Microsoft is asking for user input and feedback to help it shape the future of its Edge browser, which debuted alongside Windows 10. After having announced a dramatic shift that will see Edge use Google’s open-source Chromium rendering engine, Microsoft is asking users and developers for input and feedback.<\/b>
\nAfter announcing its plans to rebuild Edge on Windows 10 by using Google\u2019s open-source Chromium engine, Microsoft is soliciting the help of its Windows Insiders community to shape the development of its browser. Microsoft created a sign-up page for users to become an Edge Insider to test preview builds of the browser.
Microsoft announced this week that it was shifting away from its own EdgeHTML rendering engine to develop the browser to use Google\u2019s Blink rendering engine moving forward. Though this is a dramatic shift for Microsoft, which has been pushing the Edge browser since Windows 10 debuted, the company justified this change, noting that the move will help to \u201ccreate better web compatibility for our customers, and less fragmentation of the web for all web developers.\u201d Effectively, this means that Microsoft will rely on Google\u2019s Chromium code.
The shift to Chromium won\u2019t happen until early 2019 when Microsoft begins launching beta builds of the browser. Edge Insiders will have an opportunity to provide feedback and be among the first to experience how the new Edge performs. \u201cWe expect to see Windows 10 move to this Chromium-based version of Chrome sometime in 2019,\u201d The Verge said, noting that Microsoft still needs to make the necessary changes to Windows before the change can happen.
In addition to soliciting the help of Windows 10 faithful, Microsoft is also asking the open-source Chromium community to help it shape the future of Edge. \u201cIf you\u2019re part of the open-source community developing browsers, we invite you to collaborate with us as we build the future of Microsoft Edge and contribute to the Chromium project,\u201d Microsoft Corporate Vice President of the Essential Products Group Joe Belfiore said in a report published by The Verge . \u201cWe are excited about the opportunity to be an even-more-active part of this community and bring the best of Microsoft forward to continue to make the web better for everyone.\u201d
Though Microsoft\u2019s change in direction was welcomed by Google, rival Mozilla, which makes the Firefox browser, is wary about Edge\u2019s future reliance on Chromium. \u201cThis just increases the importance of Mozilla\u2019s role as the only independent choice,\u201d a Mozilla spokesperson told Venture Beat . \u201cWe are not going to concede that Google\u2019s implementation of the web is the only option consumers should have. That\u2019s why we built Firefox in the first place and why we will always fight for a truly open web.\u201d As part of its marketing push, Mozilla often claims that it is the only independent developer of a browser, meaning that Firefox isn\u2019t tied to a large corporation with its own interests. Chrome users, for example, had called out Google in the past for using its browser to further the company\u2019s advertising objectives.<\/p>\n