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Windows 10 and MS Edge


Quillan
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If like me you have been forced into upgrading to Windows 10 you will find that the default browser is now MD Edge which does not have a compatibility mode unlike IE11. IE11 is also shipped with Windows 10 but you have to look for it. IE11 is the last release of IE as we know it and will probably be removed from Windows 10 at some stage.

The problem being is that because you don't have the compatibility mode you get all the problems that you had in IE11 before you switched on compatibility mode. The most annoying of all is that you only get a small text box but the good news is you don't get any of the text formatting problems.

It's bad enough having the adverts taking up a quarter of the page width but the text box being only a third of the width of the page it leaves a big area of white nothingness right in the middle of the screen which do not look very professional.

Google toolbar does not work with Edge so there is no translation plugin although Edge does have a built in spell checker.

So now I have three Internet browsers on my PC, IE11 which I no longer use, Edge (which I like) and Google Chrome (because it has a built in translator). Fortunately Edge and Chrome are very similar to use and look at so you don't have to think very hard about how to do things. Of course Chrome still has the problem of a small text box unless you activate compatibility mode.

Seeing as Windows 10 is to become a 'forced' update for Windows 7 and above (this means you won't be able to stop the installation, just re-schedule it every time you log in) this is something the forum owners need to sort out.
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"Seeing as Windows 10 is to become a 'forced' update for Windows 7 and above (this means you won't be able to stop the installation, just re-schedule it every time you log in)"

That's worrying. Are you saying that even if you have disabled automatic updates, it's still going to keep hassling you?

My partner is technical dinosaur with a fairly elderly pc, and I don't think either of them could cope with W10. I dread to think what will happen if it manages to sneak in.
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[quote user="Kong"]Windows 7 is going to be supported until 2020. [/quote]

Excellent news as my Samsung Win7 laptop will surely have died by then ... and I might even have sussed out how to use Linux or Ubuntu or whatever by then.

Meanwhile my elderly Toshiba is still merrily chugging along with XP.

I got so fed up with updates to the Samsung that I switched them off and then happily completely forgot about them. Of course the XP hasn't had any updates for 18 months either, so I live in blissful MS-free ignorance.

Sue

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[quote user="EuroTrash"]That's worrying. Are you saying that even if you have disabled automatic updates, it's still going to keep hassling you?

My partner is technical dinosaur with a fairly elderly pc, and I don't think either of them could cope with W10. I dread to think what will happen if it manages to sneak in.[/quote]

It may have already turned up in part as it is a massive download. It could take days for it to become active as the file gets assembled on the PC. It depends how long the machine is on and connected to the Internet every day. Likewise if the computer is not capable of running Windows 10 then it won't activate and try to install. Turning off udates is really not advisable. Windows 10 is actually smaller than 7 and runs faster I have noticed. booting, which I have timed on my machine, is 20+ seconds faster. I have never had Windows 8 or 8.1 so I can't compare

As said if your computer can't update then Windows 7 will be supported for some time to come although it left "mainstream support" on 13th Jan 2015. That means ther is no free support, no software ugrades etc but there will be things like security patches until 14th Jan 2020.

"Mainstream Support" for Windows 8.1 (you should have already updated from 8 to 8.1) ends October 2018 and like 7 will have security patches available till 2023.

If you have Windows XP then all support ended in 2014 although some products that run under XP like MS Office 2007 continue to be updated as does Security Essentials.
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Just to say, and I know this is off my topic a bit, "Windows 10 is available free for the first year". This means if you want a copy after 29th July 2016 you will have to pay for it. Those that have already updated will pay nothing even after the first year till it's "end of life". Windows 10 is the last and final version of Windows as we know it and a brand new product will replace it. The next operating system will be what is called a "servicing " product which means you will pay an annual subscription to use it and a lot of it's features will cloud based, a bit like Chromebooks. So it may pay to turn back on your updates in Windows 7 and get the update (if your computer can support it) before the end of July next year.
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I'm not sure why a Forum Moderator is publishing messages about the non-performance of CompleteFrance to render correctly in web browsers.

Just run any of the site web pages through the Markup Validation Service https://validator.w3.org/ As an example, this web page URL gave me 684 Errors, 207 warning(s)!! I suspect if the web site conformed to the web standards MS Edge would not have any problems!

You can stop Win 10 downloading quite easily. Just install GWX Control Panel (formerly GWX Stopper)

This is a free tool that can remove and disable the 'Get Windows 10' notification area icon on Windows 7 and Windows 8. Newer versions can also disable 'Upgrade to Windows 10' behavior in the Windows Update control panel. See the user guide at the Ultimate Outsider blog.

from http://ultimateoutsider.com/downloads/

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[quote user="Quillan"] So it may pay to turn back on your updates in Windows 7 and get the update (if your computer can support it) before the end of July next year.[/quote]

No, actually I disagree, although my Samsung would support the update. I don't think I'll bother. Always, in the past, I advocated updating MS stuff as the way to go but no more. Nothing stops, malfunctions or drops off if you switch off updates and Win7 and XP continue to function.

And, bizarrely enough, this is from someone who 'maintains' the laptops/pcs of a a fair few people who are much older than me ... who mostly seem to have problems brought about by the very 'updates' I am now ignoring.

Sue

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[quote user="Quillan"]Just to say, and I know this is off my topic a bit, "Windows 10 is available free for the first year". This means if you want a copy after 29th July 2016 you will have to pay for it. Those that have already updated will pay nothing even after the first year till it's "end of life". Windows 10 is the last and final version of Windows as we know it and a brand new product will replace it. The next operating system will be what is called a "servicing " product which means you will pay an annual subscription to use it and a lot of it's features will cloud based, a bit like Chromebooks. So it may pay to turn back on your updates in Windows 7 and get the update (if your computer can support it) before the end of July next year.[/quote]

Are you sure Q ? I understood that W10 would be the final version, and that from now on there will just be updates to it, not a brand new product?

I'm very happy with my PC running W10, which I converted early on and reported on here. One exception though... I've ditched Edge and resumed using IE11. I liked the "bare bones" that Edge provided, it seemed faster, but it does not support Java. I found it impossible to print orders from web pages too.

No problems so far with updates.

 

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Nobody is ever 'forced' to upgrade to Windows 10 and strictly speaking it's now of course simply Windows as the non optional update policy negates the need for further version numbers.

I'm still using Windows (10) on my spare/sacrificial laptop but after a brief dalliance with it on my primary PC, principally to create the clean install media while I could, I've reverted to Windows 7 which is where I'll be staying for the foreseeable future.

Without extensions Edge is worthless junk.

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I agree with Sue. I've been switching updates off for many years now and my last few computers have expired of wear and tear and generally having had a hard life, being toted round the world and used for work pretty much non stop, not because of missing out on updates. And in general, touch wood, I seem to have infinitely fewer computer issues than most people I know, who keep discovering out of the blue that things that worked perfectly well yesterday don't work today.
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I ran both XP and 7 with updates turned off and only updated with service packs - and then only some months after their release.

My temerity never caused me any problems whatsoever.

I would hesitate to recommend that as a strategy for anyone who wasn't savvy enough to  get themselves out of trouble though.

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[quote user="AnOther"]

I would hesitate to recommend that as a strategy for anyone who wasn't savvy enough to  get themselves out of trouble though. [/quote]

Exactly; which is why I do not recommend that anyone follow my current mode of behaviour.

For myself I am happy to pursue my wayward way as I am capable of resolving my own problems - should they occur.

Sue

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Having just had to replace a computer with one which had Windows 10 installed I solved the browser problem by continuing to use Firefox.

As regards to not accepting updates I can understand why people choose not to accept them but I certainly want to have the ones which block security holes.

 But IMO this is a decision people nmust make for themselves and accept the consequences of their decision.

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