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

DOJ will push Google to sell off Chrome

bloomberg.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

591–600 of 1001 posts

Re: DOJ will push Google to sell off Chrome

#591

Post by oliwarner »

You could make all these arguments against Android, no? Perhaps moreso while they maintain the garden wall.

It isn't wrong to point out how harmful to society monopolies are, and to identify them, but the development of Chrome, Android, etc, do also present genuine value to anybody who wants that code.

Without Google making money from the search/targeting/advertising model, who is paying for Chrome, Firefox and Google Search? Who is paying for Android after third party marketplaces take off?

I'm not making any recommendations here except that I think we need to be careful what we wish for. Tools we rely on might evaporate.

Re: DOJ will push Google to sell off Chrome

#592

Post by smallerize »

niutech wrote: post #579
moody__ wrote: post #525

A lot of discussion in this thread is pointing out that chromium is a thing and that it would be hard for a company to properly fund a web browser without the backing of a tech giant whose more direct revenue stream is elsewhere. I think this showcases a larger issue with the web as it stands today. Why has building a browser for the "open web" become such a complex piece of software that it requires the graces of a…

> Can nothing be done to the web to lower the barrier to entry such that an independent group (a la OpenBSD or similar) can maintain their own? Of course it can and it is done: Linux Foundation Europe runs Servo, GNOME Foundation runs WebKitGTK and Epiphany, Ladybird Browser Initiative runs Ladybird.

Only WebKitGTK is feature complete. Servo and especially Ladybird are still likely to run into missing features while browsing.

Re: DOJ will push Google to sell off Chrome

#593

Post by niutech »

postepowanieadm wrote: post #524

Taking into account all the noise the EU is making about Internet, privacy, digital laws it's mind-bending that there is no the EU WebBrowser. There is Opera, there are original KHTML/Webkit creators - just use them and make an engine that's not adverts powered.

There are many EU web browsers: https://fosstodon.org/@niutech/113285649386968003

Re: DOJ will push Google to sell off Chrome

#594

Post by niutech »

smallerize wrote: post #592
niutech wrote: post #579

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Can nothing be done to the web to lower the barrier to entry such that an independent group (a la OpenBSD or similar) can maintain their own? Of course it can and it is done: Linux Foundation Europe runs Servo, GNOME Foundation runs WebKitGTK and Epiphany, Ladybird Browser Initiative runs Ladybird.

Only WebKitGTK is feature complete. Servo and especially Ladybird are still likely to run into missing features while browsing.

But they are in early development, they are making great progress every month.

Re: DOJ will push Google to sell off Chrome

#595

Post by mrkramer »

rkharsan64 wrote: post #510

People here seem to be underestimating the advantages that Google gets just because of Chrome: - When you sign in to Google, you sign in browser-wide. Google now gets all of your browsing data, perfect for advertising. (If you ever doubt it, go check out Google Takeout. You'll be shocked at the amount of data you see there.) - They have special APIs and features that they get to use, and nobody else. Only because the…

Google realized if they don't control the search distribution they gonna lose out sooner or later; which is kinda contradictory for them if they claim Google is the best search out there and that they are constantly improving it and that's why(they say), people choose it over other alternatives. But tbh distribution of your product/s is crucial.

Just look at Microsoft and their internet strategy, they chose the other route; push their internet browser(IE) down their massive distribution pipe called Windows and then introducing their search engine to this massive userbase. Fortunately this didn't work out for them but unfortunately that worked out for Google. And now Google essentially controls the Web in the more than half of the world.

Re: DOJ will push Google to sell off Chrome

#596

Post by charlieyu1 »

wesselbindt wrote: post #306

I'm very surprised by the number of people in this thread who don't seem to understand that monopolies are _very_ bad for consumers.

Splitting up is good except when it is bad.

In UK you have to subscribe to so many channels just to watch football. Because apparently this would stop monopolies.

Re: DOJ will push Google to sell off Chrome

#598

Post by coretx »

We went from hardware we could trust & control and gopher + plain html to hardware that spies on us and have limited control over and fully turing complete software with access to all hardware & DRM. - and no sensible way out.

Maybe not only Google, but everyone needs to rethink the concept of a browser.

Re: DOJ will push Google to sell off Chrome

#600

Post by gman83 »

moody__ wrote: post #525

A lot of discussion in this thread is pointing out that chromium is a thing and that it would be hard for a company to properly fund a web browser without the backing of a tech giant whose more direct revenue stream is elsewhere. I think this showcases a larger issue with the web as it stands today. Why has building a browser for the "open web" become such a complex piece of software that it requires the graces of a…

These guys think it can be done: https://ladybird.org
Post reply on HN