Microsoft's most recent effort to convince you to switch from Google Chrome to Edge is doomed to failure.

 Microsoft recently updated its Edge web browser, adding a new sidebar that lets you access the Office suite, reply to emails, and more.

The new sidebar is just another attempt by the company to seduce you away from competing browsers like Google Chrome, Opera, and others after previously being revealed as being in-development.

You can play games, access your Outlook email and Office files, as well as helpful utilities like a clock, calculator, and dictionary, as Microsoft describes in a blog post (opens in new tab).

There are only a few links in the sidebar.

(TechRadar credit for image.)

The 'Show Sidebar' option will be at the bottom of the menu when you select the three dots in the top left, or you can start it by pressing Control + Shift + /. It cannot be resized, however there are six variations available for you to pick from.

The "Discover" feature is acceptable; it will provide you with trivial information as you browse the web, ranging from recipes to movie trivia. In addition, you can use the calculator and other features without having to use the Taskbar.

The Office tab, on the other hand, leaves much to be desired because selecting any of the apps opens their own web pages. The same is true for games, which makes us question the purpose of this sidebar in the first place.

(TechRadar credit for image.)

It somewhat reminds me of the search engine pop-up bars that were available in earlier web browsers and could be installed below the address bar. Or a toolbar installation option would be available if you installed an app.

The aforementioned is an illustration of how you could install many, with the majority not being really helpful. These are similar to the sidebar in that it primarily consists of a collection of links and a few practical utilities, but not much else.

Instead of attempting to catch up to other web browsers and failing, Microsoft can perform better in this area.