Forum Discussion
Dev channel update to 79.0.308.1 is live
Thank you Graham-STMC, this is a great write up. We have been working hard to make the transition from both current Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome as easy as possible. I would love to get your feedback on our success so far. Many, even most, of our Insiders are technologically savvy and we are a little worried that we aren't getting enough feedback from the population of users that you work with. Thanks - Elliot
Thanks Elliot Kirk. . I have been making a few comments through the Feedback Hub in Windows 10 for several years based on my clients experiences. A few of them accuse me of dragging them screaming into the 21st Century, but once they realise the synchronicity that Windows 10 provides (across Android and somewhat on iOS too) they really like the system.
Most hate change, many aren't able to glance at a screen and recognise icons, (when faced with something new, they prefer to spend time reading everything on screen before they click anything,) and several experience genuine sense of fear that they might do something wrong and destroy their computer or lose their data.
So many people I work with, most of whom are aged between 55 and 90 (!) have been using Microsoft's products in offices and at home for years, whether its Office, Windows, Skype, or even mail apps, but they get very confused about what they are actually using to do each task. (And those using tablets from other manufacturers that don't run Windows 10 are sometimes utterly confused!)
The clear icons that were introduced with Windows 8 and the extensive labelling that has gradually been added to Windows 10 over the years is really helpful. I am really impressed with the Fluent Design standard as well, it is really helping to unify everything and keep things simple, whilst looking really good as well.
As part of this forum it is great to see the dedication and passion that is going into making the UI just right; the discussion about whether buttons should be rounded or square.. I believe they should be square because it's Edge, not Firefox or Chrome... and the recent observation that there was a slightly thicker line below the search box on the home and new tab pages shows a real dedication to detail that I totally approve of. The inclusion of built in PDF reading (and inking), Read Aloud and other features from Classic Edge into Chromium Edge is also extremely important for those that find using a browser difficult or confusing - it needs to 'just work.' New features such as 'Collections' need to be publicised widely - and perhaps even advertised on TV or in the press for older people to understand them.
People see things differently. I think it was a really good decision to keep a big blue or white 'e' as the icon for Edge, because it is easy to explain 'click the big 'e' to explore the Internet on Edge,' but by comparison some are confused by the icon for the Mail app - a couple of ladies I know that served as Air Hostesses on Concorde tell me that it looks more like the BOAC 'SpeedBird' logo than an envelope!