Tip: Join the Microsoft Edge Insider Program

Interested in testing the next version of Microsoft Edge? Then join the Microsoft Edge Insider program, which just opened up for applicants today.

“Calling all developers and tinkerers,” the sign-up page announces. Your voices will help us shape the next version of Microsoft Edge. Sign up to be the first to know when preview builds are available.”

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As I’m sure you heard, Microsoft announced today that it will adopt the Chromium open source project in the development of Microsoft Edge on the desktop, across Windows 7, 8.1, and 10, and macOS. The announcement was rather vague, but the software giant says it is taking this radical step to “create better web compatibility for our customers, and less fragmentation of the web for all web developers.”

In joining Chromium—which, contrary to popular belief, is not “owned” or “controlled” by Google, Microsoft is meaningfully increasing its participation open source software. “We’re determined to be good members of the OSS community,” Microsoft notes.

Anyway, you should sign-up. I assume the Insider Program will be for Edge for desktop specifically. And we should see our first pre-release version of the app in early 2019.

Sign up here.

 

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Conversation 31 comments

  • Dan1986ist

    Premium Member
    06 December, 2018 - 1:36 pm

    <p>Wonder if this is just for 19H1 and later or Windows 10 1809 or later?</p>

    • Polycrastinator

      06 December, 2018 - 2:06 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#378921">In reply to Dan1986ist:</a></em></blockquote><p>Maybe not, if they're bringing it to 8.1 and 7.</p>

    • bart

      Premium Member
      06 December, 2018 - 4:12 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#378921">In reply to Dan1986ist:</a></em></blockquote><p>Edge will be OS independent I believe. So available to all versions of Windows once released. So not specifically tied to any Win 10 version currently under development </p>

      • mattbg

        Premium Member
        06 December, 2018 - 4:30 pm

        <blockquote><em><a href="#379081">In reply to Bart:</a></em></blockquote><p>Does this imply it won't be a UWP application?</p>

        • elt2jv

          Premium Member
          07 December, 2018 - 1:09 pm

          <blockquote><em><a href="#379105">In reply to mattbg:</a></em></blockquote><blockquote><em>If I recall correctly, the new Edge will be independent of OS feature updates (1803, 1809, 19H1, and so on) but will not be available in the Microsoft store as a standalone app.</em></blockquote><p><br></p>

  • Ron Diaz

    06 December, 2018 - 1:42 pm

    <p>Yay, more free QA for Microsoft.</p>

    • FalseAgent

      06 December, 2018 - 2:08 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#378924">In reply to Hypnotoad:</a></em></blockquote><p>…and Google. And Opera. Microsoft is just late to the free QA – which is what Open Source is – party</p>

      • Winner

        06 December, 2018 - 5:11 pm

        <blockquote><em><a href="#378942">In reply to FalseAgent:</a></em></blockquote><p>Open Source is not necessarily correlated with not doing QA, or even it being free.</p>

        • FalseAgent

          07 December, 2018 - 1:53 am

          <blockquote><em><a href="#379118">In reply to Winner:</a></em></blockquote><p>I believe what he was referring to is the "many eyeballs" theory of OSS development. Which was also what I was responding to.</p>

    • hrlngrv

      Premium Member
      07 December, 2018 - 3:57 pm

      <p><a href="https://www.thurrott.com/windows/windows-10/194586/tip-join-the-microsoft-edge-insider-program#378924&quot; target="_blank"><em>In reply to Hypnotoad:</em></a></p><p>Likely to be as high-quality as Windows Insider feedback. The big question is whether MSFT will ignore Edge feedback as assiduously as it seems to ignore Windows feedback.</p>

  • harmjr

    Premium Member
    06 December, 2018 - 1:50 pm

    <p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Microsoft Edge on the desktop, across Windows 7, 8.1, and 10, and macOS. WAIT WINDOWS 7 &amp; MACOS… Talk about departure. </span></p><p>So pigs do fly…</p>

  • skane2600

    06 December, 2018 - 2:15 pm

    <p>If they keep the name "Edge", the average user will think it's the same browser so they're unlikely to switch. Sounds like "All the cool kids do open source now" mentality rather than a legitimate business case.</p>

    • Winner

      06 December, 2018 - 5:11 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#378966">In reply to skane2600:</a></em></blockquote><p>Absolutely correct. But Microsoft loves their branding, after all just about everything under the sun was called Windows at one point.</p>

      • skane2600

        07 December, 2018 - 12:48 pm

        <blockquote><em><a href="#379117">In reply to Winner:</a></em></blockquote><p>And .NET </p>

    • locust infested orchard inc

      08 December, 2018 - 3:27 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#378966">In reply to skane2600:</a></em></blockquote><p>Apple is far from being open-source.</p>

    • JoePaulson

      01 January, 2019 - 6:31 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#378966">In reply to skane2600:</a></em></blockquote><p>No….it sounds like "All the cool kids don't waste their resources on a technology that has been solved"</p>

  • hrlngrv

    Premium Member
    06 December, 2018 - 3:26 pm

    <p>For someone who doesn't like Edge, the headline reads like <em>Join the ADA Root Canal Insider's Program</em>.</p>

  • Oasis

    Premium Member
    06 December, 2018 - 4:03 pm

    <p>If you click on this from Firefox on a Win7 computer it is flagged by Avast AV as a Phishing URL </p>

    • Daekar

      07 December, 2018 - 4:23 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#379076">In reply to Oasis:</a></em></blockquote><p>This happened to me when I clicked on the link for the Amazon deal for Office 365, too, and I couldn't progress without adding a certificate exception. This was on Windows 10, though. </p>

  • remc86007

    06 December, 2018 - 4:20 pm

    <p>I'm somewhat excited about this. I hope all the PDF reader features carry over from Edge. We have replaced Adobe Reader with Edge in our office and have way, way fewer problems now with massive PDFs.</p>

    • Kevin James

      07 December, 2018 - 4:37 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#379096">In reply to remc86007:</a></em></blockquote><p><br></p><p>Combine Edge's PDF and EPUB reading with Chromium rendering of web pages and they may indeed have something.</p>

  • spacein_vader

    Premium Member
    07 December, 2018 - 2:05 am

    <p>Surely the beta version of the new edge is Chrome?</p>

  • toshdellapenna

    07 December, 2018 - 12:47 pm

    <p>Text rendering in Edge is way better. Hopefully this isn't affected.</p>

    • JoePaulson

      01 January, 2019 - 6:29 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#379489">In reply to toshdellapenna:</a></em></blockquote><p>That is the kind of technology that MS can now submit to Chromium.</p><p><br></p>

  • dspeterson

    Premium Member
    07 December, 2018 - 12:48 pm

    <p>I noticed Edge Insider bits showing up on the iOS version as well.</p>

  • MacLiam

    Premium Member
    07 December, 2018 - 1:46 pm

    <p>I submitted my name. We'll see what happens.</p><p><br></p><p>While I have long preferred Firefox to Edge, I haven't been hostile to the newcomer. It has been improving for some time, but each time I look at it, my judgment is, "Not quite there yet." If a Chromium base is needed to help the design team realize their dream, then I'm supportive of their effort. I will keep my eyes on it</p>

  • derylmccarty

    Premium Member
    07 December, 2018 - 2:14 pm

    <p>Humm, I signed up. I have been doing Insider or Beta for MSFT since 98 and Me, so I am aware of risks; but the bottom line is that I am not enamored of any of the browser engines of late. NOT because they are poorly written, but because the monetization and PC engines have usurped basic browser functionality. The Edge Insider "sign-up" page, in addition to requiring name, rank and serial number, asked how I would change the Internet if I could. The caveats to answering the question were a carefully crafted statement saying the answer to that question is a voluntary product and not connected with my Insider application. It is waaay too carefully parsed. So here is what I said. "This is a good differentiator question to determine whether we are good candidates for Insider-type participation.&nbsp;It basically asks whether we have thought about the direction Edge or any browser should go to "parse" the web.&nbsp;In my case I would hope for an personal filtration system built into Edge (or Edge plus open architecture), not an institutional one a la FB or Twitter where wholesale bias is evident.&nbsp;I don't mind political discussion, I mind political diatribe.&nbsp;&nbsp;And I am absolutely turned off by the advertising wrought by AI-driven data analytics that figures that just because I bought a blue digital tire pressure gage I am of a certain age or gender construction that warrants multiple ads for "25 year old wives in my neighborhood whose husbands are not paying them any attention".&nbsp;OTOH that probably screws up the monetization models currently in vogue.&nbsp;OTOOH: nothing that is, has to be, because it was.</p>

  • TallITGuy

    07 December, 2018 - 6:15 pm

    <p>The problems with Edge aren't in the rendering engine, but in everything around it that makes up the application. From gimped printing to password management &amp; form autofill options, etc., that stuff's all half-baked &amp; incomplete.</p><p><br></p><p>On the other hand, I find it easily the best/most responsive browser to touch inputs when using it on a touchscreen PC.</p><p><br></p>

    • locust infested orchard inc

      08 December, 2018 - 3:33 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#379653">In reply to TallITGuy:</a></em></blockquote><p>Going Chromium-based, Microsoft should be able to use all Adoogle Chrime's extensions, hence no need to code all the things you mentioned, users just download the appropriate extension.</p><p><br></p><p>The way I see it, by Microsoft going Chromium, Microsoft can devote more programming time to other things, by then the development of Edge was sloooow anyway. A cynic may see this move by Microsoft as being 'lazy'.</p>

  • roastedwookie

    10 December, 2018 - 2:17 am

    <p>How about not promoting another guinea pig program. MS should test their own stuff using their staff, if any left for testing! We have enough of insider quality in windows 10 already</p>

    • JoePaulson

      01 January, 2019 - 6:28 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#380350">In reply to roastedwookie:</a></em></blockquote><p>How about you GTFO with that crap? This is for people to test and give feedback on. That is a best practice in software development. </p>

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