Microsoft Removes Feature No One Used From Browser No One Was Using
Earlier this year Microsoft shut down its ebookstore, and now it is dropping ebook support from its web browser (no, not Internet Explorer – the other web browser).
Microsoft announced last week that it was ending support for Epub ebooks in the Edge browser. The browser had supported Epub since late 2016, but now users will have to find another app to replace Edge.
The Edge browser has about a 2% market share, putting it in fifth place after Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and IE, so my quip about no one using it is not a wild exaggeration.
The Microsoft support page detailing the end of Epub support mentions that Microsoft has collaborated with the DAISY Consortium to create a list of replacement Epub apps. Those apps are expected to be available in the Microsoft Store after September.
Comments
Disgusting Dude August 28, 2019 um 12:08 pm
Makes perfect sense.
Edge is switching to a Chromium code base to take advantage of the matching plug-ins so removing a little-used feature supported by plug-ins is only rational.
Readium is already out.
Sarah August 28, 2019 um 2:05 pm
I don’t use Edge to surf the web but I do use it to read EPUBs on my PC (I like it better than Adobe Digital Editions for that), so I’ll be sorry to see the feature go.
Disgusting Dude August 28, 2019 um 2:40 pm
Try Fiction Book Reader.
Pat October 6, 2019 um 9:18 am
"Little used"???
Aside from downloading Firefox, all Edge was good for was as an ebook reader. And it was THE BEST!
So now you can still use Edge to d/l Firefox.
Gary Pirtle January 14, 2020 um 4:48 pm
who ever said that Edge is little used as an Epub reader is highly uniformed!!! There is lots of people who use the Edge Epub reader. All of them use it on Desktops and Laptops. Phones and Pads are different.
Microsoft is commiting suicide over this. NOT everyone will use 3rd party APPS that is mostly unusable on Desktops or Laptops, and the $$$$$ and layouts and how the 3rd party apps work..
Microsoft have may a Huge Mistake in do this. This is worse than what they have done with older Versions of Windows