5 ms·

I didn't think this was a such a huge deal, it's not like Google doesn't beg you to use Chrome every time you use a Google service or a website that has their O

I didn't think this was a such a huge deal, it's not like Google doesn't beg you to use Chrome every time you use a Google service or a website that has their Oauth. Edit: related https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39741926 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39741926

HPsquared 3y ago
I wish they would stop that, as well.
- bzzzt 3y ago
  I think using your products as 'ad space' should allow governments to impose certain taxes like in the real world.
  - whywhywhywhy 3y ago
    Why should the government profit from it and how would that actually stop it? It’s still free money for the ad surface owner but now someone else has an interest in it getting worse
    - Hugsun 3y ago
      Financial inventives and disincentives like these are used effectively all over the world. The govt would not be doing this to get a piece of the pie. It's doing it to stop the practice. A proper fine would probably be more effective though.
      - whywhywhywhy 3y ago
        > The govt would not be doing this to get a piece of the pie Ok so we'd be fine with the money collected from it being just burned then? Because unless you're going to do that then they profit from it. > Financial inventives and disincentives like these are used effectively all over the world Heavy [citation needed] caveat, wild to me that so many people think the solution to problems is giving the government a slice of the pie.
    - bzzzt 3y ago
      In my city companies pay for billboards and other advertising in public space. Seems to be working against every surface being plastered with ads which I see as companies forcing your attention on them. You could argue computer operating systems are needed to access the digital public space and therefore the same line of reasoning applies. If you don't have a choice of operating system you shouldn't have to be subjected to excessive advertising. For people suffering from overstimulation it's also an accessibility issue.
  - ChrisLTD 3y ago
    If it’s something the people/government thinks should be illegal, we should just make it illegal rather than indirectly making it kind of undesirable through the already Byzantine tax code.
    - deleted 3y ago
      [deleted]
kome 3y ago
yeah the hypocrisy is staggering, every website has some idiotic pop-up asking me if i want to login with google. both ms and google should stop. and apple as well, it also begged me to use safari, using random notifications.
- croes 3y ago
  But this is not website related but on the OS level. MS even shows a message if you want to revert your choice. >"Wait-don't change it back! If you do, you'll turn off Microsoft Bing Search for Chrome and lose access to Bing Search and wallpapers,"
mupuff1234 3y ago
I think the main difference is using your own products to promote vs hijacking a competitor product to promote your own. The first one might be annoying, the latter is basically malware.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- nottorp 3y ago
  First one is abuse of market position though ;)
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
whywhywhywhy 3y ago
Yeah the constant chrome notifications about logging in, customizing your theme, adjusting ad privacy settings to turn off their latest scam are getting just as bad. I remember when you could launch chrome first time and it just worked right away no nagging
nolist_policy 3y ago
I don't know what you guys do, but I've never seen a "Use Chrome" nag.
- ChrisLTD 3y ago
  I’m not sure about anymore but there was an advertisement to download Chrome on the Google.com homepage for years.
- callahad 3y ago
  Do you have an ad blocker installed on your browser?
- Doctor_Fegg 3y ago
  I just opened a new window on Safari (iOS) and went to www.google.com. 50% of the screen is instantly filled with > Choose Chrome, the browser by Google > Chrome is a secure way to browse on your phone. Try it? > [blue button: Choose Chrome] > [white button: No, thanks]
tomComb 3y ago
Wow, I'm surprised that even on HN people are missing the fundamental issue here: MS is injecting their ads into a competitor's products. You can hate Google nagging you all you want, but they are doing it on their own properties. There is a cost/benefit calculation for them. But if you inject ads into someone else's space and no one seems to care (or just blames Google) then the cost/benefit calculation changes completely and this could get quite ugly.
- michaelt 3y ago
  I use the gmail app on my iphone, and almost every time I open a web link, Google nags me to install Chrome. If in Google's product they can nag me every time I ask them to open a competitor's product, why shouldn't Microsoft's product nag me every time I ask them to open a competitor's product? They're both shit from my perspective as a user, of course. But Microsoft is just using the Google playbook here.
  - manuelabeledo 3y ago
    Odd, that has never happened to me. As far as I know, Google don’t push Chrome on websites that aren’t theirs.
    - leosanchez 3y ago
      Gmail is theirs innit ?
  - tomComb 3y ago
    No, they are completely different. If you were watching a movie on Prime and Amazon inserted an ad before the movie that would be annoying but normal. But what if your TV manufacturer injected an ad over the movie? That would not be the moral equivalent of the first example, and if you just blamed Amazon then all the TV manufacturers would jump on the bandwagon.
    - sandbach 3y ago
croes 3y ago
It's not website related but on the OS level, the latter is worse.
izolate 3y ago
On the subject of Google nagware, the most egregious one to me is trying to use Google on iOS safari without logging in. It repeatedly runs a popup that covers >65% of the screen asking you to sign in.

HPsquared 3y ago

I wish they would stop that, as well.

bzzzt 3y ago
I think using your products as 'ad space' should allow governments to impose certain taxes like in the real world.
- whywhywhywhy 3y ago
  Why should the government profit from it and how would that actually stop it? It’s still free money for the ad surface owner but now someone else has an interest in it getting worse
  - Hugsun 3y ago
    Financial inventives and disincentives like these are used effectively all over the world. The govt would not be doing this to get a piece of the pie. It's doing it to stop the practice. A proper fine would probably be more effective though.
    - whywhywhywhy 3y ago
      > The govt would not be doing this to get a piece of the pie Ok so we'd be fine with the money collected from it being just burned then? Because unless you're going to do that then they profit from it. > Financial inventives and disincentives like these are used effectively all over the world Heavy [citation needed] caveat, wild to me that so many people think the solution to problems is giving the government a slice of the pie.
  - bzzzt 3y ago
    In my city companies pay for billboards and other advertising in public space. Seems to be working against every surface being plastered with ads which I see as companies forcing your attention on them. You could argue computer operating systems are needed to access the digital public space and therefore the same line of reasoning applies. If you don't have a choice of operating system you shouldn't have to be subjected to excessive advertising. For people suffering from overstimulation it's also an accessibility issue.
- ChrisLTD 3y ago
  If it’s something the people/government thinks should be illegal, we should just make it illegal rather than indirectly making it kind of undesirable through the already Byzantine tax code.
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]

kome 3y ago

yeah the hypocrisy is staggering, every website has some idiotic pop-up asking me if i want to login with google. both ms and google should stop. and apple as well, it also begged me to use safari, using random notifications.

croes 3y ago
But this is not website related but on the OS level. MS even shows a message if you want to revert your choice. >"Wait-don't change it back! If you do, you'll turn off Microsoft Bing Search for Chrome and lose access to Bing Search and wallpapers,"

mupuff1234 3y ago

I think the main difference is using your own products to promote vs hijacking a competitor product to promote your own. The first one might be annoying, the latter is basically malware.

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
nottorp 3y ago
First one is abuse of market position though ;)
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]

whywhywhywhy 3y ago

Yeah the constant chrome notifications about logging in, customizing your theme, adjusting ad privacy settings to turn off their latest scam are getting just as bad. I remember when you could launch chrome first time and it just worked right away no nagging

nolist_policy 3y ago

I don't know what you guys do, but I've never seen a "Use Chrome" nag.

ChrisLTD 3y ago
I’m not sure about anymore but there was an advertisement to download Chrome on the Google.com homepage for years.
callahad 3y ago
Do you have an ad blocker installed on your browser?
Doctor_Fegg 3y ago
I just opened a new window on Safari (iOS) and went to www.google.com. 50% of the screen is instantly filled with > Choose Chrome, the browser by Google > Chrome is a secure way to browse on your phone. Try it? > [blue button: Choose Chrome] > [white button: No, thanks]

tomComb 3y ago

Wow, I'm surprised that even on HN people are missing the fundamental issue here: MS is injecting their ads into a competitor's products. You can hate Google nagging you all you want, but they are doing it on their own properties. There is a cost/benefit calculation for them. But if you inject ads into someone else's space and no one seems to care (or just blames Google) then the cost/benefit calculation changes completely and this could get quite ugly.

michaelt 3y ago
I use the gmail app on my iphone, and almost every time I open a web link, Google nags me to install Chrome. If in Google's product they can nag me every time I ask them to open a competitor's product, why shouldn't Microsoft's product nag me every time I ask them to open a competitor's product? They're both shit from my perspective as a user, of course. But Microsoft is just using the Google playbook here.
- manuelabeledo 3y ago
  Odd, that has never happened to me. As far as I know, Google don’t push Chrome on websites that aren’t theirs.
  - leosanchez 3y ago
    Gmail is theirs innit ?
- tomComb 3y ago
  No, they are completely different. If you were watching a movie on Prime and Amazon inserted an ad before the movie that would be annoying but normal. But what if your TV manufacturer injected an ad over the movie? That would not be the moral equivalent of the first example, and if you just blamed Amazon then all the TV manufacturers would jump on the bandwagon.
  - sandbach 3y ago

croes 3y ago

It's not website related but on the OS level, the latter is worse.

izolate 3y ago

On the subject of Google nagware, the most egregious one to me is trying to use Google on iOS safari without logging in. It repeatedly runs a popup that covers >65% of the screen asking you to sign in.