Microsoft confirmed today the rumors που κυκλοφορούν όλη τη βδομάδα. Η εταιρεία θα ξαναγράψει το πρόγραμμα περιήγησης Microsoft Edge from scratch, leaving aside the proprietary EdgeHTML rendering engine, which Chromium will replace.
Yes, Chromium is at the heart of Google's Chrome browser.
The Edge release attempt was doomed to fail due to a series of strategic errors that we will see below.
Let's start with what went wrong with EdgeHTML.
Theoretically, the idea of building a new mechanism that could compete with the performance of Chromium Blink engine makes sense. But when this wonderful idea came true, guess what?
One of the best sources of data on browser usage is Digital Analytics Program (DAP) of the American governments. I've been tracking these numbers for several years, and six months ago I noticed a surprising fact: Edge was falling even lower than Internet Explorer, the browser that Microsoft stopped developing.
Among Windows 10 users now, the share of usage for Microsoft Edge, according to DAP, is steadily declining. Browser usage decreased from 20,3% in the second quarter of 2017 to 19,4% in the first three months of 2018.
In the last three months until November 30, 2018, this number fell again, to 17,1%. Meanwhile, usage of Google Chrome in Windows 10 increased to 58,3%.
This means that although Microsoft Edge is the default browser in Windows 10, the first thing most people do is open it to download Chrome.
Let's talk about application upgrades.
Microsoft has decided to release updates for the Edge through the semi-annual Windows 10 feature updates. With each such update, the Edge acquires new features and improves its reliability and security.
Όμως, οι εταιρικοί πελάτες δεν "βλέπουν" αυτές τις βελτιώσεις. Οι διαχειριστές είναι πολύ συντηρητικοί (και καλά το κάνουν) στο να δοκιμάζουν νέα πράγματα, όταν αυτά που έχουν λειτουργούν. Έτσι στα Windows 10 των εταιρειών που η Microsoft επιτρέπει την αναβολή των ενημερώσεων έως και 30 μήνες, το πρόγραμμα περιήγησης Edge ήταν ο μεγάλος χαμένος.
When Microsoft decided to develop the EdgeHTML engine, the company predicted that Windows 10 would run on one billion devices in one to two years.
The company's schedule did not come out.
Meanwhile, 15% of desktop devices run other operating systems than Windows (mainly MacOS). Microsoft Edge does not exist there.
On 40% of desktop devices running older versions of Windows (but still supported), Edge does not exist.
So Microsoft's latest plan is to continue using the Microsoft Edge brand, along with the blue logoυ "e", αλλά θα ξαναγράψει την εφαρμογή από την αρχή χρησιμοποιώντας τον έτοιμο code of Chromium.
The first announcement for a preview version will appear in a few months, but we will see the first stable release in a year.
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