Microsoft catches up with Chrome et al, with the ability to extend their browser’s functionality.
Web browsers today are increasingly replacing the conventional desktop apps that comprised the mainstay of our daily computing experience. Be it word processors or even image editors, virtually every app we’re likely to use has a variant that is cloud-based.
Another reason why browsers are the de facto program of choice in our daily lives is that many of them support extensions--little apps that extend their functionality for everything from adding mouse gesture support to an offline mail client to quickly launching favourite web apps. And while browsers like Chrome and Firefox have long since thrived on a large ecosystem of extensions, Microsoft’s Edge browser that debuted with Windows 10 was pretty much a standalone browser. Until now.
The latest preview of the Edge browser on both the PC and tablet now supports extensions. To start there are just three: Microsoft Translator that automatically translates a web page to one of over 50 supported languages, an early version of the Reddit Enhancement Suite, and a mouse gesture app for better control of the Edge browser experience using the mouse or touchpad.
While these three extensions currently need to be sideloaded (a process consisting of downloading the extension from the Windows Insider website and manually adding it to the browser,) over time it will be possible to add these extensions into Edge via the Microsoft Store itself, as is the norm with adding extensions in other browsers.
More extensions like the Adblock Plus Ad blocker, the LastPass password manager, the Evernote note-taking tool and Amazon are slated to become available for Edge over the course of the year.
While Edge has only just begun supporting extensions, it is late to the game given that its competitors Chrome, Firefox and Opera have sported this feature for years, each with thousands of supported extensions available on their respective stores. The Edge browser certainly has its work cut out for itself.
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