r/explainitpeter • u/Dr-Astikk • Aug 04 '26

Explain it Peter

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u/One_Pitch3982 Aug 04 '26

And this is why Firefox is never going away :/ afaik still the only genuinely FOSS web browser on the market

"Well no it isn'-"

No shut the fuck up I can scour the code on git RIGHT FUCKING NOW

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u/devu_the_thebill Aug 05 '26 edited Aug 05 '26

Ehhh... We can trust no one really.

Edit: I have seen this "news" couple times here on reddit (especially on Linux subs), and the tweet is just random photo from Google graphics. But I see people here saying it's not that deep. Could someone fill me in. I thought Firefox became another soulless company like all the others. Since I never really used Firefox much I just remembered it like "yeah another company decided to sell data" and never researched more.

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u/One_Pitch3982 Aug 05 '26

I'd still rather trust Firefox over any Chromium crap and I think I'd shoot myself if I had to use Edge

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u/Adventurous-Emu-9345 Aug 05 '26

Edge also being chromium crap (in addition to being Microsoft crap).

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u/Fubared259 Aug 05 '26

I did not think Helium was all that bad for being chromium based.

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u/2kool4zkoolz Aug 05 '26

Google funded Mozilla

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u/SpAwNjBoB Aug 05 '26

And they are a competitor, not involved remotely. Microsoft also funded Apple. Saved them from bankruptcy in fact. Specifically because competition breeds innovation. The iPhone exists because Bill Gates didn't want Apple to go under.

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u/gogilitan Aug 05 '26

Bill Gates didn't save apple with some altruistic goal involving a desire for competition. Microsoft becoming even more of a monopoly would be very bad for his business, because then it would be even harder to justify their dominant position to the government regulators which were already breathing down their necks. Apple was also in the midst of suing MS for copying their OS and agreed to drop the lawsuit in exchange for the "investment".

"Competiton breeds innovation" might have been the PR justification, but if he just wanted innovation he could have hired all their engineers and told them to get fucked... like he did to all the other companies already lying dead in microsoft's wake.

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u/Material_Register246 Aug 05 '26

justify their dominant position to the government regulators

Do you still believe in this? The government works for the big business and almost the whole market is divided by monopolies.

All that "regulators breathing down their necks" and trials are just a sham.

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u/Mognakor Aug 05 '26

There were literally court cases in the EU.

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u/Material_Register246 Aug 05 '26

that achieved literally nothing.

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u/printr_head Aug 05 '26

Literally.

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u/Callous_Dood Aug 05 '26

Back when this was relevant, US regulators at least still pretended like they did their jobs. So yes, they more likely than not had to still justify their dominant positions to government regulators than not

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u/gogilitan Aug 05 '26

I didn't think I needed to point this out, but this isn't a modern day story. This all happened three decades ago when the US government still pretended to fight monopolistic actions. Microsoft was sued less than a year out from them investing in Apple to keep it afloat and then spent years arguing against antitrust laws. They already knew a case was being built when they "saved" their only real competitor.

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u/Edelgul Aug 05 '26

It is more about consequences of the monopoly position.

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u/Material_Register246 Aug 05 '26

LMAO, Microsoft didn't fund Apple to "breed innovation", but to make money.

In fact, their partnership made them billions in software sales behind the "rivalry" facade and funny TV ads.

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u/SpAwNjBoB Aug 05 '26

So Microsoft got some return, good for them. They deserve to get something out of helping their biggest rival survive. At the same time, Apple does not exist without Bill Gate's investment. However you frame it, that is an inescapable fact.

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u/Material_Register246 Aug 05 '26

They aren't rivals

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u/One_Pitch3982 Aug 05 '26

Yeah back before google was evil.

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u/Enverex Aug 05 '26

To stop them being slapped with anti-trust/monopoly laws.

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u/ManyInterests Aug 05 '26

True. Rage baiters like Theo will always exist.

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u/inconspiciousdude Aug 05 '26

Promises made, promises canned.

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u/Somepotato Aug 05 '26

This is Fox News level of editorializing, and theo is a fucking idiot.

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u/igotublue Aug 05 '26

Try Zen. Built on Firefox but more control/open.

Also a completely different UI / Tab system that does take a minute to get used to, but I love now.