Forum Discussion
Sync on Linux
Enjoying the user experience of Edge on Linux. The only thing that I'm missing in order to fully 'devote' myself to the browser is sync (bookmarks/tabs/etc) across devices. Is there currently a rou...
alnutile "Timetables are not only hard but can have a negative impact on a product and the developers working on it."
That may be, but two notes: (1) Microsoft does give timetables of a sort (e.g. "Planned for February") in the Top Feedback list; and (2) Microsoft could give a soft timetable (e.g. "We anticipate that MSA sign-in and Edge sync will be available during the 3rd quarter of 2021.") without imposing an unworkable deadline on the developers or forcing premature release.
problem is that Microsoft has this odd mental mind, that everything what they do on linux side, is for developers, not general linux users.
this is something what they need to get rid off, otherwise things just keep be like they are.
this is something what they need to get rid off, otherwise things just keep be like they are.
"[P]roblem is that Microsoft has this odd mental mind, that everything what they do on linux side, is for developers, not general linux users."
Microsoft's Linux development seems to be targeted at (1) developers and (2) corporate/enterprise cross-platform customers (e.g. Microsoft Enterprise customers who deploy Windows for general use and Linux for specialty use, such as development, server management and so on).
I suspect that the latter target is driving Microsoft's narrow focus on Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, and openSUSE distributions, because those four distros are (a) commonly used in corporate/enterprise environments, perhaps providing the lion's share of Linux use in those environments, and (b) developed/supported by relatively large entities (e.g. Canonical, RedHat and so on) that have business relationships with Microsoft.
"[T]his is something what they need to get rid off, otherwise things just keep be like they are."
I agree, but I have trouble developing a business model for Microsoft direct support of general Linux users (e.g. Arch-based and independent distro users) outside of the corporate/enterprise market. The numbers aren't there to support a viable profit model, given the complexity and cost of branching Edge-Linux to particular distros and maintaining those branches, given the relatively small numbers of Linux users who will want to adopt Edge outside the corporate/enterprise environment.
I never expect to see an .eopkg release, for example, directly supporting Solus. I do hope that Microsoft will release AppImage, Flatpak and/or Snap versions of Edge-Linux, because that would meet the needs of many/most general Linux users outside the .deb/.rpm base at reasonable cost to Microsoft. If I had to guess, I'd guess that Microsoft will issue a Snap rather than an AppImage or Flatpak because Microsoft seems to be closely allied with Canonical.
But I'm just guessing. Microsoft has been even more opaque than usual about Edge-Linux development, so none of us have anything to go on.