General Chat

Yesterday morning I turned on my computer to find, things looked differently such as my favourites etc.I noticed a new icon on the task bar for Microsft Edge which I do not use and certainly didn't install

After a lengthy investigation, I found it was in the last updates a few days ago and could not be uninstalled.
I spent several hours trying to get rid of it but it would not uninstall due to "an error.

I tried doing a restore point but that failed as well.

Today I googled the problem and after following a different route through local Disk, I managed to locate the files and delete them so my pages are back to how they were.

What a time waster and a palaver. Im all for change if it helps but I wasn't asked if I wanted this new browser grrrr

Anyone else have Windows 10 and had this problem. f so I can now tell you how to delete the files.

If nothing else I learnt a few things today I didn't know.

At least my brain is still working...lol

Florence in the hebrides

Edge May 2010 uses the Chromium engine.
It is a far better browser than the old Edge, faster, uses 10% less memory, and all in all is pretty cool.
So why on earth remove it?
In any case the core of it will remain as other aspects of the summer update use it.

The Windows 10 end user no longer has a choice over installing rollup updates. They will be installed no matter what - read the licence. Those who did not install the Nov 2019 update will now get the June 2020 update instead.
.
https://thinkmobiles.com/blog/how-to-uninstall-microsoft-edge/

If you want to get back control this may help:

https://www.computerworld.com/article/3232632/how-to-block-the-windows-10-may-2020-update-version-2004-from-installing.html

A sort of related techie question that I hope Rollo can answer!

The new version of Edge no longer supports Adobe Flash Player. I use a number of 'game' sites (not high-tec stuff, just word, card, hanji, puzzle type things) some of which require Flash. I can still use them via Chrome but this tells me Flash will not be supported after December. Are these sites going to use something different or will the current games still work, it's just that Flash won't be supported, and will I still be able to download it?

Well Joan I have got rid of it and now my favourites etc are back looking how they were before. In security and updates, I have paused updates because I need to find out if it will come back on unpausing updates...if you follow.

I could tell you how I did it but it took awhile.

I also use gaming sites and need flash player too so that's another reason not to have it. I already have Mozilla, Chrome IE11 so I really don't want another browser do I ?

Florence in the Hebrides

RTR Because it changed the layout on my PC. If I want to change it that's fine, but noone is going to dictate to me what I have on my Pc!

Google/Chrome intends to drop support for Windows at a future date as it wants people to move to ChromeBook / Android and run everything OTA. Android has already dropped Flash support though it can be installed "sideways".
The days are numbered for playing flash through a browser. Flash has some major security holes which cannot be fixed.
However for Chrome 2020
chrome://settings/content/flash on the address bar. To allow Flash to run, click the Block sites from running Flash (recommended) slider. The slider will change to blue, and the option will change to Ask. Return to the page with Flash content and refresh it.10 Mar 2020

You can play Flash content with a standalone flash player such as
https://qpdownload.com/standalone-flash-player (free) or Macromedia DevTools.

You cannot "get rid of " Edge it is an integral part of the Windows 10 OS. All you can do is to remove its immediate effect on the UI although the chances are that it will return.

The user does not own their copy of Windows 10 ( or previous versions) they simply have a licence to use it. It is Microsoft which gets to decide what it will and won't include in the OS including device support. Windows10 has for instance "broken" many scanner and webcams with little chance of a fix.

Microsoft simply wants to keep its OS and apps as consisten as possible without the anarchy which broke out with XP. Thus as well as Edge major changes are coming to Skype as well as the Windows desktop itself.

You can always opt for Apple , Linux or a Chromebook. However if you stay with Windows you will have to become used to Microsoft calling the shots. Read the licence.

Thanks for that, RTR. It seems that Flash Player is pretty widespread in online games, is there a reason why it's not being supported, and is there a 'newer' replacement? I'm guessing the suppliers don't want to have to rewrite their code to use something new, if they work well enough as is...

The Macromedia Flash development platform has been dead for years. I have the full professional 32 bit toolbox sitting on a shelf - gathering dust. Flash on your CV is as bad as a business jacket with Levis - somewhat passe.

.Adobe ceases ongoing support this year while most of the people who wrote Flash apps have moved on and many of the firms involved are no more. Flash was killed off by a mixture of unfixed (serious) security bugs, Apple ( which never supported on desktop or iPhone, it was a bete noir of Steve Jobs, HTML5 and Macromedia itself. The passing of Flash has been a great incovenience to the advertising industry while the demands of game studios widly exceed anything that Flash could ever have delivered.

Anyway if you still want to play old Flash games here is how to do it.
If you have Windows 7 or Windows 10 it is better to run them inside a VM (virtual machine ).

https://helpdeskgeek.com/how-to/flash-going-in-2020-heres-how-to-download-flash-games-to-play-forever/

A good way to get great games for a small outlay in cash is a SONY PS3 hooked up to your tv.

I belong to a gaming site that is completely free to use so cant think why I would want to pay to play Backgammon etc!

Florence in the hebrides

Within a year at most you simply will not be able to run Flash online within a browser under Windows 10 for free or otherwise. Macromedia's announcement of no further support is similar to NHS "do not resusicate". The major browsers will just drop it. Just because users might want to run it cuts no ice.

The core issue is that Flash apps, esp games, have some serious and well known security issues. US Law allows class actions against the likes of Microsoft, Macromedia, Mozilla, Opera for allowing software with these bugs to run on their platforms. The legal costs pre trial can and do spiral into the tens of millions of dollars and can be a major financial drain years before a case reaches court. So it is good bye flash, get used to it.

Ruiing Flash apps has always been impossible on Apple. On Android 7 and 8.1 it can only be done with "sideways" installation of Flash and a compliant browser, On Android 10 not at all

There are a lot more people playing games on Android , iPhone, SONY PS and XBox than Windows. That is one reason that games developers have stopped using Flash since way back.

What security bugs you say ? Surely a few determined developers can "send them packing "? Hmmm, try this

https://www.cvedetails.com/vulnerability-list/vendor_id-53/product_id-6761/Adobe-Flash-Player.html