As Firefox's user numbers decline, Mozilla seeks out new revenue streams

[GoldenGoat]

Firefox is great. I hope they gain market share. It would be a sad day if Firefox died.

 

[zulu53]

Firefox first became popular by getting packaged with a lot of other software. It still couldn't beat IE's numbers because IE was included with Windows and fought tooth and nail to be your default browser. Chrome came along and proceeded to do what Firefox had done but with the amps cranked to 11. Since about 2008 its been hard to find a single program or website that doesn't try to install Chrome. The hard-core contingent of power users that once kept Firefox's small market share alive were sickened when Mozilla went woke and most turned to forks of either Firefox or Chromium. Everyone else just did whatever the dialog on their screens insisted they do, which was install Chrome. Most people aren't geeks and know virtually nothing about the actual workings of their computers and software. For them a browser is just that thing that lets them get to Youtube on their PCs. Intense marketing will always win, so its no surprise that the browser that spies on you the most to make money from marketers is #1. Microsoft has tried to fight back by forcing Edge on users but Google is so big they are the only company whose browser actively blocks Windows from switching you to Edge. And there's not a thing Microsoft can do about it.

Too true. But of course there is something the public can do about it. Support your local Governments attempts to bring anti-trust lawsuits against Google. The laws are there for the use of the citizens in most western countries; particular the US but need to be enforced to serve their purpose. Just as with Rockefeller&Flagler and Standard Oil, Page&Brin and Google portrayed themselves as benevolent dictators in their use of "intellectual property" technology to make the citizens life better. Of course it was and it all about making money by eliminating competitors, the citizens be damned. It took 41 years for the citizens to break StandardOil (which was probably only abused its power in the last 10-15 years of its existence; hopefully we don't have to wait that long to break Alphabet/ which has abused its power since 2005 say.

 

[zulu53]

I always smile at the naivety of the media when they do "browser" face-offs to somehow explain the high market share of Chrome; using some pretty arcane "features" or "benefits" not applicable to the average user. They are all easy to use and fast enough - period. The only differences are the Chrome and Edge data mine the users and sell the data for a profit, the others do not - period. The way that Chrome & Edge (or IE before it) get market share is to co-op (corrupt?) the webpage programmers for various business's and issue statements "our webpage is only certified to work with Chrome/Edge") - period. Financial institutions are famous for this statement attached to their webpages. Amazon not so - their webpages are agnostic. As I ask my service providers - why can't your IT department just do it the way Amazon's does? And then to their "its too hard" reply I reply - "I really do get it, since I was a professional engineering manager, you are too bad a programer to ever be hired by Amazon.".

 

[captaincranky]

The only differences are the Chrome and Edge data mine the users and sell the data for a profit, the others do not - period. The way that Chrome & Edge (or IE before it) get market share is to co-op (corrupt?)

I've learned to take Google's tracking and "Targeted ads", with a grain of salt. I live on a retirement income, and thus, I can't afford, or don't want, most to all of the crap that Google's advertisers try to sell me.

That said, I did a web search, (using Opera) for Bozendorfer pianos, lavishly exploring their website for all their categories of high end product. (These things start at a minimum price of $150,000, and run to $500,000). This was an experiment to determine if ads for these instruments, (or other piano companies), wold find their way to my email accounts..

Anyway, I found an instrument I immediately fell in love with, "The Grand Bohemian".

In all my 70 plus years of life I've thought of myself as a straight male, My infatuation with this excessively opulent, (and perhaps tacky), instrument, has caused me to question that sense of self.

I mean, this thing is over the top enough it would have even made Liberace wince.

 

[noXLar]

Firefox is the best browser ever.. I'm using portable Firefox with 50+ plugins. once a year or two.. I can just backup the folder and it remains exactly where I left it (in case I break it by all my experimenting) and this makes it wonderful to transfer between new devices like forever.. never issues.. and, all updates arrives and installed.. works great google really means ads.. keep they bad trash away from me.