Is the editor looking for a way - discreet? - to push the use of its new Microsoft Edge a little more?
On June 24, during the Microsoft Event, Windows 11 was made official by a Microsoft that had kept the future of its operating system rather secret. Since the release of Windows 10, the editor had explained that it would be the last Windows and that only important updates would arrive every six months. Microsoft has changed its mind and since June 24, things have accelerated. Several previews have been released to Windows Insider subscribers and a lot of information about this Windows 11 has been published, which has been the subject of several news on DriversCloud.
The latest detail is a little less pleasing. Journalists from The Verge have indeed encountered a problem related to the change of Internet browser, which makes us fear that Microsoft is once again looking for "tricks" to impose - not always very discreetly - its Edge browser, which was the subject of several legal actions when Internet Explorer was imposed on previous Windows. With Windows 11, Edge is pre-installed, nothing dramatic until then. Moreover, it is quite possible to install another browser and The Verge cites the example of Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox which were installed without any problem.
No, it is afterwards that the "problems" begin. Indeed, when you open a web link for the first time, the operating system offers you the famous window allowing you to select the software to use to perform the action. In the lower part of the window, there is also a " Always use this application " box that prevents this window from reappearing at each launch. In reality, you don't have to worry, it will never reappear... even if you haven't checked the box and that's where the problem lies.
This from the company that claims to be the most open, with "the most choice." I hope this is just a developer preview thing, and the shipping version of Windows 11 lives up to their claims. This is far from "choice." https://t.co/vkGQAoHZgE
- Hiroshi Lockheimer (@lockheimer) August 18, 2021
Indeed, if you did not check the said box, not only will it no longer appear, but Windows 11 will therefore keep by default all associations on Microsoft Edge. Even more annoying, you will have to turn to the default application manager to change the said association and Microsoft has made it even more complex as Hiroshi Lockheimer of Google complained loudly on Twitter. The Verge explains that, on Windows 11, multiple types of files must be modified for the sole change of the Web browser: HTM, HTML, PDF, SHTML, SVG, WEBP, XHT, XHTML, FTP, HTTP and HTTPS. This means that if the manipulation is playable, it is a bit restrictive and may dissuade many users.
Of course, Microsoft still has plenty of time to make things evolve before the official release of Windows 11, but let's admit that making things complex on purpose is probably not the best signal to send.
