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.
  • Phoenixz@lemmy.caEnglish
    201·
    2 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$

  • njordomir@lemmy.worldEnglish
    411·
    3 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
      6·
      2 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.

    • Nycifer@piefed.socialEnglish
      1·
      2 days ago

      I also don’t remember asking for a Firefox Account or Firefox Profiles.

      Because yay, that’s one more fucking thing to keep track of on top of a hundred things that make you register these days.

    • WhyJiffie@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      6·
      3 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

  • Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.worldEnglish
    77·
    3 days ago

    Windows forcing their own propriatary software as a means to destroy competing web browsers? Is it 1997 already?

  • Tharkys@lemmy.wtfEnglish
    577·
    3 days ago

    I don’t think Microslop really needs to sabotage Firefox. Firefox is doing a really good job of shooting their own selves in the foot.

    • foggenbooty@lemmy.worldEnglish
      3·
      2 days ago

      I don’t get this argument. Mozilla and Firefox is the best we have. Are they perfect, no, but don’t let perfect be the enemy of good. They are still a lot better than the alternatives.

      It’s obviously important to hold Mozilla accountable, but I worry that all the negativity makes people just stick with Chrome or Edge because they think it’s all the same.

      • MrKoyun@lemmy.worldEnglish
        1·
        2 days ago

        Its the best we have, given that our standart of “good” is privacy and open-source etc. Otherwise Firefox is just not a great browser. Especially on mobile. And Mozilla keeps making it kinda worse for privacy bit by bit. There isnt really any reason for someone who doesnt care about privacy to usw firefox.

        • foggenbooty@lemmy.worldEnglish
          2·
          2 days ago

          I’ll agree that their mobile experience is not great, they don’t support tablet layouts for example, but it still has the best support for ad blocking. I consider that essential for the modern internet.

          My big concern is that we’re repeating the Internet Explorer issue all over again, where the web is coded for it instead of standards. Now Google has the ability to strong arm the Internet by not adopting standards, pushing their preferences, etc. Web sites are being coded coded to run on better on Blink than Gecko so it gets worse all the time. If we give up on Mozilla the Internet will fall even further into the hands of big tech.

  • zerofk@lemmy.zipEnglish
    19·
    3 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.

  • bobo@lemmy.mlEnglish
    163·
    3 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
        5·
        3 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·
          3 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
            8·
            3 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.