Edge (microsoft.com/en-us/edge) is a web browser developed by Microsoft that comes installed by default in their Windows operating system. Microsoft used to ship a Internet Explorer (IE) in the past as Windows' default web browser, which was universally hated by users who were forced to use and web developers who had to make their websites work in it. IE was replaced by Edge, which is a Chromium-based web browser1 and a vast improvement over what IE was.
A screenshot of Microsoft Edge on Windows 11, displaying its default homepage (MSN.com). Observe that it's littered in all sorts of bad and toxic things that deeply disgust me. It's almost impressive, really. On the top-right, a bell icon displays that I have multiple notifications. I do not have an account. The notifications are just about news articles. This is a known dark pattern in web design employed by many websites desperate for engagement. Below the top bar, a number of applications are displayed, most of which are ads. The front page of the default web browser has political news. I have no idea who thinks that the first thing I want to see when I open a web browser is politics, but that is one troubled individual who should seek psychological help. The webpage also suggests a number of news networks. Another piece of news is a tragedy, as it usually is. Then we have the weather (probably the best thing in this entire webpage). One card is actually an ad (it's in Portuguese, because I'm Brazilian). On the top-right corner of Edge itself, I see ChatGPT's icon. So you have AI in the browser now, as if shoving it into the taskbar and replacing my "show desktop" button with an automatic update without my consent wasn't enough. The address bar has something with a green notification badge in it. On the top-left corner you see the browser profile switcher button, and it has a red notification badge on it. Needless to say I'm not going to waste my time clicking on every single one of these notification things when it's always a bunch of nothing. This caption was a bit long but it's probably the first and last time I'll use this web browser. Goodbye!
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