Firefox drops Google as default search engine, signs five-year deal with Yahoo


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Firefox drops Google as default search engine, signs five-year deal with Yahoo

 

Today, Yahoo and Mozilla announced a five-year partnership that would make Yahoo the default US search engine for Mozilla's Firefox browser on mobile and desktop. In December, Yahoo will roll out an enhanced new search function to Firefox users, and will also support Do Not Track functions in Firefox as a result of the partnership. The agreement also sets the stage for future product integrations, but so far the companies are keeping quiet on what those might be. Firefox has lost market share in recent years but is still used by roughly 17 percent of webgoers. According to Mozilla CEO Chris Beard, Firefox users search the web more than 100 billion times each year, suggesting a major windfall for Yahoo as a result of the deal.

 

By comparison, only 10 percent of web searches are made through Yahoo, which is powered by Microsoft Bing. But Google and Bing have both made major gains in recent years. Nonetheless, Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer said search traffic is still a major priority for the network, and one they expect to explore through the new partnership. "At Yahoo, we believe deeply in search ? it?s an area of investment, opportunity and growth for us," said Mayer. "I can?t wait to see what innovations we build together."

 

Google has been Firefox's default browser for ten years, so the new partnership represents a significant break. In a subsequent blog post, Mozilla CEO Chris Beard described the decision as a strategic one. "Our agreement came up for renewal this year, and we took this as an opportunity to review our competitive strategy," Beard wrote. "We believe it will empower more people, in more places with more choice and opportunity to innovate and ultimately put even more people in control over their lives online." Mozilla is also setting Yandex as the default search engine in Russia, and the move opens up the company to work with more local partners. Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, eBay, Amazon, Twitter and Wikipedia will continue as alternative search options in the US.

 

Source: The Verge

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Mozilla is fighting for its very existence. Google has little use for Firefox anymore, having a well-established browser of their own. My opinion is that Mozilla's days are numbered and they'll either go belly-up or get bought out within a few years. This Mayer woman is delusional. Yahoo and Mozilla are like K-Mart. Old and dull.

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I think I'm going to switch to Chrome now.

Why because it's that hard to change it.

 

Final nail in the coffin for a once great browser.

Nonsense

 

So, it is really hard to change the default search engine ? :o

Apparently so, people are that damn lazy. it's not hard to change it, i don't know what's the big damn deal about it.

 

No, but it's just more proof that Mozilla is turning to ######.

Nonsense

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Sad news for Mozilla, I dont think that Yahoo offered a better deal, its more likely that google stoped paying as much as it did before. I'm still using FireFox as it has a huge infrastructure behind it, but I would welcome a new player in PC browser wars. I would persoally like to See BoatBrowser go desktop as its my favorite on Android platform. 

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Funny really.  Chrome doesn't need FF and now by default, FF will have less valid/good results.  I know several people who were thinking of ditching FF for Chrome and this pretty much made up their decision. Yahoo/Bing results are not as good as Googles.

 

I am sticking with FF, for now, since I can change my default search.

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The title is misleading.  It wasn't Firefox's decision to switch away from Google.  They had a 5 year agreement that expires in 2015 and Google has told them they will not renew it.  Since the agreement is a huge percentage of what Firefox makes they needed to make an agreement with someone else, and Yahoo was that someone else in the US.

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Indeed.. it's just a default and literally takes one second to change, *shrug*. On my list of criteria for how I pick my browser, the default search engine doesn't even make the list.

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The first thing I do when I install Firefox is change half of the settings to meet my own personal custom requirements. Surely changing the default browser isn't going to hurt on top of that.

 

This deal must definitely be about the money because I don't remember the last time anyone I know use Yahoo for search!

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The title is misleading.  It wasn't Firefox's decision to switch away from Google.  They had a 5 year agreement that expires in 2015 and Google has told them they will not renew it.  Since the agreement is a huge percentage of what Firefox makes they needed to make an agreement with someone else, and Yahoo was that someone else in the US.

Indeed. When Google entered into the agreement Chrome was a newly released browser and Firefox was a major player - now their roles have reversed. It doesn't make sense for Google to continue with such a relationship. As for Firefox, I used to use it from the Phoenix days but moved to Chrome a long time ago now. I've tried numerous releases over the years but have found it simply doesn't suit my needs and I find the UI to be rather unappealing.

 

Yahoo is a terrible choice for search engine, so I imagine this will have a detrimental effect on Firefox.

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You can set Google as default if you want to...  

 

It was about Google's contract/agreement with Mozilla... so they plan to drop Google and use Yahoo as default...

 

 

If it was me.. I don't care...  I never use the search bar in the browser...  Only use the homepage or go straight to Google.com ... that's it.

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What the hell? Yahoo is terrible. I've been increasingly disappointed in Firefox as new releases go out.

 

Yahoo is just fine when You want to find about finance news and stock markets but for regular searches, over here at least, it's as bad as bing.

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I don't have a problem with Yahoo, Bing, Google, or Chrome, but Firefox has been my browser since Firebird 0.92, and Mozilla represents my interests more so than Google right now. With Chrome, it's all about being locked into Google's ecosystem. You can change the search provider, but it isn't easy for the average user, and it lacks the ability to search with whatever engine you like, on the fly, like Firefox (and even IE) can do. Chrome is Google's browser, and if you use it, unless you are an expert, Google is your master. And maybe that's not so bad, but to hear Mozilla tell it, they're all about a free and open Internet. I like Mozilla. They do good.

Also, it's funny, the hate Yahoo gets. I remember before Google, when Yahoo was it. Before them, I used AltaVista. There was a certain charm to the Internet then. It's so slick now. Has Yahoo reallly fallen so far, or has it simply failed to keep up with Google?

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