Phenquestions
Microsoft's upcoming Chromium-based version of Microsoft Edge has not been unveiled officially but leaks give us a good idea of what to expect from the new browser.
Some features were overlooked in the initial reviews. When Microsoft launched the Edge browser, it made it a Windows 10 exclusive. While you could gain access to Microsoft Edge using a Virtual Machine, exclusivity meant that Edge did not get off to a good start.
Windows 10 users could not sync data between Edge on Windows 10 and their mobile applications. This changed with the release of Microsoft Edge for mobile devices. The decision to release the browser for non-Microsoft operating systems but not the still-supported Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 did not sit well with customers who were still using these operating systems.
The new Chromium-based Edge will be available for other platforms according to Microsoft. The company mentioned Mac OS X specifically but it is very likely that it will also be available for Linux.
Probably the best indicator that Microsoft Edge will be available for Linux is found in Microsoft Edge itself. Load edge://flags and look at the compatibility information that is displayed next to each experiment.
You find Linux listed there for many of the experiments and not only Windows or Mac. Microsoft did edit these, as you don't find Chrome OS listed there or mobile operating systems.
The listing is an indicator but no verification; there is none at the time. It is still up to Microsoft to release the new Edge for Linux. Chance is good that this is going to happen.
Internet Explorer Tab inside Edge
The second feature that slipped by initially is integration of Internet Explorer in Microsoft Edge. Windows Latest discovered the flag "Enable IE Integration" under Experiments which "enables hosting Internet Explorer in a tab".
The feature does not work currently as it appears to be in development at this time. The most likely explanation is that it may be used to load individual sites in Internet Explorer's rendering engine in the Microsoft Edge browser.
The current Microsoft Edge browser comes with an option to open a web page in Internet Explorer. You need to select Menu > More Tools > Open in Internet Explorer to do so. The new option, provided that it will load the web page in a tab in Microsoft Edge, would be more comfortable as you would not have to juggle between two browser windows as everything would happen in the Edge window.
Now You: What do you expect from the new Microsoft Edge browser?
