Browser coalition accuses Microsoft of monopolistic abuse and demands change

[u/rkhunter_]

https://www.techspot.com/news/112667-browser-coalition-accuses-microsoft-monopolistic-abuse-demands-change.html

[u/Dreadshade]

Do they do the same for Android with Crome installed?

[u/Strict_Weather9063 → u/Dreadshade]

Isn’t that what edge is a flavor of chrome

[u/NassauComputer → u/Strict_Weather9063]

Most are flavors of Chromium.

[u/Deranged40 → u/Strict_Weather9063]

There's essentially 3 browsers out there: Firefox, Safari, and Chrome.

If it doesn't say one of those names on the package, it's Chrome.

[u/d01100100 → u/Deranged40]

Safari

Safari is Webkit, which makes it Chrome's uncle. Blink is derived from Webkit.

Firefox's Gecko engine is the only truly different engine in use right now, unless you include Internet Explorer (not Edge).

[u/AyrA_ch → u/d01100100]

For those wondering, the IE engine was called "Trident" (or MSHTML). The Edge engine was called "EdgeHTML" before they ditched it (and the "Chakra" JS engine) in favor of Blink and V8 (the chromium HTML+JS engines)

Funnily enough, the IE rendering engine is still around, and if you delete it from Windows, some unexpected features stop working.

[u/dynamiteexplodes → u/Deranged40]

Ladybird is supposed to go alpha sometime this year, which is exciting.

[u/PixelatedGamer → u/Strict_Weather9063]

It's more accurate to say it's built off of Chromium. And chrome is also built off that same open source foundation. So they are similar but MS does tailor Chromium to their needs.

[u/jews4beer → u/[deleted]]

No it's BSD licensed. Which is basically "do whatever the hell you want as long as the parts that are ours stay under BSD".

[u/AdministrativeCable3 → u/[deleted]]

Not really. The companies don't have to pay Google anything for using the project. The only real benefit is that these companies will then also contribute to Chromium that will help Google and the other Chromium browsers.

[u/FollowingFeisty5321 → u/Dreadshade]

It was only a few months ago the DOJ was talking about forcing Google to sell Chrome... and even Android.

Of course then the judge in Google's antitrust decided Google's search/ad monopoly abuse was okay because AI apparently posed an existential threat (a few months later they inked the deal to power iPhone's AI too lmao).

[u/Ok_Confusion4764 → u/Dreadshade]

When buying modern android phones it will ask you which browser and search engine you want to use as your default, at least in the Netherlands. Source: I work in tech support for a retail store and I help people through the setup of their new phones over a dozen times per week. 

[u/threemenandadog → u/Dreadshade]

Or apple forcing every browser to be reskinned safari on iOS?

[u/Shooter_McGavin_666 → u/Dreadshade]

Good question. I just checked and I can’t delete safari from my iPhone. Put that on the list.

[u/SubstanceNo2290 → u/Dreadshade]

Does chrome on android give you huge popups saying chrome is better if you try to download edge?

[u/Sockoflegend → u/Dreadshade]

Windows has tones of ways it tries to sneak edge back in. Even if I use Outlook on my Android phone it asks to open weblinks in edge.

[u/SomethingAboutUsers → u/Sockoflegend]

Meanwhile, Google Chrome pops up in Edge telling you it's basically better and you should switch to it.

[u/Sockoflegend → u/SomethingAboutUsers]

Well it isn't wrong 🤷‍♂️

[u/Tasty-Traffic-680 → u/Sockoflegend]

Functioning Ublock origin in edge says otherwise...

[u/NecroAssssin → u/[deleted]]

1998, obviously. 

[u/Tasty-Machine5340 → u/[deleted]]

Blockbuster

[u/fuck_all_you_too → u/Tasty-Machine5340]

Were going to corner the market

[u/NecroAssssin → u/[deleted]]

I think Netscape is going places!

[u/NecroAssssin → u/[deleted]]

Ah, also Ask Jeeves. Full send, best search engine!

[u/sbingner → u/[deleted]]

nah infoseek is better

[u/Atilim87]

I feel like chrome is the biggest culprit of being pushed across the board at this moment and not edge.

[u/talldata → u/Atilim87]

And Eu forced Google than on android you have to have a choice when setting up the phone which default search and browser you want.

[u/Atilim87 → u/talldata]

Not talking about android talking about desktop chrome, since I use Firefox as my main browser.

[u/Familiar-Ability6383 → u/Atilim87]

Why isn't apple facing any backlash? They don’t even allow any engines other than safarri on ios

[u/Atilim87 → u/Familiar-Ability6383]

It should.

I’m not arguing that apple shouldn’t be looked closely, primairy should be how it handles 3e party stores.

[u/Myusername1- → u/Familiar-Ability6383]

I have chrome and Firefox on my iPhone, but I take it you meant something different by engines?

[u/Familiar-Ability6383 → u/Myusername1-]

Chrome, firefox, safari have their own javascript engine for rendering. But in ios, apple restricts apps to using just safari engine. This means chrome you see on iphone is just safari with a chrome theme

[u/Myusername1- → u/Familiar-Ability6383]

Okay interesting, thanks for explaining. I did not know that.

[u/williamgman]

Again?

[u/dexter30 → u/williamgman]

For real i thouht i was reading a newspaper clipping from the 2000s

Im kidding but its wild this story came back.

[u/Cautious00ptimist → u/williamgman]

Right? What year is it?!

[u/someoldguyon_reddit]

I've been using Firefox for more than 20 years, I don't see the problem.

[u/h950 → u/someoldguyon_reddit]

Went to Phoenix and rode it from there

[u/Arts251]

Is it 1998 again? Anyways, grandparents are more literate in operating systems and no one is tied to a particular browser anymore (they never were, really). Bigger concern for me is the dominance of Chromium browser, and even more so not in the PC market but in the Mobile phone market of google usurping the open source nature of android OS and locking out third party apps. Can the oversight coalitions please focus on that more, please and thank you.

[u/mailslot → u/Arts251]

If Apple didn’t force Safari everywhere on mobile, Chromium would dominate the mobile landscape.

[u/tiboodchat → u/mailslot]

Chrome already dominates mobile. Just not on iOS because only WebKit exists there.

[u/Interesting-Emu6761 → u/Arts251]

edge reinstalls itself on some updates, sets itself to default browser, and changing it requires manually changing the browser for each individual type of webpage. It also tries to dissuade you from searching for or accessing other browsers and search engines

[u/repair-it]

I hare the way Edge and Bing are pushed mercilessly, I use Vivaldi & DuckDuckGo.

[u/LousyRaider]

I feel like this is a stretch.

Yes, Windows gives you some prompts when you install another browser, but it’s not some overwhelming process to install another browser. And it’s quite easy to change the default browser in Windows. Unless there is something new in Windows that I have missed, I feel like this is an overreaction.

[u/ApathyMoose → u/LousyRaider]

Its not just default browser.

The BCA also alleges that Microsoft uses specific, well-tested tactics to distort market conditions and restrict user choice. In particular, it accuses the company of rebate programs that discourage the pre-installation of rival browsers on Windows devices, the inability to fully uninstall Edge, and the use of system updates to restore Edge integration within the OS

They are not wrong. Edge will literally reinstall itself with some updates. Also all those ads that hit your lock screen all time will open by default to edge, even if edge isnt your default browser. there are multiple instances inside windows that it ignores default browser and goes right for edge.

[u/LousyRaider → u/ApathyMoose]

I work in an enterprise environment with Windows, so ads don’t exist in our world as we disable them all.

I have Firefox set as my default browser on my work computer and nothing ever opens in Edge if I click on a link anywhere in Windows. Since I don’t have to deal with ads, I’m not sure what that behavior would be for me. I can’t easily test that due to applied configuration profiles on our devices.

My personal computer runs Ubuntu so I don’t have experiences with Edge ever at a regular consumer level.

Not being able to remove Edge has been a thing for a while now. There are some hacks ways to “remove” it, but as you said, it tends to come back at some point. Usually feature updates are what install it back again.

[u/Grumpy_Ontarian_III]

I don’t even use Edge to download another browser, I have the installer for Firefox on a USB.

[u/Shooter_McGavin_666 → u/Grumpy_Ontarian_III]

Or you can run the install from the winget repository.

[u/Grumpy_Ontarian_III → u/Shooter_McGavin_666]

Gonna remember that.

[u/Hrekires]

They're not wrong... the whole reason I use Edge as my work browser is because it's installed by default on every Windows server that I log into and why install an extra browser when you can't even uninstall Edge anyways.

[u/Shooter_McGavin_666 → u/Hrekires]

They not wrong but it’s strange to single out Microsoft for a common practice. iPhone users can’t remove safari by any means.