Windows 10 Start Menu Suggests Firefox Users Switch to Edge

[steven36]

Microsoft has started using the Windows 10 Start Menu to suggest that Mozilla Firefox users switch to their new Microsoft Edge browser.

 

 

With the release of Microsoft's new Chromium-based Edge browser, Microsoft has started promoting the new browser when typing various keywords in the Windows 10 Start Menu.

 

Based on a Reddit Post, Windows 10 is displaying a suggestion to switch to Microsoft Edge when Firefox is installed or configured as the default browser.

 

This promotion comes in the form of a suggestion at the top of the Start Menu that states "Still using Firefox? Microsoft Edge is here".

 

 

 

Promoting Edge to Firefox users

 

 

Another user also posted to the Reddit thread about seeing a promotion for Microsoft Edge when they searched for Internet Explorer in the Start Menu.

 

 

 

Promoting Edge from the Start Menu

 

Microsoft should be proud of its new Edge browser as it is faster, more compatible due to Chromium's codebase, and offers a wider range of extensions compared to the Microsoft Edge Legacy browser.

 

At the same time, people are torn about using the Start Menu to promote its product at the expense of another competing product.

 

Furthermore, Microsoft is known for pushing its Edge browser a little bit too hard in the past.

 

For example, in 2016 Microsoft began promoting Microsoft Edge and the Bing rewards programs through notifications from the Windows 10 taskbar.

 

 

 

Edge promotion

 

Then in 2018, Microsoft began testing a feature in the Windows 10 Insider builds that would halt the installation of competing browsers and display an ad promoting Edge instead.

 

 

Edge ad when installing a competing browser

 

 

This tactic of halting a browser's install to promote Edge did not sit well with a lot of users and Microsoft never put it into practice.

Disable suggestions in the Windows 10 Start Menu

If you do not want Windows 10 to display suggestions like these in the Windows 10 Start Menu, you can disable it through the Windows settings.

To do this, go to Settings -> Personalization -> Start and disable the 'Show suggestions occasionally in Start' option as shown below.

 

 

Show suggestions occasionally in Start

 

Once disabled, Microsoft will no longer offer suggestions in the Start Menu.

 

Source

 

[Karlston]

From  Microsoft flirts with new anti-trust challenge with new Start Menu-based Edge ads  (MSPoweruser)

 

Quote

 

It would be hard not to argue that Microsoft is using its privileged position as the OS vendor to promote their browser in a way that is anti-competitive towards 3rd party developers, the exact reason the company was nearly broken up for in the early 2000s.  While much has changed since then, and desktop operating systems are now much less important, there is also a renewed enthusiasm to go after tech companies for anti-competitive practices, an issue that Microsoft has been fortunate to mostly avoid till now.

 

These targeted Start Menu ads may, however, be exactly the thing which provokes prosecutors to go after Microsoft again, and we have to wonder what the company is thinking.

 

 

[dhjohns]

3 hours ago, steven36 said:

 

This promotion comes in the form of a suggestion at the top of the Start Menu that states "Still using Firefox? Microsoft Edge is here".

That is also my recommendation.

[haxzion]

My Windows 10 solutions:

- Windows LTSB 1607 for anything except the latest hardware like RTX owners.

if you are on the latest hardware then....

- Windows LTSC 1809

and if you can't find the above and you wanna stick with Windows 10 Pro then...

- WinReducer, NTlite or anything similar to edit the iso and remove all the crapware BEFORE installing windows.

- AppBuster, Debotnet,ShutUp10 to remove some crapware (not all) after installing windows 

 

Windows 10 Pro with Candy Crash is indeed a very RPO OS 

 

[steven36]

5 hours ago, Karlston said:

From  Microsoft flirts with new anti-trust challenge with new Start Menu-based Edge ads  (MSPoweruser)

 

Quote

 

It would be hard not to argue that Microsoft is using its privileged position as the OS vendor to promote their browser in a way that is anti-competitive towards 3rd party developers, the exact reason the company was nearly broken up for in the early 2000s.  While much has changed since then, and desktop operating systems are now much less important, there is also a renewed enthusiasm to go after tech companies for anti-competitive practices, an issue that Microsoft has been fortunate to mostly avoid till now.

 

These targeted Start Menu ads may, however, be exactly the thing which provokes prosecutors to go after Microsoft again, and we have to wonder what the company is thinking.

Early 2000s Microsoft had a  consumer market that they dont really enjoy anymore ., PCs went out of fashion for consumption  once they made  windows 10  its used mostly only for production.  they lost 17% of there overall  OS market  to competitors.  So There considered  business oriented software now  in the USA anti trust is only to protect consumers so there new never gets brought up by the Goverment only thing there wanted for now is for not paying there taxes by the IRS  .

 

The EU that does Anti trust different they  complain about them before ,  but  it was only about  diagnostic data  so they put up some smoke and Mirrors in Home and Pro  were you could disable  what you could after you installed it when you installed it and the Netherlands  let them slide  it really it didn't make much sense  since if you buy a Windows 10 PC new it already has Windows 10 OEM set up on it .

 

Germany just ran test that contradict the NL letting Microsoft slide with smoke and mirrors that diagnostic data cant be fully  turned off in the Home and Pro versions only in the Enterprise can it fully be disabled . You can  fully disable it by using Windows 10 Firewall Control Pro but it cost money  . But Microsoft  dont offer this  by default to consumers . since  most ads  can be disabled in windows 10  they  see diagnostic data as a bigger issue,  by law there only required to have a opt out when you install Windows 10 was what was ruled on it in the EU. They look at it like you should of disabled  it yourself  like the OP shows how if you dont want suggestions .

https://www.howtogeek.com/269331/how-to-disable-all-of-windows-10s-built-in-advertising/

 

Windows 10 is almost 5 years old and they had very little Anti Trust issues  because it not really used that much by home users anymore  they not sold many copies to home users since Windows 7 was new  and they give Enterprise Options to fully control Windows 10 .  MSPoweruser is still thinking  M$ is ran by Gates still  when consumers still bought Windows like most Windows users  with 25% of them still stuck on Windows 7  they are still stuck in the past!

 

Today's Microsoft dont  really care about  the home users buying PC so much anymore because they lost  most consumers to smartphones , They still make a good profit from Enterprise So it's not bad  enough yet to stop making Windows like they did Windows Phone.  They going to try there luck with selling  Microsoft Phones  on  Android  . Also with Windows 10 x they  going try  to get back in the consumer market  with IOT,   but its still a ways off . Even fuhrer off to see if they can compete with there competitors they late to the party again.  2 in 1 laptops  are called  Ipad killers and  already Google and Amazon rule the  smart home device market , It just depends on Antitrust against  there competitors will Microsoft ever  have a chance I guess. If they lucky something they make may make them more than just a  company that sell stuff for businesses again    , Only thing keeping them from not being like IBM is XBOX that is only for consumers .And Sony has sold way more consoles than M$ has . 

[Ryrynz]

Firefox is dead/dying. Edge is superior. I would uninstall any machine with it on and install Chromium Edge over Edge. Hell I'd probably tell them to reconsider using Chrome too.

Personally I'll stick with Chrome myself, I prefer how it looks that and I'm pretty tied into Google stuff, but Edge is now my second choice personally and my first as far as recommendations. Firefox could've been in this position. Nail in the coffin for Firefox. Give it ten years tops and nobody will care about it.

 

https://gs.statcounter.com/

9.7% desktop browser market share as of right now, two and a half years ago it was at 14%, by 2025 probably at about 5%, 2030 basically dead.

Edge will hit double digits within a year or two. Chrome is basically at max usage 69%, only way is down now.

[Guest]

2 hours ago, Ryrynz said:

Firefox is dead/dying. Edge is superior. I would uninstall any machine with it on and install Chromium Edge over Edge. Hell I'd probably tell them to reconsider using Chrome too.

Personally I'll stick with Chrome myself, I prefer how it looks that and I'm pretty tied into Google stuff, but Edge is now my second choice personally and my first as far as recommendations. Firefox could've been in this position. Nail in the coffin for Firefox. Give it ten years tops and nobody will care about it.

 

https://gs.statcounter.com/

9.7% desktop browser market share as of right now, two and a half years ago it was at 14%, by 2025 probably at about 5%, 2030 basically dead.

Edge will hit double digits within a year or two. Chrome is basically at max usage 69%, only way is down now.

I really gotta agree with you, since the new Edge Chromium is much better than Chrome.

But nevertheless, I only maintained Edge Chromium and Chrome only on my system.
 

 

[steven36]

6 hours ago, Ryrynz said:

Edge is superior.

Source or Proof ? Its just another failed Browser like Opera that had to change engines because nobody ever used it much, with too much marketing hype look at all the marketing hype  Windows 10 had and they lost 17%  of the OS market share  since windows 10 has  been out ,  it  works as well as any other chromium browser but it lacks many  features of other forks have. Opinions are like everybody has one. Not all windows 10 users like the Chromium Edge over the Old Edge even here's proof,

 

 

So opinions vary   and I value a honest ones most , if it was better people  would not have to say it  is and Microsoft wouldn't  have to use ads in there software to promote  it, it would sale itself .

 

  Some people who used old Edge  because it wasn't Chromium or Gecko..  Chromium Edge dont even show up at statcounter yet its too new to have many users , so the link you post is based on old Edge not the new one even . 48% of desktop users dont use Windows 10  so they most likely don't use EDGE , and they 3 billion  mobile  users.  Google Chrome  is the most used on all devices except for Apple devices .  

https://gs.statcounter.com/browser-version-market-share/desktop/worldwide

 

Jan 1st -FEB 9  2020 Firefox 72  is beating Edge11  on desktop Chromium Edge dont show up yet nether do Firefox 73 RC  that i have on Linux  I stay on the RC channel  because the last RC of Firefox  is the same as  stable  so  I  get them a few days before general  release .  Because I use Waterfox classic as my default browser  ,Firefox is just a spare for me  , also  I have Brave , Virgin Chromium  and Otter browser as spare browsers so  I have 5 open source browsers.

 

https://gs.statcounter.com/browser-version-market-share/desktop/worldwide/#monthly-202001-202002-bar

 

It's just like most Firefox users they use it because outside of Apple OS it's the only mainstream   browser left  that is not Chromium .  They had a choice to switch to a Chromium browser   for many years so  i doubt they will and EDGE isn't going to change that .

 

As far as Firefox  when you see  benchmarks is always rigged  they never run the benchmarks were Firefox beat Chrome