- cross-posted to:
- technology@beehaw.org
- privacy@programming.dev
- cross-posted to:
- technology@beehaw.org
- privacy@programming.dev
Do Elon now. He owns way too much shit and always tries for a monopoly. Start by nationalizing star link.
Why nationalize it? Surely treating Starlink like a utility and putting it under an independent org would be better, no? Keep politics out of it and let ISPs pay for access like how MVNOs like Mint Mobile work, except prevent the entity that owns it from providing service directly.
Nationalizing under that administration? Who would that help?
America, when they stab each other to death, each shouting Sic Semper
Google says government proposals would “harm America’s consumers.”
Says the company that couldn’t stand by the core value “don’t be evil”.
Musk will be champing at the bit to own a controlling share of both of these. It disgusts me to agree with them but they’re right. This is the single worst possible time to try and push this through.
This is the single worst possible time to try and push this through.
Which is why it’s happening now, I agree.
But we, the non-billionaires are still better off after any monopoly split. It’s hard to express how incredibly bad powerful monopolies are. The fact that another billionaire will be the buyer sucks, but it’s no reason to back away from forcing the legally required split.
as if america’s consumers aren’t quite willing to be harmed at this point
The DOJ is asking the court to force Google to promptly and fully divest itself of Chrome, along with any data or other assets required for its continued operation. It is essentially aiming to take the Chrome user base—consisting of some 3.4 billion people—away from Google and hand it to a competitor
Fuck yes, shatter that shit.
Shatter it and probably have it bought out by Elon.
Seriously. The only people willing to pay what it’s “worth” will end up doing the same thing (or worse).
What we need are some actual privacy laws with teeth, so that the data isn’t worth as much to begin with.
Elon’s a dunce, so he’ll probably enshittify it so badly that people will leave. So google is weakened and chrome dies (at least, i hope in a good outcome)
That regular people would stop using chrome if it turned into xhrome is highly unlikely. These are people who browse without adblocker, use facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and buy Amazon echos. It’d just lead to Doge influencing the direction of xhromium based browsers.
Yeah but is it Elon&friends who will get to buy it?
The optimist in me hopes not, but only time will tell.
If he does i hope he tanks it so badly that it loses a huge chunk of market share - ideally when ladybird is ready.
Is ladybird some FF replacement?
It’s a completely built from scratch browser https://ladybird.org/, very exciting.
There’s also https://servo.org/ (was mozilla but now linux foundation), but it seems to be going slower.
Thank you, will definitely follow!
Sadly, Servo more or less halted when Mozilla laid off people in 2020. It only really started back up in 2023 when they secured new external funding. That said, I don’t think Servo intends to be a fully-fledged Browser like Ladybird. While LB intends to be a car, Servo plans to be a great engine, but only that.
…on the other hand, Ladybird’s lead dev seems like trouble. So maybe I’d rather wait for a Servo-based browser instead.
I think you’d like to keep an eye on Verso.
Can’t believe I forgot about it, already starred and waiting to see where it goes. Thanks.
selling android or breaking it up would be terrible since you just go back to each manufacturer making their own flavor with no updates or compatability.
It’d be good for Android to be mostly its base, the Android Open Source Project. Over the years Google put more and more things in the proprietary part of Android (Google Play Services) instead of AOSP.
Depends on who takes over whether that gets better of course. If they also put too much in Play Services, or ask the manufacturers for a high fee, yes it’s possible we go back to more oem flavours.
Disagree, you might be right in the short term, but long term competition like that only benefits the customer.
I used to believe this, before google turned evil. Right now I’d take 5 shitty flavours than the pure shit google is doing. They have turned into a vile corporation that needs to be cut down
Monkey Paw:
Chrome is now owned by X
Its now known as Xrome
X for the swastica, and rome for the “roman” (aka: nazi) salute
Ykno what good. Maybe it’ll cause Mozilla to get off their asses and DO SOMETHING.
The monkey giggles. Mozilla completely pivots to adtech & AI.
P.S. for the record, I continue using a Firefox fork and don’t plan on stopping. Criticism where it’s due, but I still think they’re the best option.
Little does the monkey know theyre already starting that and I’m not surprised
The index finger slowly curls, revealing the only finger left–the middle finger. The monkey giggles.
You know what, good. Maybe it’ll cause the people who keep using Chrome because they don’t give two shits about their privacy to get off their asses and use something else.
Just like whole tribes are refusing to move from WhatsApp to Signal, because they say they care about privacy, but actually they don’t.
Xoogle and Xdroid run by doge.
Oh god… No!
Google is awful, but any other company that could afford to buy and run Chrome would be worse.
Microsoft Chrome - now with Cortana!
Heaven forbid it becomes its own company/a non profit.
Non profit under this US administration who’s mantra is what rules? Seems highly optimistic. I see it being more likely that Musk takes the opportunity to try and get the most popular browser and phone OS that is used world wide.
Any alternative is better than letting monopolies stand.
Sounds a lot like, “Biden & Harris support genocide, so let’s vote for Trump.”
The spoiler effect doesn’t apply in this scenario. We aren’t stuck with 2 choices, either Chrome under Google or Chrome under another shitty corporate.
If Chrome enshittifies, we have Firefox, Librewolf, Brave, Ironfox, Waterfox, Ungoogle Chromium, etc…
No thread is safe…
Ok but is this like REAL yet or did they just say they intend to?
Reading the article helps to answer this question:
The DOJ is asking the court to force Google to promptly and fully divest itself of Chrome, along with any data or other assets required for its continued operation.
It also links the filing, see specifically “III. Plaintiffs’ Revised Proposed Final Judgment”
Who reads articles these days?
Thank you
So…. What are the odds on fElon ending up owning some of this shit?
Depends on how low we can sink his Tesla stock.
It’s a team effort, if everyone throws one Molotov we can be done by April.
Wouldn’t that just screw over insurance companies?
I think you’re underestimating the value of everyone throwing a molotov
Sell it to who?
I would laugh if a European company stepped in to buy it. Most used browser in the whole entire world bought by a European company? Would absolutely be hilarious and I’d be so down for that to happen.
Hilarious AND good for humanity? Sign me up!
Take a guess who’s going to buy it.
Probably Microsoft.
Oh god can you imagine the fucking nightmare.
Looks like Google didn’t bend the knee enough.
They’ll bend eventually. Money does that.
Remember when DeSantis went to war with Disney? And Disney destroyed him and any chance he had to being a presidential candidate and we all cheered? Then Disney went around to make allegiance with all the non-DeSantis Republicans?
It’s all money for stockholders at the end of the day. Not people, not who sits at the throne.
But people are the shareholders.
Corporations are the shareholders they care about, people like you and mean never own a majority of a company’s stocks
They care about all shareholders as it is the law.
What I’m saying is that when you say “people are the shareholders”, they’re not the shareholders that matter. BlackRock, Vanguard, Fidelity, these are the shareholders that major publically traded companies care about. They might technically need to care about retail investors as well, in the end they’re not the ones who have the power to sway the votes one way or another.
Good. Now do Amazon.
I mean, I’d love to see Google broken up, but this isn’t news. DoJ has been asking specifically for Chrome to be sold for over a year now, and the lawsuit was started during the first Trump administration. Until the judge actually reaches a decision this is just recycled old news.
Hell yes! Fuck google!
You’re happy until you figure out who’s going to buy it when it splits.
☹️
Interesting. Why focus on selling chrome? I’m not sure I understand the DOJ here. Google could end Chrome and continue updating chromium instead of selling if not for this directive. Given they are approved to continue working on chromium I don’t see why the sale is being forced.
The monopoly is the problem, someone using a pixel, using android, browsing using chrome, using Google search to find your website, visit an article website where you sign in via Google, see Google ads throughout, click on an affiliate link to buy a featured product of the blog and post using Google pay.
This is classic monopoly and Google chrome is small dab middle of it, if you want to break a chain you start from breaking it in the middle instead of the end like Google pay. Hopefully other things will follow soon.