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I think Google has all these things because they have access to vastly more money and top tier developers than Mozilla. When you think about it, it's incredibl

I think Google has all these things because they have access to vastly more money and top tier developers than Mozilla. When you think about it, it's incredible that Firefox is as good as it is (same re Linux.) But obviously if Google wants to stay better than Firefox, whether it takes a year or a decade, they'll always be able to because they have an absurd amount of resources. So I wonder, what are Firefox's competitive advantages? 1. Privacy: They can do things like this, blocking trackers, things that benefit the user over the platforms. Because Google can pay lip service to this but at the end of the day their customers are advertisers. 2. What else? Also, Google has advantages, in that they have synergetic (is that the right way to put it?) products. Like Android and Chrome OS that promote Chrome over the competition. Can Mozilla compete by adopting a similar approach? Linux kind of fulfills the role of the OS with Firefox by default, usually. It certainly should, at least. Of course, Linux suffers from the same lack of resources compared to the competition.

hdfbdtbcdg 7y ago
Firefox's killer feature remains what it always has been. It is a user agent that works for you the user not a third party.
lrem 7y ago
Ideology: as a tech person, I don't want the protocols to be defined by a single entity. Many Googlers agree, even if we also know this could result in faster progress. Less constraints: Firefox does not need to block release of a new feature because an Android API it depends on got blocked by legal due to regulations in Namibia. Organisational stability: Firefox has a good revenue stream and stable leadership, with pretty constant direction. Main competency: Firefox is the thing for Mozilla. For Google, Chrome is an insurance policy against Apple.
- whalabi 7y ago
  But how do these things see it succeeding against Chrome, or even regaining significant market share? I can't see how it could ever happen. No matter what they do they can't beat the developer and monetary resources of Google.
  - GoblinSlayer 7y ago
    If Google was rich, they would fix their mistakes, but they don't have money for that.
the_gipsy 7y ago
> So I wonder, what are Firefox's competitive advantages? Acting in the interest of the user. Chrome has a history of adding or removing features, to align more to Google's business strategy, than to what really matters to the users.
prepend 7y ago
I think the main benefit is that they are closely aligned with user desire and value. Another is that they aren’t trying to run an App Store that makes revenue and profit. While Chrome is open source, there’s not a true community making decisions. It’s just google doing stuff and releasing code. That is really nice, but not as nice as a community and foundation developing and making decisions based on community desires rather than what fits into Google’s corporate plan. Google does a lot of stuff that I like and I use many of their services and software. But Google’s direct interests are not my own. Google wants to sell ads. I don’t care about selling ads so everything with them is a trade off between what I want and what I’m willing to pay.

hdfbdtbcdg 7y ago

Firefox's killer feature remains what it always has been. It is a user agent that works for you the user not a third party.

lrem 7y ago

Ideology: as a tech person, I don't want the protocols to be defined by a single entity. Many Googlers agree, even if we also know this could result in faster progress. Less constraints: Firefox does not need to block release of a new feature because an Android API it depends on got blocked by legal due to regulations in Namibia. Organisational stability: Firefox has a good revenue stream and stable leadership, with pretty constant direction. Main competency: Firefox is the thing for Mozilla. For Google, Chrome is an insurance policy against Apple.

whalabi 7y ago
But how do these things see it succeeding against Chrome, or even regaining significant market share? I can't see how it could ever happen. No matter what they do they can't beat the developer and monetary resources of Google.
- GoblinSlayer 7y ago
  If Google was rich, they would fix their mistakes, but they don't have money for that.

the_gipsy 7y ago

> So I wonder, what are Firefox's competitive advantages? Acting in the interest of the user. Chrome has a history of adding or removing features, to align more to Google's business strategy, than to what really matters to the users.

prepend 7y ago

I think the main benefit is that they are closely aligned with user desire and value. Another is that they aren’t trying to run an App Store that makes revenue and profit. While Chrome is open source, there’s not a true community making decisions. It’s just google doing stuff and releasing code. That is really nice, but not as nice as a community and foundation developing and making decisions based on community desires rather than what fits into Google’s corporate plan. Google does a lot of stuff that I like and I use many of their services and software. But Google’s direct interests are not my own. Google wants to sell ads. I don’t care about selling ads so everything with them is a trade off between what I want and what I’m willing to pay.