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You answered your own question. IE having the largest market share in those days. "Google always launched Chrome-only" -- another unsubstantiated claim. When Ch

You answered your own question. IE having the largest market share in those days. "Google always launched Chrome-only" -- another unsubstantiated claim. When Chrome was 5%, all their launches were always Chrome only? I know it doesn't fit your narrative, but we don't launch broken stuff to screw over other browsers on purpose, period. The number one reason I've seen for non-working browsers is reliance on some non-standard browser feature/bleeding edge feature which isn't implemented fully or spec'ed correctly and doesn't have a good polyfill. And because of the these claims of nefarious intent, I decided to go back and look up Writely (Google Docs) and see what it's compatibility looked like. Here's a description of how it was based on Content-Editable https://www.theverge.com/2013/7/3/4484000/sam-schillace-interview-google-docs-creator-box https://www.theverge.com/2013/7/3/4484000/sam-schillace-inte... And here's a comment I found claiming it didn't work on Safari nor Opera. https://www.extremetech.com/computing/50680-writely-googles-online-word-processor/6?print https://www.extremetech.com/computing/50680-writely-googles-... So it seems Google bought Writely, which already did not support Safari or Opera, rebranded it as Docs, and pending a rewrite of the editing/layout engine from the ground up, didn't work with Safari and Opera, most likely due to Content-Editable problems.

kuschku 9y ago
> I know it doesn't fit your narrative, but we don't launch broken stuff to screw over other browsers on purpose, period Sure, you never did something that would improve your browser share and then claim in the media that it was for "technical reasons". You also never intentionally made usability on other browsers worse, and then threw dozens of popups and messages into users faces about how they should "upgrade to chrome". Oh, wait, regulators actually fined you for that. It doesn’t matter if the browser support is just a coincidence, or actually malicious, the end result is the same, and shouldn’t happen.
- cromwellian 9y ago
  Google fines for advertising Upgrade To Chrome? Citation needed. The EU fine recently was for Shopping, not advertising Chrome downloads. And as I already pointed out, the Vivaldi CEO claims were based on software which Google didn't even write. Google Docs (Writely) was an acquisition of a service with existing customers and it did not work on Safari or Opera before Google bought them. Google would have faced a choice after acquisition: continue running a service for existing users that doesn't work on Opera, or, shut it down immediately for a year or more until a rewrite was completed And launch on all browsers. Of course, Google has been attacked for buying startups and shutting down their products as well, so damned if you do and damned if you don't.

kuschku 9y ago

> I know it doesn't fit your narrative, but we don't launch broken stuff to screw over other browsers on purpose, period Sure, you never did something that would improve your browser share and then claim in the media that it was for "technical reasons". You also never intentionally made usability on other browsers worse, and then threw dozens of popups and messages into users faces about how they should "upgrade to chrome". Oh, wait, regulators actually fined you for that. It doesn’t matter if the browser support is just a coincidence, or actually malicious, the end result is the same, and shouldn’t happen.

cromwellian 9y ago
Google fines for advertising Upgrade To Chrome? Citation needed. The EU fine recently was for Shopping, not advertising Chrome downloads. And as I already pointed out, the Vivaldi CEO claims were based on software which Google didn't even write. Google Docs (Writely) was an acquisition of a service with existing customers and it did not work on Safari or Opera before Google bought them. Google would have faced a choice after acquisition: continue running a service for existing users that doesn't work on Opera, or, shut it down immediately for a year or more until a rewrite was completed And launch on all browsers. Of course, Google has been attacked for buying startups and shutting down their products as well, so damned if you do and damned if you don't.