The web was a different place in 2007-2009 when I learned a little bit of web development. Back then, I discovered I had fewer headaches if I did the initial development on Firefox (and the better free web development tools) which meant it should also be compatible with most of the non-Microsoft browsers, then adapt it to work with the Internet Explorer browsers including the bastard child Internet Explorer 6. After destroying Netscape Navigator, it had 95% of the browser market share, and Microsoft essentially stopped innovating that browser.
As for Microsoft Edge, it was initially built with Microsoft's own proprietary browser engine EdgeHTML and their Chakra JavaScript engine, but at the beginning of 2021, Microsoft switched to the Chromium-based enginer and the V8 JavaScript engine, much like Chrome, but with different bits added. Originally, Opera was also using the Presto engine, but around 2013, switched to the Chromium engine as well. And, with the rapid release model (along with Long Term Support versions), innovation comes more rapidly than the release schedules of the late 2000s.
Part of the challenge is in the IT world. I've seen too many instances where the decisions were based around the ideas that "IT is a business cost that must be minimized" and it's corollaries "it's still works. If it ain't broke, don't fix it" and "why pay for something this fiscal year when it can be pushed to next year's budget", and the ever-so-popular "if our sales people are in the classroom learning new process, they aren't in the field making money for the company". In some cases, there isn't a good replacement for that key piece of technology that is keeps the company running, and yet it's a discontinued product if not the vendor no longer existing.
I agree that Microsoft should tone it down when it comes to pushing the Microsoft Edge browser. At work, I use Firefox for work-related items while Chrome is for personal-related items. The plug-in support is better in Chrome and Firefox than in Edge. Having said that, it's still better than Apple's line of iToys and the lockdown on the Webkit-based engine on their mobile devices. Isn't this the same type of practice that Apple condemned Microsoft of doing 20 years ago?
