Firefox Executive Recommends Bing Over Google

[Chris Gohlke]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://arstechnica.com/microsoft/news/2009/12/mozilla-exec-urges-firefox-users-ditch-google-for-bing.ars?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss' target='_blank'>http://arstechnica.com/microsoft/ne...tm_campaign=rss</a><br /><br /></div><p><em>"Asa Dotzler, Mozilla's director of community development, used his personal blog to urge Firefox users away from Google and to use Microsoft's search engine Bing, instead. Dotzler cited privacy concerns, specifically pointing to comments recently made by Google CEO Eric Schmidt. "I think judgment matters," said Schmidt. "If you have something that you don't want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn't be doing it in the first place." Dotzler then links to the Bing add-on for Firefox, stating that Bing's privacy policy is better than Google's (and notably fails to mention Yahoo at all)."</em></p><p><em><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com//dht/auto/1260840849.usr10.png" style="border: 1px solid #d2d2bb;" /></em></p><p>At the least this is a really poor choice of words by Schmidt, if it is more than that, then it is pretty scary. &nbsp;Whether you just don't want to be&nbsp;embarrassed&nbsp;by someone finding out you spend your days searching Twilight fan&nbsp;fiction&nbsp;or more seriously don't want a potential employer or insurer&nbsp;inferring&nbsp;some of the more intimate details of your personal life based on searches, you should have the ability to keep this information private. &nbsp;Plus, what you search is really just raw data and all sorts of conclusions could be inferred by someone not knowing your reasons for performing the search.</p>

[randalllewis]

Nice to see someone have the courage to express concern about the growing power of Google. Good for Dotzler. I think I'll give his browser a try as a result.

[Reid Kistler]

Recall reading somewhere that Mozilla earns a substantial percentage of its income via the Firefox / Google search connection, but is upset over the introduction of Google's Chrome browser.

Seems likely that Chrome would have a greater impact on Firefox use (and, presumably, Opera or any other "niche" browser) than on IE - the majority of users are simply unwilling to switch from the "default" app without a compelling reason - so Mozilla's (presumed) dismay with Chrome is understandable.

At the same time, Google seems to be reaching the same point as MS: big enough to be disliked simply because of the power they appear to wield - which is not at all helped by quotes that indicate a cavalier approach to user privacy.

[Chris Gohlke]

Seems likely that Chrome would have a greater impact on Firefox use (and, presumably, Opera or any other "niche" browser) than on IE - the majority of users are simply unwilling to switch from the "default" app without a compelling reason

I agree strongly. Quit (mostly) using firefox and mostly use chrome now. Have not removed it though because I need different browsers for some things. For example, if I want to be logged into two different Yahoo mail accounts at the same time, the only way I've been able to do this is by using two different browsers.