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The problem is if Chrome finally wins it all (we're almost there) and at some point they decide to remove a functionality that we all love, or they stop improvi

by kuu 7y ago

The problem is if Chrome finally wins it all (we're almost there) and at some point they decide to remove a functionality that we all love, or they stop improving as there is no competition, or they decide to make you pay a little fee for developing a website with an extra functionality, or they decide that Chrome does not run on Mac anymore.... The problem with monopolies is that they control all the power, for the good or the bad decisions, and without competition they are not forced to look for the costumers benefit...

tikkabhuna 7y ago
As Chromium is open source, wouldn't someone then fork it and re-add those features or maintain Mac support? It seems like there is little motivation to maintain a separate browser at the moment, but one day Google may do something that motivates people to fork/create a new one. That could be a big bang moment or just a slow crawl that opens up a niche that a new browser could fill.
- zaarn 7y ago
  Maintaining a browser fork is a lot of work. And Google can simply decide to close-source their browser engine once their takeover is complete. What could anyone do about it? Google just keeps adding features until all Chromium forks die off.
  - chii 7y ago
    The problem is not the source but the way Google can affect the standard. The biggest is DRM. If stuff like that gets into the standard where only large players can make a compliant implementation, then it becomes a huge problem for the web.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
sfink 7y ago
Initially, I'm more worried about plain bugs that creep in, get depended on, and can no longer be fixed because of web compatibility. Next after that would be web API additions or extensions that make sense to Google but interfere with or prevent other things from being pursued (eg more pro privacy directions). They may try hard to play nice with standards bodies, but a quarterly goal can be a strong influence... https://blog.mozilla.org/sfink/2013/02/14/browser-wars-the-game/ https://blog.mozilla.org/sfink/2013/02/14/browser-wars-the-g...

by kuu 7y ago

tikkabhuna 7y ago

As Chromium is open source, wouldn't someone then fork it and re-add those features or maintain Mac support? It seems like there is little motivation to maintain a separate browser at the moment, but one day Google may do something that motivates people to fork/create a new one. That could be a big bang moment or just a slow crawl that opens up a niche that a new browser could fill.

zaarn 7y ago
Maintaining a browser fork is a lot of work. And Google can simply decide to close-source their browser engine once their takeover is complete. What could anyone do about it? Google just keeps adding features until all Chromium forks die off.
- chii 7y ago
  The problem is not the source but the way Google can affect the standard. The biggest is DRM. If stuff like that gets into the standard where only large players can make a compliant implementation, then it becomes a huge problem for the web.
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]

sfink 7y ago

Initially, I'm more worried about plain bugs that creep in, get depended on, and can no longer be fixed because of web compatibility. Next after that would be web API additions or extensions that make sense to Google but interfere with or prevent other things from being pursued (eg more pro privacy directions). They may try hard to play nice with standards bodies, but a quarterly goal can be a strong influence... https://blog.mozilla.org/sfink/2013/02/14/browser-wars-the-game/ https://blog.mozilla.org/sfink/2013/02/14/browser-wars-the-g...