Microsoft dumped a load of updates on us on St. Patrick’s Day, from Windows 10 Mobile rolling out to Windows Phone 8.1 devices to Windows 10 Redstone Insider build 14291. Lots of goodies are on hand, including new Maps functionality and, perhaps most important, Edge extensions.
We’ve covered the extensions that are available immediately, but buried in the Edge extensions announcement is some additional information on future extensions:
The Windows Insider build will include three preview extensions: Microsoft Translator, an extension that automatically translates pages in over 50 different languages, a Mouse Gestures extension, and an early preview version of the popular Reddit Enhancement Suite (RES). Later this year customers will find popular extensions from partners like AdBlock, Adblock Plus, Amazon, LastPass, Evernote and more.
Yes, that’s right: Adblock extensions are on their way. That should make some people happy, as the lack of ad blocking capabilities has been one of the most serious dings against the platform.
Other users might find the Amazon, LastPass, and Evernote extensions also of some interest. In any event, knowing that some major vendors are planning Edge extensions gives us some real hope that the ecosystem will expand quickly. It certainly helps that Edge extensions are apparently very close to Chrome’s, and so porting them over shouldn’t be too onerous for extension developers.
