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Missouri Attorney General launches investigation of Google

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Re: Missouri Attorney General launches investigation of Google

#81

Post by ISL »

savanaly wrote: post #56
CottageCarry wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd love an actually decent competitor to Youtube.

I mean, I want the improvement in quality that usually comes with competition, but I don't actually want there to be competition. Does anyone really relish the idea of having to search multiple sites for a given video because you don't know or can't remember which one it's on, and having to have an account and different set of uploader subscriptions for Youtube A, B and C? And remember where the subscribe button is o…

Remember RSS feeds? :).

Re: Missouri Attorney General launches investigation of Google

#82

Post by allenz »

bobajeff wrote: post #64
tomrod wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

DuckDuckGo

Somehow, I doubt Google is worrying about the next move that DuckDuckGo will make in competition with them.

Google names DuckDuckGo as their competitor. I think it's taken seriously.

Re: Missouri Attorney General launches investigation of Google

#84

Post by wu-ikkyu »

todd8 wrote: post #55
thebiglebrewski wrote: post #6

Yay! I am happy about this. I feel as if there are a ton of monopolies and trusts today that stifle competition. Does anyone else feel similar?

I don't. Why do we want or even trust government to decide for us that a company is too big and needs to be smaller or that a company should conducts it business in the way that the government wants it to. As long as a company isn't somehow forcing me to use it services, I'm free to go elsewhere. If you don't like Google don't use it. The fact that you desire something from Google that it isn't giving you (searching…

>Why do we want or even trust government to decide for us that a company is too big and needs to be smaller or that a company should conducts it business in the way that the government wants it to. As long as a company isn't somehow forcing me to use it services, I'm free to go elsewhere.

Should we get rid of IP laws then? Isn't copyright a government granted monopoly?

Re: Missouri Attorney General launches investigation of Google

#86

Post by mschuster91 »

FussyZeus wrote: post #15
jgowdy wrote: post #14

Translation: We need money and we are watching the EU take incredible amounts of money in fines, and it occurred to someone “Why can’t we do that?!”

The EU doesn't fine to fund itself. Fines are not a good funding source.

Just look at where cops do traffic monitoring (aka speed traps). In Germany they are supposed to put speed traps in areas with a large amount of accidents caused by speeding, but many end up being placed simply where people casually speed in tiny amounts (e.g. 20 km/h too fast is 30€)... and a single trap can bring 15M € per year (http://www.stuttgarter-nachrichten.de/inhalt.verkehrsueberwa...).

In total, speed traps in Germany are estimated to bring in billions of euros in revenue (https://www.welt.de/motor/article13877289/Das-Milliardengesc...). There are many agencies which can place speed traps and profit - federal, country, county and city cops, in addition to city personnel and sometimes even private companies.

They are not a good funding source, but a very consistent one once you find the right spots to milk people.

Re: Missouri Attorney General launches investigation of Google

#87

Post by bitmapbrother »

tryingagainbro wrote: post #34
11thEarlOfMar wrote: post #20

Missouri 2017 State Budget: $27 Billion [0] Google Net Profit Last 4 Qs: $63 Billion Google can literally fund the state of Missouri indefinately. How does Missouri make this a fair fight? [0] https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/missouri/articles/20...

How does Missouri make this a fair fight? The power of government. Missouri can definitely pay for quite a few attorneys (maybe do a tobacco litigation type deal) but the danger is that other states will join in. Having taken on Google can be quite a thing on your resume as you seek higher office...who will resist it?

Surely you mean the taxpayers of Missouri will be paying for a long and protracted legal battle. And once they find out the amount they paid to pad his resume they'll have a thing or two to say on how Missouri funds were used.

Re: Missouri Attorney General launches investigation of Google

#88

Post by chiefofgxbxl »

todd8 wrote: post #55
thebiglebrewski wrote: post #6

Yay! I am happy about this. I feel as if there are a ton of monopolies and trusts today that stifle competition. Does anyone else feel similar?

I don't. Why do we want or even trust government to decide for us that a company is too big and needs to be smaller or that a company should conducts it business in the way that the government wants it to. As long as a company isn't somehow forcing me to use it services, I'm free to go elsewhere. If you don't like Google don't use it. The fact that you desire something from Google that it isn't giving you (searching…

> If you don't like Google don't use it.

What happens when people don't know they're using Google?

I have an Android phone and one thing that is bugging me is how the default browser on the bottom "toolbar" is in fact named "Internet". This may be fine for techies like you and me, but I'm concerned for the older folk who may have difficulty with technology or non-techies. In this case, if one just went with the defaults, one wouldn't even know you were using a Google-built browser.

Remember that old story back when Internet Explorer was dominating the market, and most people surveyed couldn't tell the difference between the web and a web browser? They pointed to the "e" browser logo and said, "That's the internet!"

This is a nasty pattern in tech these days. On my laptop which carries Windows 10, the programs aren't named in such a way to identify that they are Microsoft programs [0]. You see an email client named "Mail" and a map service named "Maps". No indication that they are Microsoft Mail or Microsoft (Bing) Maps.

Also, on Windows 10 when you log in you are presented with a "photo of the day". If you click on any of the links on that image, the URLs will be opened in Microsoft Edge, and any searches are performed using Bing, regardless if you set your default browser to something else!

[0] https://s18.postimg.org/ipxt1962h/default.png

Re: Missouri Attorney General launches investigation of Google

#89

Post by scarface74 »

maxxxxx wrote: post #22
thebiglebrewski wrote: post #6

Yay! I am happy about this. I feel as if there are a ton of monopolies and trusts today that stifle competition. Does anyone else feel similar?

I think we should make life difficult for companies from a certain size on. These large companies kill competition and innovation.

20 years ago, people wondered could anyone overtake Microsoft. But look at the big tech companies now.

1. Apple -- approaching a one trillion dollar market cap was almost bankrupt 20 years ago.

2. Amazon -- a little spunky online book seller

3 Google - a little research project that wasn't even incorporated

4 Facebook -- wouldn't exist for 7 years.

As hard as MS tried, they weren't able to kill competition.

Re: Missouri Attorney General launches investigation of Google

#90

Post by scarface74 »

chiefofgxbxl wrote: post #88
todd8 wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't. Why do we want or even trust government to decide for us that a company is too big and needs to be smaller or that a company should conducts it business in the way that the government wants it to. As long as a company isn't somehow forcing me to use it services, I'm free to go elsewhere. If you don't like Google don't use it. The fact that you desire something from Google that it isn't giving you (searching…

> If you don't like Google don't use it. What happens when people don't know they're using Google? I have an Android phone and one thing that is bugging me is how the default browser on the bottom "toolbar" is in fact named "Internet". This may be fine for techies like you and me, but I'm concerned for the older folk who may have difficulty with technology or non-techies. In this case, if one just went with the defau…

Remember that old story back when Internet Explorer was dominating the market, and most people surveyed couldn't tell the difference between the web and a web browser? They pointed to the "e" browser logo and said, "That's the internet!"

How did that whole trying to use their monopoly to dominate the market work out for Microsoft in hindsight?

There was time that AOL was the number one ISP and MySpace was the number one social media platform.

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