Nick Heer:

In the latest build of Windows 11, Microsoft has blocked the methods used by EdgeDeflector and web browsers like Firefox. It is almost admirable how transparently anti-competitive Microsoft is being because, despite being the world’s most valuable company, it faces little scrutiny from regulators.

In case you're not following along already, Windows 11 lets you set default browsers for different URL types, but they don't let you change microsoft_edge:// addresses. No big deal, you may think, as maybe Windows uses that for literally Edge-specific things. That may happen, but it's also what's used for things like widgets and search results, so clicking a news story from a widget will open that website in Edge, even if you use Chrome for everything else.

This is dumb and Microsoft should change course on this. Preventing tools like EdgeDeflector from working at all for those who want to install it is an overreach.

At the same time, I can't help but chuckle when I see Apple fanboys (not Nick, btw) point to this story and suggest Windows is no better than iOS/iPadOS because of this. Yes, this is bad and anti-cometitive, but let's not pretend it's equivalant to the amount of control and money Apple has on its latest platforms.