Microsoft is testing a new feature in Windows 10 that’s designed to boost the start-up time of its Chromium-based Edge browser.
Called ‘start-up boost’, the feature works by launching core Microsoft Edge processes in the background when Windows 10 is booted up. This allows Edge to start quicker when launched from the taskbar, desktop, or from hyperlinks within other apps — Word documents, for example.
These browser processes are kept running in the background at low priority when Edge is closed, keeping it in a ready state while having minimal impact on the device’s memory resources.
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Start-up boost will be an optional setting within the latest Microsoft Edge build — Edge 88. Users will be able to enable or disable the feature themselves; administrators can also toggle start-up boost on or off on a group-policy basis.
According to Microsoft, the feature will be widely available on devices running Windows 10, although the company noted on its tech community page that it may remove devices that “do not see expected positive impact” from the feature. Users can check if start-up boost is available within the Edge browser settings under Edge>Settings>System.
“We are in the process of deploying this feature, so it may be a little while before you see it in your respective channel and build,” said Microsoft.
Microsoft has been injecting a steady dose of features into its new and improved Edge browser as it looks to challenge the dominance of Google Chrome. Both are built on the same open-source Chromium platform.
The company rolled out a new password monitor in June that alerts users if any of their login credentials have been compromised in a data breach.
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It has also introduced vertical tabs, tracking prevention controls and a ‘smart copy’ feature, which allows users to copy and paste content simply by dragging the cursor over the area they wish to copy.
More recently, Microsoft has shown Linux users some love, making a preview version available for Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora and openSUSE Linux distributions via the Dev channel.
