Microsoft releases Microsoft Edge Preview for Linux
When Microsoft unveiled the Chromium-based Edge browser some time ago, it surprised many by revealing that the browser would not be Windows 10 exclusive. The classic version of Edge was released only for the company's Windows 10 operating system; the new Edge for previous versions of Windows -- even Windows 7 which at the time of official release was already out of official (consumer) support. Microsoft did not leave it at that either, as it released Edge for Mac OS X and promised to release a version for Linux as well.
Today, after 10 months of general stable availability for Windows and Mac OS X devices, the first version of Microsoft Edge has been released for Linux. The Linux version of Microsoft Edge is released as a development version; it is not stable and should not be used in production environments at the time of writing.
The release supports Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora and openSUSE distributions according to Microsoft. Microsoft plans to release weekly builds of Edge for Linux and a stable version eventually. Nothing has been revealed as to when the first stable version of Edge for Linux will become available.
Some features of other Edge versions are not available on Linux at the time of writing. Microsoft mentions in particular that Linux versions of Edge support local accounts only; in other words: Microsoft Account sign-ins or Azure Active Directory are not support yet, and so are not features that rely on them such as the built-in sync functionality. Microsoft promises that these features will become available at a later point in time.
As far as installation is concerned, Microsoft is providing .deb and .rpm packages on the company's Microsoft Edge Insider site. Just scroll down on the site and click on the Linux (.deb) or Linux (.rpm) download buttons on the page to download the packages to the local system.
Microsoft published instructions on installing Microsoft Edge using the Microsoft Linux Software Repository and the Linux distribution's standard package management tool. A test installation on a Linux Mint system completed without any issues.
Linux users who run into issues may use the Send Feedback tool that is built-in to report these issues to Microsoft.
Now you: Microsoft Edge for Linux, will you use it?
Which gui toolkit is Microsoft using for Edge/Linux?
Checking out the Windows version on a spare computer that’s on the Win10 dev channel, I’ve seen that Microsoft did a good job with Edge and it has some very nice features. Since I use Brave and Vivaldi, as well as Pale Moon, there is not the slightest possibility that I would want to deliberately opt for the data collection that companies like Microsoft are so famous for.
It would be a miracle if they put this Linux version out with no spy features but even in that case, who would believe that it would stay private? It’s hard to understand why they even bothered but we shall see how things go.
Pretty much.
It seems like a completely pointless exercise.
@Jozsef
Probably to try and appeal to developers. I suspect the only reason a Linux version of Edge exists is to try and court goodwill with the web development crowd, many of which rely on Linux to get their work done. I doubt anyone at Microsoft actually believes that Edge is all of a sudden going to become the go-to browser on Linux, this is entirely a goodwill/PR exercise.
Microsoft? No. Ever.
I kind of get this as far as better integration with Microsoft products like 365 or Skype or Teams, but I don’t get the open source part. Microsoft bought Github, but none of the source code for Edge is available on Github??? Considering Edge is based on open source Chromium this is particularly weird. Is it even GPL? I wonder if they actually understand what open source is? Or perhaps they are frightened that people will fork it and remove all the telemetry. Bagsy “Knowledge” (before the KDE team do). Maybe they see a future on Chromebooks (AKA Gentoo + Google crud)? At any rate they are correct: Future = Browser + Fast Internet + Web App. It’s the only way to break the stranglehold that Google and Apple have on their app stores.
Perhaps ‘KnullEdge’? I agree about the web apps, although it’s more to do with the inevitable x86 to ARM switch over with the new Windows Emulation Legacy Layer. Yes there’s CodeWeavers and WINE but most of that is a rip off from the Windows Research Kernel. Microsoft already knows it’s future lies with cloud services and isn’t really interested in supporting Windows 10. It’s far easier to get everyone else to use Edge browser on their own platform and access their services directly. It won’t be long before ChromeOS switches to BSD licensed Fuchsia + Zircon microkernel (No need to release the source code). At that point Edge will resemble a launch screen for Microsoft cloud services running inside Edge. Legacy apps will be handled by the Windows Emulation Legacy Layer (Badly! With the intention of encouraging cloud services). In terms of forking it, good luck! You might be able to remove the telemetry but the API’s will all break at the same time. You could always add random noise to the telemetry which would make it useless but you wouldn’t be able to remove it. At any rate this is more a test run for porting to BSD ARM based devices (not Linux and Intel).
being a long time linux user happy to be well away from the rubbish that windoze is, which linux type person in their right mind would use this product? … one has to wonder … especially about M$’s motivation.
Writing from Linux Mint 20, Edge browser. Just installed. Thanks Martin.
I hate when app stores try to override Gdebi for .deb files.
After all , we have been double clicking for so long to install apps.[Windows]
That and .deb files should make things easier for Linux noobies.
After divorcing Fedora KDE 17, I have been with Ubuntu/ Mint. Now consorting with Manjaro too, occasionally.
Edge for cancer? Hilarious.
Despite it being a Microsoft application, I am testing it on Debian. So far, so good. Most extensions I use were available.
While I can’t see myself using it (unless they open the source), I did give it a quick try out of curiosity (and to make sure it works on OpenMandriva even though it’s not an officially supported distro).
It works well — didn’t spot any problems, it didn’t crash, and it was not slower than the browsers I use.
But that said, I don’t see any reason to prefer it over Falkon or Chromium, both of which are fully open and therefore preferable.
Uh, No. I won’t use it on Windows; it’s antithetical to what Linux is ostensibly about. Every distro I’ve tried from the three main branches offers Firefox or Firefox ESR so I use one of those. Surprised to find Chrome dominating Linux browsers although the gap between it and FF is much less than in Windows and closing monthly. I guess Linux dev’s are entitled to some of the Google Moneyrain, too.
Edge on OS X? Ten users who can’t seem to uninstall it? Beyond weird!
The current Edge offering for Linux (the old one, not Chredge) is rising rapidly, now at .03%, tripled in the last three months. Why mess with success? Oh yeah, it’s MS.
This is bizarre if you’re familiar with VG’s style; I detect a tiny bit of snark…
https://www.askvg.com/linux-users-rejoice-microsoft-edge-web-browser-now-available-for-download/
If you want Microsoft’s telemetry on your Linux OS. No thanks!
@Anonymous
You are right, no reason to add MS telemetry to the Mozilla telemetry you have to deal with anyway.
@Iron Heart
At least Firefox are OPEN about the telemetry, which firstly is anonymized, and secondly can easily be disabled in Preferences … how the hell does one disable the telemetry in M$’s creation, particularly when the source code is no where to be seen? … so what is all this BS about M$ being OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE … Mozilla don’t hide their source code … so you know … how about M$ puts up or shuts up and just leave linux alone. The cancer has defeated you. Sorry.
@Anonymous
Disabling telemetry in FF’s preferences is not enough, though – for example, it doesn’t get rid of the coverage ping (which is a hidden entry even in about:config).
I am merely pointing at the fact that it’s laughable to complain about telemetry when the default browser of Linux is literally Firefox, king of telemetry.
Not sure what the open source vs. closed source debate has to do with all that, though? That Microsoft obfuscates options to disable telemetry (even more so than Mozilla does) has nothing to do with Edge being closed source. Microsoft could provide an option to fully disable telemetry just fine, closed source or not, they just don’t want to.
> The cancer has defeated you. Sorry.
Not sure what you mean by that? I am not using MS Edge myself and in fact advise against using it all the time. Again, I was merely pointing at the hypocrisy of complaining about telemetry when your Linux distro most likely comes bundled with Firefox, king of telemetry.
if you read the Firefox documentation … YES THEY ARE OPEN AND HONEST ABOUT IT … that ping is disabled by default … so where do you get this rubbish about Firefox being the king of telemetry? … https://firefox-source-docs.mozilla.org/toolkit/components/telemetry/data/coverage-ping.html
talk about BS
AND … like all Firefox telemetry, IF ENABLED … no client id and no environment data is sent, so how about a factoid or two?
@Anonymous
> YES THEY ARE OPEN AND HONEST ABOUT IT … that ping is disabled by default …
Yeah, sure thing. It’s proven that “toolkit.coverage.enabled” set to “false” does nothing, that’s why the Waterfox developer (Waterfox is a telemetry-free version of Firefox ESR) had to go the extra mile to get rid of the ping, utilizing a pref that Mozilla is normally only using internally:
https://github.com/MrAlex94/Waterfox/commit/1c2f6904ac0cb198a38b45e3de72e71e3f86777c
So much for “open and honest about it”, the documentation you point to has nothing to do with the real situation within the browser.
> so where do you get this rubbish about Firefox being the king of telemetry?
That “rubbish” stems from Firefox collecting the most telemetry metrics out of all browsers I know of, it’s also the only browser which sends telemetry about the users who have explicitly disabled telemetry (coverage ping) or runs telemetry outside of the browser itself (as if it’s Mozilla’s business to know what browser I am using):
https://www.ghacks.net/2020/04/09/mozilla-installs-scheduled-telemetry-task-on-windows-with-firefox-75/
> no client id and no environment data is sent, so how about a factoid or two?
Research what the pref “toolkit.telemetry.cachedClientID” is for, then return to me. Also, research about the scope of the scope of telemetry Mozilla is collecting, I won’t spoon feed you here.
Complaining about MS telemetry while running literal Firefox is a bit misguided at best.
firefox 75? … we are up to 82 are we not?
84 in Nightly … anyway …. whatever … you are obviously an anti-FF person, just as I am anti-M$ … they can jam their browser
@Anonymous
> firefox 75? … we are up to 82 are we not?
The scheduled telemetry task was introduced in Firefox 75, it was never removed, still exists and is active.
> you are obviously an anti-FF person, just as I am anti-M$ … they can jam their browser
I am as much anti-spyware as anyone, however I am also anti-hypocrisy.
from your links … quoting …
“Firefox collects only ‘non-personal information’ such as “performance, hardware, usage, and customizations” … i.e. NO PERSONAL DATA …
and further….
“Mozilla is very open about the Telemetry that it collects and that is a good thing (Microsoft made a u-Turn in regards to Telemetry on the company’s Windows 10 operating system as well). Firefox users may furthermore disable Telemetry in the browser ….”
That confirms my previous statements and if you think that is BAD then clearly being open and thus helpful back to Mozilla to help improve Firefox all without any PERSONAL information is not something you are prepared to part with …. that’s not a terribly OSS spirit in my view.
As for a lone programmer disabling ALL telemetry (Waterfox) … that’s all very well, but if a point is really to be made, then that programmer should prove his/her worth and write an entire browser from scratch instead of being a smart-ass with thousands of lines of code already cut at other’s expense (Mozilla’s) FREE for him to make what I frankly think is a really weak point.
Is there really a problem collecting machine data to improve Firefox? It’s a small price to pay for something written for us, and to use, FREE. And to reiterate … NO PERSONAL DATA IS COLLECTED. Is there any real difference here about that collection than the data collection your car does so the next serviceman can properly service the damn thing?
So, as for hypocrite, got a mirror?
@Anonymous
> That confirms my previous statements and if you think that is BAD then clearly being open and thus helpful back to Mozilla to help improve Firefox all without any PERSONAL information is not something you are prepared to part with …. that’s not a terribly OSS spirit in my view.
Hmm, let’s see… How many FOSS project insist on data collection as a means of “product improvement”, off the top of my head I can only think of Mozilla. Entire operating systems (Linux distros) are being developed without telemetry support… I wonder how that is possible if telemetry was so essential. Even Firefox – and I know that’s hard to believe – used to be developed with way less telemetry not too long ago.
> As for a lone programmer disabling ALL telemetry (Waterfox) … (blah blah)
You know, if you disagree with anyone reusing your code, perhaps you shouldn’t make it open source and release it under a permissive license. That forks exist comes with the territory, in case you haven’t noticed. Being opposed to forks is, contrary to being in favor of telemetry, indeed a violation of the “FOSS spirit”. I am glad that there are forks who do not incorporate Mozilla’s nonsense, and so are many others.
> Is there really a problem collecting machine data to improve Firefox? (…) NO PERSONAL DATA IS COLLECTED.
Dude, you are spreading fake news. Firefox on Android definitely collects PII, and hands them over to a third party – Leanplum – which is called “our mobile marketing vendor” in Mozilla terms, that’s what the included hardcoded Leanplum tracker is for. Firefox on Android also contains a Google Ad ID, which the Tor project had to remove en route to releasing Tor on Android:
https://www.ghacks.net/2020/10/10/first-tor-browser-alpha-for-android-based-on-new-firefox-is-now-available/
So it’s a pretty clear cut case for Firefox on Android. As for the desktop, Firefox animates user to use Pocket which has its own privacy policy strictly apart from that of Firefox, and yes, they do collect data. “But I’m not using Pocket!!!” I hear you say, but rest assured, Mozilla occasionally has some nasty surprises for you as well:
https://www.zdnet.com/article/firefox-tests-cliqz-engine-which-slurps-user-browsing-data/
This nice little experiment literally collected the browsing history and website interaction data. Mozilla can still run Firefox Experiments in your browser at any time and at their discretion, the anti-feature was never removed. And don’t tell me that it can’t be linked to anyone, when you connect to a server, the server has your IP address unless you are using a VPN or Tor.
As for the machine data telemetry, you have to believe that this is the full extent of what they collect, but you are a fool if you believe no PII is involved. When a crash happens, Firefox will send the URL of the website which caused the crash, and this can be linked to your IP address. They also collect certificate error telemetry, when the certificate is self-hosted, this can also be PII (remember: they also have your IP address). They collect information regarding your default browser, how does this help them to improve their own product? There is more, but since I don’t write to plan a novel, I’ll leave it at that for now.
> So, as for hypocrite, got a mirror?
It seems you do not like being called out on hypocrisy, do you? But then again, who does…
Only if the OS allows it. Browsing in Linux, Windows, OS X, any OS involves something tantamount to telemetry, without which requests can’t be processed. You can’t request anonymously and expect a reply.
Linux distros get some funding from…the apps they bundle, maybe? Who makes those apps?
Most all forms of telemetry can be dealt with whether they’re from apps, browsers or an OS. Browsing with Chrome in Linux doesn’t involve user data scraping? Of course it does; at least it can be mostly shut down in FF. Impossible in Chrome.
Third party utilities, Ad Blockers,VPN’s, blah, blah, yeah sure, they should be used if desired. Just talking about browsers and OS’s here.
I still won’t use Chredge in my Linux installs for exactly the same reason as you. Chrome either.
:)
To generate interest from Linux Users Microsoft should offer something that Linux Use Can’t Get Elsewhere. Edge legacy an excellent built in epub and PDF reader. A great epub reader is something seriously lacking in Linux. Additionally a Microsoft browser in Linux should provide additional features that one can not get using other browsers such as the FULL version of OneNote with all the extra capability that the full desktop application provides such as the shape tools and ability to save locally. Give Linux users access to Microsoft Exclusive Features only available through official Microsoft products. Maybe by using free products that work really well and provide exceptional benefits more users all have interest in premium products as well.
What Linux user in their right mind, would use this travesty of a browser, when the primary concern is security in Linux ?
I dare say that there are some special circumstances, few and far between as they will be, but personally I have not stopped laughing, since they first announced it !
Peter Newton [London UK]
@Peter Newton
Security ≠Privacy.
A browser can have very capable exploit mitigations and security features and still collect user data. The two do not contradict each other, and I think both are the case when it comes to Chrome or Edge.
Since I assume you are talking about Firefox when you refuse to use anything based on Chromium, let me say that suggesting Firefox is laughable in terms of security: https://grapheneos.org/usage#web-browsing
And in terms of telemetry collected, I think Firefox matches or outdoes Edge.
Firefox gives a LOT more control over what is happening via configuration than any chrome based browser. But go and use Waterfox ( a one man band ) or Palemoon ( based on archaic FF code) or even Basilisk (God help you) …
Collecting ANONYMISED machine data is a small payback for the FREE software that is Firefox, for their software people to improve the product.
Or do you believe that you don’t need to morally pay ANYTHING of ANY CURRENCY to ANYONE for your free software? … If so, that’s an attitude no better than Amazon’s, where using FREE OSS software to make billions whilst returning zero to the people who wrote the software in the first place is considered OK. That really is frankly theft.
Iron Heart is almost certainly a troll in my view, and is the antithesis of what FOSS is all about.
In regards to the link to GrapheneOS … that show is a laugh, if you know anything of its history (which isn’t very extensive).
How about you point us to some REAL data about any sensitive UNANOYMISED information collected from modern versions of FF in the first place, and if so then show that it has ever been leaked or used for commercial purposes.
Otherwise I think you should consider your “opinion” heard … but that’s it for me … having been in this industry for over 40 years and NEVER had any security issues do to with any purported un-anonymised data collected from FF since I have consulted in the FOSS world (20 years) and specifically linux world … which has frankly been a breath of fresh air whilst at the same time a pleasant walk into a SECURE by nature and zero-lockin world.
I have to wonder to about the qualifications and experience who THINK opinions, rather than providing hard data.
@Anonymous
> Firefox gives a LOT more control over what is happening via configuration than any chrome based browser. But go and use Waterfox ( a one man band ) or Palemoon ( based on archaic FF code) or even Basilisk (God help you) …
I use none of them, but they are legitimate examples of FOSS forks, and forks come with the territory. That they are overall less questionable than Mozilla and disable their anti-features makes them better by default.
> Collecting ANONYMISED machine data is a small payback for the FREE software that is Firefox, for their software people to improve the product.
Anonymised, haha. Yeah. They have your IP address when you connect to a server of theirs, unless you are on a VPN or route all of your traffic through Tor.
> Or do you believe that you don’t need to morally pay ANYTHING of ANY CURRENCY to ANYONE for your free software?
In Mozilla’s case, I definitely believe so. They are not exactly poor to begin with they are receiving half a billion $$$ from benefactor Google in exchange for making Google Search the default search engine of Firefox, in case you didn’t know that. They offer Firefox for free because all other browser are also being offered for free, this has nothing to do with kindness of heart, as you seem to imply. Donations to the Mozilla Foundation – which is not the same as the Mozilla Corporation in charge of Firefox development – are not even being used for Firefox development, instead, they go to various virtue signaling projects that you’ve likely never heard of:
https://old.reddit.com/r/firefox/comments/a98gmi/donations_to_mozilla_foundation_are_not_used_for/
> Iron Heart is almost certainly a troll in my view, and is the antithesis of what FOSS is all about.
Oh, it’s the troll moniker again… Talk about originality. I can’t be a troll by definition because nothing I say is inflammatory or based on misinformation. You just happen to not like what I say, but can’t bring yourself to admit it, opting to insult me instead. Color me surprised.
As for being anti-FOSS, you are making fun of legitimate forks, which is indeed an anti-FOSS sentiment, not sure whether or not you can still play that card.
> In regards to the link to GrapheneOS … that show is a laugh, if you know anything of its history (which isn’t very extensive).
GrapheneOS is one of the most secure mobile operating system and is a credible project, even Edward Snowden endorsed it and said that he would use it. I don’t see anything bad in its history either (What do you even mean?), but one thing I know for sure: Contrary to most hacks working at Mozilla, who make a livelihood based on the pretense of caring for their users’ privacy, Daniel Micay is a real security researcher with a good track record aiming to improve the privacy situation of everyone out there.
> UNANOYMISED information collected from modern versions of FF in the first place
I dealt with that in my other reply to you, see above.
> I have to wonder to about the qualifications and experience who THINK opinions, rather than providing hard data.
Dude, comments on some blog are not scientific write-ups, I don’t have to post sources for everything I state here. However, since you seem to insisting, insisting on being spoon-fed I meant, I posted some sources in my other reply to you.
@Iron Heart
For you information there is in fact some science that supports Anonymouse’s claim:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQaF4YXCXsc
I wonder if it comes with all the telemetry everyone loves.
lol ..NO just NO…go away M$ do not infest my Linux box with your crap.