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DOJ will push Google to sell off Chrome

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Re: DOJ will push Google to sell off Chrome

#921

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>browsers aren't really a self funding product You can use Firefox 3, programs don't rot.

Not really true... In this specific case I'd be willing to bet that Firefox 3 probably doesn't handle current HTTPS/TLS standards and might not be able to browser the modern Internet at all (let alone display modern webpages, HTML5 video players, single-page web apps, WebRTC live calls, etc.)

Firefox 3.5 was actually the first browser to support HTML5 video and audio. In general for old browsers TLS is the main issue. Most websites that don't rely on JavaScript or newer CSS still render well enough or "fail gracefully" but are still readable.

Re: DOJ will push Google to sell off Chrome

#922

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> This isn't an isolated attempt. You can see more of the same thing with Android. Here are more: - (jumping off of your second point...) Play Services does more than just handle stuff you sign into as a user -- it's also a dependency for everything from push notifications to screen casting. This actively poses issues building competing platforms, in that in order to give developers a path to shipping in your ecosyst…

> Even the combined resources of Amazon and Microsoft weren't enough to overcome this. Pedantically, their resources were never combined. They independently tried to compete, and they independently failed. For what it's worth though, Amazon seems to be doing tidy business with entrypoint tablets and FireOS, which is a fork of Android, but still one they own. Microsoft's exit of mobile was a short-sighted decision IMO…

They can't properly port the office to android today, imagine years ago, also office in cellphone were never great

Re: DOJ will push Google to sell off Chrome

#923

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> One could ask, "How is Apple a Monopoly, and do they abuse that position?" I opened my local configurator to buy a 13" M3 MacBook Air. Memory, update from 16GB to 24GB -> +230€ SSD, update from 256GB to 2TB -> +920€ Textbook monopolistic price gouging.

Aston Martin charges $1000 to add a six CD changer in the trunk of Vanquish. Clearly textbook price gouging from the monopolistic auto manufacturer, Aston Martin.

Nobody needs an Aston Martin to perform well enough at their job. I've been in multiple situations where being a Linux user put me at a disadvantage because everything else at a company assumes Apple.

Granted, the appropriate response is to demand a Mac from this company, but it still highlights that a Mac isn't a luxury item the same way an Aston Martin is

Re: DOJ will push Google to sell off Chrome

#925
post #876

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> only reason I still use Chrome is because I already use other Google products and they integrate well together This is the point. Google's products integrate with Chrome better than non-Google products. Including its ad platform.

I'm failing to see why "this product we built from the ground up integrates better with our other tools" is an anti trust problem Isn't that what we want companies to do? I have two frustrations with this kind of decision: 1. It's not clear to me that the judge has any interest in creating value. 2. It does feel a bit like being punished for success. It's one thing when it's ill-gotten success, eg via coercive contra…

I tend to agree. I struggle to understand how a company runs a browser product without being eventually seen as a monopoly. They’re making a unique product ecosystem of browser and apps, just like everyone else, no need to keep coming down on whoever is successful at it. People can vote with their feet and use a dozen other options.

Re: DOJ will push Google to sell off Chrome

#926
post #519

It feels odd to me that this was the first proposal from the DOJ, considering that the case initially seemed quite focused on the advertising side of Google's business: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=United_States_v._...

That is a different case, this is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Google_LLC_(2...

Wow, thanks for the correction. Interesting that there's more than one monopoly US vs Google case.

Re: DOJ will push Google to sell off Chrome

#927

They can sell Chrome, keep Chromium, rebrand ChromeOS to nAndroidOS, and launch a new browser called Google DrEdge (based on Chromium). Full circle ⭕. Back to where we started.

That's not how this works. They'll sign a consent decree that forbids them from just that for a decade or three and the DOJ will have staff officed in Google campuses monitoring them for the entire time.

Sale of chrome can include non compete by the buyer. DOJ cant itself do something like that.

Re: DOJ will push Google to sell off Chrome

#928

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They don’t have to sell it. They have to spin it off. Which means an independent company with a C suite, RSUs and a P&L. There’s probably a number of talented people out there who would love to drive that truck.

If the pool they're looking at is "talented people" looking to run a company, it'll be someone who's currently the CEO of 7 other companies and successfully driven each of them into the ground for short term profits, unfortunately.

I love capitalism

Re: DOJ will push Google to sell off Chrome

#929

One of the hidden costs of Chrome on society is it supports radically ramping up the complexity of web specifications in order to extend the moat around it. It is one of the most extraordinary software engineering projects ever done, with multiple components each of which are game changers. (ANGLE, v8 and libwebrtc immediately come to mind). It is no accident Rust spun out of an effort to compete with this complexity…

libwebrtc not good

Re: DOJ will push Google to sell off Chrome

#930

One of the hidden costs of Chrome on society is it supports radically ramping up the complexity of web specifications in order to extend the moat around it. It is one of the most extraordinary software engineering projects ever done, with multiple components each of which are game changers. (ANGLE, v8 and libwebrtc immediately come to mind). It is no accident Rust spun out of an effort to compete with this complexity…

libwebrtc not good

Why don't you like libwebrtc? There's a lot of good stuff in there.
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