Microsoft Edge: The transition from excellent to bad

The original Microsoft Edge was based on Internet Explorer, but has a significantly improved rendering engine and a completely new interface. However, it failed to shake Chrome's dominance in the browser market, so Microsoft replaced it in 2020. The new Edge looks and functions similar to the old one, but it uses the same Chromium kernel as Google Chrome, Vivaldi and others. Edge has also been ported to Mac and Linux systems - the first Mac browser launched by Microsoft since the discontinuation of Internet Explorer for Mac in 2005 and the first Linux browser ever launched by Microsoft.

Chromium-based Microsoft Edge isn't nothing: it's compatible with all the same websites and extensions as Google Chrome, and adds some enhancements and a clean Windows 10-style design. Edge becomes a true cross-platform browser, which means your data can be synced between devices running Mac, Linux, Android, iPhone and iPad, and any Windows PC.

Unfortunately, Microsoft quickly ruined the new Edge. MSN games are added to the sidebar. Edge began asking users whether they would like to apply for a Buy First Pay Later (BNPL) loan when purchasing products online — Google Chrome has also tested it, but it has not yet fully launched. Windows is also more aggressive in guiding users to switch browsers, and even trying to block Chrome downloads altogether. Edge also adds more popups, price tracking options, and other unnecessary additional features.

Today's Microsoft Edge is one of the most unfriendly apps I've ever used, and almost all the features that can be turned off or changed quietly restore to the original settings after a while. This browser would be much better if you remove bloated software and misleading designs, but Microsoft really wants you to see those clickbait articles in the new tab that also ruined Windows 11 gadgets.

Evolution of tablet mode

Windows 8 isn't so popular, partly because of its redesigned task switch and start menu. Modern applications are displayed in full screen by default, and split-screen mode is more like multitasking on iPad and Android. There is still a desktop view similar to Windows 7, but the Start menu is a full screen page.

Microsoft rolled back many of these changes in Windows 8.1 and Windows 10 and moved some of them to separate tablet mode. This feature expands the Start menu to fill the entire screen (as it did on Windows 8 and 8.1), making some buttons and other elements larger for easier touch screen use, and setting some applications to turn on in maximization mode by default. You can turn it on or off at any time and it can be automatically booted when you detach the tablet from the dock. This is probably what Microsoft should do in Windows 8 from the beginning, rather than forcing everyone to use a tablet-optimized design.

Windows 11 still has a tablet mode version, but it only makes minor changes to the interface and cannot be switched manually. Handheld gaming PCs with tablet-sized touch screens are becoming increasingly popular, and using and navigating Windows on these devices is not a good experience. The redesigned tablet mode, equipped with a special launcher and custom menu, is more like SteamOS on Steam Deck, which can help with these handheld devices.

Disadvantages of native mail and calendar applications

Over the years, Windows has included a few different email and calendar applications, including Outlook Express, Windows Mail, and Windows Live Mail. Microsoft has created a brand new email, contact calendar app for Windows 8.1 and has a Metro/Modern interface, which continue to Windows 10 and 11.

Microsoft released a new version of Outlook app for Windows last year, which has replaced the Mail, Contact Calendar app and will eventually replace the classic Outlook client bundled with Microsoft Office and Microsoft 365. However, it has many problems: limited offline support, ads, third-party email accounts have to be synced in the cloud, and still lack the capabilities of legacy Outlook and mail applications.

The mail app from the Windows 10 era isn't perfect, but it's cleanly designed, with a good background synchronization (at least before Windows 11), and it doesn't try to get me to buy a Microsoft 365 subscription. I would like to see Microsoft return to native email, contact calendar apps that can be synced with different accounts without the need for a cloud server. Apple solved this problem decades ago—Mac OS X 10.0 in 2001 came with the first version of Apple Mail—and most desktop Linux distributions come with similar applications.

Meanwhile, on a Windows PC, I will continue to use Mozilla Thunderbird.

The memory of Windows virtual PC

Windows 7 is great, but it is not fully compatible with some old Windows applications and games, especially 16-bit applications that don't run on 64-bit Windows. Microsoft is very much looking to upgrade Windows XP users to Windows 7, so it creates a workaround for incompatible software: virtual machines.

Windows virtual PCs can share USB devices, clipboards, printers, and files between hosts and virtual PCs, just like VirtualBox, UTM, and other virtual machines. It is designed to make running Windows XP as easy as possible so that the PC can migrate to Windows 7 without completely cutting off legacy software. Microsoft has made a special "XP mode" version with pre-configured Windows XP virtual machines, but regular virtual PC applications can run other operating systems as well.

The virtual PC eventually evolved into the Hyper-V hypervisor, which is now a core component of Windows and provides support for the Windows subsystem Linux. It would be great if the virtual PC returned as a built-in virtual machine manager, supported by Hyper-V, and has the same integration as WSL. VirtualBox is pretty good, but there is definitely room for improvement.

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