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Microsoft forced people to install their browser (2010)

toastytech.com

121–130 of 142 posts

Re: Microsoft forced people to install their browser (2010)

#121
post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Haven't you run into the ""bug"" where certain Microsoft programs open links in Edge, completely disregarding default browser settings? Assuming you haven't turned off web results in Win11 start menu, try searching for something and click on one of the Bing results. Those used to open Edge, and it certainly wasn't the only program that ignored user preferences.

Yeah I disabled web results because I don't like that it slows down search and I would never actually use start menu to search the web.

>I would never actually use start menu to search the web

You mean like every other person that has ever lived?

Re: Microsoft forced people to install their browser (2010)

#122
post #31
post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It was a defacto standard. Everyone had Flash. Granted, there were reason to abandon it. But I can understand people being upset with it gone.

Didn't really take long for replacements like https://ruffle.rs/ to emerge, though.

> Didn't really take long ...

You're meaning that sarcastically, yeah?

Re: Microsoft forced people to install their browser (2010)

#124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Then again, iOS is a better OS because it can get away with supporting no third party browser engines.

Why is it a better OS because of that? Not really seeing the logical connection here.

Because there are also advantages. iOS gets away with forbidding JIT execution in third party programs, so they get away with exposing no APIs that allow memory segments to be executable unless they are signed, which is a great thing from a security point of view.

Also as there is only one browser engine, the system only contains the bugs that are in one browser engine. Most operating systems have bugs in the browser engine that comes with the OS, and bugs in the engine users actually use which is more bugs.

Re: Microsoft forced people to install their browser (2010)

#126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How do you install Firefox without using Edge? By default there is no other browser on Windows, and presumably you need a browser to visit firefox.com, no? Or you carry Firefox installer around on a USB with you?

Winkey+R and then powershell -Command "& {Invoke-WebRequest -Uri 'https://download.mozilla.org/?product=firefox-latest&os=win64&lang=en-US' -OutFile 'Firefox.exe'}" Not saying it's ergonomic but since you asked ;-)

-Command “& {thing}”

is the same as

-Command “thing”

Re: Microsoft forced people to install their browser (2010)

#127
post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It gives me a known, unchanging environment that I can rely on to serve my needs day in and day out. My computers are tools, and the operating system is subservient to its administrator who is absolutely not Microsoft. I do not appreciate my computers reinstalling their operating systems every damn week without my knowledge nor permission. Been working this way since Windows Update has been a thing, and I've never be…

>My computers are tools, and the operating system is subservient to its administrator who is absolutely not Microsoft. And you think this administrator is you rather than some botnet master taking advantage of your unpatched system? :-)

Considering there is no such traffic seen: No. :P

Re: Microsoft forced people to install their browser (2010)

#128
post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It gives me a known, unchanging environment that I can rely on to serve my needs day in and day out. My computers are tools, and the operating system is subservient to its administrator who is absolutely not Microsoft. I do not appreciate my computers reinstalling their operating systems every damn week without my knowledge nor permission. Been working this way since Windows Update has been a thing, and I've never be…

What locks you in to windows? Programs? Corporate compliance? Familiarity?

>Programs?

Yup. I use my computer to achieve things, whether extraordinary or mundane. I could run most of my software through WINE or some form of virtualization on Linux, but at the cost of jank. Why would I bother with inferior experience for sake of dogma? It's not even all my software either.

>Corporate compliance?

While compliance doesn't apply in my case, doing business dictates my computer be generally compatible with the other party's computer. So that means Windows and Office.

>Familiarity?

Yup. Windows is reliable, MacOS is limited and Linux just wastes my time.

Re: Microsoft forced people to install their browser (2010)

#129
post #41

> Outlook 98 used IE 4 to compose and render HTML e-mail messages (rather than just translating to RTF) as well as a summary page of messages, tasks, and calendar events called "Outlook Today". Everybody was perfectly happy to ignore the fact that this opened up Outlook to all of the bugs and exploits present in IE 4. This one is funny in retrospect, because nowadays we would probably say that replacing a custom pars…

I'm confused; aren't "Java, C#, Python, Ruby, Lua, and Javascript" examples of "memory-safe interpreted and bytecode languages"?

What I mean is that the options have consolidated towards just a few common ones. PHP and Perl are not used for greenfield use anymore, for example.

Re: Microsoft forced people to install their browser (2010)

#130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Should they both just come with a terminal program and an ftp client so end users can just download all of the software they need?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BrowserChoice.eu

And your own citation has a link criticizing it for not being affective

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2014/12/windo...

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