

Microsoft is building a new browser as part of its Windows 10 push - msoad
http://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-is-building-a-new-browser-as-part-of-its-windows-10-push/

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goops
So it's using Trident and Chakra, the same document engine and JS engine as
IE. It's also Windows-only (?).

I don't see how this is a new lightweight browser. It looks like a new skin on
the old one with a PR push to back it up.

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_wmd
You could have said the same for the initial releases of Chrome and Firefox

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factorialboy
How exactly?

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code_duck
Fire fox was a new browser built around Mozilla components. Chrome was a new
browser built around WebKit. So, it's similar if they are replacing the
interface components. However, not similar in that those browsers were made by
different groups while this one is still made by Microsoft like the last 10
versions of Internet Explorer.

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jaredsohn
>in that those browsers were made by different groups

Is that the case for Firefox? I had thought it was just a side project by some
Mozilla engineers.

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jarcane
Yes. Initially FF was just a side project to release the Mozilla browser
component as a standalone app, just like Thunderbird was.

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01Michael10
Cross platform? I don't believe it but it would be a smart move by Microsoft.
Firefox is my browser because I can use it on any of my devices (Android,
Linux, and Windows) and sync them. Mozilla respecting my privacy and promoting
an open Internet is also a biggie for me.

Sorry MS, I stopped using IE like during the XP years...

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TylerH
If you stopped using Internet Explorer when IE6 was the latest version, then
you really don't have any right to talk about the browser as it stands now,
let alone a modern, ground-up rebuild.

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Retra
You don't have to use something to understand it. That's one of the great
benefits of having a brain: you can learn from other people's mistakes. You
don't have to shoot yourself in the foot to know gun safety either.

~~~
tuananh
sometimes you just have to see it for yourself. don't take information
blindly.

~~~
indrax
Sometimes we have to decide for ourselves when 'sometimes' is.

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jarsin
I hope by "lightweight" they mean that the new browser will not be tied to
specific windows releases anymore and it can update to the latest version
independent of users having to upgrade their entire os..

wishful thinking :)

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bri3d
Making the browser less tied to the OS would actually make it "heavier" by
pulling technology out of the OS and into the browser.

The obvious example is Direct2D/DirectWrite, the very reason why IE10 doesn't
work on Windows XP.

Firefox "solved" this problem by having tons of pluggable OS-specific pieces,
resulting in a whole morass of confusion and inconsistency which Microsoft are
probably trying to avoid. As an example, many Linux users from 2009 will
recall disabling Pango to try to make their Firefox run faster.

~~~
TD-Linux
Firefox also has to run its CI tests on all sorts of combinations of hardware
and operating system:

[https://treeherder.mozilla.org/#/jobs?repo=mozilla-
central](https://treeherder.mozilla.org/#/jobs?repo=mozilla-central)

By limiting to the newest OS, Microsoft can much more easily do quality
control - of course, at the cost of shutting out many users.

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steven777400
I'd be more concerned about "Windows 10 (at least the desktop version) will
ship with both Spartan and IE 11". That seems reminiscent of the Windows 8
modern UI browser vs desktop browser having separate current tabs and
different supported features. Very confusing for users.

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Sanddancer
It could very well be that spartan's the default browser that people see, but
IE11's there as an option for people who need backwards compatibility with the
classic ie ecosystem.

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Touche
So it sounds like they are just renaming Internet Explorer. Nothing to see
here. What would be compelling is if it was open-source.

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tdicola
Is it even that compelling if it's open source? I'd rather it just be based on
WebKit and contribute back to that project.

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deeringc
I'm not sure a webkit monoculture is good for the web in the long run. Having
multiple browser engines compete is a really positive thing, as long as they
are all going for standards compliance. Thankfully, even Microsoft have made
huge moves in the right direction on that front.

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kansface
Renderers are one place where I wouldn't mind a monoculture. I'm guessing
billions?! of dollars of wasted man hours have been spent on making websites
look the same across browsers.

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sudioStudio64
The thing that would be interesting here is a browser that doesn't have to
support internet explorer's backwards compatibility problems. That covers more
than just the css quirks...

A new browser would be able to take advantage of the new security model in
"metro" apps that can't really be used by IE and still support all their app
compat scenarios. A new browser could be standards compliant and incredibly
locked down.

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vezycash
This i believe is the point of creating a new browser. Here are things I hope
they borrow heavily from Chrome: 1\. Very short (uncluttered) "right click"
menu 2\. Simple setting menu - with search 3\. One-click uninstall of
extensions

One thing not in chrome I'll kill for is the ability to set HTML5 videos and
audios as "click to play."

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aruggirello
> _Windows 10 (at least the desktop version) will ship with both Spartan and
> IE 11, my sources say. IE 11 will be there for backward-compatibility 's
> sake_

Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't last sentence imply IE's going to be
abandoned?

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forgotAgain
To enable coding multi-platform extensions in C# with Visual Studio?

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blumkvist
Ta-daa-a :)

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kylequest
They started in Windows 8... with the Metro Browser (what you use in the new
metro UI shell. if you are curious to see a fake metro browser PoC I created a
while ago: [http://evilmetro.heroku.com](http://evilmetro.heroku.com) ).

Looks like the next step in that project.

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fiatjaf
They should be building a new Operating System, but a new browser is fine,
too.

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bbcbasic
Can't say I am that excited. Why don't they build something that is better
than FF/Chrome, not just play catch up?

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vaadu
Will it need or run ActiveX controls?

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pdknsk
I'm sure it will be, but if it's not open-source (and hence cross-platform)
they might as well not bother. I'm not downloading a 4GB VM from modern.ie to
try it.

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goops
I'm not sure you understand Microsoft's business model.

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bbcbasic
Their business model is slowly getting disrupted to shit, and they need to
keep up. Probably too late for them on the browser front. They are unlikely to
make something better than Chrome/FF.

