Windows 10 beta build 14366 features Edge extension

The new Edge extension for Office Online mimics Chrome's extension quite precisely

Last night, Microsoft released the latest Windows 10 beta build for Insiders in the Fast ring. Build 14366 has, to a first approximation, exactly nothing new -- except for an Edge extension. Yes, there are speed improvements to the Store. Yes, the Recently added list appears above Most used in the Start menu. But those are nits. Bug fixes and the Edge Office Online extension lead the charge.

The official announcement from Dona Sarkar lists dozens of bug fixes to the old build 14361, now a week old, and there's a big Bug Bash that's basically a self-guided tour. There are a few known problems. But Office Online extension for Edge sits front and center.

This is odd, to me, for two reasons:

• You can get to Office Online using Edge, as you can by using any other browser
• Google Chrome has had an Office Online extension since last October -- it was updated last December

Why would you use an Edge extension for Office Online instead of simply navigating to the Office Online site? The main reason, as far as I can figure, is that the Office Online extension lets you drag and drop files into OneDrive by dragging into the browser itself (as opposed to, you know, dragging and dropping in File Explorer). That belies the fact you must choose between OneDrive and OneDrive for Business when you first launch the app.

While File, Open inside any of the Office apps, on either browser, only opens files from OneDrive -- there's no way to break out of the walled garden -- if you click the Office icon to the right of the address bar, choose Open, then Browse, you go straight to Windows 10's File Explorer. As best I can tell, the action is identical in Edge and Chrome.

By all appearances, the Office Online extension for Edge is pixel-for-pixel identical to the one for Google Chrome.

And for all intents and purposes, neither is better than simply navigating to the Office Online websites.

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