5 ms·

Google's not at fault; Adobe, Oracle, and every other greedy software vendor are.

by Aldo_MX 10y ago

JohnTHaller 10y ago
Google is knowingly paying for it.
- Aldo_MX 10y ago
  So does Intel and many other "trusted" vendors, we all know about the power of default values. As I said, people shouldn't be upset at Google, installing Chrome was a significant improvement, or would you rather see IE8 still as the dominant browser? I blame Adobe, Oracle, etc. because they have the trust of the users and a piece of software considered essential by many people, yet they decide to use the shady practices that cheapskates use. If it weren't Chrome it would be the dreaded Ask Toolbar or something even worse, so it's not the fault of Google, quite the contrary, installing Chrome as a byproduct is possibly the least negative outcome.
  - serge2k 10y ago
    > installing Chrome was a significant improvement Is it? Across the board they are entitled to make that decision for every user? it is absolutely as bad as any of the crapware vendors who do this. Google is just as bad as the ask toolbar people.
    - Aldo_MX 10y ago
      > Is it? If you suggest the opposite, you don't do web development or live in the early 2000's. > Across the board they are entitled to make that decision for every user? Saying "every" is an exaggeration, since several users would opt-out. Installing a better (yes, better) browser to technically-impaired people who don't even know what a browser is looks like a good trade off to me. > it is absolutely as bad as any of the crapware vendors who do this. Google is just as bad as the ask toolbar people. Ask is a dying company doing questionable last ditch efforts. Google is a healthy company deliberately tweaking tech-impaired user's defaults, there is a difference whether you like it or not.
  - JohnTHaller 10y ago
    Of course you should be blaming Google. They are a willing participant in deceptive bundleware. And it is specifically included in the download for Adobe Flash for Firefox/Opera Classic (aka, not IE's Flash which is different), so it is setup to steal users away from competitors. At least the last time I checked, and as demonstrated in my screenshot above.
    - Aldo_MX 10y ago
      You talk as if you knew the terms of their deal and corroborated that Google asked to target every browser, in my experience these kind of deals are offered as "all-or-nothing", so having Firefox or Opera targeted were a side effect. EDIT: I checked it right now, and it also targets IE, unlike what you suggest: http://i.imgur.com/XuwHs7G.png http://i.imgur.com/XuwHs7G.png
      - MikeHolman 10y ago
        IE (and Edge) has some custom build of Flash installed without needing separate download, which I believe is why the parent commenter excluded it.
    - blendo 10y ago
      My ability to avoid these Google/Oracle/Microsoft mind-fucks diminishes each year. Is it good for society to have our cynicism cranked up so high? That's a question for our best second tier psychologists and UX researchers (the first tier being too busy developing the aforesaid mind-fucks).

Google's not at fault; Adobe, Oracle, and every other greedy software vendor are.

by Aldo_MX 10y ago

Google's not at fault; Adobe, Oracle, and every other greedy software vendor are.

JohnTHaller 10y ago

Google is knowingly paying for it.

Aldo_MX 10y ago
So does Intel and many other "trusted" vendors, we all know about the power of default values. As I said, people shouldn't be upset at Google, installing Chrome was a significant improvement, or would you rather see IE8 still as the dominant browser? I blame Adobe, Oracle, etc. because they have the trust of the users and a piece of software considered essential by many people, yet they decide to use the shady practices that cheapskates use. If it weren't Chrome it would be the dreaded Ask Toolbar or something even worse, so it's not the fault of Google, quite the contrary, installing Chrome as a byproduct is possibly the least negative outcome.
- serge2k 10y ago
  > installing Chrome was a significant improvement Is it? Across the board they are entitled to make that decision for every user? it is absolutely as bad as any of the crapware vendors who do this. Google is just as bad as the ask toolbar people.
  - Aldo_MX 10y ago
    > Is it? If you suggest the opposite, you don't do web development or live in the early 2000's. > Across the board they are entitled to make that decision for every user? Saying "every" is an exaggeration, since several users would opt-out. Installing a better (yes, better) browser to technically-impaired people who don't even know what a browser is looks like a good trade off to me. > it is absolutely as bad as any of the crapware vendors who do this. Google is just as bad as the ask toolbar people. Ask is a dying company doing questionable last ditch efforts. Google is a healthy company deliberately tweaking tech-impaired user's defaults, there is a difference whether you like it or not.
- JohnTHaller 10y ago
  Of course you should be blaming Google. They are a willing participant in deceptive bundleware. And it is specifically included in the download for Adobe Flash for Firefox/Opera Classic (aka, not IE's Flash which is different), so it is setup to steal users away from competitors. At least the last time I checked, and as demonstrated in my screenshot above.
  - Aldo_MX 10y ago
    You talk as if you knew the terms of their deal and corroborated that Google asked to target every browser, in my experience these kind of deals are offered as "all-or-nothing", so having Firefox or Opera targeted were a side effect. EDIT: I checked it right now, and it also targets IE, unlike what you suggest: http://i.imgur.com/XuwHs7G.png http://i.imgur.com/XuwHs7G.png
    - MikeHolman 10y ago
      IE (and Edge) has some custom build of Flash installed without needing separate download, which I believe is why the parent commenter excluded it.
  - blendo 10y ago
    My ability to avoid these Google/Oracle/Microsoft mind-fucks diminishes each year. Is it good for society to have our cynicism cranked up so high? That's a question for our best second tier psychologists and UX researchers (the first tier being too busy developing the aforesaid mind-fucks).