Microsoft now thirstily injects a poll when you download Google Chrome

The real crime here is downloading Chrome.

Firefox, for privacy protection.

143

I'm also greatly concerned by the Chromium engine supremacy on the Internet.

There are interesting privacy-focused Chromium-based browsers but I still refuse to use them. Google shouldn't have a near-monopoly on web rendering engines and on web "standards". Firefox is the only proper competition I can get behind.

27
Firefox is great, but :has (a CSS selector supported by WebKit but not Gecko) is starting to get a lot more popular.

4
- Good?
  
  1

Honest to god, the browser that wins is the one with the least bullshit popping up in my face when I open it

97

Firefox then?

65
- Yup.
  
  31
- LibreWolf. I don't need to see "sponsored shortcuts", recommended bullshit, abd Mozilla VPN ads when I open my browser. Firefox is by far superior to Chromium based alternatives but let's not pretend Mozilla are saints when it comes to annoying bullshit in their browser.
  
  1
That would probably be GNOME Web, because it literally does not pop up anything. Not on the first launch, not on any other launch.

But that’s really only helpful if you’re on Gnome, so Firefox, more likely.

11
These things aren't mutally exclusive. Edge sucks even on this level

8

Being slightly forceful might work, but being too forceful has the opposite effect. I've seen a lot of people avoiding Edge not because of its technical demerits, or due to lack of knowledge, but because MS forces it so much down your throat that something "feels" off.

63

I recently installed Edge for a technical reason and was instantly grossed out by all the stupid bling they’ve added to it.

29
- I've used it at work since it often is the only installed browser and it feels like it's already infected by toolbars and other malware out of the box.
  
  The new tab page reminds me of the weird ads you see at the bottom of tabloid websites.
  
  16
- I recently installed Edge for a technical reason
  
  was it playing around with bing's AI chatbot? because I did it for that reason. all of ten minutes before getting bored at least.
  
  3
On our company PCs we have both Edge and Chrome, after the latest Windows update a few days ago, every time I try to set Chrome as default browser, a window pops up saying something on the lines of "are you sure? please try out the fabulous Edge first, you might change your mind".

That annoys me to no end, first we are in EU, where Microsoft has been fined in the past for not allowing a browser choice, second, we're talking about Windows ENTERPRISE !!, keep that shit out of it, policies on PCs are decided at enterprise level, you can't spam users about it.

25
And not only that, but the stupid front page with stupid irrelevant news, some of which are literal, blatant attempts at fraud - "[random B-celeb from your country] has a money making tip They don't want you to know!" and that sort of shit - in the browser they relentlessly push, nag about or just "accidentally" reset as default every cunting week.

Dozens of popups, random notifications - like... why? What person with, I assume, at least half a brain stem in their head could possibly think these were good ideas?

"I don't give a shit, show me the web page and shut the fuck up!" has turned into a mantra when I have to use Edge. That's not good.

6

Somewhere there is a designer and or an engineer that was forced to make that stupid thing and they hated every minute of it.

61

Off topic but I love that people still remember Space Ghost Coast to Coast.

9
- Tad Ghostal.
  
  2
Nah, Microsoft devs are there for the money, not the passion, just like all the other big tech companies. They got paid, so they don’t care.

4
- I mean, I'm a dev at a big company, and I would definitely feel gross about implementing this.
  
  I'd still do it, cause I gotta pay my bills somehow, but I definitely wouldn't enjoy it.
  
  23
That's pretty likely, but there are plenty of crappy developers who are proud working on stuff that makes peoples' lives shittier.

1

One of their choices should have been: "This survey is exactly the reason I am going to a different browser. "

55

Way too realistic, they don't want to hear shit like that. Way too true.

12
- Because they know what'll happen. And they don't want to have to address it at the next quarterly.
  
  2
They really had the foresight not to add an "other" option. Says a lot

6

The Microsoft Edge marketing team is indicative of what’s wrong with Windows.

45

I'd say all of Microsoft, not just Windows.

34

MS is getting so thirsty it's pathetic. All the Win 11 garbage and now this. It's sad really.

33

I develop software that runs on Windows, so I have to use it to some degree. I would pay so much money for an officially-supported version that lets me cut out all the shit I don’t need and not deal with stupid thirst tricks. For the longest, I just ran Windows Server in a VM.

11
- try Windows LTSC
  
  4

I always bypass ever launching Edge by installing with winget install mozilla.firefox

Or just install Linux.

29

My custom Windows 11 installer doesn't even have Edge - not even the WebView component. It might have trace files in the system, but they can't be opened or scheduled to run even with elevated privileges.

Zero Edge for me.

6
- Could you elaborate on the custom installer?
  
  8
- last time i removed edge on win11 my svg files and the open with menu broke. It's ok to remove on win10 tho
  
  1

Everyday is the perfect time to switch to Linux and Firefox. Come back to computing!

27

I am awaiting my new SSD (already got 2 in there lmao) to dual boot into Linux Mint (though I suspect I won't remain dual booted for long at current trajectory.

6

Who wants to use any product or service this desperate to try and keep you.

26

I have to use Windows for work, and every single day, I open Outlook and I'm greeted with "WE RESPECT YOUR PRIVACY, please share your data with us." And every day I say "Don't share optional data." Clearly there's a fucking problem here.

26

No you misunderstood, that's "WE INSPECT YOUR PRIVACY"

8

But not Firefox? Lol

21

Chrome is where the market share is.

Also the 2 people per month downloading Firefox probably do it for privacy reasons, harder to convince them than a user using a Big Tech browser to use a different Big Tech browser.

9
- Yeah, using Firefox is a real hassle compared to Edge or Chrome. It's really only worth it if you're hardcorde into privacy but barely usable for your average Joe /s
  
  14
- Using marketshare as a metric to see how good something is, is a delusional idea. By your logic, iPhones would be the best phones and Macbooks would be best laptops, none of which are true. Both are bought majorly by people who want to throw money for social status, and FCP or FL Studio users are somewhere below 3%.
  
  -2

with the added trust of Microsoft

That's rich.

21

If you type your username into the android dialler, it has a easter egg

2
- Yup! But I think it only works on stock dialer.
  
  2

Desperate ex girlfriend, Microsoft.

18

I swear Microsoft, particularly the Windows and Edge divisions, have consultants on retainer directly from Hell - specialists in making things absolutely infuriating for no particularly good reason.

16

i don't trust chrome OR whatever browser microsoft wants me to use.

also to say i 'trust' firefox would also be an overstatement, but you could fairly describe it as, "I distrust firefox less" than either google or microsoft.

11

Try any of the fantastic Firefox forks then

FireDragon, Librewolf etc.

4

The article doesn't count the popups you get when you try to change your default browser

11

Thirstily?

11

I’ve uninstalled Chrome on all computers in my home. Back to Firefox with Edge as a backup browser if needed.

11

Yes I strangely have more confidence into Microsoft than Aphabet.

3
- Yeah, same, although I’m cautious. Edge has grown on me, I do like it more than Chrome.
  
  0
Ungoogled Chromium is infinitely superior to Edge, for a second opinion web browser. Using Edge, or any of these infinite Chromium forks, is just stupid and lazy.

-4

I dont really use windows often outside of my work devices these days, but even if I did I wouldnt use edge as a primary browser based on how things rolled with IE6 and active X.

Yeah yeah youre a new friendlier Microsoft, webstandards and html5 are more locked in, and your browser is a chrome fork, and you "<3 Linux". I remember what you are and how you locked down the web when you had a chance. Personally I dont use chrome for the same reason given the direction google has been heading.

But to answer "why not Edge?": because you spent the better part of the last few decades sucking and amoral companies dont deserve the benefit of good faith.

8

What does Microsoft gain out of pushing Edge so hard. It's running on Chromium now, they're not going to break people's Google habits, they don't even charge for it.

So why the unwavering push?

7

Ad revenue from their startpage, Bing as default etc

16

I never had this problem to put Vivaldi or any other browser instead of EDGE. Maybe i'm still with W10, maybe the last Windows which can be tamed. The only thing is that in Windows it isn't enough to declare the browser as default in the browser settings, you must do it also in the Windows default app settings too, but after this you'll never seen EDGE again, at least in W10.

7

So those random things that sometimes still pop up edge can be overcome? Colour me surprised. Thanks, I'll be doing that as soon as I'm on my PC.

1

Yeah this is the bullshit that drove me to linux. It may not be quite as easy, but when it fucks up it’s not because I was insufficiently a customer

6

This is the best summary I could come up with:

How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Google Chrome download in Microsoft’s Edge web browser?

How many times will the company try to steer me away?

The pop-ups are nearly two years old, and the injected ads are from earlier this year.

I cannot believe how many stories we’ve written about the shit Microsoft has pulled to steer you away from Chrome.

Even today, the company still won’t always respect your choice of default browser, though that may finally be changing in the EU.

Sadly the poll doesn’t include an “I’m boycotting Edge because you don’t respect me as a user” option.

The original article contains 133 words, the summary contains 108 words. Saved 19%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!

5

"Okay, I'll pack my stuff up. But can you fill out this short questionnaire on how I could have been a better boyfriend?"

5

Not even that, it's like you ask for a number of someone you're attracted to from their friend and they give you this survey asking why don't you want their number instead

3

The only Chromium browse you should use, as second opinion, is Ungoogled Chromium. Use Firefox or its forks as your primary browser.

Use Revo Uninstaller or Chris Titus winutil script to purge MS Edge.

4

Ungoogled Chromium requires so much work to be usable, on top of having no built-in updater. That's a really bad recommendation. Have you looked at the steps to even install widevine? You even have to open up chrome flags to manually install an addon that lets you install add-ons.

3
- Chrome flags and developer addon option sounds like 5-10 minutes of work to me, and for updates zero work on Linux since it exists as Flatpak, and you update your Flatpaks with flatpak update command. On Windows and MacOS, likewise, you just download the newest binary setup or use one of those new fancy package managers.
  
  Ungoogled Chromium is the only clean, non-spyware version of Chromium, which makes it the only correct Chromium recommendation. You want to recommend adware/spyware/cryptomalware for 1% more convenience?
  
  -2

Akira! Leave me alone! Aach!

4

download Google Chrome

And there's the problem.

1

JuSt iNsTaLl LiNuX

1

If you decapitalised the letters, it would be a profound, enlightening advice.

5

"Thirstily"? Really? You couldn't find any alternative word?

-3

Moistly?

23
- Microsoft now penetrates it’s poll when you download Google Chrome
  
  13
How you took it is exactly how it was meant to come across.

5
- Off-putting? Sort of a "fellow kids" thing?
  
  1

Microsoft now thirstily injects a poll when you download Google Chrome - The Verge