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Google controls 90% of the browser market, and 70% of the mobile OS market. They can force anything they want down the throats of billions of people, the vast m
by p-e-w 4y ago
Google controls 90% of the browser market, and 70% of the mobile OS market. They can force anything they want down the throats of billions of people, the vast majority of which aren't even aware that there are alternatives. And even those that are aware are in many cases unable to switch, as for example most phones will only run their manufacturer's version of Android, from which Google features usually cannot be completely removed.
This isn't even remotely comparable to the AltaVista situation. Google has a planet-scale stranglehold on how half the world's population accesses information. This arguably makes Google more powerful than most nation states. I can guarantee they won't be dislodged by some search startup with a cool idea.
- jiggawatts 4y agoPeople switched away from Microsoft’s search offerings despite it being the default in Internet Explorer.
- malwrar 4y ago> Google has a planet-scale stranglehold on how half the world's population accesses information …currently. I think OP’s point is that once some better product comes out and e.g. normal people hear about it on tiktok and start switching, it doesn’t seem like Google is institutionally capable of competing. Honestly, considering how much good research they put out, I really hope they don’t.
- p-e-w 4y ago> it doesn’t seem like Google is institutionally capable of competing They don't have to compete. They can just buy any startup that's a potential threat to them, or lobby for laws that would effectively make them illegal. That's what power is, and it's all that matters.