Microsoft Edge Chromium based browser early release review.

Today I read the first release of Microsoft's Edge browser based on Google's open source project Chromium was available. I downloaded the weekly updated Dev version, as Microsoft said it was more stable than the daily updated version.

So far no issues and it's already replaced the Microsoft Edge on Windows 10. Why you may ask. Because it already does a couple of things I've wanted that Google Chrome did but Microsoft Edge didn't. I might even say, even at this stage I'd probably use it as my default browser except for one thing, the spellchecker feature is not yet completed.

The following shows Microsoft Edge and Microsoft Edge based on Chromium.

As you can see the two don't look very different. That was an interesting experience to see how the front end of the old browser was reproduced for the new browser.

One thing that stood out straight away was the thinner and crisper font used in the interface. I thought that looked good.

The Home button I added as I really didn't think Microsoft would have the feature I really wanted. That is to be able to change the search used in the address bar to the search I use. I've written my own search facility that enables me to include keywords to go to dozens of sites quickly. Keywords to the top 300 sites Australians visit. Keywords I use to help others with their computers. All sites quickly available just by entering a keyword and pressing search. I couldn't get my search to work in Microsoft Edge, but I can with Edge based on Chromium, albeit I have to manually enter the details. For me that's a huge bonus. The Home button will shortly go.

Everything seems to work and whilst I've only been using the Dev edition of Microsoft Edge based on Chromium for a few hours, not a single site has given me an issue. That's pretty good for an early release.

One feature I miss still is the ability to set a new tab to open in a page of my choice. No longer an issue really since using my search from the address bar will work around that feature being missing.

My bookmarks came across from Microsoft Edge without a problem. Features I don't want I could turn off.

Because of my interest in the preferred Australian English spelling and the tools I provided I'll be interested to see if Microsoft provides the ability for me to use my spelling dictionaries. Whilst Google Chrome uses my dated dictionary work from around 2006, Google Chrome does not provide an easy way for me to include my own dictionaries. Only time will tell if Microsoft's Edge provides a better option. If it does, for me that alone will make Edge the preferred browser over Chrome. I can only hope.

I'm not really into add-ons so really can't say whether that area is good or bad. For me it's just a feature I don't use.

Other things I've liked, but aren't necessarily new, but shows how I customise my browser to suit me.

• Turn off password prompts. I don't store passwords in my browser.
• Send Do Not Track.
• Turn off sites checking for payment method.
• Turn off send data on how I use the browser
• Turn off send info on sites visited
• Turn of notifications. Do I really want to be nagged by every site I visit.
• On start up go to my preferred site, which is my search site.
• Set Australian English as my preferred and first language, even though the spelling feature is not yet available.
• Turned off the feature to continue running background apps when Edge is closed. May revisit this if its used in a useful way.
• Whether this will change but Microsoft Edge would automatically play ad videos from sites like news.com.au and that was really, really, really annoying. Those ads don't play now. Peace at last. I think we thank Chromium for that change.
• Feels quite fast even on my very low end (read cheap) Acer I use for travel and keep using when not travelling. This may change as Microsoft ads further code, but hopefully not. Feels faster than Chrome.

Whilst I have to admit I was concerned with Microsoft's change of direction with their browser, even though Microsoft Edge really wasn't a good browser, but this new browser based on Chromium already feels better than the soon to be obsolete Microsoft Edge.

Now if there was one feature I'd like in the browser it would be the ability to read a barcode and send that barcode to a site of my choice just like the search now does in the address bar. If Microsoft can keep include features designed for old developers like myself that like to dabble in code in a simple way, that would be appreciated. There's lots of people like me, but I do accept, software is for the many, not for the one as Spock would probably say.

These are my first impressions of the Microsoft Edge browser based on Chromium. Already the new browser is looking better than the old browser. If they continue down the path of making the software cross-platform, and not cripple the experience on mobile devices (e.g. limiting search engine choice) Microsoft may just win back some market share. Something they sorely need to do having gone from being the leading browser to almost obscurity.

Kelvin Eldridge

www.OnlineConnections.com.au

IT support.

PS. There's one negative I didn't mention above. Microsoft have a site where people like me can sign up and be notified of when the new Microsoft Edge is available. I signed up. So far I've heard nothing and only knew about the release through the media. This almost indicates Microsoft doesn't care, which in turn loses loyalty. If you're not going to use a mailing list to keep people informed then don't offer it. It doesn't look good. The good thing however is this loss of loyalty means we make better decisions in the long run and that's a good thing.

PPS. Another feature which is in the menus but not yet implemented is casting. If casting is implemented using Google Chromecast this will be a bih step forward for Microsoft. To date if you wanted to cast you needed to use Chrome. Microsoft option really wasn't something I found anyone using and really having to resort to plugging in a video cable to see something on the big screen is not ideal.

Update: 10/04/2019
Autoplay of videos on news.com.au site does occur. Tested this is the same using Chrome. I do wish I could turn autoplay off as a standard feature without resorting to add-ins that may or may not work.

Hostgator SSL free

A while ago I migrated quite a few sites from Hostgator as they didn't have free SSL. Paying for an SSL certificate for every site was just not cost effective. Moving quite a number of sites to another hosting service with free SSL covering all the sites for less than the cost one certificate from Hostgator just made sense.

Fast forward a couple of years and Hostgator now have free SSL available with their hosting. They've never let me know, and it's not at first clear how to use it, so I thought I'd share with others what I've found.

First, every add-on domain now has SSL available without doing anything. All you have to do is use https: instead of http: to access your site. But's there some catches.

The first is all those links out there using http: to access your site. To get around this you need to rewrite all requests to http to https.

Next you'll find Google Chrome gives you security warnings for some sites, but not for all sites. At first this made no sense. However, after a while I saw the pattern. The sites with forms would give security issues, whereas those that didn't have forms gave no issues. The reason. Remapping http to https happens on the server but there's no way for Google Chrome to know this will happen. Chrome assumes if it sees a form URL with http: there's a potential security issue. You need to update the form URLs to http:.

Once I'd made those changes that padlock appeared in Google Chrome and those pesky informational issues went away.

Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
IT support.

Update: 1 April 2019
For one site, even though the lock now showed in the address bar, the layout of the page had been quite severely affected. For this site stylesheets were used to create a responsive site. The stylesheets were referenced using http: and changing this to https: fixed the layout issue.

Also this site was giving the information message "Attackers might be able to see the images you're looking at on this site and trick you by modifying them." Images on the page where referenced using http:. Changing these images to be referenced using https: fixed this warning message.

Also note there were still plenty of places http: was used on this site (links used with images, links used with php, links in menus) but these were not causing an issue. Ideally if links can be made relative this will avoid the issue with http/https. This experience shows not all links need to be changed to migrate a site from http to https. If time and resources permit, it is however better to do a full job rather than half a job. Sometimes life forces us to compromise.

SMS messages appear in Messenger

A person recently was very confused. They'd sent messages using SMS and to their surprise the messages were in Messenger, leading them to wonder if they'd sent the messages using Messenger by mistake.

The person hadn't made a mistake. They had sent and received the messages using the default SMS client on their mobile phone.

The problem for them is for no apparent reason and through nothing they believed they'd done, the SMS messages now also appeared in Facebook Messenger. Since they'd never before appeared in Facebook Messenger, this made them wonder if they had errored and sent the SMS message in Messenger. They hadn't.

The problem is something had changed. Whether through their own mistake or perhaps just as likely, an update to Messenger, SMS messages were now appearing in Messenger and that to them was confusing.

This is simple to fix. You can turn of SMS integration in Messenger through the Messenger settings.

Once the setting is turned off in Messenger, SMS messages no longer appear in Facebook Messenger.

Keeping messages separate helps those not as comfortable with technology. If messages appear to have been sent from Messenger when they haven't, this can create confusion. People often have trouble distinguishing between the various messaging technologies on their mobile. Keeping each application separate helps them grow and learn their applications. When they're ready and they want to, then they can start integrating their messaging into their preferred application, or simply continue using the applications separately. Their choice.

Kelvin Eldridge

www.OnlineConnections.com.au

IT support.

Replacement battery for MacBook Air from Amazon. Third party battery or Apple battery?

I don't do hardware repairs on computers for clients, but when my own aging MacBook Air's battery was reaching end of life, I weighed up the options. Purchase a replacement battery from the Apple store at $189 and wait quite some time for an appointment and then probably a number of days to get the replacement done. Didn't really appeal to me.

The second option was to purchase a third-party battery online. I really don't trust eBay with large purchasers, as I've found a number of suppliers are companies I wouldn't deal with again. I hadn't actually purchased from Amazon but the marketing gave me a feeling the Amazon name is important and we feel like we're buying from Amazon. The reality is you're still dealing with a third party supplier.

The main advantages of purchasing the third-party battery was code, it was $63.99, the opportunity to learn from performing the repair myself and the reduced time I would be without the computer.

I purchased a battery from the Amazon store around June, but since I was going on holiday the following month, I didn't want to take the chance my computer wouldn't work. So I waited until I returned, caught up with everything and then around September installed the battery. Nothing. Nada. No power.

Contacting the supplier was easy and they forward a list of suggestions. I suspect it was a standard list. Carried out all the tests which took quite a few hours. I let them know the serial number reported by coconutBattery didn't match the serial number on the battery. The battery reported no charge and wouldn't charge. The supplier sent a replacement battery. I didn't have to return the dud battery.

The new battery installed fairly easily, over a dozen screws and the connector was hard to position correctly, but nothing too hard. Performed the recommended charging routine I found on a YouTube video. The battery was up and running and reported 96% charged when charged fully.

Over the coming weeks I watched as the fully charged capacity dropped and within around two months the battery was storing less then 80% which is considered end of life. I contacted the supplier who then offered a partial refund of half the money. This sounded good but at the end of the day I really had purchased a useless battery. It seems a common tactic to offer a partial refund and it makes you wonder if the supplier knows they're selling products that aren't good enough. In this case I was happy for the issue to go on to Amazon, as I don't feel products that aren't what is being purchased should be allowed to be sold. I let them know that I really had a battery that was now past its end of life. The company then refunded all the money. There was no request to return the battery.

Two batteries, two duds.

For me this was a good lesson. I like to try new things because sometimes you learn something new that helps me help others. I've found a couple of businesses on eBay selling dud products so I don't buy anything big and only if I'm prepared to lose the money. The catch is if they ask you to return a faulty item the return postage may exceed the cost of the item. Cheaper to write off the purchase and suppliers know that. At first I fell for the partial refund, but now if a product doesn't work, doesn't work as it should, I simply let the suppliers know. It's then up to the suppliers what they choose to do. So far suppliers have been good. Based on comments on the supplier reviews, they most likely know their products aren't up to spec, but if people don't complain, the business wins and the customer loses. There's a lot of talk on the internet that third party battery suppliers often sell dud products. That was the main reason I tried Amazon this time instead of eBay.

Overall, whilst this did waste a considerable amount of time, the outcome has been good. Based on this experience I would not recommend clients purchase third party batteries online, but instead purchase from Apple as you know what you're getting. In my case I was not out of pocket. The MacBook Air requires a new battery and a new power supply (the cord has simply perished over time). My need now for the MacBook Air is reduced and less money was spent purchasing a light inexpensive Windows 10 based notebook than replacing the battery and power supply.

Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
IT support.

Outlook 2010 won't open. Error message You need Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.01 or later to use the feature.

A client had issues because their browser was failing to open websites. They also wanted their computer cleaned up. The browser (Internet Explorer 9) would not upgrade to Internet Explorer 11 so they were happy to use Google Chrome instead.

The next day when they found when the tried to open Outlook 2010 they received the error message: You need Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.01 or later to use the feature.

The upgrade of their Microsoft Internet Explorer from Internet Explorer 9 to Internet Explorer 11 had failed. What wasn't noticed was the failure in installing Internet Explorer 11 had removed Internet Explorer 9. There was no longer any Internet Explorer available for Outlook to use.

The Microsoft site now only has Internet Explorer 11 to download and install. All previous versions have been removed. This a shortcoming of Microsoft's approach. In my opinion Microsoft should provide an archive of older versions of software but instead removes older software. Perhaps to push people to upgrading. The result is users are forced to look to third party sites to find older Microsoft software and often that means potentially exposing users to malicious sites.

The user was happy to continue to use Google Chrome as their browser. Given Windows 7 reaches end of life in under a year, Google Chrome means they'll most likely be able to continue using their computer into 2020, whilst Internet Explorer may no longer be supported. The real problem is Outlook required an active version of Internet Explorer to work.

I was able to download a copy of Internet Explorer 10 from a third party site (softonic.com) and scanned the file to ensure the file contained no malware. However, the installation did not appear to complete successfully, or at least there was no message at the end and the install screen just disappeared.

At this point I was stuck. There was probably a partially installed version of Internet Explorer 11 installed, but not working and not registered in the Registry. Next I decided to uninstall Internet Explorer 11 which can be seen in Add/Remove Programs if you show all the updates. There was a very old version of Internet Explorer 11 from around 2011 installed. Even though the computer had Internet Explorer 9 as the active browser, Internet Explorer 11 had previously been installed but not active. I ran the uninstall on Internet Explorer 11.

Weirdly what then happened was the more recent install of Internet Explorer 11 appeared in the list of software. Internet Explorer 11 still wasn't working. I ran the uninstall of Internet Explorer 11. At this point Internet Explorer 10 now became available. I tried to again install Internet Explorer 11 which again failed so it was not possible to upgrade to the latest version of Internet Explorer for Windows 7.

At this point the user had Internet Explorer 10 installed and their Outlook was again working. Whilst not ideal, the user had everything they wanted. Outlook was working and they were happy to use Google Chrome. The potential benefit of Google Chrome is it may continue to work when Windows 7 reaches end of life whereas Internet Explorer 11 may no longer be supported.

It is not particularly satisfying when a computer won't install all the latest updates. Sometimes however it isn't economically feasible to fix an issue and it is necessary to reach a compromise. To fix this computer may require a complete reinstall and the cost would far exceed the value of the computer, which in this case was around eight years old. The user was kept informed at all times and from their point of view, everything is working and they have a path going forward into 2020.

Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
IT support

PS. If you download software from a third-party site make sure you perform appropriate scans to check the software is safe.

Check memory on a Windows 10 computer.

Having issues with a computer I thought it was best to check the memory. I previously used programs I could run CDs or download, but for some reason I wondered if Windows 10 had a program which could test the memory.

As it turned out there is such a program called Windows Memory Diagnostic. To run this program type Windows Memory Diagnostic into the search field next to the Start button. Click on the Desktop app in the list. There's two options on when to run, now or next time you restart, but since I wanted to know now, I selected the option to restart and test the memory.

The good thing is I had no memory issues, or at least any found by this program and it was much easier to use than a third party program.

Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
IT support.

Turn off message/ads on Windows 10 lock screen.

Perhaps it's just me, but without notice I now get a bunch of messages on the Windows 10 lock screen that look like ads and self promotion. This feel it was just pushed on me and when that happens it tends to annoy.

The good thing is if you don't like the ads/messages on the Windows 10 lock screen you can get rid of them fairly easily as follows.

• Click on the Windows icon
• Click the Settings cog
• Select Personalisation
• Select Lock Screen

In the section Background you'll see Windows spotlight is selected in the drop down list. Change this setting to Picture and you'll see a few more options.

You'll see there's an option "Get fun facts, tips, and more from Windows and Cortana on your lock screen.

Turn this option off and the ads/messages will be gone.

Kelvin Eldridge

www.OnlineConnections.com.au

IT support.