Last weekend, we noticed that an attempt to download Google Chrome using Microsoft Edge results in the latter opening its sidebar with a poll, asking you to explain to Microsoft how you could dare try downloading Google Chrome. Of course, the exact wording is more tame, but you get the idea.
Now, besides dismissing several banners and a full-size ad injected on the Chrome website, Edge wants you to answer a questionnaire with the following options.
Frequently bought together.
What’s funny is that they don’t provide a text-box so that you can tell them what you actually think. Not that they care. Most people, I think, already had a web browser that they were happy with, and this one was forced onto their computer whether they wanted it or not. So, off to a bad start already.
Hopefully this type of stuff will only ruin their reputation even more…
It goes deeper than that: People want Chrome because that’s where they have their bookmarks, history, passwords and extensions and it syncs with the Chrome on their phones, and that’s as far as they care.
I mean, Firefox makes an excellent browser and they are in the low single digits. And that’s despire asshole behaviour by Google such as banning YouTube downloader utilities on Chrome (you can use them just fine on Firefox btw) and defaulting on the Google account you use for syncing for every Google page you visit (which means you can’t have a Google account just for syncing).
Its not any more slimy than google putting pop ups on their search landing, youtube landing, and even gmail landing page about chrome being more secure and or installing an app instead of the mobile page. Google and Microsoft are on the same level now, Google CEO worked for McKinsey & Company.
missingxtension,
IMHO what MS are doing is/was worse because they are programming the browser to show microsoft banners & content for competing websites whereas google are showing their own content on their own website. Recently microsoft have been guilty of modifying windows to hijacking browser preferences and putting warnings in place when users try to install competing browsers. Seems like when it comes to browsers, MS are back to using slimey tactics. Google chrome doesn’t hijack other websites (as far as I know).
IOS is the worst though, competing browsers are totally blocked. I don’t think MS executives are above doing this too, it’s just that they want to harass competitors as much as possible without incurring antitrust consequences for it.
I would have no idea what you meant if I hadn’t just watched the John Oliver piece about it:
“McKinsey: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiOUojVd6xQ