Mozilla is accusing Microsoft of using Windows design choices and Copilot integrations to steer users toward Edge and make Firefox harder to use, raising fresh concerns about browser competition and platform control.
  • njordomir@lemmy.worldEnglish
    471·
    7 days ago

    There’s a lot of people on the Mozilla hate train, and they do deserve a bit of ire for some of their more puzzling decisions. All I wanted from Firefox was a configurable browser with sane defaults, that lets me block ads and does all the normal browser things without being a total black box of corporate telemetry and profiling. To a large degree Firefox has been the best mainstream browser for people who can’t dance with the devil and use Chrome. In many aspects, it has made better decisions than Chrome.

    With that said, I didn’t want Pocket, I didn’t want AI, and I’m mildly annoyed that this sort of thing is in the default build. It feels like a windows installer asking you to install 10 additional programs, but the ticked boxes are greyed out. I just want a browser, no crypto wallets, no ai assistants, no built-in mail client, no biometric scanning.

    Firefox has been around long enough to have been both god tier and trash tier at different points. I don’t think the AI focus is going to go well for Mozilla. I’d like them to focus on browser stuff.

    • festus@lemmy.caEnglish
      8·
      6 days ago

      I had an ad in my Firefox settings for “Solo AI Website Creator”. It’s a product from Mozilla for using AI to build your website. Note that it’s not open source, and you must rely on them to host your website (no export functionality, and recurring fees outside a basic free tier).

      I agree with you, I wish Mozilla would focus solely on their mission instead of trying to build all these side projects people don’t want.

      • KairuByte@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
        4·
        6 days ago

        I meeeean…. I kinda agree with you, but where exactly do you expect funding to come from? “Focus only on the browser. That they make no money off. Also stop accepting money from Google.”

        Like I get it to an extent, it would be nice. But how exactly is “make no money” a viable business plan?

        • festus@lemmy.caEnglish
          2·
          6 days ago

          That’s fair. I wouldn’t reject money from Google but instead build up an endowment with it for when it eventually disappears. If you can recover your market share (maybe by investing in your browser - the peformance is lagging) then you can also demand more money from Google to set them as default. Finally, Mozilla is a non-profit and I wouldn’t be opposed to them just asking for donations, like most non-profits.

    • WhyJiffie@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      9·
      6 days ago

      I just want a browser, no crypto wallets, no ai assistants, no built-in mail client, no biometric scanning.

      3 out of those 4 are not even a thing in firefox

  • Phoenixz@lemmy.caEnglish
    242·
    6 days ago

    What’s up with the AI slop image for this post?

    Also, Mozilla is destroying Firefox by themselves, they don’t need help from m$

  • zerofk@lemmy.zipEnglish
    21·
    7 days ago

    The original article mentions the sabotaging only as historical evidence for a trend of pushing its tech onto people. It is not saying Microsoft is currently doing it specifically to sabotage anyone. Bullshit title.

    The original article also mentions several things as fact that are not, and omits other facts, but that’s a different discussion.

    • altkey (he\him)@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
      14·
      7 days ago

      To be fair, they edited in the Microslop logo and also the Firefox icon, making a crying fox look like a narcissist hugging it’s own image, that is not completely out of blue with their recent shitty decisions

  • reksas@sopuli.xyzEnglish
    171·
    7 days ago

    firefox really shouldnt be our only line of defence for decent browser…

  • bobo@lemmy.mlEnglish
    175·
    6 days ago

    Did they also force them to kill MDN, buy pocket, or funnel 99% of the foundation’s budget on everything that’s not Firefox?

    Edit: fact checked myself and the budget part is completely incorrect. The foundation just leeches on the corporation through yearly royalties.

      • bobo@lemmy.mlEnglish
        6·
        6 days ago

        In 2020 they fired the entire MDN writing team, slashed the budget, and basically left it in maintainance mode. The same year the foundation decided to drop millions on teaching Africans to code or some shit…

        • demonsword@lemmy.worldEnglish
          9·
          6 days ago

          The same year the foundation decided to drop millions on teaching Africans to code or some shit

          this would be a very good use of money, if the money actually reached the target audience

          • bobo@lemmy.mlEnglish
            9·
            6 days ago

            I’ve got no issues with helping people in need, but even if it’s not an embezzlement scheme, this is extremely bad prioritization unless their priority is publicity.

            MDN is a proven resource that’s helped a lot of people learn to code. How many African translators can you hire for a milion a year, let alone like 8? How many more people would learn to code that way?l

            But nah, let’s feed money into “partners” that use some experimental teaching methods, while destroying a crucial learning resource because corona made us broke.

            Edit: fact checked myself and the corp killed MDN, and they’re paying the foundation to do projects like this through royalties.