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Read the post again? Apple gets a share from the money Google made with Chrome Searches (presumably ads) basically saying „Dear Apple, no need to invest into your own Search Engine. You can have a piece from ours“
Yes, that was the “read between the lines” context of that agreement. I’m not convinced that Apple would be good at a search engine so I doubt we are missing anything.
 
I suspect that ‘thinks it knows better’ is money is changing hands and publishers are paying Google for their news stories to be at the top of their search results.

It’s really funny that Google is seen as an tech company because it’s really just an ad tech company now with search seemingly stagnating fir the last 5+ years and most of what it does to protect that revenue (chrome browser, android) and a few business built on the tech stack around this (Workspace etc)
Precisely. I could write 1000+ words long rant called “how Google ruined the internet”, but maybe some other time
 
Meanwhile Apple be acting like they care about your privacy while they take a payout from one of the most notorious privacy-invading companies 💅

That's a good thing.

If google kept that money it could use it to develop even more ways to show you ads.
 
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Have you ever heard of a company called Microsoft? They are a fairly large player in the Desktop/Laptop Operating System space. They have a search engine called Bing on which they have spent billions. It has a tiny market share. Why do you think Apple would do any better?
well, they could make their own engine the default search engine on their devices. Right there they would gain a massive market share.
Have you ever heard of a company called Microsoft? They are a fairly large player in the Desktop/Laptop Operating System space. They have a search engine called Bing on which they have spent billions. It has a tiny market share. Why do you think Apple would do any better?

As long as there are lots of people like you who say both: "Google almost has a monopoly" and "I use it frequently" there will be no very successful serious competition.

But your lack of trust does not stop you from using them "frequently". Until it does, nothing will change.
I use google because its the best right now (afaik), tried others, and while I like DDG its not as good.
if Apple comes out with an engine that is as good as google I’ll switch.

yup, don’t trust google but what is there to do if their product is the best? I use some precautions when I’m on google but it feels more like a band aid.
 
Another stupid waste of time. Breaking news. Two businesses have a business deal that benefits both. :rolleyes:
All big money is dirty money. Net result of any of these things are taxpayers on the hook for a lot of GS-13 and above salairies of the DOJ and/or trial lawyers that get new Gulfstreams
 
To be a credible challenger to Chrome, Safari would have to:
A. Crash frequently.
B. Slow your system to a crawl through memory over allocation.
🍸😹🙀
 
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Scott McNealy, hmmmm what happened to his company again? Just like his dad with AMC.
They were bought by Oracle? It's people like McNealy who built the industry, whether his company survived or not.

So Apple is not just supposed to make sure that you know what (if anything is being tracked), they are supposed to prevent you from deciding to let yourself be tracked? Sorry, that is just not a rational position. First, this is not a binary choice, it is a continuum. Second, this is about letting adults use free will and decide for themselves.
Unless, of course, you want to write a porn app, a companion app for your vape, etc. Then it's up to Apple to make the decisions.

I find this position very amusing. You might not actually know this, but Apple and Google are different companies and behave differently. Apple's decision to let Google be the default, while making it really easy to switch it, and ensuring that in their own searches, trackers get no data is not hypocritical at all.

Their money does not invade my privacy, nor does their default placement. Looking at what happens with Bing and Microsoft's browsers, shows you exactly what would happen if they did not have them be the default - the vast majority of users would just switch and they would get no revenue from it.
And no, I don't expect Apple to do prevent tracking. Shrill fanboy defenses are so boring. Apple talks out both sides of it's mouth. It pillories Google for violating privacy...only to take $15B/year from them to make a privacy invading search engine the default on all Apple devices. It sells the idea that "what happens on iPhone stays on iPhone" only to let it's developers track pretty much whatever they want. I don't necessarily disagree with your perspective, but, unlike you, I'm willing to call a spade a spade.

How does that statement make any sense in this discussion?
It makes perfect sense. Apple happily deceives customers with its illusion of privacy, publicly bashes a competitor for being anti-privacy only to take that competitor's money and make that competitor's privacy-invading search engine the default on all Apple devices... Apple's whole privacy dog and pony show is just that, a show. I appreciate that they're more honest than the rest, but they're far from honest. Privacy is marketing spin to them. Like I said, means to an end $$$.
 
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But
I don’t really have a good answer for that! Anybody else? Chime in.

I personally am never logged into Google and I use Firefox focus for searches which delete instantly. Also I use iCloud+ with private relay, etc.

Sometimes I use SearX. It’s super stripped down. No google tracking you. More technically inclined users.

Nerdy ish, but those are my personal options.
Although I use Private Relay, and sometimes use a VPN, whenever I log into YouTube, I’m automatically logged into Google Search, as they shares the same cookie information.
 
Yes. I mentioned in a previous post (#53) that users can change the default. The reality is that most users don't bother to do so
People keep quoting this meme, but no one has been able to come up with a suitably authoritative study on this.
and by making Google the default search, Apple is essentially endorsing use of Google,
No, they are simply choosing a default that the user can override.
pushing traffic to Google, etc. and this is a reason why Google pays Apple so much money.
Of course google hopes for the traffic, but that is all they can do is hope.
Another possible reason, and the main topic of the article, is the alleged non-compete element which would be an antitrust violation.
Maybe or maybe not.
 
well, they could make their own engine the default search engine on their devices. Right there they would gain a massive market share.
You seem to have missed the point. Microsoft has the vast majority of the desktop/laptop OS. Their browser was installed by default on those machines in the United States and used Bing by default. That stopped neither Chrome from being the dominant nor Google being the dominant search engine even in Microsoft’s own browser.

What makes you think that even if Apple had a search engine, and even if it was competitive, that people would not switch to Google?

I use google because its the best right now (afaik), tried others, and while I like DDG its not as good.
if Apple comes out with an engine that is as good as google I’ll switch.
I use Duck Duck Go, and every once in a while, if I cannot find something on the first try or two, I will have DuckDuckGo send the query to Google. It is pretty rare and has gotten more rare over time.

The best way to help them improve is to use them until you cannot, helping them generate more revenue to build their product. There may be a small amount of pain when you start, but you should be used to working in a niche.

yup, don’t trust google but what is there to do if their product is the best? I use some precautions when I’m on google but it feels more like a band aid.
The differences used to be much more serious. Does not feel that way any more. Try it for a few weeks and see what it is like now. There is a ! Command to get it to pass it to Google. Try doing that on a hard search and compare.
 
People keep quoting this meme, but no one has been able to come up with a suitably authoritative study on this.
I think the proof of the opposite is true. Microsoft had Bing as the default in the United States and IE as the default browser, but it did not stop people from downloading Chrome nor setting Google as the default. The argument is that Google has the dominant position because they are the default, but I think the evidence shows that it would be the dominant search engine either way.

However, if someone built a sufficiently better one, people would switch. While they might not give up Gmail, there is very little that makes it sticky (inertia - admittedly not nothing, but not that hard to overcome given its lack of easily accessible settings).

No, they are simply choosing a default that the user can override.
Again, the Microsoft example shows that even if Apple picked a different default, people would pick Google on their own.

Of course google hopes for the traffic, but that is all they can do is hope.
I think the flip side is true: Google is terrified of people leaving so that they pay for something that they could get for free. If Apple built a better search engine, even if they made it the default, people would switch right up until the felt it was better than Google. The important thing is that it would need to be better than Google to get people to stay.

Maps shows this as well. Despite Apple offering no choice of mapping provider, people still downloaded Google Maps Right up until Maps got good enough to get people not to bother.

Maybe or maybe not.
From what has need described, it is not a non-compete, just Google paying for even more placement on Apple’s devices. Nothing that has been shown so far indicates that Apple was (or is) building a search engine. Nor has anything been shown that prevents them from doing so. They could be building a search engine while taking this money and when they feel they have something competitive, they could release it.
 
Me too. I got fed up with being asked to complete Captchas every time I did a Google search. Tried everything to fix it, but in the end DuckDuckGo was an easy option
 
Meanwhile Apple be acting like they care about your privacy while they take a payout from one of the most notorious privacy-invading companies 💅
The truth truth is all these Tech companies work with the FBI & CIA. && they give an illusion that they care about our privacy & that they are competing against each other but behind closed doors they all are working together.
 
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The truth truth is all these Tech companies work with the FBI & CIA. && they give an illusion that they care about our privacy & that they are competing against each other but behind closed doors they all are working together.
 
Building a search engine as good as Google's is a monumental challenge. People will just make fun of Apple when its search results suck compared to Google's and the first thing techies recommend everyone to do is to change the default Apple search engine to Google.

Developing a search engine is also extremely costly. Since Apple's primary business isn't selling ads, it would be extremely hard for Apple to recuperate the cost. There is no other way to make money besides selling ads for a search engine.

In addition, if Apple made a search engine, lawyers would be targeting Apple for making its own search engine the default.

It's actually lose/lose for Apple to make a search engine.
Sofia is a Google search so they already have the tec & resources to do it
 
I think the proof of the opposite is true. Microsoft had Bing as the default in the United States and IE as the default browser, but it did not stop people from downloading Chrome nor setting Google as the default. The argument is that Google has the dominant position because they are the default, but I think the evidence shows that it would be the dominant search engine either way.

However, if someone built a sufficiently better one, people would switch. While they might not give up Gmail, there is very little that makes it sticky (inertia - admittedly not nothing, but not that hard to overcome given its lack of easily accessible settings).


Again, the Microsoft example shows that even if Apple picked a different default, people would pick Google on their own.


I think the flip side is true: Google is terrified of people leaving so that they pay for something that they could get for free. If Apple built a better search engine, even if they made it the default, people would switch right up until the felt it was better than Google. The important thing is that it would need to be better than Google to get people to stay.

Maps shows this as well. Despite Apple offering no choice of mapping provider, people still downloaded Google Maps Right up until Maps got good enough to get people not to bother.


From what has need described, it is not a non-compete, just Google paying for even more placement on Apple’s devices. Nothing that has been shown so far indicates that Apple was (or is) building a search engine. Nor has anything been shown that prevents them from doing so. They could be building a search engine while taking this money and when they feel they have something competitive, they could release it.
Excellent point. What is being promulgated then is that people are smart with their windows PCs but dumb as door knobs or lazy with their iPhones.
 
This is silly. Google is the default because it is the most widely used search engine in the world. Period. Apple does not make it any more difficult for a user to switch to a competing search engine, regardless how much Google pays Apple. And for those who keep spouting how Apple is somehow condoning Google's evil ways, just stop. Apple has added a ton of privacy and security features into Safari (and the OS) to keep malicious practices at bay. So, Apple getting paid for something it would most likely do anyway, is a no brainer. Unless they can prove that Apple somehow coerced Google into paying these fees, there's no wrong doing here. It's just good business on both sides.

Personally, I've used DuckDuckGo for years, but every once in a while open a "private" tab and use Google, usually when searching for obscure parts using their part numbers.
 
People keep quoting this meme, but no one has been able to come up with a suitably authoritative study on this.

Do a search for "users don't change default settings" (or similar) and the dominant view is that most users don’t change default settings. I am not aware of any surveys or reports that show the opposite but would love to read them if they exist.

A few examples discussing user habits regarding default settings:

https://medium.com/choice-hacking/h...ansform-your-customer-experience-869cdb140d78

https://archive.uie.com/brainsparks/2011/09/14/do-users-change-their-settings/

https://www.cnet.com/tech/tech-industry/default-settings-for-privacy-we-need-to-talk/

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/dec/01/default-settings-change-phones-computers



No, they are simply choosing a default that the user can override.

Apple's actions are similar to (although getting paid significant to do so) someone, a company, a newspaper, etc. endorsing a candidate. Obviously, individual can vote for a different candidate just as someone can change the default but by setting Google as the default Apple is endorsing. validating, justifying, etc. use of Google search to its users.

The same would be true with they made DDG the default. In that case, however, it would at least be more in-line with Apple’s claimed privacy beliefs. Of course, they money wouldn't be there which is why Apple has chosen not to do so.



Of course google hopes for the traffic, but that is all they can do is hope.

If Apple selected a different search engine as default, Google would lose traffic from Safari users.



Maybe or maybe not.

I clearly used the words POSSIBLE and ALLEGED.
 
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