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And the people who ended up with Chrome installed and set as their default browser because they installed some other application (like Flash) were using Chrome
by bzbarsky 10y ago
And the people who ended up with Chrome installed and set as their default browser because they installed some other application (like Flash) were using Chrome willingly, right?
Yes, Google was doing that sort of thing for Chrome distribution for a while. They've stopped since, which is better than nothing, I guess. [Edit: apparently they haven't stopped, according to ocdtrekkie's comment! Or maybe they have started again.]
Point is, a lot of people are NOT using Google's products willingly. They may be using them because someone else set them up with the product and they don't know how to change, they may be using it because they're required to for work (Google docs, e.g.).
- ocdtrekkie 10y agoThey still do it: https://get.adobe.com/reader/ https://get.adobe.com/reader/ (Checked today, Windows 10, while using Edge. Default checked on this page is to also install Chrome.) It's worth noting that Sundar Pichai's claim to fame at Google, prior to Chrome itself, was getting the Google Toolbar installed on everyone's PCs whether they wanted it or not. The CEO of Google isn't just a fan of software installation dark patterns like this, he's the guy responsible for it at Google.
- yuhong 10y agoGoogle Toolbar was one of the better browser toolbars AFAIK though.
- bzbarsky 10y agoThat's a pretty low bar. But in terms of the ethical question, we're now talking about how if I break into your house to steal all your unhealthy potato chips that's better than if I break into your house to steal your money. The fundamental problem is breaking into your house.
- ocdtrekkie 10y agoIf you're diagnosed with cancer, but it is one of the least fatal forms of cancer... you still have cancer.
- bzbarsky 10y agoHuh. I hadn't realized they were still doing it. :( Thank you for checking that!
- bduerst 10y agoIsn't that because you're using Edge, which doesn't support ActiveX? You can't use acrobat with the browser you're trying to download it with. https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/display-pdf-in-browser.html#Edge https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/display-pdf-in-browser...
- bzbarsky 10y agoWhat does that have to do with Chrome being default-installed along with the Adobe Flash plugin?
- bduerst 10y agoBecause Edge doesn't support the Adobe Reader plugin, and to avoid a support nightmare Adobe seems to recommend downloading a browser it does work with. I visit that same link using Firefox on Linux and don't get a Chrome install checkbox on the page, but maybe someone else is?
- ocdtrekkie 10y agoAdobe Flash is directly built into Microsoft Edge, they collaborate on this. Chrome doesn't support ActiveX or NPAPI plugins either, and the Flash plugin also doesn't work with Chrome, because similarly to Edge, the Flash plugin is built directly into Chrome. Also, Adobe Reader is a standalone program, you don't install it to embed in the browser. (Both Edge and Chrome can display PDF files natively.) This has nothing to do with "recommended" apps. Chrome is pushed with Adobe Reader because Google pays them to do so. Similarly, McAfee pays to have their software installed with the Adobe Flash plugin installer.
- bduerst 10y agoAdobe Reader plugin doesn't work with Edge, because Edge doesn't support ActiveX. The Adobe Reader installer also installs the browser plugin. You linked to the Adobe Reader download page, which asks you to install chrome if you don't have a supported browser. Which you didn't. I get that you have an axe to grind here, but it seems like you're cherry picking an example of where Edge doesn't support something so Adobe is recommending a supported download. Adobe doesn't recommend the Chrome download when visiting with Firefox, for example.