This is not really a problem with MS, though it is as a result of their “awesomely unethical advertising”.
Everyone with a pulse in the modern world knows Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office.
If you as manufacturer of personal computers are not supplying devices that come with these preinstalled, you’re missing out on many people who will only ever go with the standard or go with what is forced upon them. In other words, most people.
It is up to manufacturers to take steps to cater to all their possible (and feasible) customers by ensuring they can easily install other OSes if they choose, while still providing a proper warranty and support.
I agree that google apple microsoft have become way to big.What I do not like is anything google does not agree with they block it in search so we can not see both sides of an issue then make our on choice in what we choose to believe.
They are only a part of the Issue, They in-turn take orders from investment firms like Black Rock whom basically tells them what they deem acceptable in order to keep getting investors to invest in your company. With the cost of A.I and EVERYONE being on board with it in the tech field, in order for them to compete they bow to a more powerful influence, Whom could care less about YOUR TRUTH.
Gizmodo won’t touch the obvious question: Sell it to who?
also: " Though Biden’s Justice Department has aggressively pursued action against Google, the crackdown on the platform actually began during the first Trump administration. In October 2020, the DOJ and several Republican-majority states filed antitrust litigation against the company."
When both parties hate you, you must be doing something right…maybe I need to rethink it :).
no matter where Chrome goes it will remain as designed: the ultimate backdoored info-gathering spyware browser it always is
If MS buys it, it’ll turn into… absolute shit in a couple of years!
If Apple buys it, it’ll be a great browser… that only works on MacOS!
If OpenAI buys it… GOD what a dystopian nightmare awaits us!
I’d be somewhat hopeful if it maybe somehow ended in the hands of a company of the likes of RedHat or something (I’d consider it way better than the above scenarios) but I honestly don’t think they could even ever afford it…? (let alone it wouldn’t make sense for their business model at all)
yep. I use (ungoogled) Chrome and I like it so no horse in this race but…
…all your scenarios valid and what is likely for sure, that I would bet money on, is no one will buy it and change it and spend all the money to make a Mullvad/LibreWolf security browser. I predict the branding could change but the guts remain the same.
We wlll see what the future brings.
I personally would find it poetically beautiful and perfect if Yahoo bought it
I say F the comeback poetry you’re talking about because Yahoo is worse in my opinion when it comes to ads (at least, on the email side). With Gmail, if you use their webmail, they show you ads that look like emails. Yahoo does this too.
So, what makes them worse?
They (Yahoo) recently started sending you an actual email, so even if you are using Thunderbird, for instance, you get an ad in your inbox like regular email.
I think they go together beautifully–poetic in that sense means ‘deserve each other’ – I will keep my poetry party and cry if I want to ;)… I can’t think of two more perfect bedfellows, as it were…
Could Yahoo even afford it?
What’s their revenue like nowadays?
Also, I’m thinking…
Is a standalone browser (without the Google ad systems) even a viable product??
Would it not only make sense in the hands of an ad company, and if so, how would forcing its sale solve monopoly and antitrust issues?
danged good question. it would need to affiliated with something (that needs its search engine, tranlate, and AI abilities for sure. From that POV you are right, it doesn’t solve a single antitrust issue I can think of
Best: It sends shockwaves around the world in terms of awareness of what is good and bad, and causes people to really start considering what their alternatives are. This would likely open the door to open source alternatives (beyond web browsers), which would hopefully market themselves as reliant, anti-corrupt, etc. I could go on, but I think you get the gist.
Worst: Let’s do a list of thoughts instead.
Microsoft buys it (nuff said)
Apple buys it (nuff said)
Zuck, Bezos, or Musk — or any billionaire, really — buy it (nuff said)
People are outraged by the ruling rather than open their eyes and bring it back to court (arguing some American patriotism BS), “Oh my shares! No! My SHARES!”, etc.
Like open source apps, these software businesses don’t need billionaires behind them. They need their users behind them. Like literally do a quick calculation of how many people use a Chromium based browser, then multiply it by $12 per person per year.
1.65 billion people multiplied by $12 each year.
= $19,800,000,000
EDIT: Before anyone says, “But Google is a trillion-dollar company”, remember that you aren’t a billionaire. Don’t defend that.
I’d love that solution, but let’s be real…
NOONE will pay to use a browser. (Common) People LOVE paying software with their data.
And then (common) people will indeed be outraged by the ruling and call for bringing it back to court.
