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I'm a mobile computer technician in rural north Cornwall, UK. My clients are domestic and small biz (5 or fewer employees). One of the things that surprised m

I'm a mobile computer technician in rural north Cornwall, UK. My clients are domestic and small biz (5 or fewer employees). One of the things that surprised me was the approach to search that my non-technical clients take. Anecdotally, around half use Bing because they like Internet Explorer. Curiously, more than two thirds of these folks also have Chrome installed, so they can use Google; the misconception is that they _need_ Chrome in order to use Google _anything_. Chrome is use for Google, and nothing else. I don't recall a single person using Yahoo! across 300+ home and small office visits. Firefox is rarely seen, and if it does crop up it's usually because of a years-old recommendation from a trusted family member.

agumonkey 12y ago
Just like people thought internet was the blue 'e' on their desktop. Program, data, network .. no difference.
rockdoe 12y ago
the misconception is that they _need_ Chrome in order to use Google _anything_. Chrome is use for Google, and nothing else. Misconception?
- petecooper 12y ago
  These clients think that Google Chrome is the one tool to use for Google services; that is to say, if you want to access Gmail, Google search, Google whatever, they must use Google Chrome to do it. Internet Explorer isn't to be used for that kind of thing. They consider Chrome to be an app to do purely Google things, and use IT for everything else.
  - Terr_ 12y ago
    I interpreted rockdoe's comment as: "A misconception implies it's accidental, but it's partly deliberate: Google wants to leverage their search-engine influence, convincing people they have no choice but to buy into a larger Google-Stuff ecosystem."
    - rockdoe 12y ago
      I was referring to the fact that many Google sites offer a subpar experience if you're not visiting them with Google's own browser, yes. So it's not a misconception, those people are right that they're better of using Google Chrome for the Google Internet.

agumonkey 12y ago

Just like people thought internet was the blue 'e' on their desktop. Program, data, network .. no difference.

rockdoe 12y ago

the misconception is that they _need_ Chrome in order to use Google _anything_. Chrome is use for Google, and nothing else. Misconception?

petecooper 12y ago
These clients think that Google Chrome is the one tool to use for Google services; that is to say, if you want to access Gmail, Google search, Google whatever, they must use Google Chrome to do it. Internet Explorer isn't to be used for that kind of thing. They consider Chrome to be an app to do purely Google things, and use IT for everything else.
- Terr_ 12y ago
  I interpreted rockdoe's comment as: "A misconception implies it's accidental, but it's partly deliberate: Google wants to leverage their search-engine influence, convincing people they have no choice but to buy into a larger Google-Stuff ecosystem."
  - rockdoe 12y ago
    I was referring to the fact that many Google sites offer a subpar experience if you're not visiting them with Google's own browser, yes. So it's not a misconception, those people are right that they're better of using Google Chrome for the Google Internet.