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"Microsoft could fund chromium based on their use in Edge. Etc…" Microsoft surely will continue to develope edge. That is my main issue with this thing, becaus

"Microsoft could fund chromium based on their use in Edge. Etc…" Microsoft surely will continue to develope edge. That is my main issue with this thing, because they surely would like to be the one with the dominating browser again and if google has to drop chromium, Microsoft will just overtake it. Antitrust and breakup is not a simple thing to do right.

omnimus 3y ago
Then lets break up Microsoft too.
- flagrant_taco 3y ago
  There's plenty of questionable business practices that Microsoft could probably be slapped on the wrist for of anyone cares, but I'm not actually sure there's a good antitrust claim that could lead to a breakup there.
  - yjftsjthsd-h 3y ago
    There's always bundling a web browser with their OS and giving it an unfair advantage over all other browsers, aka the exact thing they were sued for last time.
    - vel0city 3y ago
      ChromeOS bundles its own browser and goes even further in preventing people from installing their own than Windows. Imagine if on the first boot of ChromeOS it asks if you want to use Chrome, Edge, Safari, or Firefox.
      - yencabulator 3y ago
        In related news, ChromeOS is separating the GUI shell from the browser: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36977107 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36977107
      - yjftsjthsd-h 3y ago
        There's a small difference in that Windows clims to be a general purpose operating system and Chrome OS is exactly what it says on the tin, but also a Chromebook running Firefox would be pretty great.
    - flagrant_taco 3y ago
      That lawsuit SAS honestly complete bullshit. Going after Microsoft for having plentiful stolen their browser would have been one thing, but saying an OS couldn't ship software applications out of the box is crazy. What do you find when booting up an OS for the first time? Am empty desktop and no way to install anything? What apple has done with browsers at least seems more egregious. Windows didn't stop you from installing a different browser, ios does. There was even a long running joke that the only good use for IE was to install a real browser. It wouldn't be hard to find a reason to sure Microsoft though. Take a look someone at where the legal text states their software builds were made and ask what tax benefits one might get from running production builds on servers in the Caribbean.
midoridensha 3y ago
The problem I see with this idea is that MS doesn't really have much leverage to push Edge on people any more. People aren't just using Windows PCs for their web browsing these days; lots of people are using mobile devices, and many don't even have PCs any more. Google and Apple control the mobile device market (roughly half and half, though it depends on which country you're in too). If a bunch of websites suddenly required Edge on Windows to view, they'd lose a majority of their visitors.
- hutzlibu 3y ago
  "The problem I see with this idea is that MS doesn't really have much leverage to push Edge on people any more" But they do it any way they can. I never intented to open edge even once, but through various sketchy things, I had it open way too many times. (when you click on the "learn more about this awesome landscape" - you land in edge, open a pdf, edge, saved a mhtml in chrome and open it, edge again. Search for chrome on edge? It almost tries to block you from downloading it.)
  - midoridensha 3y ago
    What do you expect if you're using an MS platform? Meanwhile, all of us not using MS platforms (Linux, Android, MacOS, iOS) don't see any of this. MS only has power over you because you choose to give them that power. They have no power at all over anyone not using an MS OS.
- bregma 3y ago
  I sometimes have to use Microsoft Teams at work. Microsoft Teams requires Microsoft Edge to run. I was forced to install Microsoft Edge on my Ubuntu machine. Microsoft is pushing its Microsoft Edge product even on GNU/Linux. There are indeed the end times. I just saw cats lie down with dogs.
  - simiones 3y ago
    > Microsoft Teams requires Microsoft Edge to run. Where exactly did you get this idea? It runs fine on both Chrome and Firefox on desktop, including voice, camera, screen sharing. They also have desktop apps, including a .deb for Linux (since it's ultimately just an Electron app). Well, perhaps "runs fine" is not exactly the right word for what Teams does, but it's as awful on every platform at least.

omnimus 3y ago

Then lets break up Microsoft too.

flagrant_taco 3y ago
There's plenty of questionable business practices that Microsoft could probably be slapped on the wrist for of anyone cares, but I'm not actually sure there's a good antitrust claim that could lead to a breakup there.
- yjftsjthsd-h 3y ago
  There's always bundling a web browser with their OS and giving it an unfair advantage over all other browsers, aka the exact thing they were sued for last time.
  - vel0city 3y ago
    ChromeOS bundles its own browser and goes even further in preventing people from installing their own than Windows. Imagine if on the first boot of ChromeOS it asks if you want to use Chrome, Edge, Safari, or Firefox.
    - yencabulator 3y ago
      In related news, ChromeOS is separating the GUI shell from the browser: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36977107 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36977107
    - yjftsjthsd-h 3y ago
      There's a small difference in that Windows clims to be a general purpose operating system and Chrome OS is exactly what it says on the tin, but also a Chromebook running Firefox would be pretty great.
  - flagrant_taco 3y ago
    That lawsuit SAS honestly complete bullshit. Going after Microsoft for having plentiful stolen their browser would have been one thing, but saying an OS couldn't ship software applications out of the box is crazy. What do you find when booting up an OS for the first time? Am empty desktop and no way to install anything? What apple has done with browsers at least seems more egregious. Windows didn't stop you from installing a different browser, ios does. There was even a long running joke that the only good use for IE was to install a real browser. It wouldn't be hard to find a reason to sure Microsoft though. Take a look someone at where the legal text states their software builds were made and ask what tax benefits one might get from running production builds on servers in the Caribbean.

midoridensha 3y ago

The problem I see with this idea is that MS doesn't really have much leverage to push Edge on people any more. People aren't just using Windows PCs for their web browsing these days; lots of people are using mobile devices, and many don't even have PCs any more. Google and Apple control the mobile device market (roughly half and half, though it depends on which country you're in too). If a bunch of websites suddenly required Edge on Windows to view, they'd lose a majority of their visitors.

hutzlibu 3y ago
"The problem I see with this idea is that MS doesn't really have much leverage to push Edge on people any more" But they do it any way they can. I never intented to open edge even once, but through various sketchy things, I had it open way too many times. (when you click on the "learn more about this awesome landscape" - you land in edge, open a pdf, edge, saved a mhtml in chrome and open it, edge again. Search for chrome on edge? It almost tries to block you from downloading it.)
- midoridensha 3y ago
  What do you expect if you're using an MS platform? Meanwhile, all of us not using MS platforms (Linux, Android, MacOS, iOS) don't see any of this. MS only has power over you because you choose to give them that power. They have no power at all over anyone not using an MS OS.
bregma 3y ago
I sometimes have to use Microsoft Teams at work. Microsoft Teams requires Microsoft Edge to run. I was forced to install Microsoft Edge on my Ubuntu machine. Microsoft is pushing its Microsoft Edge product even on GNU/Linux. There are indeed the end times. I just saw cats lie down with dogs.
- simiones 3y ago
  > Microsoft Teams requires Microsoft Edge to run. Where exactly did you get this idea? It runs fine on both Chrome and Firefox on desktop, including voice, camera, screen sharing. They also have desktop apps, including a .deb for Linux (since it's ultimately just an Electron app). Well, perhaps "runs fine" is not exactly the right word for what Teams does, but it's as awful on every platform at least.