Game devs could use it to fight cheating

The idea behind TruePlay is to provide game developers with a set of tools that would allow them to create their products with a built-in cheat protection that would both stop most forms of game hacking/cheating and also report any attempts at game manipulation. The games that use TruePlay would run in a environment that is protected from most types of attacks that cheats use (for example – aimbots, maphacks, wallhacks, etc.).

In addition, TruePlay would also monitor any cheating and game manipulation attempts, successful or not, and report them to the game’s dev.

Another thing that makes this new feature quite useful is that it works as an API (Application Programming Interface). This makes it much easier to integrate TruePlay inside a game which is why researchers predict that it has potential to become quite popular and widely-used.

Feature disabled by default due to privacy concerns

One thing to note about TruePlay is that it won’t be enabled by default. The main reason for this is the feature’s ability to collect data from the user’s PC with regards to the games that are played on it that use True Play. If enabled by default, many would consider it a privacy invasion which is why its creators have decided to make it an opt-in feature rather than an opt-out one.

As we mentioned above, the info that would get gathered would show the game’s developer if any cheat-like manipulations were attempted on their game during playtime by the user. However, the collected data would be anonymous so that the user’s privacy would remain secured. Still, though, if one wants to have the feature enabled, they would need to manually turn it on from Windows 10 settings.

No one would willingly enable it?

The fact that the feature is disabled by default begs the question: Wouldn’t that defeat the whole purpose of TruePlay? Well, it turns out it won’t. If more game devs implement this new feature, gamers will need to enable it on their PC in order to play the game online. Otherwise, they won’t be able to play against other players online in multiplayer matches. Therefore, if you want to play an online game protected by TruePlay, you will need to manually go to your Win 10 settings and enable the new Microsoft feature so as to be allowed into the game.

As we already mentioned, it is predicted that TruePlay will gain popularity as it offers developers to take an already completed tool and simply add it to their product without the need to go through the long and oftentimes arduous process of writing their own code for a cheat-protection feature. The API of TruePlay further eases-up the process and makes it really convenient to implement.

Hopefully, with this new addition to Win 10, online gaming on this platform would become more fair and with less instances of hacking and cheating, especially if more game developers embrace it and add it to their software.

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Introduction

Edge is considered to be a lightweight browser which focuses on performance and simplicity. Unlike the older IE versions, here Microsoft have tried (and managed) to optimize their product, making it a reliable and fast. This is not to say that there are no issues with Edge but it is certainly something else. It comes packed with Win 10 and is set as the default browser when Windows 10 is installed. Currently (as one might expect), Edge is still nowhere near as popular as Chrome or Firefox, but it has some good qualities which results in a lot of people keeping it as their default browser program which leads to the increase of its popularity.

Interface

The interface of Edge is simple and clean, without anything unwanted or unnecessary. Similarly to IE 11, the address and search bars have been combined which isn’t a bad idea as it reduces the screen space that is taken from the page. However, the search engine integrated in the search/address bar is set to Bing by default and changing it to Google requires several steps to complete – some users might find this annoying. The starting and new tab pages of Edge is set by default to a page that combines a search bar and a row of tiles with popular websites on the top and a newsfeed/weather row down below which can be customized. In our opinion, Opera’s Speed Dial new tab page is more useful as it basically serves as a bookmarks page where you can see tiles from the sites you have selected to appear in there. Still, Edge’s variant isn’t bad either and some might even find it better. Otherwise, the interface of this browser is easy to navigate and there is hardly anything obstructive or irritating. Some might dislike it due to its simplicity but we believe that having a clean interface is not a bad thing.

Performance

A big issue that older Microsoft browsers had was their low speed and weak performance. This is now in the past with Edge’s satisfying speed and good performance. It doesn’t consume much system resources and loads pages with relative ease. It is currently one of the fastest browsers out there and this is likely Edge’s best trait. Therefore, if you want a fast browser that doesn’t require too much resource usage for Window 10, Edge might be enough to satisfy your needs so that you don’t have to download a new browsing program.

Cortana

A neat feature that comes with Edge is the integration with Cortana – Windows 10’s virtual assistant. There are a number of functions related to Cortana when you are using Edge such as helping with the search of certain information within webpages or directly providing answers for certain queries that the user issues. For example, the feature called Cortana Assist highlights relevant information such as phone numbers, addresses, etc. within a page so that it saves the user some time.

Other features

There are a couple of things that Edge offers as additional utility. There is a Reading List feature through which one can save webpages for later use, however, this function cannot be sued offline. There is a form of reading mode that removes obstructive content from a page making it easier for the user to focus on the text. Sharing on social media with Edge is made easier as well so that the user wouldn’t need to access additional applications in order to post something on a social media platform. Another good thing about Edge is it’s Integrated Adobe Flash as well as PDF support which makes this browser an effective reader program as well.

However, one must bear in mind that Edge’s extra features and also, it’s potential plug-ins and extensions library aren’t as rich as those of other competing browsers. Part of this can be contributed to the fact that Edge is a relatively new browser and is still on its way towards improvement but if you are looking for something highly versatile with a lot of options to choose from, you might prefer some of the established top browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Opera, etc.). One other thing that we didn’t like about Edge is the lack of a full-screen mode when viewing a webpage – something that most modern browsers have.

Conclusion

Microsoft Edge is certainly not a bad browser. It has several issues and lacks the versatility of the current top browsers but it is slowly improving and is certainly a competitive product that has a lot to offer. It’s lightweight and fast performance are nice additions which everyone would certainly enjoy. Therefore, if you are a Windows 10 users (Edge is available only for Win 10) and you don’t care too much about add-ons, and extra features and are simply looking for a fast and reliable browser, Edge might be the program for you.

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Introduction

As we already mentioned, IE with its newest version – 11, is currently considered one of the best browsers. It belongs to the top 5 browsing programs due to its good performance, high levels of security and satisfying array of settings and options that it can offer. Even though it is still not the fastest and lacks certain features that other browsers might have, IE 11 is undoubtedly a very good program that a lot of users might enjoy. Unfortunately, due to its past and the problems that it used to have, there are still a lot of people that see this program as undesirable or of lesser quality. However, many are sure to be left surprised if they gave the latest IE a go.

Interface

The Interface of Explorer 11 isn’t as slick or as interesting as that of other browsers that have a more modern look to them. It’s looks haven’t changed that much over the years and some might say it appears old school. However, there are actually a couple of neat and smart things about IE’s interface that we should point out here. For example, the search bar and the address bar have been combined within the so called The One Box. This helps save up space effectively increasing the space for that pages get to have on the PC screen. Also, The One Box and the tabs are on the same row to further decrease the space that is being taken. This might actually be considered bad by some users as the tabs might seem way too clustered together, especially if an individual likes to keep a lot of tabs opened at the same time. That said, there is certainly a bigger area for a page’s contents to be displayed. Additionally, as a way to save up even more space, there are very few browser buttons and the toolbar is minimalistic. Everything feels clean and plain without any unnecessary content to distract you.

Tabs and New tab page

The new tab page is a good addition as it shows the most visited sites allowing for quicker access to them. This is similar to Opera’s Speed Dial and while it might not be as effective, it is still a neat feature. The tabbed interface of IE is something that can be expected from a modern browser and Explorer delivers upon that. The tabs can be pulled and dragged into new windows and if you pull a tab to the side of the screen, it will become a new window that takes exactly the half of the screen’s space.

Pinned websites

Something interesting that isn’t present among other browsers is that IE allows you to pin down websites to your Taskbar. All you need to do is drag a website’s icon to your Window’s Taskbar and you got yourself a pinned site. Even the Taskbar icon of the pinned site would be changed according to the site’s design. This comes to further show how IE is all about the websites that the user visits and doesn’t try to push its own branding.

Extensions

While IE doesn’t have as many extension options as Firefox or Chrome, there is still a satisfyingly big collection of ways to expand the capabilities of your browser. There is also a nice feature to Explorer 11 that notifies you of an extension is consuming overly-high amounts of PC resources so that you know what could potentially be slowing your browser and PC performance. Another good thing about IE is that it also has an effective pop-up blocker to help you avoid interaction with unwanted banners and pop-ups.

Performance

Currently, IE is considered the third fastest browser out there being outmatched in terms of speed only by Chrome and Firefox. The program has a good has good startup time and loads pages rather quickly. However, it seems to consume a bit more RAM than other popular browsers so if you do not have a lot of memory on your PC you might want to take that into consideration.

Security and privacy

The security of IE has been greatly improved throughout the years and currently this is one of the most secure browsers out there so if you are seeking for a safe browsing program, Explorer 11 is certainly one of the best options out there. In terms of privacy, IE has a lot to offer as it is certainly a browser that values the personal space of its user. When installing Internet Explorer, the user is presented with a checkbox for “Do not track” that is set to on by default. If the user leaves it that way, websites would not be able to track the user’s activity. There is also another feature called Tracking Protection which blocks third-party tracking and cookie placement. All of this makes Internet Explorer one of the safest and most privacy-oriented browsers out there which is certainly a valuable trait, especially nowadays when almost all websites try to gather private data from their users.

Conclusion

If you are looking for a fast, secure browser that values one’s privacy and still offers a satisfying amount of options with a couple of unique and useful features, then you should probably try out Internet Explorer 11. A lot of changes have been made to IE and most of its past problems have been resolved. Currently, even though it is not the best browsing program in most aspects, it gets pretty close to the best ones making it a balanced browser with several highly-beneficial traits to its name.

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