- Can I Use Another Browser On A Chromebook
- Can I Use Another Browser On Chromebook
- Other Browsers For Chromebook
I like Chrome. It's a great browser. But it's not so good that it deserves to be the only browser. And that's the unfortunate opportunity we, people browsing the web, are opening for Google by so overwhelmingly choosing to use it in face of the alternatives.
And this is what we get by doing so: DirecTV just announced that they'll be turning their website into a Chrome desktop app on June 1st. They don't actually say that, but that's what they mean. You can't call directvnow.com a website if it only works in a single browser.
You don't have to be that old to remember the dark days when Internet Explorer strangled the web by its utter domination. When large swaths of the web was only accessible through Redmond. Those were not happy days.
Most web users need no introduction to the search behemoth's browser, Google. The browser is very versatile and I can see why users like it but I am a Chrome purest at heart and am perfectly content using the native browser on Chrome OS. Still, to each their own. A long-running favorite in the Web Store, Chrome Remote Desktop lets you access another computer using the Google browser (with permission) or vice versa. The app comes in handy for providing support to a colleague, friend, or relative no matter if they're around the corner or halfway around the world. Type 'file:///c:/' in the address bar and press enter. Replace 'c:' with the letter of the drive you want to explore. This step will open a window called 'Index of C:,' which is an index of all.
Ironically, it was Google's Chrome that helped fight back the scourge of Internet Explorer's monopoly. Well, that plus the utter neglect and contempt Microsoft showed the web in those years after they had cut off the air supply to Netscape. Would you believe they even disbanded their browser team after they had conquered the competition? Yup.
Why on earth would we want to go back to such arid times? Nobody wins when the beancounters at companies like DirecTV can eye the browser market shares and justify turning their back on the open, standards-backed web to embrace a few cents on the dollar supporting only the victor.
But you can stop it. By balancing the browsers, choosing to use not just what's convenient, but what's lesser used, you can make the business case for monopoly plays a bad deal. Vlc version 2. Consider it your civic duty as a fan of the open web. Best web camera 2017.
It's never been easier on web developers to support evergreen browsers. You no longer have to cover every variation of every flavor. Good browsers update automatically. And good browsers support open standards to a degree a developer in 2005 would have cried to have.
So please, if you're using Chrome, take a moment to download another browser and incorporating it into your routine. I personally love Safari and use it for the bulk of my browsing (with Chrome as a pair for development). But the good folks at Firefox deserve your usage just as much.
Oh, and if you're a customer of DirecTV, please tell them what you think about their short-sighted move on Twitter. I hear they just love to get feedback!
Microsoft has a new Edge browser, and it's pretty great. No, not that Microsoft Edge. The old Microsoft Edge, which you're probably familiar with is the one that shipped with Windows 10. It was one of those newfangled Universal Windows apps Microsoft used to talk about (but we don't talk about those anymore) and had all sorts of nifty features like a powerful reader mode and capabilities to highlight on the desktop. It is still on your Windows PC right now, and it's still the default and official Microsoft Edge browser, but the firm isn't pushing it anymore. After years of trying to get people to use Edge, Microsoft has submitted to giving the people what they want and has built a new version of Edge. This version of Edge runs on the Chromium engine, the same one that powers Chrome. It can do everything Chrome can do but with a Microsoft twist, and it's not immediately clear why you should use it. Ok, wait, let's back up there? Why am I implying that giving the people what they want is a bad thing?
So let's talk about the first Microsoft built Edge. You see, with Windows 10, Microsoft had its Edge browser as one of its flagship apps. It integrated a lot with the Windows 10 and Cortana, used Microsoft's EdgeHTML engine, and was light on battery. You could even stream Apple events and watch Full HD Netflix on it. As a browser, it was great — eventually. At this point, there was only one problem with Edge — no one was using it. Edge never hit the 10% mark on windows. Unlike Interner Explorer which was popular at one point, Edge never even got off the ground. Microsoft had to change it somehow. The firm added extensions, they also added a whole lot of reading and inking features in what may have been the most misguided prioritisation of features ever. Edge didn't really have a strong reputation for things that mattered.These included broad extension support and access to websites. As it happened, Edge's small user base meant that developers didn't build for it and sites would often ask users to download Chrome instead. In the end, Microsoft recognised it was simply throwing good money after bad and that's how we got here.
The new Edge is pretty much Chrome with an Edge skin. It does all the fancy Chrome syncing, it integrates with your browser extensions and it works with websites as well as Chrome does. Now, here's where it gets dicey on the appeal. See, let's say you have two products. Product A which you've used for a long time and like, and Product B, which is new. Product B is the same as Product A, this is good for Product B, but now you have no incentive to change. If Microsoft Edge is now Google Chrome, then Chrome users have no reason to switch to Edge. It's a bit worse if Product B is a rebranded version of a Product C which you tried and now actively dislike. Edge is Pepsi, and Chrome is Coke except Edge also used to taste like dollar store cola before so you're not really sure you'd want to risk it again.
Can I Use Another Browser On A Chromebook
Here's where it gets a little worse for Microsoft's new Edge browser. One of Chrome's most useful features is its syncing functionality. It syncs all your details across all your devices and provides access to other services like Google Pay. If you've got an Android phone, using Chrome offers a lot of benefits. If you're using Edge, you lose some of their convenience as you move from device to device. Sure, you can use mobile Edge — but Edge doesn't have Google Pay integration for making quick and easy payments.
So, with those points stacked against it, why would anyone even use Edge at this point? It's quite simple. Edge is the default. Yes, Edge has always been the default and users have gone out of their way to download Chrome. But Edge has sucked in the past, and it doesn't suck now. If a user's initial Edge experience is good enough, there's no incentive to go out of their way to download Chrome anyway.
Can I Use Another Browser On Chromebook
There's also an argument to be made for user privacy. All of that Chrome sync stuff that's really cool and convenient at first can also be really invasive, especially for privacy-minded folks. 'Seen from the inside, [Google's] Chrome browser looks a lot like surveillance software,' The Washington Post's Geoffrey Fowler argued this week, 'Lately I've been investigating the secret life of my data, running experiments to see what technology really gets up to under the cover of privacy policies that nobody reads. It turns out, having the world's biggest advertising company make the most popular Web browser was about as smart as letting kids run a candy shop.' https://sikunsreatme1981.mystrikingly.com/blog/microsoft-powerpoint-2019-16-34-inch.
Other Browsers For Chromebook
In contrast, Microsoft's Edge isn't about selling your data and takes a more Apple-esque approach to privacy. 'Microsoft also wants to position the new Edge as a privacy focussed browser. In the interest of giving customers more choice and transparency, It will be offering additional privacy controls. The new Microsoft Edge will introduce three levels of privacy: Unrestricted, Balanced and Strict,' We noted earlier this year. 'As the name suggests, changing the privacy to Unrestricted will allow third parties to collect as much data as they want, while switching to Strict means that you are not interested in giving away your data to unknown third parties. This will enable Microsoft Edge to adjust how third parties can track you across the web.'
So while at first Microsoft's own variant of the Chrome browser seems like a pointless endeavour that's doomed to failure, it really isn't. On the one hand, you get all the goodness of Chrome, on the other hand, you gain access to a whole bunch of privacy features you didn't have before. If you want, you can also use the Edge mobile browser to keep the same syncing features that make Chrome great without necessarily handing over your data to Google and every other third party on the internet.
