this post was submitted on 15 Apr 2024
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Privacy
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Amen. I use Firefox, but not because it's great or anything. It's just because Chrome/Chromium is worse in just about every aspect I care about. Seriously, I hope Mozilla dies so that it can be reborn by a different org that gives a fuck about browsers, because Mozilla sure as hell doesn't.
Mozilla only wants that sweet Google money they get paid to be the only "mainstream" alternative (500 million dollars per year). They could make the greatest opensource alternative browser and experience out there with that money, but instead they pay their CEO at least 5 million a year.
Fuck Mozilla.
Anti Commercial-AI license
And why do you think that would happen as opposed to Chromium just becoming the only browser engine available?
Why do you think Google is keeping Firefox alive? Why would the monopoly give even a cent to it's competitor?
Anti Commercial-AI license
To be able to claim they're not a monopoly. But I'm not sure what you're getting at. You want Google to create a new org to compete with Chromium after Mozilla dies? That seems neither realistic nor something to hope for.
Precisely. They are afraid of being perceived as a monopoly because of the consequences that come with that. Microsoft suffered it before with Internet Explorer and other products. The US DOJ is currently suing Apple/Malus for monopolistic practices. The EU passed multiple acts against large tech companies this year and has been on their heels for years now.
There currently is no well-funded effort to compete with Chome/Chromium that seriously cares about dethroning it. Were that to disappear, even the illusion of competition would too and suddenly Google's direct siphon of private data could become the focus of 2 major economic regions.
Nope. It wouldn't help Google at all if they themselves created a new org. Lawyers wouldn't be dumb enough to fall for shadow competition (at least I hope not).
I want a new org to be established by people who actually give a shit about competing with Google, not just sucking on Google's tit and living off of their bare existence.
Anti Commercial-AI license
Check out the Ladybird browser (by the same people making SerenityOS), it's a new browser with its own engine. It's already functional enough for me to use it to post this comment (though it is still in very early development).
I saw that a while ago and two things made me go "nah":
I appreciate that it was probably started in 2018 or something when other memory safe programming languages weren't as popular, but it simply isn't for me.
Anti Commercial-AI license
They're building their own memory safe language, Jakt, but it's not mature enough to be used by Ladybird yet. Dismissing it at such an early point for this reason is pretty dumb IMO, especially considering this is by far the most complete alternative browser engine, and it's getting better at a very rapid pace.
You're right about Discord though...
edit: BTW, I'd wager the complexity of Chrome's code base is still largely responsiblefor the introduction of bugs, even if most are of a certain type. Ladybird is extremely simple in comparison.
I share this sentiment to some point. Mozilla taking millions from Google, and making it difficult for users to DeGoogle or remove the sponsored shortcuts from their Firefox browser. But hard forking Firefox will not be a light weight task for a new project to take on for a long time. I hope the stronger pushing of ads by Google in the Chrome/Chromium browser will make some more people switch back to Firefox.
I dont think Mozilla makes degoogling hard. It is very easy to keep track of the changes and simply flip some switches.
But it is of course ironic that their product is useless.
People used Firefox because Internet Explorer sucked. Now they get ads for Chrome everywhere, have Android and whatnot devices, and Edge is working okay.
People are using devices as appliances, they dont expect needing to repair something they bought new.
Some switched ? Have you checked all the connections a Firefox browser makes ? In case you didn't know Mozilla push notifications is hosted on a Google server.
Arkenfox, Librewolf, Torbrowser, MullvadBrowser.
Those switches. It is not easy but it is possible, unlike on Chromium, where after applying even policies it constantly pings Google.
I stand corrected.
This is why I'm not hoping for a fork. I'm hoping for the old to die and a new one to be reborn from the ashes of the old one. Mozilla must die in order for Firefox to become great again.
Maybe the firefox developers don't know where to go to, or it would be inconvenient for them to leave. Maybe they just need a new home at a new foundation, that makes it easy and compelling for them to switch. But the death of Mozilla would be a very compelling reason for them to switch.
Anti Commercial-AI license
I sincerely hope you're right, and we'll see a new and truly privacy friendly Firefox, and the decay of Google Chrome.
It really is crazy if you see the hype for the "sovereign tech fund" for GNOME, that was literally just 1mio€.
It is so insane how people can waste so much money.
When donating, nowadays I am often very certain that giving money to homeless people will always be better than giving it random "nonprofit" "charities" that will simply sustain their 1st world lifes as "operation expenses".
I don't remember exactly what i've seen but it's was a research on how many non-profit org and the like you could really trust and it's like 10 for all the thousand there is