Microsoft Using Bing to Promote Edge
In an effort to promote its Edge browser, Microsoft has implemented an interesting feature for Windows 10 users in the US. When these users first use Microsoft Edge to search Bing for “chrome” or “firefox” (presumably to download those browsers), they receive a warning message stating that “Microsoft recommends Microsoft Edge for Windows 10” along with a link to a website promoting Edge.
Edge became available to the public less than two months ago, and was designed specifically for Windows 10. It’s clear that Microsoft hopes to use the enthusiasm for Windows 10 to build a fanbase for Edge – when users upgrade to Windows 10, the default search engine is changed to Edge, as well.
Mozilla CEO Chris Beard has voiced his disagreement with Microsoft’s actions, contending that the company has taken a “dramatic step backward” by removing “user choice”. Despite this public stance, Microsoft’s decision is actually quite similar to a previous move from Mozilla less than one year ago – after forming a lucrative partnership with Yahoo, Mozilla automatically changed the default search engine in Firefox from Google to Yahoo.
Though Microsoft Edge is still missing certain features such as extensibility, Microsoft’s team insists that users will “soon” be able to port their Chrome extensions and Firefox add-ons to the new browser; and many analysts predict that Edge will eventually replace Internet Explorer altogether.