Microsoft Offers Chrome Users ‘Real Cash’ Rewards To Change Browser
Microsoft has launched a new rewards program offering Chrome users "real cash value" points to switch to Edge browser1. When users search for "Chrome" on Bing, they receive a prompt offering 1,300 Microsoft Rewards points that can be exchanged for gift cards, including on Amazon1.
The Browser Choice Alliance, representing Chrome, Opera and Vivaldi, criticizes this as Microsoft's latest tactic to manipulate browser choice, following earlier practices like "forced resets, misleading prompts, and hidden settings"1.
The market context shows why Microsoft is pursuing this strategy - Edge holds less than 9% market share compared to Chrome's 78%1. The rewards program appears targeted specifically at Chrome users, with Windows Latest noting "we're not seeing ads for other browsers, such as Opera, Firefox or Brave"1.
Minimac
in reply to Zerush • • •Zerush
in reply to Minimac • • •null
in reply to Zerush • • •curlbuilt inLiam Proven
in reply to null • • •ORbituary
in reply to null • • •Wioum
in reply to ORbituary • • •winget install Mozilla.FirefoxORbituary
in reply to Wioum • • •Love this.
For everyone bitching about Win 11, I agree - however - I've been using Win 11 LTSC IoT version which is basically a naked version of Win11 with zero bulk, bloat, or unnecessary BS. It's for my consulting workstation. My daily driver at home is Arch. :)
Wioum
in reply to ORbituary • • •If only us mere mortals could gain access these official non-bloated versions that do exist. 😔
Edit: I use Arch btw for my servers. 💪
ORbituary
in reply to Wioum • • •Wioum
in reply to ORbituary • • •ORbituary
in reply to Wioum • • •Wioum
in reply to ORbituary • • •ORbituary
in reply to Wioum • • •lemmy.ml/post/38967229
Oh no, who'd you tell? 😁
Wioum
in reply to ORbituary • • •HiddenLayer555
in reply to null • • •null
in reply to HiddenLayer555 • • •HiddenLayer555
in reply to null • • •floofloof
in reply to Zerush • • •I had to set up Windows 11 on a new work computer yesterday and this was exactly the purpose of Edge. It's incredible how hard you have to fight during the setup process not to be railroaded into accepting settings that work against you and for Microsoft. By the time I was done I felt sick and angry and there was no way I'd use Microsoft's browser after all that. And then it turned out I wasn't done, because it had defaulted to putting all my documents and pictures in Microsoft's cloud even though I hadn't asked it to, so as soon as I migrated my documents I got a warning that my cloud storage was full and I should pay them more money. So I had to undo all that, but Microsoft already got to see all my documents. Infuriating from start to finish. I am very glad to use Linux on my own machines. Windows feels like a hostile environment with traps around every corner.
Sorry for the rant. I have to go back to that machine today and I guess I'm still angry.
Zerush
in reply to floofloof • • •GitHub - hellzerg/optimizer: The finest Windows Optimizer
GitHubfloofloof
in reply to Zerush • • •Zerush
in reply to floofloof • • •There are two Windows services which are big Data hogs, slowing down the system and which you can desactivate, the hibernation service, which create temporary duplicates of every open app in a temporary file, so it open this apps after Reboot, it's not really needed, you can put apps you use regulary simply in the Start avoiding to fill your PC with tons of temp files. Apart the Index service, which stored any change in the file system, to accelerate the search, but this in a modern PC, more if you use an SSD, don't make much diifference, but save a lot of RAM and CPU.
For customize the UI and the Start menu, which in Win 11 is by default an absolute crap with an chunky Fisher Price design, where you can't customize not even the Task Bar, you can use WindHawk (FOSS), it's something like an userscript manager, which permits to change any aspect of the GUI with an click.
Windhawk
windhawk.netHiddenLayer555
in reply to Zerush • • •FTFY
Definitely check the signature though in case Edge decides to inject some "improved UX" into Linux.
schnurrito
in reply to Zerush • • •When I read things like this, I struggle to understand the economic logic behind it.
How much money does Microsoft really expect to get from more people using Edge instead of Chrome? I mean, both of them are provided free of charge anyway. Does the control over the default search engine or the advertising technology or something like that really bring them more money than these "rewards" cost?
Axolotl
in reply to schnurrito • • •Otter
in reply to schnurrito • • •JiveTurkey
in reply to schnurrito • • •Zerush
in reply to schnurrito • • •belated_frog_pants
in reply to schnurrito • • •JiveTurkey
in reply to Zerush • • •like this
HeerlijkeDrop likes this.
Zerush
in reply to JiveTurkey • • •Not only Chromiums in this alliance, also Geckos there.
vivaldi.com/blog/browser-choic…
Browser Choice Alliance | Vivaldi Browser
Bruce Lawson (Vivaldi Technologies)HairyHarry
in reply to Zerush • • •10 Create new user
20 set edge as default
30 profit
40 goto 10
run
DetachablePianist
in reply to HairyHarry • • •dan1101
in reply to HairyHarry • • •Grimy
in reply to Zerush • • •Quick google search tells me that is about a buck fifty.
Maybe if they paid me that for every minute I use their browser, I would give in.
macaw_dean_settle
in reply to Grimy • • •Zizzy
in reply to macaw_dean_settle • • •That Weird Vegan she/her
in reply to Zizzy • • •Jon Payne Sr
in reply to That Weird Vegan she/her • • •That Weird Vegan she/her
in reply to Jon Payne Sr • • •☂️-
in reply to Zerush • • •thatradomguy
in reply to Zerush • • •Chemical Wonka
in reply to Zerush • • •kat_angstrom
in reply to Zerush • • •lillardfair
in reply to Zerush • • •benagain
in reply to lillardfair • • •I wish my workplace was using Sharepoint... I mean we technically are.
Our intranet homepage now says, "Please access quicklinks through Microsoft Teams under Teams -> All Staff -> General" - so you click on that link, it opens Microsoft Teams, you navigate to the channel where the 'quicklinks' tab is, you click on the 'quicklinks' tab, it says the page is not supported in Microsoft Teams, you click on the tab and open the link in Edge and LOW AND BEHOLD, you get a Sharepoint page with the 'quicklinks'. At least I'll never die of hypothermia because this stuff keeps my blood boiling. It's soooo stupid.