'I Opened Microsoft Edge and Apple Got Angry' (zdnet.com) 117
After downloading Microsoft's Edge, "Technically Incorrect" columnist Chris Matyszczyk "was then subject to constant pestering from Microsoft to, well, download the new Edge. Which was an entirely new dimension of irritation."
But occasionally browsing with Edge triggered other responses... Initially, this annoyed Google. When the misguided logged into their Gmail accounts from Edge, Google sent them a helpful message telling them that Chrome was better. You know, fast, simple, and secure. Supposedly. As the months rolled on, things seem to calm down. Google and Microsoft came to a rapprochement. Edge is now the second most popular browser — it does help that it descends upon all Windows users like manna from Seattle.
Perhaps it's Edge's swift rise that has finally made Apple shriek in public. Last week, I opened Edge, only to get a big surprise. In the top right-hand corner of my MacBook Air, there appeared a message. From Apple. "TRY THE NEW SAFARI," shouted the headline. The text added: "Fast, energy efficient and with a beautiful design."
I gasped in wonder. I stared and then, naturally, took a screenshot.
The notifications in the top right-hand corner of my screen are usually confined to declarations of a pending update, or a nag about my last backup. But never actually selling. I've never seen an Apple ad appear there. I don't think I've ever seen Apple instantly react to my opening any rival's product on my MacBook Air.
It's not as if, every time I open Microsoft Word, Apple taps me on the shoulder and aggressively suggests I use Pages.
But occasionally browsing with Edge triggered other responses... Initially, this annoyed Google. When the misguided logged into their Gmail accounts from Edge, Google sent them a helpful message telling them that Chrome was better. You know, fast, simple, and secure. Supposedly. As the months rolled on, things seem to calm down. Google and Microsoft came to a rapprochement. Edge is now the second most popular browser — it does help that it descends upon all Windows users like manna from Seattle.
Perhaps it's Edge's swift rise that has finally made Apple shriek in public. Last week, I opened Edge, only to get a big surprise. In the top right-hand corner of my MacBook Air, there appeared a message. From Apple. "TRY THE NEW SAFARI," shouted the headline. The text added: "Fast, energy efficient and with a beautiful design."
I gasped in wonder. I stared and then, naturally, took a screenshot.
The notifications in the top right-hand corner of my screen are usually confined to declarations of a pending update, or a nag about my last backup. But never actually selling. I've never seen an Apple ad appear there. I don't think I've ever seen Apple instantly react to my opening any rival's product on my MacBook Air.
It's not as if, every time I open Microsoft Word, Apple taps me on the shoulder and aggressively suggests I use Pages.
Typical Apple (Score:5, Funny)
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You are actually not too far off:
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/... [apple.com]
In order to use Alexa on the iPhone you need to fist say "Siri open Alexa". And then you can use the assistant app you prefer.
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You are actually not too far off:
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/... [apple.com]
In order to use Alexa on the iPhone you need to fist say "Siri open Alexa". And then you can use the assistant app you prefer.
Ohh... A three way....
Apple... HAHAHA Apple... (Score:2)
Apple... HAHAHA Apple...
That was a good joke.
Re:Typical Apple (Score:5, Funny)
You used Microsoft Edge and even I got angry.
Re: Typical Apple (Score:1)
Those are the only ones still interested in moving to or working for your degenrating cesspit of a hellscape. ;)
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Firefox (Score:1)
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I have Firefox as default and every time I open Edge the same type of nag appears in there... Seems to be the nature of the 'beast'. Besides, you know, you can turn it off, right (in either browser)?
Re:Firefox (Score:5, Informative)
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I think it gets reset whenever you update.
Theres a LOT of shit that gets reset every time Firefox updates, which seems to be getting more often. I use a Firefox addin called "Group Speeddial", which does a bangup job of making visual bookmarks and allowing you to sync every machine you run the addin on to every other machine. I originally found it and used it for some of my less-than-technically-oriented customers, but found it is very useful for me also, as I can sync my tabbed frequently used websites between desktop/laptop. The addin url has to
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I think it gets reset whenever you update.
It does not. You're doing something very strange if its asking you.
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Some of the location to store user settings in Windows 7 are no longer available in Windows 10.
Irrelevant, Firefox stores the user settings in the profile, and the profile dir has not gone away. Forgetting your settings is incompetence at best.
Re: Firefox (Score:2)
If you weren't just trolling, you'd know that you can permanently set that. Like everyone else.
Re: Firefox (Score:5, Insightful)
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Re: Firefox (Score:2)
You say it like itâ(TM)s the only browser that does it - they all do. If you dislike Firefox why not remove it and use an alternative? You yourself said itâ(TM)s not your default browser so you do have another one you prefer.
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Every time I open Firefox it mags me to set it as the default browser. If I wanted to do so I would. I don't need nagware on my machine.
Type in the address bar about:config (press Enter) (promise to be careful, if asked)
Type in the search bar browser.defaultbrowser.notificationbar and set its value to false
Type in the search bar browser.shell.checkDefaultBrowser and set its value to false
Close and restart Firefox.
-- source [mozilla.org].
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This, along with the proxy setting should be the first things on the first thing to come up when you open settings. Instead it's buried in obfuscation and multiple layers of 'advanced' buttons.
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It is the first things on the settings (well, third from the top), it's just that it doesn't always work in some cases.
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This, along with the proxy setting should be the first things on the first thing to come up when you open settings. Instead it's buried in obfuscation and multiple layers of 'advanced' buttons.
When I open Settings in Firefox I find myself looking right at this setting. It is literally one of the first things on the first thing to come up when you open settings, like you said. What are crying about?
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Every browser I have used has a "Check if [browser] is the default browser" and it's the first thing I disable if I don't want it to be my default.
--
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Other people already suggested unchecking the option. My assumption was that the OP already tried it and it didn't work for them for some reason (FF can be weird sometimes)
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Every time I open Firefox it mags me to set it as the default browser. If I wanted to do so I would. I donâ(TM)t need nagware on my machine.
You're lying. Either about the "every time" piece or that you're being "nagged". After all the window that asks if you want to set the browser as a default also gives you the option to never be notified again. Clearly you're desperate for the attention if you willingly choose to have a piece of software bug you just so you can complain about it on Slashdot.
But hey man I get it. Firefox is not currently your default browser. Would you like to make it your default browser?
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But Firefox should be your default browser. Who do you think is most trustworthy and cares less about your money and more about your privacy on the Internet? Microsoft, Google, Apple or the Mozilla Foundation?
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Every time I open Firefox it mags me to set it as the default browser. If I wanted to do so I would. I donâ(TM)t need nagware on my machine.
If you bother to actually look at the "nag" there's a checkbox there that says "Always check if Firefox is the default browser...". It's literally right there in the popup.
Guess what happens if you uncheck that?
...but, I want to mine your data (Score:3)
They all fight for your data, it's what it's all about.
Girlfriend is getting mad at you for cheating on her, and her name is Miss. Safari, Edge or Mr. Firefox, Chrome. Always remember - if it's free - you're the price!
Traffic & advertising $$$ (Score:5, Insightful)
The great efforts of these companies to get you to use their free products demonstrates the massive amounts of money these businesses make on advertising. You are the product.
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The lack of a major, competitive and fully open source browser demonstrates the weakness of the open source model again. The cost of developing and maintaining such a project is huge, in terms of person-hours and in terms of investment. You can't even just build a browser now - all the major vendors are heavily involved in the standards processes too.
Linux is similar. Most of the contributions now are from people being paid to work on it.
Maybe if corporations saw the value in investing in an open source bro
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It's a Mozilla product, nobody else seems to be working on it at all.
lol (Score:1, Informative)
has this zdnet editor lived under a rock or is this just clickbait... oh, nvm
Comes with the OS. (Score:2)
Perhaps it's Edge's swift rise that has finally made Apple shriek in public.
Why would they shriek in public when they already have a captive audience?
adblock (Score:1)
I've never seen such things in years. Block those ads.
Re:adblock (Score:5, Informative)
It's not an ad on a web page, it's a notification from the OS, outside any application.
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Then block the OS, install Linux :-)
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Then block the OS, install Linux :-)
No such thing on M1 Macs yet, or at least not usable.
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After buying crapware you don't get to whine about crapware.
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I tried, but then I got an ad saying my wireless network was found, and another ad saying there are updates available :P
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It is an ad on a webpage, not the OS.
The poster allowed the webbrowser / website to pester him/her with notifications. That‘s why there is a safari-icon in the top left corner.
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I guess Apple decided to copy the bad parts of Microsoft. Much as many Android manufacturers decide to copy everything Apple does with the iPhone (removing headphone jacks, notches...)
Re:adblock (Score:4, Insightful)
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Sorry I'm out of mod points - I'd give them all.
Try the Firefox Tranquility add-on (Score:2)
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Re:adblock (Score:5, Insightful)
I have never had my OS advertise a product at me.
That is, never since I switched to Linux.
Re: adblock (Score:2)
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Yeah you can turn it off, but the initial gut reaction was very much of "Bro, WTF".
As for Apple's nagging upsell of Safari, the irony is, the way the blue gradient cuts off the end of the word "beautiful" is disgusting, and a UX designer at Apple would probably be fired if this had reached the right circles.
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It is not the OS but the webpage the poster visited.
The poster allowed the webbrowser / website to pester him/her with notifications. That‘s why there is a safari-icon in the top left corner.
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They do it for Firefox too (Score:2)
It's not just Edge: macOS shows that notification when launching Firefox too.
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Interesting - I’ve never seen it.
Respecting user choice (Score:2)
is exactly what none of these companies do.
Apple is especially annoying in this regard - used to be that simply connecting a bluetooth audio output device to your Mac meant to Apple: "Oh, you must absolutely want to listen to music, here let us open and start playing iTunes* for you even though you never asked us to do that"
It's gotten a bit better now, though it still sometimes assumes I want to use their Music app on my phone whenever I connect up my headphones (so much for their "machine learning" to l
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What's much worse is other Apple devices that do not support "album shuffle" and generally have no regard for the fact that a lot of music consists of multiple tracks. Makes me wonder what the people who develop iTunes and Music on iOS listen to all day long...
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You're not wrong about respect. But many people have no idea what browser they are using. They just click an icon to go to a Web page, and whatever browser that is, is what they use. I know, I'm married to one of those people.
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is exactly what none of these companies do.
Apple is especially annoying in this regard - used to be that simply connecting a bluetooth audio output device to your Mac meant to Apple: "Oh, you must absolutely want to listen to music, here let us open and start playing iTunes* for you even though you never asked us to do that"
It's gotten a bit better now, though it still sometimes assumes I want to use their Music app on my phone whenever I connect up my headphones (so much for their "machine learning" to learn my audio listening habits!)
(* iTunes or whatever app-name-du-jour they want to use now)
It doesn't work that way for me... It is suggesting Teams and Pocket Casts for me ("often used with headphones connected"). I don't think it has ever suggested Apple Music.
Sync data (Score:1)
Why do they care? (Score:1)
Re: Why do they care? (Score:1)
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Of course Apple makes money when people use Safari! They might not be overtly selling ads, but they do know everything you click on, and they use that information to steer you to...Apple products. Strange as it may seem to Apple fans, Apple is a commercial enterprise, they do things that benefit their bottom line.
Comment removed (Score:4, Insightful)
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Evidence? How about this?
https://techcrunch.com/2017/09... [techcrunch.com]
https://www.zdnet.com/article/... [zdnet.com]
The fact is, everybody tracks you, from Amazon to Apple to Microsoft, and every store you shop in, whether online or physical. There might be some small differences in how they USE that data, but nobody spends money to access data that they do not have a commercial interest in using.
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Hand in your geek card, everyone knows all browsers (except Chrome because Google make it) get paid by the owner of the default search engine for that browser.
Brave (Score:3)
I jumped on the Edge bandwagon because I (now) trust M$ more than Google with my data and because I have a mixed environment where syncing between platforms is super handy. But lately I've been dipping my toe into the Brave [brave.com] waters and so far I'm impressed. I have a feeling that before long I may switch over entirely.
depends on who you ask (Score:2)
statcounter (february 2021) says safari is #2 with 10% of market share. firefox and edge are virtually tied with 8%
After downloading Microsoft's Edge ? (Score:1)
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You can create a local account and never create a Microsoft Account on any version of Windows 10.
The secret is to make no connection to the Internet before creating your local account on the new system. Unplug ethernet and/or do not connect to a wifi network until after you do the initial setup to create your user account.
If the system finds no way to phone out it then allows a local account.
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I have set up numerous Win10Pro boxes recently. Ethernet cable plugged in.
I have always been able to click out of that minor annoyance and create a local account.
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That is simply not true. I have never seen a sign-up for McAfee during Windows setup. Microsoft pushes its own Defender instead.
Linux is the answer. (Score:3)
Free yourself from these money-grubbing identity-snoopers. Linux will not do this sort of crap to you. You have a choice of Web browsers there, and you can find one that is not devoted to making money on information about you and your browsing habits.
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Sure, Linux won't constantly try to upsell me on something....because frankly it doesn't have anything to upsell. But Linux users will sneer at my incompetence with the platform when I try to figure out how to use it as well as I know how to use OSX and Windows.
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What if I use Linux, OSX and Windows every day? Who do I sneer at?
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It depends on how you treat people looking for help.
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It also depends on how you behave when you ask for help.
If you are seen as a lame whiner that can't be troubled to even try to help themselves by doing some web searching or reading some 'man pages' or more, then YES, the typical Linux user will sneer at you.
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Classic. You invoked the "blame the victim" and "you need to ask in the right way" card in one comment. Bravo.
Re:Linux is the answer. (Score:5, Funny)
What if I use Linux, OSX and Windows every day? Who do I sneer at?
We sneer at everyone.
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If your worried about being sneered at then you're letting your life be ruled by some random neckbeard to whom you need never speak. Think is that neckbeard will sneer at you whichever os you choose.
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I don't worry about being sneered at. I'm worried about getting assistance when I need it.
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Have you had negative experiences on the ubuntu help forums?
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Perhaps this will finally usher in the year of the Linux desktop!
I get those too (Score:2)
When I use Firefox and Chrome on my macbook. I assume most people do. Most just don't get their panties in a bunch and blog about it.
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Most people just open wide and gulp down the abuse.
Mac users always talk about the things they like about their OS while ignoring all of the cases of offensive behavior.
OOH, SHINY!
love it when ad gives away lie (Score:1)
"and beautiful des[fade]"
Nothing new (Score:4, Informative)
Not New (Score:2)
Browser competition is a good thing (Score:2)
The only thing that's worse than Chrome domination, is the lack of competition. The more competition there is, the more the browser makers will think they need to actually listen to what users want.
This is not new (Score:2)
In fact, I think it's literally older than Edge?
https://www.ctrl.blog/entry/ho... [ctrl.blog]
Thank goodness for Firefox (Score:2)
Fuck yeah!
Comment removed (Score:5, Informative)
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Using a system alert to display an advertisement is wholly unacceptable. I don't need a distraction when I'm clearly trying to accomplish something. It's not OK when Microsoft does it, and it's not OK when Apple does it.
Linux distributions, of course, do not do this shit. And even if they did, you could easily remove whatever component does it, it wouldn't be hidden from you.
Making excuses for bad behavior is enablement. Why do you want to enable corporate abusers?
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Errata (Score:2)
Edge is now the second most popular browser — it does help that it descends upon all Windows users like #### from the rear end of a cow."
There, FTFY.
Why even download Edge ? (Score:1)
The level of knowlegde is disappointing (Score:2)
It‘s very obviously a notification of the website.
You have to explicitly allow the webbrowser / website to show notifications.
So whatever website the poster visited did detect the browser they were using and sent a notification. The poster definitely has been asked whether they want to allow the website to show notifications. I guess they agreed for slashdot fame.
Wrong example (Score:2)
" it does help that it descends upon all Windows users like manna from Seattle."
Like ticks on boars would be a better example, at least you can eat manna.
Self-contol (Score:2)
I downloaded Edge, gave it a shot, and now I never open it because it's garbage. And M$ stopped bugging me to download it. Win-Win,
Firefox, too (Score:2)
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It's installed under the guise of a security update, which it is clearly not. Using coercive of deceptive tactics to trick others into acts without their consent is force.
I can't disagree with your comparison to Apple's own forms of coercion which are significantly more violent though.