Forum Discussion
Please! New Edge should not replace Legacy Edge automatically In January.
GilesBrule "I feel that because new Edge is missing so many of the features of legacy Edge this would be a real mistake. I have been using and enjoying the different channels of new Edge and think that some day it will be a great browser if development continues, in fact I would already says its better than Chrome, at least for me. But I still also use legacy Edge as well and to take it away without offering the same feature set in the new Edge would hamper my ability to work and would also make me seriously consider moving to Firefox on my computer and phone."
The Release Candidate (79.0.309.nn, or the current Beta) is a solid basic browser. It will meet the needs of 75%+ of consumer users, but, as you note, it is missing a lot at this point, and looking at the development path going forward, I suspect that the release version will come as a rude shock to EdgeClassic users who take full advantage of the capabilities of that browser.
But I don't think that consumers are going to change Microsoft's release/deployment planning in this regard. Serious push back from Enterprise customers might, but based on the opinions of friends in Enterprise IT shops, EdgeChromium has been developed to date with a focus on the needs of Enterprise customers and most plan to deploy it after full integration testing, so I don't think that Enterprise customers will push back.
Firefox Quantum is an superb browser, and if you are forced to move in that direction, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. I use Firefox as my primary browser because I need a Android-Linux-Windows cross-platform browser, so I can't move to EdgeChromium at this point in any event.
Microsoft's release/deployment strategy is interesting, in a "Huh?" sort of way. I suspect that it is driven largely by the needs of Enterprise customers.
They have been given the feedback that relasing a basicly broken browser that removes functionallity we do use today is NOT a way to make us Enterprise customeers happy.
I spoke to Colleen about it Yesterday for exampleAs I have been saying for a long time.
* Needed functions must be implemented. For me that is
- The functions in the favorites menu must be ported
- Epub support must be ported
* THe GUI must be as close to Edge HTML as possible to minimize retraing costs.
* The GUI must remain unchanged after that since retraining costs huge amounts
To NOT fullfill this will only make the companies choose Chrome instead since it's a lot more mature browser
matsmcp "To NOT fullfill this will only make the companies choose Chrome instead since it's a lot more mature browser."
Be that as it may, unless you heard something different at Ignite 2019**, Microsoft is going ahead with the release/deployment, using Version 79 as the Release Candidate.
With respect to your point about training/dislocation costs, I've been the IT Director of an Enterprise customer, so I understand the point and I agree. The friends I talked to recently (in both cases, people I mentored in their IT careers) are worried about training/dislocation costs going forward, because of the refresh cycle used by Chromium-based browsers, including both EdgeChromium and Chrome. But both seem to believe that the cost of deploying two browsers (IE and EdgeClassic) outweigh the costs imposed by initial deployment dislocation and a rolling development cycle.
I don't mean to imply that Version 79 will actually be deployed by Enterprise customers. I don't think that it will be. Almost all will use the Release Candidate for integration testing and to prepare deployment/training plans/materials, but not deploy. In fact, I would be surprised if more than just a few Enterprise customers deployed EdgeChomium for six+ months after release. By that time EdgeChromium will have been materially improved.
We all have opinions. I personally think that Version 79 isn't ready for prime time. Microsoft obviously thinks that it is, and it is Microsoft's call, not mine.
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**I'm not in attendance because I'm retired, but I've reviewed the videos of each session relevant to browser development.
I agree.
The list of missing features are to long.
There are too many outstanding bugs.
The testing is not done to a good level
