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Firefox Features Google as Default Search Provider in the U.S.

blog.mozilla.org

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Re: Firefox Features Google as Default Search Provider in the U.S.

#91

Post by [deleted] »

ocdtrekkie wrote: post #13
ethhics wrote: post #7

So Mozilla backed out of their 5-year contract with Yahoo then [1]. Do they have a new agreement with Google that I'm not seeing anywhere? [1] https://blog.mozilla.org/blog/2014/11/19/promoting-choice-an...

My guess is the other way around: Yahoo backed out of their contract with Mozilla. The biggest difference for either of these companies this year is that Verizon now owns Yahoo, and probably doesn't want to pay for search market share. If the deal's a yearly cost or something similar, the bill's coming up in December.

[deleted]

Re: Firefox Features Google as Default Search Provider in the U.S.

#92

Post by seba_dos1 »

moz23 wrote: post #90
orthecreedence wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They just switched from Yahoo as the default. So it's not like there's only one company paying the bills (and pulling the strings). > It seems wiser to judge the ethos of a company based on their actions and decisions instead of their corporate tax status. I do. I judge them based off the tools they build and the fine line they walk between making boatloads of money and actually providing services for people who care…

If Mozilla fold, you could still use chromium. Effectively no privacy difference between chromium and firefox tbh. (Unless you use tracking protection in private browsing, but extensions let you do the same in chromium.)

Unless you use patched version like Ungoogled Chromium, not really.

https://github.com/Eloston/ungoogled-chromium

Re: Firefox Features Google as Default Search Provider in the U.S.

#93

Post by [deleted] »

ocdtrekkie wrote: post #41
lloydde wrote: post #30

Mozilla missed the opportunity to regain some of their authentic voice with this announcement. “This is part of our ongoing search strategy, announced in 2014 to evaluate and select the best search experience in each region as opposed to having a single global default.” is revisionist. I worked on a competing browser, Flock, in 2005 and Mozilla already had a strong and wonderful commitment to use the (local) best sea…

There was never any real commitment to the "best" search engine in a region. Mozilla has been paid by Google to be the default search since 2004.

[deleted]

Re: Firefox Features Google as Default Search Provider in the U.S.

#94

Post by Psilidae »

jonnycomputer wrote: post #3

I feel like the quality of deep search is diminishing; either there is less free content on the web, or search has been optimized for something else; I just get the same results over and over, not matter what combination of search terms I used on a topic.

I agree. It's incredibly difficult to find anything that isn't a basic, low-value result when you're looking for advanced, detailed content.

Maybe I'm looking up practices on how to write efficient SQL queries. All of the results I find are just slideshare presentations and basic blog posts on how to add an index to your select statement.

It feels impossible to find depth nowadays, when everything that search engines deem relevant are the big, heavy-SEO websites with the lowest tier of query-relevant information. Sure, the results may be good for people who want just-the-basics about what they're searching, but anything more than that feels hidden away.

Re: Firefox Features Google as Default Search Provider in the U.S.

#95

Post by dec0dedab0de »

jldugger wrote: post #76
dec0dedab0de wrote: post #11

I really just wish they would go back to letting the search bar change on the fly and remain that way until you change it back. With the little icon letting you know which service it is currently set to. Does anyone know why that functionality was removed? If I'm searching for anything other than my default chances are I'm going to be searching at least 3 different things before getting it right, but then I can't jus…

I'm on 56.0 until Ubuntu publishes an update but... if I click on the search glass icon, a dialog pops up with a set of suggested alternatives, and a change search settings button. Did that actually change in Quantum?

No it changed a long time ago. It used to be instead of the magnifying glass icon it had the icon of the current search provider. Then you could click a drop down and change it at any time, and it would stay there until you changed it again.

Re: Firefox Features Google as Default Search Provider in the U.S.

#98

Post by yuhong »

bitmapbrother wrote: post #59
Bhilai wrote: post #58

Mozilla's punch line "Built for People, not for profit" stands at odds with this since we know Google monetizes the heck out your search history. Another interesting thing to note is Apple dropped Bing for Siri and Firefox stayed with Google. Sounds like Microsoft is not even trying.

Was their punchline also at odds when they used Yahoo/Bing or was that different?

Also keep in mind that Firefox has used Google since 2004 I think.

Re: Firefox Features Google as Default Search Provider in the U.S.

#99

Post by yuhong »

amelius wrote: post #21
neuland wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your right on a privacy front from an absolute perspective. But, it's almost certain that Google paid for this change. A stronger Mozilla (financially speaking) is good for privacy and free software. Also, normal users expect Google. So, having it in the default provides a more familiar experience for them to possibly switch to Firefox.

Still, Firefox could automatically switch to e.g. Duckduckgo whenever the user is in incognito mode.

Though keep in mind it dates back to 2004.

Re: Firefox Features Google as Default Search Provider in the U.S.

#100

Post by dralley »

yuhong wrote: post #98
bitmapbrother wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Was their punchline also at odds when they used Yahoo/Bing or was that different?

Also keep in mind that Firefox has used Google since 2004 I think.

Dude, no. The current deal with Yahoo has been in place for like 2 and a half years, at least.
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