Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer 11 improvements slated for Windows 10 Anniversary Update

Microsoft lost the browser wars ages ago, ceding ground to the likes of Chrome, Firefox and Opera. With the upcoming Windows 10 Anniversary update, Microsoft aims to improve the experience of using Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer 11 (IE 11).Microsoft Edge, first introduced in Windows 8, has been slowly and steadily trying to make up that ground with a process of incremental updates and tighter Windows integration. Internet Explorer 11 is still sticking around, but it’s more vestigial now and only there to support legacy applications as required by certain enterprise users.The Anniversary Update is supposed to streamline the interaction between the two browsers.The first major change being implemented will directly open IE 11 when you click on a link that requires IE 11. Earlier, the links would open in interstitial pages, which wasn’t a very elegant solution to the problem. Enterprise users will still be able to restore interstitial pages if they want to, however.The second major change is that IE 11 can be restricted to only open when asked to by a certain set of applications (such as the aforementioned legacy applications). This will ensure that users use the more advanced and secure Edge browser for regular work and that they’ll use IE 11 only in specific circumstances.While Edge is no Chrome, it’s certainly better than Internet Explorer. The recent addition of support for plugins like AdBlock will certainly go a long way in making the browser more user-friendly.