they have patched a lot of bugs and the browser is expected to play well with most of the sites that were not loading correctly in IE 11.

Chrome 31 Stable released

Google Chrome has been updated to version 30 with some new features and some background changes which improves the performance and security of the popular browser. The new version includes support for Web payments, portable native code, and 25 security fixes.

Comodo dragon : A browser for privacy seekers

Comodo Dragon is a great browser for those who want the speed of Chrome with a bit more privacy.

Zero day flaw in Internet explorer exposes Windows 7 and Windows XP

There it goes again, a new day , a new exploit attacking Internet explorer users in Windows XP and Windows 7. It's notable that they are the most popular OS in the world with a share of nearly 75% combined.

Mozilla prepare to launch Australis for Firefox soon !

Mozilla has been developing Australis, a new and completely revamped UI for Firefox for more than a year and there is always small improvements to this project. But until now they have been testing Australis under a separate UX branch of their source code. 

Meet the new Anime for Internet explorer

Meet the new Anime for Internet explorer named Inori Aizawa.

Microsoft launched IE 11 to Windows 8.1 and Windows 7 while they also created a new anime to promote their newest browser. This might be a start of anime series for IE or even dry out as a normal ad. But this video is getting so popular that Microsoft will make up a series. Do you like the Anime for Internet explorer ?