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Google created their own browser in order to embed Google search as your default search engine and homepage. Not because of an altruistic quest to make the web

by dkopi 12y ago

Google created their own browser in order to embed Google search as your default search engine and homepage. Not because of an altruistic quest to make the web faster.

Someone1234 12y ago
Since Firefox already shipped with Google as the default search engine and homepage that argument has flaws.
- ksherlock 12y ago
  Google pays for that. What happens if Bing or DuckDuckGo write an even bigger check? What happens if Firefox gets stagnant and users switch to IE?
  - Someone1234 12y ago
    Right but Google also pays for Chrome development. It isn't free either way.
  - dkopi 12y ago
    What happens if firefox starts shipping with yahoo as it's default search engine? http://mashable.com/2014/11/19/firefox-default-yahoo-search/?utm_cid=mash-com-Tw-main-link http://mashable.com/2014/11/19/firefox-default-yahoo-search/...
dragonwriter 12y ago
> Google created their own browser in order to embed Google search as your default search engine and homepage. Not because of an altruistic quest to make the web faster. That's overly simplistic (even the idea that that's the only reason they pay for search placement on Firefox, though that's the direct exchange, is overly simplistic.) For funding Firefox and sponsoring Chrome, their goals included: (1) avoiding a desktop browser monopoly by MS that could be leveraged to favor the favor certain online properties or extract rents from them (e.g., to prevent Google's core business from being "taxed" by MS), and (2) (for Chrome more than Firefox) Drive the shape of browsers (both directly by implementing these features in a browser that would gain substantial use, and indirectly by creating pressure on other browser vendors to do the same) toward capabilities to more fully replace desktop/native apps, and thereby commoditize native platforms so that Google's core competence in the web space would have more reach. Making the web faster was part of this, though altruism isn't necessary to explain it.

by dkopi 12y ago

Google created their own browser in order to embed Google search as your default search engine and homepage. Not because of an altruistic quest to make the web faster.

Someone1234 12y ago

Since Firefox already shipped with Google as the default search engine and homepage that argument has flaws.

ksherlock 12y ago
Google pays for that. What happens if Bing or DuckDuckGo write an even bigger check? What happens if Firefox gets stagnant and users switch to IE?
- Someone1234 12y ago
  Right but Google also pays for Chrome development. It isn't free either way.
- dkopi 12y ago
  What happens if firefox starts shipping with yahoo as it's default search engine? http://mashable.com/2014/11/19/firefox-default-yahoo-search/?utm_cid=mash-com-Tw-main-link http://mashable.com/2014/11/19/firefox-default-yahoo-search/...

dragonwriter 12y ago

> Google created their own browser in order to embed Google search as your default search engine and homepage. Not because of an altruistic quest to make the web faster. That's overly simplistic (even the idea that that's the only reason they pay for search placement on Firefox, though that's the direct exchange, is overly simplistic.) For funding Firefox and sponsoring Chrome, their goals included: (1) avoiding a desktop browser monopoly by MS that could be leveraged to favor the favor certain online properties or extract rents from them (e.g., to prevent Google's core business from being "taxed" by MS), and (2) (for Chrome more than Firefox) Drive the shape of browsers (both directly by implementing these features in a browser that would gain substantial use, and indirectly by creating pressure on other browser vendors to do the same) toward capabilities to more fully replace desktop/native apps, and thereby commoditize native platforms so that Google's core competence in the web space would have more reach. Making the web faster was part of this, though altruism isn't necessary to explain it.