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Tired: Linux fans using the Edge browser. Wired: Linux fans using a Microsoft account to sign into the Edge browser

And now the circle is complete

Sync is here for the wafer-thin Venn intersection of Linux users running the Edge browser and those who are happy to sign in using a Microsoft account.

Arriving last night from version 91.0.831.1 of Microsoft's Dev Channel, users would be able to synchronise their favourites, extensions, and passwords over devices. So long as they login with their Microsoft account, of course.

While the thought of using a Microsoft account might cause the odd facial twitch or two among penguinistas, El Reg could point out that dipping a toe into the Redmondian waters by installing Edge in the first place sets one on a journey with an inevitable conclusion.

The functionality requires a personal Microsoft account and the user must manually enable it as an experimental option. Kyle Pflug, Microsoft principal PM lead for the Edge developer ecosystem, said: "We hope to turn this on by default very soon."

The update brings the Edge experience on Linux closer to that enjoyed by users on other platforms. There is, however, a way to go yet. The first preview builds of Edge for Linux arrived last October for Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, and openSUSE, and was aimed squarely at developers. The goal was to give those developing under Linux a target for testing their sites and apps.

Signing in with a Microsoft account was promised in a "future preview" and now here it is. Azure Active Directory support, however, remains absent. Probably not a bad thing considering the problems Microsoft has had with its authentication servers in recent weeks.

The team has also tinkered with themes for the Linux version of the browser, although warned that some extensions, such as Microsoft's own Editor, tended to crash on install and be subsequently disabled. "We're currently investigating," said Microsoft.

The Linux version of Edge has remained resolutely in the weekly updated Dev Channel and has yet to trouble the Insider Beta Channel, a precursor to being declared stable. ®

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