Microsoft will stop pestering Windows users about Edge in EU

Microsoft has announced more tweaks to Windows in a bid to stay on the right side of Europe's Digital Markets Act, including a promise that Edge will only nag users to become their default browser if they open it first. The software giant in 2023 was designated as a "gatekeeper" under the DMA, a European competition law, and …

[IGotOut]

Almost there

and altering sign-on practices so users weren't "automatically signed in to Bing and Edge."

How about banning them from forcing you to have an MS account in the first place?

[John Brown (no body)]

Re: Almost there

You can still install WIn11 without setting up an MS account. At leats for now. I just did it last week.

[druck]

Re: Almost there

Did it give you the choice, or did you have know to prevent the machine being able to access the internet?

[Gene Cash]

Google?

Excellent news! How can I tell MS in in the EU?

Now can we stop Google from pushing Chrome if you use a Google site with another browser?

[John Brown (no body)]

Re: Google?

... ans stop those bloody annoying "alerts" from Adobe asking if I want Acrobat to be my default PDF viewer? No, I fucking don't. Most of what do I at work is in the browser and I am more than happy for the browser to be my default PDF reader too!!

[that one in the corner]

But will they stop Edge

quietly taking taking over every default "Open with" action every Patch Tuesday?[0]

Although, on the bright side, this has been training me never to blindly double-click on anything under Windows, but to first examine it carefully to see if doing so will still be opening it in my preferred program. And we are always told never to just double-click on something but stop and think "could this be about to launch a virus-laden program that will run and trash my PC?"[1]

[0] no, because I'm not in the EU. Close to it, can almost see it, but not actually in it, so this is just a pipedream

[1] awaiting the obvious response, any second now...

[Doctor Syntax]

Re: But will they stop Edge

quietly taking taking over every default "Open with" action every Patch Tuesday?

Or automatically opening Edge at first login.

[Hubert Cumberdale]

Re: But will they stop Edge

Well it sounds like you might finally be able to uninstall it without resorting to manual deletion and revoking directory permissions. Maybe that will stop it? Fingers crossed.

[Groo The Wanderer - A Canuck]

You want to get in a scrap with Windows 11 on install with the 24H2 builds? Just try to use the same email account for logging in and as an email provider for that non-Microsoft account...

I eventually was able to check my mail with their mail client, but it sure wasn't because their setup and configuration was smooth and easy to set up... So much for "user experience" nonsense.

[Pascal Monett]

It's not the user experience that counts anymore, it's Microsoft's experience of the user.

[Zebo-the-Fat]

One use

There is only one use for Edge, that's to download the browser YOU want (Brave in my case)

[Hubert Cumberdale]

Re: One use

Poor choice, IMHO. But at least it's not Chrome proper.

[Andrew Scott]

Re: One use

use a different computer and download the installer of your choice to a flash drive. then you don't need to use edge for anything. You might even be able to use a smartphone to do this.

[tiggity]

"a promise that Edge will only nag users to become their default browser if they open it first."

But you typical need to open Edge on Windows once - to install another browser!

.. Unless they alter Windows install process so you can choose to not have Edge on Windows install & chose a more preferred browser instead at that early stage.

[ChrisElvidge]

How to to never use Edge

Keep a copy of "your-choice-of-browser-installer.[exe|msi]" on a USB key before installing Windows.

[blu3b3rry]

Re: How to to never use Edge

https://ninite.com/ is your friend.

I keep a text file to hand with the scripts to run chocolatey and install everything that way.

[Anonymous Coward]

Copilot

copilot next ?

[Anonymous Coward]

Some years back, I seem to recall the EU forcing Microsoft to separate the IE browser from the operating system. But yet again, Microsoft have bolted it in. Why has no action been taken?

[navarac]

<< EU forcing Microsoft to separate the IE browser from the operating system...>>

That didn't work anyway, like the cookie banner as well. Your "average" Windows user got pissed off with having to choose a browser multiple times. Like all pop-ups, it gets annoying.

[Craig 2]

Well it did work to a certain extent. It was to break the monopoly that Microsoft had with IE. Unfortunately, another monster came along and created another monopoly (Chrome).

In reality, Microsoft was broken so effectively that they don't even have their own browser any more, just a Chrome skin!