Tag: Microsoft Edge

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Microsoft investigating reports of Edge browser sending URLs to Bing API

A Reddit user has discovered that Microsoft’s Edge browser is sending URLs that you visit to its Bing API website.

The latest version of Microsoft Edge sends a request to bingapis.com with the URL of “nearly” every page you navigate to.

Microsoft knows about the issue, and is currently investigating.

First spotted by Reddit user u/hackermchackface, the user said, “Searching for References to this url [bingapis.com] give very few results, no documentation on this feature at all. Json response shows type as “FollowableStatus” which yields zero Google results, which is rare.”

According to Rafael Rivera, a software engineer, the issue stems from a new poorly implemented feature in Microsoft Edge. In a statement given to The Verge, Rivera said, “Microsoft Edge now has a creator follow feature that is enabled by default. It appears the intent was to notify Bing when you’re on certain pages, such as YouTube, The Verge, and Reddit. But it doesn’t appear to be working correctly, instead sending nearly every domain you visit to Bing.”

The creator follow feature was first spotted in January 2022 as part of the browser’s deeper integration with YouTube that adds the followed channels to a new ‘Collections’ tab in Edge’s top right toolbar, where you can view an RSS-like feed of content from all creators you follow.

According to The Verge, disabling the creator follow feature stops Edge from sending your URLs to bingapis.com. To disable the feature, head to Settings > Privacy, Search and Services and scroll down to Services. Toggle off the switch next to ‘Show suggestions to follow creators in Microsoft Edge.’

“We’re aware of reports, are investigating and will take appropriate action to address any issues,” said Caitlin Roulston, director of communications at Microsoft, in a statement to The Verge.

Source: u/hackermchackface Via: The Verge

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Mobile Syrup

Microsoft Edge and Bing gain ChatGPT-like AI capabilities

At its AI event earlier today, Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft announced a new version of its hardly used Bing search engine.

The version, which adds AI capabilities to the search engine, is launching alongside a new version of Microsoft’s Edge browser.

Microsoft is partnering with OpenAI and using the same AI technology for Bing that is used for ChatGPT, with the next release of Bing reported to feature a new, next-gen language model that Microsoft says is “much more powerful” than ChatGPT.

The new Bing offers a chat function where people can type in questions, similar to ChatGPT, and receive answers in human-like language. The feature uses the “Prometheus Model,” which is a version of the AI language built by OpenAI for ChatGPT, but with updated, up-to-date information. Microsoft added that the model will make Bing safer to surf, with search results updating more quickly than before.

During the AI event, Microsoft consumer chief marketing officer Yusuf Mehdi asked Bing to compare big Mexican artists and their well-known paintings. Bing displayed the results in a new side panel with annotations and links to results. Mehdi also asked Bing to create an itinerary for a 5-day trip to Mexico. The chatbot was able to respond with a detailed itinerary, with different activities to do on each day. The result also shared relevant links for sources.

As shared by Engadget, in cases where Bing does not have the answer to query, it will point you toward relevant useful information that might match your query.

Similarly, Edge has been updated with new AI capabilities and a redesigned look. For example, with Edge’s Sidebar, you can now ask the browser for the summary of a lengthy piece of text, a lengthy financial report for example. You can then use the chat function to ask for a computing company’s financials and compile all the information in a table.

Similar to ChatGPT, you can ask the Edge to compose content for you, like a LinkedIn or a Twitter post.

The new Bing AI is rolling out now for all users on desktop as a “limited preview.” You’ll currently only have a limited number of queries that you can ask the chatbot for help with.

Microsoft says that it will be scaling the preview to millions globally in the coming weeks, while a mobile experience will also be in preview soon. Users can visit Bing.com and sign up for the waitlist for the feature’s wide rollout.

Learn more here.

Image credit: Microsoft

Source: Microsoft

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Mobile Syrup

Microsoft redirects users to Edge amid Explorer retirement

Back in May 2021, Microsoft revealed that it would soon discontinue Internet Explorer 11 on desktop, and that day has finally come. Today marks the day Microsoft ends support for Explorer.

Now, the tech giant has started softly nudging users to switch over to its Edge browser.

Opening Explorer now shows a huge pop-up front and center that recommends that you switch over to Microsoft Edge. “Is your browser living up to your PC’s full potential? Microsoft Edge has new features built to bring you the best of the web,” reads the top-positioned popup as seen in the screenshot below:

The prompts are the first step Microsoft is taking to phase the old browser out, whereas future updates would completely disable Explorer.

“Eventually, Internet Explorer will be disabled permanently as part of a future Windows Update, at which point the Internet Explorer icons on users’ devices will be removed,” said Sean Lyndersay, general manager, Microsoft Edge Enterprise, in a blog post about phasing out the old browser.

As part of the redirection procedure, user data, including favourites, passwords and settings would automatically be imported from Internet Explorer to Edge, with an option to get rid of the data in Edge’s setting menu.

“Certain versions of Windows currently in support and used in critical environments, we will continue to support Internet Explorer on those versions until they go out of support,” clarified Lyndersay. “These include all currently in-support Windows 10 LTSC releases (including IoT) and all Windows Server versions, as well as Windows 10 China Government Edition, Windows 8.1, and Windows 7 with Extended Security Updates (ESUs). Future versions of these editions will not include Internet Explorer.”

Learn more about the transition from Explorer to Edge here.

Source: Microsoft

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Mobile Syrup

Edge’s new in-testing feature lets you save and share files across devices

A new Microsoft Edge feature might soon let users store and sync their files, notes, content or anything else across all of their devices directly from the browser.

The feature, which has been named “Drop,” is currently in testing under a controlled rollout for Edge Canary users, first spotted by Neowin.

“Your files and notes will be available across all your signed in mobile and PC devices,” reads the new tool’s description.

Image credit: Neowin

“The idea behind Drop is to provide users with a cross-platform space for storing various content. You can drag and drop any file or create a note by typing it into a message box. Once synced, items in Drop become available in Edge on your other computers and mobile devices,” reads the report.

It’s worth noting that Edge will use your OneDrive for storing and syncing files and folders, so you’ll only be able to fit as many files as your OneDrive storage can accommodate.

Drop is part of a controlled rollout, like all other Edge Canary features in testing. That means you might not be able to use the feature even if you’re using the most recent version of the browser. To try out your luck, head to Edge Canary, navigate to Settings, and click on Appearance. If the feature is available for you, you’ll see it as a toggle under the “Citations button.”

Source: Neowin

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Mobile Syrup

Microsoft Edge now the second most popular desktop browser, overtaking Safari

Microsoft Edge is slowly climbing the ladder and has now stolen the second-place spot of the most popular desktop browser from Safari. What used to belong to Apple, now belongs to Microsoft as it inched its way past in market share.

According to data shared by Statcounter, Microsoft Edge saw a bit of a bump in usage since March 2021. Safari has now been dethroned as Microsoft Edge has 10.07 percent of the market share. Safari is not trailing too far behind in third with 9.61 percent. However, both wildly pale in comparison to Google Chrome with more than 66 percent of the user base.

Firefox and “Other” browsers fall short of the top three spots on the list. Firefox has roughly 7.8 percent of the market share, “Other” encompasses roughly 2.5 percent. Rounding out the list at the bottom is Opera with 2.44 percent.

There’s a fair bit to glean from this information. Microsoft has larger mindshare when it comes to desktops and the like over Apple. This likely translates to more users jumping to Microsoft Edge. Additionally, one can speculate whether or not Mac users are prioritizing time on Microsoft Edge over Safari as well.

Another factor potentially playing into the shift could be Apple’s new design of Safari. Late last year, Safari received a fairly substantial coat of paint. It adds the top bar’s colour-changing feature, smaller tabs, and more. This was then met with critical user feedback. These changes could have been a catalyst for users to migrate over to Chrome and Microsoft Edge.

Image credit: Statcounter

Source: Statcounter Via: 9to5Mac

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Mobile Syrup

Valve’s Steam Deck now supports Xbox Cloud Gaming through Edge

Valve’s handheld Steam Deck can now run Microsoft’s Xbox Cloud Gaming (formerly called xCloud) platform through Edge.

It was previously possible to play Xbox Cloud Gaming titles through Chrome but handheld controls didn’t work, forcing players to use an external controller with the portable. Now a new beta Linux version of Microsoft Edge designed specifically for the Steam Deck includes full support for the potable’s built-in controls.

In a recent Reddit post, Miss Quarry, a community manager at Microsoft Edge, explained that Edge’s development team worked closely with Valve to bring full Xbox Cloud Gaming support to the Steam Deck through Edge.

“We’re particularly excited about this ourselves as we feel it can open new opportunities in the Linux gaming community,” said Quarry. Microsoft’s Catherine Gluckstein, the company’s head of product and strategy, also tweeted about the new Linux version of Edge designed for the Steam Deck.

This opens up the Steam Deck to the wide variety of Xbox Cloud Gaming titles, including Halo: The Master Chief Collection, Sea of Thieves, Minecraft Dungeons, The Outer Worlds and more. Microsoft has also released a detailed guide to creating a simple link to Xbox Cloud gaming on the Steam Deck to make it easier to access from the handheld. I’ve yet to try out Xbox Game Streaming with the Steam Deck, but I imagine the performance would be similar to playing a title through Edge on an iPhone or iPad.

It’s worth noting that several Xbox Game Studios titles are already compatible with the Steam Deck directly through Valve’s SteamOS, including Prey, Psychonauts 2, Forza Horizon 5 and more.

In other Steam Deck-related news, the device is now capable of running Windows, though the experience is far from perfect.

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, which includes Xbox Cloud Gaming, costs $16.99 per month. I’ll have a review of Valve’s Steam Deck on MobileSyrup in the coming days.

Source: Reddit (Miss Quarry), @CJGluckstein Via: The Verge

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Mobile Syrup

Microsoft Edge can automatically describe images for people using screen readers

With the demise of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer inching closer, the Redmond, Washington-based company is putting all its browser expertise in Microsoft Edge, including a new feature that would make the web surfing experience more accessible for those with low vision, or no vision at all.

People with vision disabilities often use a screen reader to access the web. These screen readers rely on alternative (alt) text to describe a specific image that is on the screen. According to Google, more than half the images online don’t contain alt text, making the web surfing experience haphazard for the person with low or no vision.

Microsoft is now improving its Edge experience to tackle such situations.

The Microsoft Edge browser will now provide auto-generated captions for images that lack alt text, according to the company. Microsoft is utilizing machine learning (ML) algorithms to describe said images, and it can do so in five languages, namely, English, Spanish, Japanese, Portuguese and Chinese.

“The algorithms are not perfect, and the quality of the descriptions will vary, but for users of screen readers, having some description for an image is often better than no context at all,” reads Microsoft’s blog post.

However, there are some limitations. Microsoft says it won’t add captions for images that are:

  • Marked as “decorative” by the website author. Decorative images don’t contribute to the content or meaning of the website.
  • Smaller than 50 x 50 pixels (icon size and smaller)
  • Excessively large
  • Categorized by the Vision API as pornographic in nature, gory, or sexually suggestive.

To turn on the feature, open Microsoft Edge and type edge://settings/accessibility in the address bar. Enable the ‘Get image descriptions from Microsoft for screen readers’ toggle (as referenced in the screenshot below), and start browsing via Microsoft’s Narrator or any other screen reader of your choice.

It’s worth noting that this feature is currently only available for Microsoft Edge on Windows, Mac and Linux and not for Microsoft Edge on iOS and Android

Learn more about the new feature here.

Source: Microsoft

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Mobile Syrup

Microsoft tests an integrated YouTube follow button on Edge

Microsoft is testing a new way for viewers to subscribe to their favourite content creators on YouTube via its Microsoft Edge browser.

Available only to some testers in Edge’s Canary Developer Build, the new ‘follow’ button appears in the top address bar, as first noticed by Reddit user ‘Leopeva64-2.’

The ‘follow’ button is a part of the browser’s deeper integration with YouTube that adds the followed channels to a new ‘Collections’ tab in Edge’s top right toolbar, where you can view an RSS-like feed of content from all creators you follow.

According to Leopeva64-2, the feature is still in its early development phase, as is evident with the white background over dark theme panel as seen below:

The feature is part of Microsoft’s Controlled R0llout and is currently available to a few testers only. The tech giant hasn’t shared any official information about the new feature, though if the testing goes well, we should hear more about it soon.

Image credit: u/Leopeva64-2

Source: Reddit (Leopeva64-2)

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Mobile Syrup

Microsoft testing new, streamlined way to change default browsers in Windows 11

Microsoft will eventually undo changes in Windows 11 that made it more difficult for users to select a different default browser.

Unfortunately, the improved browser switch tool is still in testing. It’s not clear when Microsoft plans to roll out the updated default browser selection, so it could still be a little while before Microsoft fixes the issue.

Rafael Rivera, the developer behind EarTrumpet, a Windows app that improves the volume control menu, shared the new Windows 11 default browser selector on Twitter after discovering it in the Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22509. There’s a button at the top of the browser page in the ‘Apps’ part of the Windows 11 settings in Rivera’s screenshots. Pressing that button will set the browser as the default.

Aaron Woodman, vice president of Windows marketing, confirmed to The Verge in a statement that the company “streamlined the ability for a Windows Insider to set the ‘default browser’ to apps that register for HTTP:, HTTPS:, .HTM, and .HTML.”

Windows 11 ditched the simpler Windows 10 default browser switcher, which let users click on the default browser option and select a different browser from a list of installed browsers. Instead, Windows 11 makes users pick a browser from a list of all apps and then set it as the default for each individual file type the browser can open (HTTP, HTML, PDF, etc). The Windows 11 process is more tedious and confusing than it was on Windows 10 — the change was generally met with backlash from users and rival browser makers. Some, like Firefox, added new buttons to help streamline the process.

Those interested can read a lot more about the Windows 11 default browser process here, or a guide on how to change the default here.

Microsoft shouldn’t need to backtrack — it should never have made this change

Although the new default browser switcher in Windows 11 is an improvement, it’s hard to commend Microsoft for fixing a problem it made for itself. The company has a long history of adding changes, prompts and other annoying roadblocks to try and make people use its Edge browser (or dissuade people from switching to another browser). Most recently, Edge started showing prompts when users try to download Chrome.

  1. Microsoft’s revamped Edge browser is actually pretty good (excluding a few odd additions like the ‘buy now, pay later‘ feature in the U.S. that has people understandably upset). As MobileSyrup’s resident browser geek, I find Edge offers better performance than Chrome and generally, it works better for how I work.
  3. That said, Microsoft’s constant attempts to force people to use Edge and hinder switching to other browsers sour many people on Edge before they ever try it. Those same features even get in the way of me using Edge since I prefer to use the beta version to get early access to new features. Microsoft’s browser-switching roadblocks almost always get in the way of me going from default Edge to beta Edge.

Source: Rafael Rivera (Twitter) Via: The Verge

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Xbox Cloud Gaming gets ‘Clarity Boost’ for better streams on Microsoft Edge

Xbox Cloud Gaming now offers crisper, less blurry pictures on Microsoft’s Edge browser through a feature called Clarity Boost.

In a blog post, Microsoft noted that Clarity Boost “uses a set of client-side scaling improvements to improve the visual quality of the video stream.”

Refer to the image below from the Canadian-made Gears 5 for an idea of how Clarity Boost looks in action:

Xbox Cloud Gaming Clarity Boost

For now, Clarity Boost is only available on Microsoft Edge Canary, but the company says the feature will come to all Edge users sometime in 2022.

Xbox Cloud Gaming is included with a $16.99 CAD/month Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription alongside Game Pass for Console and PC, Xbox Live Gold and EA Play. The service launched on Xbox consoles earlier this month and is also available on Android and iOS (via browsers).

Source: Xbox