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Microsoft has begun integrating Anthropic’s AI models, Claude Sonnet 4 and Claude Opus 4.1, into its Copilot assistant. The new additions will first be made available on apps like Researcher and Microsoft Copilot Studio. Once users opt in to use Anthropic’s models, they will be able to switch between Claude and OpenAI’s models within these apps……..Continue reading….
By: Jibin Joseph
Source: PCMag
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In May 2020, an update to Microsoft Edge added Surf, a browser game where players control a surfer attempting to evade obstacles and collect power-ups. Similar to Google Chrome’s Dinosaur Game, Surf is accessible from the browser’s offline error page and can also be accessed by entering edge://surf into the address bar.
The game features three game modes (classic, time trial, and slalom), has character customization, and supports keyboard, mouse, touch, and gamepad controls. Its gameplay has been compared to the 1991 Microsoft video game SkiFree. In 2021, Surf was updated with limited-time seasonal theming resembling SkiFree. Instead of surfing, the player skis down a mountain while being chased by a yeti
Microsoft’s switch to Blink as Edge’s engine has faced mixed reception. The move increases the consistency of web platform compatibility between major browsers. For this reason, the move has attracted criticism, as it reduces diversity in the overall web browser market and increases the influence of Google on the overall browser market by Microsoft ceding its independently developed browser engine.
Edge sends the images that the users view online to Microsoft servers by default, although Microsoft has stated that it encrypts images before transfer. According to Douglas J. Leith, a computer science professor from Trinity College, Dublin, Microsoft Edge is among the least private browsers. He explained, “from a privacy perspective Microsoft Edge and Yandex are much more worrisome than the other browsers studied.
Both send identifiers that are linked to the device hardware and so persist across fresh browser installs and can also be used to link different apps running on the same device. Edge sends the hardware UUID of the device to Microsoft, a strong and enduring identifier than cannot be easily changed or deleted.” In response, a spokesperson from Microsoft Edge explained that it uses user diagnostic data to improve the product.
In June 2020, users criticized newly released Windows updates that installed Edge and imported some user data from Chrome and Firefox prior to obtaining user permission. Microsoft responded by stating that if a user rejects giving Edge data import permission, then Edge will delete the imported data. However, if the browser crashes before the user has a chance to reject the import, then the already imported data will not be cleared. The Verge called these “spyware tactics” and called Edge’s “first run experience” a “dark pattern”.
Microsoft uses proprietary URL handlers in Windows 10 and 11 to redirect URLs accessed via system search functions to Edge, deliberately ignoring the user’s choice of default browser. In November 2021, a patch was released to frustrate a workaround employed by the third-party tool “EdgeDeflector”, with a Microsoft spokesperson stating that search in the Windows shell is an “end-to-end customer experience” that is not designed to be modified.
The developer of EdgeDeflector, Daniel Aleksandersen, called this “clearly a user-hostile move that sees Windows compromise its own product usability in order to make it more difficult to use competing products.”
In November 2021, Microsoft announced that it would display integrated advertising for the buy now, pay later service Zip Pay in Edge during online purchases eligible for financing via the service, and allow users to link their Microsoft account to expedite registration for the service. Microsoft claims that it “does not collect a fee for connecting users to loan providers.” This decision was met with criticism from users and the press, arguing that the feature was added bloat.
In December 2021, Microsoft began testing the display of in-browser prompts on the Google Chrome website to discourage downloading the browser. Similar prompts intended to discourage Google Chrome downloads also appear when searching for “Chrome” or “browser” on Microsoft Bing search engine. In February 2023, users reported seeing large banner advertisements for Microsoft Edge on the Chrome download page, a move that was criticized for deceptively altering part of Google’s official website.
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