There's a new version of Microsoft Edge coming this week, and the company isn't holding back on big promises for performance at BUILD 2021 today. "Microsoft Edge will be the best performing browser on Windows 10 when Microsoft Edge version 91 releases," the browser team insists, tapping two features - Startup boost and sleeping tabs - to gain an edge over rivals.
You might have a memory of Microsoft giving Internet Explorer an end-date before now. You're not alone, there. This is just the latest in a line of deaths for Internet Explorer - it's been a long time coming. The other most recent, major death for Internet Explorer was all the way back in the year 2016, when Microsoft delivered the kiss of death to Internet Explorer versions 8, 9, and 10.
On a purely technical level isolated from all contexts, the new Chromium-based Microsoft Edge web browser may actually have a lot going for it. It is compatible with almost all websites, thanks to the same backend that Google Chrome itself uses, and Microsoft has added features that improve performance or offer users a lot of conveniences. Unfortunately, perception can do a lot to make or break a product, regardless of its strengths, and Microsoft's aggressive push to bring Edge to Windows users' consciousness may ironically sour the web browser instead.
Internet Explorer is a web browser living on borrowed time. Microsoft initiated plans to move users from the old internet access point in favor of the newer app Microsoft Edge. The latest version of the web browser Edge 87 showed Microsoft's latest push for movement from IE to the latest web browser: blocking the biggest websites.
As first announced ALL the way back in the summer of the year 2017, Adobe Flash Player will soon die. Microsoft released an added bit of guidance on this situation this week. They made certain to tell users that Adobe Flash Player content would cease to function at the end of the year 2020 on both Microsoft Edge (and Microsoft Edge Legacy) as well as Internet Explorer 11.
Microsoft's Internet Explorer may have been a trailblazer and innovator back in the infancy of the Web but it has already shown its age and the baggage it has accumulated over the decades. Of course, IE is old news and Edge has the edge on Microsoft's web efforts but the company is now issuing a reminder to its Microsoft 365 customers to be prepared for the browser's retirement next year. Unfortunately, the replacement it has prepared is leaving a bad taste in people's mouths because of how Microsoft is pushing the otherwise good Chromium-based Edge down everyone's throats.
This week Windows Spellcheck was released for Windows devices. This is a Microsoft-made spellchecking system, ready to support devices with Windows 8.1 and higher. Before now, Windows devices were using open-source proofing tools for spell checking on Microsoft Edge and other Chromium browsers - but no more!
![Outlook, Office 365 won’t connect to internet [UPDATE: Bug affects Internet Explorer, Edge]](https://www.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/explagwe-1280x720.jpg)
A Windows 10 connectivity bug seems to be affecting workers using VPN connections as Microsoft moves to release fix in early April. This situation is of particular importance at this moment in history due to the abnormal amount of workers working from home. Workers are currently dependent on productivity and connectivity apps Outlook for email, Office 365 (online collaborative tools), and Microsoft Teams while quarantined to avoid the spread of COVID-19 / novel coronavirus worldwide.
It may be long past expiration but Internet Explorer is still being used on some computers and in cases where companies or organizations have locked themselves into technologies that depend on good ol' IE. In fact, Microsoft's browser is still installed by default on almost all Windows computers, which means it can still become a security liability, like in this new flaw that's reportedly being exploited in the wild. Microsoft's response? Wait next month for the fix.
Microsoft has already thrown in the web browser towel and has based its Edge browser on Chromium and it seems to be in a rush to put its past behind it. Perhaps even too hastily. It may now be practically dead with less than 10% of the browser market, but a recently revealed exploit continues to put users at risk because of IE's unique position. And Microsoft claims to be not in a rush to patch that up.
A recent study by the University of California, San Diego, showed four new ways to expose Internet users' browsing histories. They also showed the ways in which these histories could and can be used to target internet users with various attacks. Most of these attacks take aim psychologically, targeting the trust users have in details to which they believe only their closest friends and family have access.
It may not be at terrible as the now notorious Windows 10 October update, but for owners of certain Lenovo laptops, it might as well be. Last week, Microsoft rolled out a seemingly harmless update that, at least based on the Knowledge Base page, is just about fixing a security exploit in Internet Explorer. While majority of Windows users will install that update, even if they don’t use the ancient browser, Microsoft has now acknowledged that it is causing headaches for some Lenovo laptops in the process.