Microsoft is urging users, particularly those who use Bing, to try the new Edge browser for Windows 10.
Edge was designed to compete with popular browsers such as Chrome and Firefox. Edge is also meant to replace Internet Explorer.
With the launch of Windows 10, it is but natural for Microsoft to thrive on the excitement as it finds a way to increase the user base of Edge. There are now over 1 billion users of Chrome, which gives Edge a long way to go. An early user comment on Edge says that it lacks certain key features such as extensions.
"Microsoft Edge was designed exclusively for Windows 10 with features and functionality that enhance the browsing experience such as Cortana, Web Note, and Quick answers," said a spokeswoman for Microsoft in an email sent to VentureBeat. "These notifications were created to provide people with quick, easy information that can help them get to know these experiences better. That said, with Windows 10 you can easily choose the default browser and search engine of your choice."
What actually happens when a user does a Bing search for Chrome or Firefox is Bing would send out a note saying "Microsoft recommends Microsoft Edge for Windows 10." The message comes with a button that says "Learn more," which when clicked, will take the user to a webpage that talks about some of the features of Edge. These include Cortana integration, annotation tool and "Reading view," which aims to eliminate distraction.
So far, the note seems to appear solely on Windows PCs and doesn't seem to have the same effect on Mac computers.
Recently, CEO Chris Beard of Mozilla wrote CEO Satya Nadella of Microsoft an open letter on how the company was unhappy about the feature of Microsoft that makes it difficult to choose a different browser, such as Firefox, as the default browser in Windows 10.
"The update experience [of Windows 10] appears to have been designed to throw away the choice your customers have made about the Internet experience they want, and replace it with the Internet experience Microsoft wants them to have," wrote Beard.
Beard published the letter on July 30, one day after the launch of Windows 10.
"Consumers have the choice to set defaults, including for web browsing," said a spokesperson for Microsoft.
The company is not the first to appear "pushy" when promoting a browser in search engines. Users who go to the Google site from a different browser notice that they are presented with a box which tells them to download Google Chrome.
