Social Items

Microsoft's developer conference, Build 2015, heralded the re-branding of Internet Explorer (IE) to "Edge", the Redmond behemoth promptly instructed brand protection company MarkMonitor to register a couple of domain names, including MicrosoftEdgeSucks.com and other related name variations. Microsoft Edge is the result of a back-dated project codenamed Project Spartan, and to serve as default browser for Windows 10, specially optimized for touch and with a host of in-built extras like reading mode.

It is a lightweight browser with a layout engine built around web standards interoperable with the modern web.

Microsoft Edge is a key part of the upcoming Windows 10 operating system, and it's hugely important to the success of the revamped Windows platform. And It was made available as part of Microsoft's Windows 10 Technical Preview for developers' to spin, so here's what we think is cool and what sucks.

What's Cool?

The Edge new look in contrast to Internet Explorer has different sized icons, and the navigation bar is now thicker and has a more uniform selection of buttons that makes it easier for use with touchscreen devices. While the tabs have been moved to a separate row, making the overall layout a bit more logical, now more akin with Chrome and Firefox pattern.

Albeit, reading mode isn't a new concept, but having it in-built is unique with Microsoft Edge (most browsers require an extension to enable the feature), and implementation is equally slick.

Web annotation is another area Edge outwits other browsers, with tap of a button users can take a screenshot onto which they can start drawing, either with a mouse or finger.

The new rendering engine in Microsoft Edge makes it a bit quicker than the latest version of Internet Explorer, although more subtle when it comes to user experience.

What Sucks?

Missing Edge support for the legacy MSHTML engine for backwards compatibility, and therefore does not support legacy technologies such as ActiveX and Browser Helper Objects, but instead uses an extension system.

Offline reading mode and roaming across devices features are also missing in the current release. However, since there are still more features to come, so we keep our fingers crossed.

Overall, we think the experience is blissfully simple and smooth, with the obvious decluttering of bogus Internet Explorer features that made it unpleasant to users.

Microsoft Edge: What's Cool & What Sucks?

The internet brings choice and convenience into our homes, connects us with the rest of the world within seconds, provides a host of opportunities to those who have access to it, and even reminds us just how funny a cat (Grumpy Cat) can be. We would all be a little lost if the Internet was to disappear, so spare a thought for the organizations that have come to rely upon the Internet as a means of communication, networking, and drawing attention to themselves.

Charities, like the rest of us, have had to move along with the media revolution in order to keep themselves noticed, and the Internet has, in most cases, become many charities’ main source of marketing, and a hub for fundraising and donations.

While in the past they may have relied upon paper leaflets, posters, and by word of mouth, the Internet allows charities to pool far more resources than ever before; a wealth of information from numerous sources, videos that illustrate causes and campaigns, buttons for making donations and sharing fundraising ideas, and communities dedicated to a single cause are all helping to pull many charities into the future, as well as ensuring they gain our attention today.

Why the Internet is an essential tool for charities?

The Internet provides a ready-made platform for promotion, and applications such as Twibbon enable us to support our favorite causes in the most public of ways, with a sticker on our profile pictures and pages. As well as increasing the amount of resources on offer, the Internet can also expand a charity’s reach far beyond the local community; SEO isn’t just useful for online retailers, after all.

Without the internet, many charities would simply struggle to keep up with their counterparts; if the information isn’t online these days, it will simply pass most of them by. And keeping up with these daily digital advancements, charities place themselves in a better position to grow and develop in our hearts, minds, and on the webpages as well.

The importance of the internet for charities on a global scale

As the saying goes that “charity begins at home,” that is equally true of our access to many charities online. We are far more likely to have heard of causes close to home than we those overseas, and it can be difficult to raise funds, and donate to charities for which we have little understanding; the internet, however, is fast bridging the divide. Charities in Africa, for instance, can find it particularly difficult to compete with those from western world, yet they rely on global support and foreign funding to simply exist, sometimes far more so than national charities that have access to government funding or expensive marketing campaigns.

The Gede Foundation, which was founded by Jennifer Atiku in 2002, has a particularly compelling cause for us to support, and it is only due to the internet that many people will have heard of it. This worthy cause is dedicated to eradicating the stigma of HIV and AIDS, as well as breaking other taboos, supporting those affected by HIV/AIDS, striving to research, and encouraging the government to research treatments and cures.

Its cause is a global one, and is not just relevant to Nigeria, the country in which it was founded; due to the internet, and its ability to communicate on a global level, people outside of Nigeria are now talking about the Gede Foundation, and are recognizing that the stigma of such diseases really does exist, even on our own doorstep. In addition, Jennifer Atiku and her expanding team are able to share details of their research network, their various programs, and appeal for further assistance.

The internet really does shrink the world, much to the gain of charities in the furthest reach. It is, therefore, absolutely essential for charities to make their online presence felt, perhaps even more now than ever before. As the ways in which we discover information changes, so too do the ways in which we support charities and donate to causes close to our hearts; only by staying current, and keeping information within easy reach, can charities, particularly those miles from our doorsteps, hope to gain our hearts.

How the Internet has become an essential tool for Charities

Microsoft Build 2015, developers conference which commenced on April 29, and is currently in full swing, has availed full details on the road map for Windows 10 as one operating system across PCs, smartphones, tablets, and the Xbox One game console.

Microsoft focus on multiple platforms has come to fore even as it demoed what is liken to running Windows apps on a PC – or what it called “universal apps”.

The company has clarified on the rumor that Android apps will be able to run on the new Windows platform, announcing that developers not only can port their Android app codes to Windows 10, but also iOS apps. It is enabling this with two new software development kits: Java and C++ code (Android), and for iOS developers, Objective C code.

The apps will port over to Windows as universal apps and can equally be used on Windows 10 desktops.

Developers hoping to expand their app offering to Windows 10 will have lesser friction, as they can reuse their Android code to bring their apps to Windows 10 and iOS apps can be converted to Windows 10 apps.

Microsoft Build 2015: Windows gearing up for big changes?

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)