this post was submitted on 30 Oct 2023
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Mozilla Finally Launches An APT Repository For Easy Firefox Nightly Updating (www.phoronix.com)
submitted 1 year ago by mr_MADAFAKA@lemmy.ml to c/linux@lemmy.ml
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[–] dan@upvote.au 24 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Do you mean products like their VPN? They really need the revenue to try and become more independent from Google. Right now something like 90% of their income comes from a deal with Google to make Google the default search engine.

[–] 1984@lemmy.today 0 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

They should make a search engine. If Kagi can do it, why can't Mozilla? Because it would upset Google...

There is no real competition. Google has mozilla in a strangehold and they are fine for mozilla to do privacy stuff, but not fine with them competing for real.

[–] Spectacle8011@lemmy.comfysnug.space 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

They should make a search engine. If Kagi can do it, why can’t Mozilla?

The biggest provider of Kagi's results is Google. They are unique in that they have their own Tinygem and Teclis indexes to augment results, though. Mozilla could certainly operate a plain Google proxy like Mullvad does with Leta, but I don't think they'd be making more money out of it than just agreeing to Google's exclusive terms.

Building a search engine with an independent index is hard. Mojeek has done the best job of it, but you can tell there's a disparity in result quality even if they're improving.

[–] 1984@lemmy.today 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Yes I know, but users may pay mozilla for added privacy, just like they are paying Kagi now for privacy and extra features on top of Google.

But you are right, they are still depending on the monster that is Google.

[–] Spectacle8011@lemmy.comfysnug.space 2 points 1 year ago

I would be interested in seeing Mozilla invest in making Mojeek better. I think they could be a good match. An independent browser engine and an independent search engine. On the other hand, I don't want Mozilla to acquire them and kill them a few years later. Their short attention span is one quality I wish they hadn't cribbed from Google.

A search engine is an interesting idea, but:

  1. it needs to be independent. Mozilla can't be depending on Google or Bing. After Bing got what they wanted, they started choking their proxies by pushing prices up substantially. Depending on Google is a similar folly.
  2. they need to be committed to it. This isn't some project Mozilla can cook up in three or four years and abandon two years later. It needs to be a long-term strategy with hundreds of millions of dollars invested.

That's why I think Mojeek could be a shortcut. But either way, I don't think Mozilla has the bandwidth (or guts, frankly) to commit to this sort of project.

But you are right, they are still depending on the monster that is Google.

And as long as you're depending on them, you might as well take as much as you can.