Jump to content

Bold move: Yahoo will soon be Firefox's default search engine


sincity

Recommended Posts

Bold move: Yahoo will soon be Firefox's default search engine

There were a ton of fledgling search engines when the web was young - remember Ask Jeeves, or the one with the dog? - but over time Google emerged as the top choice for basically everyone.

(Except except for Microsoft, although that's a different story.)

That does, however, include Mozilla, makers of Firefox, which has always used Google as its default search engine - until now, that is.

It turns out Mozilla and Yahoo have signed a deal that will see Yahoo's search engine replace Google by default in Firefox for at least the next five years.

Good for the goose

The switch goes into effect in December, according to the Mozilla Blog.

Firefox Yahoo Google

Mozilla CEO Chris Beard wrote proudly that the company popularized browser-integrated search and has offered a number of search options over the last decade, but this year Google's contract came up for renewal.

"In evaluating our search partnerships, our primary consideration was to ensure our strategy aligned with our values of choice and independence, and positions us to innovate and advance our mission in ways that best serve our users and the Web," Beard wrote. He added that Yahoo's strategy "stood out from the rest."

A shocking twist

Now Yahoo will be the default search engine in the US, while it will vary in other countries. Google remains a pre-installed alternative in the browser.

Yahoo search will have a new interface in Firefox (in a shocking twist, it looks exactly like Google), and will also support Do Not Track, Beard wrote.

That all sounds fine, but truthfully it remains to be seen whether this really helps Firefox users, or just Mozilla and Yahoo.

mf.gif


rc.img
rc.img
rc.img

a2.imga2t.imgoxMvom7fFl4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm willing to give it a shot. Mozilla is a pioneer for FOSS and our rights to privacy, and if they're moving away from Google it's not because of Chrome (as Mozilla and Google had already come to agreement about that), but it's (IMO) because Mozilla believes that Google poses a threat to the users of Firefox, in ways of unwanted tracking, aggregation, reliable search results, etc.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have no problem with FF moving away from google. But g'damn, man. Yahoo?

 

long_time_star_wars.gif

 

 

 

I forgot all about Y! lol Now I want to install Y messenger and see if any of my old contacts still log on. Hah.

 

Nostalgia moment. Myspace needs to come back into the spotlight. Custom profile roolz!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.