Microsoft’s browser rivals aren’t happy after it made switching defaults easier

Microsoft's rivals have hit back against the company's recent change to its stance on picking a default browser

The company that got into so much trouble in the 1990s for trying to squeeze rivals made an interesting change with Windows 11: obscuring the option to change the default browser, limiting it to only technically capable users and the very motivated. 

Anyone using Windows 10 could easily change the default with a single click, something that a lot of people did. But that all changed for anyone updating to Microsoft's latest OS. 

All change

While Edge isn't a bad browser, making it the default and then hiding the settings to change that does kind of stink, a point made loudly by its rivals. 

Microsoft even took it a step further and began funnelling links from its services, including the Start Menu, into Edge as well. 

All of that changed in a recent update, however, when Microsoft reintroduced an easy one-click process for changing the default – but instead of being pleased, some of the biggest names in the browser market have now hit back.

Old grudges, widely held

Speaking to The Register, Microsoft's rivals were still not happy with the company and its attempts to make Edge into a dominant browser.

“It has always been our stance that Microsoft, and others like them, should make it easy for users to choose to use the products that suit them,” said Vivaldi CEO Jon von Tetzchner. “This should apply to all users, not just the ones who are technically competent enough to realize that they need to install an optional update, and know how to actually do so. It should be installed for all users.” 

“While they have made an attempt, the fact that it has been done the way it has leads to the assumption that it is only being done to avoid being prosecuted for anticompetitive behavior, not to actually solve the underlying problem.”

Mozilla, which actually found a way around the changes, was similarly critical.

“People should have the ability to simply and easily set defaults and all operating systems should offer official developer support for default status,” the company said.

“In practice, we'd like to also see progress on reducing the number of steps required to set a new browser as default, and on opening and making APIs available for apps to set default that other Microsoft applications use.”

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Microsoft’s browser rivals aren’t happy after it made switching defaults easier

Microsoft's rivals have hit back against the company's recent change to its stance on picking a default browser

The company that got into so much trouble in the 1990s for trying to squeeze rivals made an interesting change with Windows 11: obscuring the option to change the default browser, limiting it to only technically capable users and the very motivated. 

Anyone using Windows 10 could easily change the default with a single click, something that a lot of people did. But that all changed for anyone updating to Microsoft's latest OS. 

All change

While Edge isn't a bad browser, making it the default and then hiding the settings to change that does kind of stink, a point made loudly by its rivals. 

Microsoft even took it a step further and began funnelling links from its services, including the Start Menu, into Edge as well. 

All of that changed in a recent update, however, when Microsoft reintroduced an easy one-click process for changing the default – but instead of being pleased, some of the biggest names in the browser market have now hit back.

Old grudges, widely held

Speaking to The Register, Microsoft's rivals were still not happy with the company and its attempts to make Edge into a dominant browser.

“It has always been our stance that Microsoft, and others like them, should make it easy for users to choose to use the products that suit them,” said Vivaldi CEO Jon von Tetzchner. “This should apply to all users, not just the ones who are technically competent enough to realize that they need to install an optional update, and know how to actually do so. It should be installed for all users.” 

“While they have made an attempt, the fact that it has been done the way it has leads to the assumption that it is only being done to avoid being prosecuted for anticompetitive behavior, not to actually solve the underlying problem.”

Mozilla, which actually found a way around the changes, was similarly critical.

“People should have the ability to simply and easily set defaults and all operating systems should offer official developer support for default status,” the company said.

“In practice, we'd like to also see progress on reducing the number of steps required to set a new browser as default, and on opening and making APIs available for apps to set default that other Microsoft applications use.”

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Microsoft Outlook gets emails that update themselves after you send them

After being announced at Microsoft Ignite last year, Loop components are now rolling out in Microsoft Outlook.

For those unfamiliar, Microsoft Loop is a new app that combines a powerful and flexible canvas with portable components that move freely and stay in sync across the software giant's apps. It is made up of three elements in the form of Loop components, Loop pages and Loop workspaces.

While Loop pages are flexible canvases where users can organize all of their Loop components in one place and Loop workspaces are shared spaces that allow teams to see and group everything important to a project, Loop components are an evolution of Fluid components that help users collaborate and get things done in chats, emails, meetings and documents.

Now Microsoft Outlook users will be able to leverage the power of Loop components when using the company’s email service.

Loop components in Outlook

According to a new post in the Microsoft 365 roadmap, Loop components are now rolling out in Microsoft Outlook and these live, interactive objects can be embedded in email messages to provide real-time collaboration.

In a support document, Microsoft highlights several of its Loop components that users can add to emails in Outlook or even messages in Microsoft Teams. These include bulleted lists, checklists, numbered lists, paragraphs, tables, task lists and more.

One of the nice things about Loop components is that they are automatically saved to OneDrive so that you’ll be able to easily find and use them again later.

With the addition of Loop components in Outlook, emails will become much more fluid as they’ll even be able to update themselves after being sent. Say you add a list of follow-up tasks to an email, collaborators can check off items as they complete them and all of the changes made to the Loop component will be reflected in the original email. This way users don’t have to waste time sending emails back and forth to one another once a task has been completed.

We’ll likely hear more from Microsoft regarding Loop components once Microsoft 365 users get a chance to test them out for themselves.

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Surfshark backpedals on Fake News feature after barrage of criticism

Following a surge in propaganda coinciding with Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the VPN provider Surfshark recently released a new fake news warning feature for its browser extensions for Chrome and Firefox.

At the time, Surfshark CEO Vytautas Kaziukonis explained why the company decided to release the feature in a press release, saying:

“The 21st century has shown that information might be sharper than the sword. It’s evident that today’s disinformation campaigns aim to distract, confuse, manipulate, and sow division, discord, and uncertainty in the community. Keeping in mind the intensifying propaganda, we decided to release a feature that would allow people to identify fake news websites easily.” 

Fake News Warning

(Image credit: Surfshark )

Surfshark's now defunct fake news warning feature would detect specific URLs from a list of untrustworthy websites taken from the site propornot.com reviewed by the the company's security experts. Sites known for spreading fake news were highlighted with a “YYY” symbol in Google and other search engines. While the feature was enabled by default, Surfshark users were able to toggle it off under the “VPN settings” menu in the company's browser extension.

Suspending its fake news feature

Although Surfshark's intentions were good, the company explained in a post on Twitter that “the topic is more nuanced that initially thought” when it announced that it would be temporarily suspending its fake news notification feature only a few days after its launch.

The problem with the feature is that in addition to being overwhelming for some users, it identified far too many sites as being a source of disinformation. Some of the sites that had a “YYY” next to them on Google's search results page included Drudge Report, Ron Paul's website, the alternative video platform BitChute and even WikiLeaks.

While consumers rely on VPN services to protect their privacy online and to get around geo-blocking, many of the users that responded to a separate post on Twitter by BitChute took issue with Surfshark limiting freedom of expression online. At the same time, BitChute pointed out that several major news stories in the last year were considered 'misinformation' before being revealed to be true.

Despite the fact that Surfshark has said that it would temporarily suspend the feature, its original blog post announcing its fake news notifications has been removed from its site. We'll have to wait and see as to whether or not the company decides to bring it back though based on the criticism the feature faced online, it likely won't be returning anytime soon.

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Could Windows 12 release so soon after Windows 11? Count me in

We reported on a rumor last week suggesting that Microsoft is already working on Windows 12, the next major version of Windows.

While Windows 10 is being depreciated in 2025, and Windows 11 is already on its way to receiving its first major update in the form of Sun Valley 2 later this year, it may be much too soon to start thinking about what's next for Microsoft's jewel.

But numbers in products matter, and ignoring the version numbers of web browsers, with Google Chrome approaching version 100, Microsoft may feel like it's been missing out, compared to Apple and Samsung's naming efforts in recent years.

Granted, this is the sketchiest of etch-a-sketch rumors in recent memory, but when you look around at the other operating systems that you and others use every day, it's not a huge stretch.

Why would I want to see Windows 12?

Every time we hear rumors about an upcoming release from Office, iOS, or macOS, there's usually a number attached.

Microsoft's method of bringing in updates, especially as someone who mainly uses a Mac, has been confusing, with monthly or yearly updates that seem to appear out of nowhere, especially if you're not on the Insider Channel.

To see a new Windows release with a 12, or 13, or 14 throughout the decade, would excite me more about what Microsoft could be working on for the operating system, whilst being clear about what releases are coming up.

Looking at an update called 'February 2022 Update for Windows 11', usually with a bunch of numbers after the letter K, doesn't excite me. It doesn't make me wonder what's next and feels synthetic and boring to me.

Let's see the next major update called Windows 12, with the fanfare that we see from Apple with macOS for example.

Following on from Apple and, Samsung

For years, Apple had version numbering for macOS included in its older name – Mac OS X.

With every version, which was named after a wild cat, then eventually Californian landmarks, there would be a .1 added on. This was between 2000 and 2018, and now we've already seen the jump from macOS 11 to macOS 12 with Monterey's release last year, with macOS 13 rumored to be next.

The same applied to Samsung's Galaxy smartphones, where the models jumped from the Galaxy S10 in 2019, to the S20 in 2020, with the S22 having just been released.

Some say it was to leap ahead of the naming of future iPhones, and for a customer looking for their next phone upgrade, it can sway their decision.

Windows 10

(Image credit: Anton Watman / Shutterstock)

But between 2015 and 2021, the only Windows version was Windows 10, so it wouldn't be a stretch for Microsoft to consider the successor to Windows 11 already, but with a new number.

As ridiculous as it may sound, higher numbers to a new version of the software can make a big difference to some people. It's almost a playground battlefield, where a higher number means it's the latest and greatest, and that's it.

But Windows 12 sounds 'next-gen' for operating systems, especially when you consider that we're approaching the 40th anniversary of Windows in November 2025.

It wouldn't be a stretch to expect the next version of Windows to have a new number by then, and if it's another way of keeping up with Apple, Google, and others, then you can expect Microsoft to follow suit with higher numbers soon enough.

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Universal Control finally arrives on macOS Monterey after a long delay

Since being announced at WWDC 2021 alongside Apple’s software updates, users have been waiting for Universal Control to arrive on Mac and iPad, and it’s finally arrived.

Available to try out on the beta versions of iPadOS 15.4 and macOS 12.3, the feature allows you to control a mouse on both a Mac and iPad at the same time. In this mode, you can drag and drop files between devices without having to send files or use a cloud service to do this.

Universal Control was set to arrive in October with the launch of iPadOS 15 and macOS 12 Monterey, but it saw delays, most likely to how the complications could be with sharing files between two different devices.

But so far in testing, it works great, and for anyone with both devices, makes it much easier to manage your content side by side.


Analysis: it works, and it’s fantastic

Setting up the feature is an easy process, by going to System Preferences > Display on your Mac, and check that your iPad is showing.

If it is, you can configure it to make sure if the tablet should be placed to the left or right of the Mac, and that’s it.

Users are already showcasing the feature on Twitter, with the mouse switching over to multiple devices as if they were all connected to one another.

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iOS 15.4 and iPadOS 15.4 don’t just bring Universal Control, as there’s also a keyboard brightness setting for your iPad, making it much easier to manage in Control Center instead. There’s also a FaceID option for masks, giving you the option for your iPhone and iPad to scan your face while wearing a mask, without using an Apple Watch to authenticate as before.

If this was in the era of iOS 9, we’d most likely have seen these features at WWDC with iOS 16, focused as a big tentpole announcement. But in recent years, we’ve seen features arrive across the year, such as trackpad support arriving on iPadOS 13.4 in March 2020.

With Universal Control looking likely to arrive for everyone in the next couple of months, it makes us wonder what could be coming to macOS 13. But regardless, we’re seeing bigger features arrive across the year instead, and for users, that’s a big win.

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