Microsoft, a browser to save us from digital chaos. The new Edge is coming

"We should all ask ourselves when we stopped using the web and when the web started using us," begins Liat Ben-Zur when we meet her in a room of the Web Summit in Lisbon. Israeli origins, a past at Qualcomm, Philips and Umicore, together with his colleague Jordi Ribas he would like to ensure that the Internet stopped absorbing information about our lives, giving users the chance to find what they are looking for in the shortest possible time. To demonstrate the effectiveness of this noble enterprise, the two open the new Edge and enter a web address. "See?", Asks Ben-Zur, pointing to a menu he has just opened. "In this case there are over 40 different tracking software that we can block. And when you browse in incognito it's a real unknown, unlike other browsers that leave traces anyway." You can also save photos and texts in custom lists, no matter whether the offers for the PC we want to buy or the sources for a research we are doing. All to save time and effort.

A browser will save us

The curious aspect is that about a year ago Microsoft abandoned its technology to build its browser starting from the Chromium project by Google, the same at the base of Chrome that today dominates the market with a share of 64.9%, followed by Safari with 15.9 and Firefox with 4.3? Edge? It has 2%, while its Internet Explorer precesser 1.9. Now Microsoft hopes to gain ground, with a software based on Google technology that has better compatibility with today's sites but at the same time protects users from the profiling Google has built its fortune on.

The supremacy of Google

Or perhaps it would be better to try to regain: Microsoft in 2009, ten years ago, had exactly 64.9% with its Internet Explorer browser. He started late with respect to Netscape and then conquered the market despite the fine sanctioned by the US antitrust for abuse of a dominant position in 2001 precisely because of Internet Explorer. In 2011, however, Chrome was already growing exponentially past Firefox, until it reached Internet Explorer the following year. Since then his supremacy has never been threatened.

The cognitive search engine

"Today we spend our time protecting ourselves from cyber-attacks and we lose to search the web as well as in corporate networks, which are full of materials of different types, from emails to documents," continues Liat Ben-Zur. "That's why in addition to Edge we also have a new version of Bing, our search engine." While the Microsoft vice president tries to explain how it works, the demonstration on the computer freezes. She snorts impatiently, then manages to show an example of Bing's potential, another failed attempt to compete with Google, now inserted in the last Edge. In practice, looking for a name in the company network whose coordinates are only partially remembered, the software crosses the data of our emails and searches, offering a result that goes far beyond the name. Suppose we start only with a first name and a function, "programmer" or "personnel office", Bing finds the person based on our interactions and shows not only the shared documents but also the exact references and the items that concern sockets on the web. "Some of these features will be available in the coming weeks for anyone with Office 365," explains Jordi Ribas. A similar technology, applied to the analysis of emails, will be useful to anyone in fact. Provided you have a subscription to the suite of Microsoft programs.

What is still missing

The multinational founded by Bill Gates has its business models and as far as under the guidance of Satya Nadella he is changing skin and making excellent quarterly performances, he is still struggling to admit that he has been overtaken in many fields by younger companies with more far-sighted ideas and strategies. But now he seems to have found a different key: "We are also working on a series of products to help parents navigate with digital technology in a more conscious way", concludes Liat Ben-Zur. The message is clear: let's think about how to save yourself from the chaos of digital and its many dangers. Since the 2016 US presidential election, it has become clear to everyone that Silicon Valley is not a Paradise and that what it produces can have questionable effects. So. there is ample space, also from a commercial point of view, to offer turnkey remedies.

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