Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Google Removed ClearURLs Extension from Chrome Web Store

github.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

251–260 of 369 posts

Re: Google Removed ClearURLs Extension from Chrome Web Store

#251

Post by TeMPOraL »

varispeed wrote: post #173
kajecounterhack wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Natural monopolies are actually one of the main places regulation helps.

We need a regulation that will automatically deal with such monopolies by ordering companies to split after reaching certain thresholds. This way we would never get companies too big to fail.

We'll need a second bit of regulation then (and I'd say, possibly we need it already) to counter the obvious workaround - creation of a thousand of small companies doing roughly the same thing, controlled by the same group of investors.

Re: Google Removed ClearURLs Extension from Chrome Web Store

#252

Post by TeMPOraL »

seaman1921 wrote: post #225
ulrikrasmussen wrote: post #45

What I don't get is why Google is allowed to provide a browser and be a major content provider at the same time. If this is allowed to continue then it seems inevitable than an unhealthy monopoly will form where Chrome and its derivatives are the only browsers that can consume the modern web, and where opting out of tracking is not a possibility for anyone but the most technically inclined (although that's almost alr…

I don't understand this logic. You can use the same argument against any Vertical integration.

Vertical integration is fine, it's the part where one or more pieces of your vertical gives you too much control over the markets around other parts of your vertical.

Re: Google Removed ClearURLs Extension from Chrome Web Store

#253

Post by int_19h »

cookiecaper wrote: post #244
m-p-3 wrote: post #234

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They did lose a bit of focus in the past, but I believe they're getting it back with some privacy-oriented side-projects like Firefox Relay. Hopefully they don't go under :(

The layoffs last summer tell us all we need to know about the direction Mozilla's headed. I think they're toast. Brave and -- dare I say it? -- even Edge have brighter prospects.

Check out Vivaldi while you're at it.

Re: Google Removed ClearURLs Extension from Chrome Web Store

#254

Post by johnvaluk »

BunsanSpace wrote: post #220
deallocator wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't disagree with what you're saying, but I feel HTTPS everywhere does not belong in that list. Secure by default doesn't sound evil to me, and Let's Encrypt made it easy enough to get free HTTPS certificates (and for non technical people, almost all hosting services I've seen offer it out of the box)

A static blog that takes no user input/data doesn't need HTTPS. Here's a good lecture about why HTTPS everywhere isn't as important as people think. http://n-gate.com/software/2017/07/12/0/

I think authors want to ensure their writings are not edited, censored or otherwise tampered with while in transit to the reader. HTTPS isn't perfect, but this is one of the benefits it provides. It isn't only about encryption or privacy.

Re: Google Removed ClearURLs Extension from Chrome Web Store

#255

Post by int_19h »

teekert wrote: post #35

Why are people still on Chrome? Just use a browser whose interests align with yours, like Firefox.

Chrome has many convenience features, especially for users of other Google services, that effectively lock you into it. On top of that, some Google websites don't work all that well in other browsers (except where they are forced to play along - e.g. Safari on iOS), either because they use features that Chrome implements first, or because they specifically check which user agent you're using.

(It should also be noted that this latter bit is not something new to Google, either. I remember how Opera complained about them doing exactly that with GMail back in... 2009, I think?)

Re: Google Removed ClearURLs Extension from Chrome Web Store

#256

Post by danaris »

eecc wrote: post #95
ulrikrasmussen wrote: post #45

What I don't get is why Google is allowed to provide a browser and be a major content provider at the same time. If this is allowed to continue then it seems inevitable than an unhealthy monopoly will form where Chrome and its derivatives are the only browsers that can consume the modern web, and where opting out of tracking is not a possibility for anyone but the most technically inclined (although that's almost alr…

What I don’t get is how many howl and cry foul at Apple for its Store “monopoly” while anyone can opt-out of it by switching to any other of the myriad competitors. While in this case, Google is very likely abusing its dominance to coerce the whole ecosystem beyond their own platform in their favor: if the web becomes “works with Chrome” everyone is (probably negatively) affected.

While Apple does not have a monopoly over the smartphone market by any meaningful definition, what it does have is a vastly outsized mindshare.

Not only did Apple invent the modern smartphone, they created the first modern App Store. This, combined with their high cultural cachet, allows them to define by their actions what an App Store "should be" in many people's minds.

Personally, as a lifelong Apple user, I'm both concerned about Apple's singular control over the iPhone app market, and concerned what would happen if that singular control were broken.

Re: Google Removed ClearURLs Extension from Chrome Web Store

#257

Post by minusSeven »

Glad I am using Firefox for this, issues like this makes my blood boil.

One thing I hate about most websites is the backward compatibility issues most websites tend to have from time to time that break pre existing functionalities. Almost all websites have them. EG copy pasting photos through clipboard doesn't work anymore on gmail using firefox which forces me to use chrome.

Re: Google Removed ClearURLs Extension from Chrome Web Store

#258

Post by bandie91 »

jimmydorry wrote: post #246
BunsanSpace wrote: post #220

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A static blog that takes no user input/data doesn't need HTTPS. Here's a good lecture about why HTTPS everywhere isn't as important as people think. http://n-gate.com/software/2017/07/12/0/

In a perfect world, sure, static sites don't need HTTPs. However, ISPs and other malevolent middle-parties have demonstrated why HTTPS is a must. We've seen everything from injecting tracking javascript, to injecting their own ads, to outright replacing content with unrelated content that the ISP wants to push.

in a perfect world, we would not secure the transport but the content itself. and everyone should be able to build their own web-of-trust. why i as a (web-) publisher and my readers have to rely on the grace of just a few root CAs? i know technically it is possible to import my home-made CA cert in browsers, but it's not made easy: my server cert can not be signed by more than 1 parties; android requisites an unlock code in order to have custom CA certs - first when i saw this i was like "why the hell?", i mean i can imagine this is safety feature for simple users but come on!

Re: Google Removed ClearURLs Extension from Chrome Web Store

#259

Post by Omniusaspirer »

jeltz wrote: post #172
foepys wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree with you except for the HTTPS part. In some nations it's not unheard of for ISPs to inject ads and tracking into webpages. This also opens the door for malware. Let's Encrypt's with its certbot made it easy enough to get a cert and every major webserver supports HTTPS out of the box with good documentation.

The certbot client is pretty awful (it does not cooperate well with automization) but otherwise I agree 100%. HTTPS everywhere and Letsencrypt have been huge boons to security.

Certbot seemed pretty easily automated to me as a guy who just set it up for the first time a few days ago on a new Arch install. The wiki is a pretty great resource if you're still having problems.

Re: Google Removed ClearURLs Extension from Chrome Web Store

#260

Post by int_19h »

emayljames wrote: post #119
midasuni wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s not like it’s difficult. This isn’t the world of IE6, where a bloated Netscape 4.7 which failed to work on many sites was the only alternative. (Kant remember when KHTML - later konqurer - became more usable than Phoenix/Firebird/Firefox)

I'd respectfully disagree, Netscape (Gecko) had better, more up to date standards. The issue was always folks not testing on other than Internet Exploder.

It didn't when Netscape 4 (which was pre-Gecko) was a thing. The IE vs NN browser war saw both adopting various incompatible non-standard features - e.g. layers in NN, innerHTML in IE - but the set that IE ended up with was closer to what was eventually standardized as HTML5/CSS/DOM.
Post reply on HN