There’s literally so much else they should do, google docs, sheets, drive, phones, maps, earth, calendar, play store, translate, etc.
Good work, continue please.What is the issue with docs, sheets, drive, phones, calendar, play store?
There seems to be plenty of options in all of these spaces. Play store isn’t even on a lot of android devices.
Correct. My example for another necessary intervention would be YouTube. That’s a space in which Google does have a monopoly.
Exactly. There are workable alternatives to most of the others, but YouTube has a stranglehold on that type of content due to the network effect. Examples of alternatives:
- docs/sheets/drive - Microsoft Office 365, OnlyOffice, or self-host LibreOffice Online (through Collabora CODE builds); if you just need drive, there’s also BackBlaze, AWS, DropBox, etc
- phones - I use GrapheneOS on their Pixel devices, but plenty of other Android phones support LineageOS/DivestOS/CalyxOS
- calendar - still looking for a replacement for my smart watch, but I’ve been using my Nextcloud install; there are also some FOSS calendars that support CalDav as well, so look around
- maps - I’ve been using Organic Maps, which has been great; main problem is searching for addresses, but if it’s in there, the directions so far have worked fine; there’s also Apple maps, Bing maps, and probably some others
- translate - it’s built in to Firefox, and it seems to work well enough in a pinch
But there’s really not much for YouTube. I guess there’s Odyssee, Rumble, and a few others, but they don’t have anywhere near the content as YouTube, so they’re not really practical alternatives. I actually sub to Nebula which is the closest to a replacement so far, but there’s still a ton of content that doesn’t have a direct replacement there.
Off topic, but how do you like graphene? I am thinking of making the switch on a pixel 7a, but I have a fear it’ll be like having Linux on my phone where things randomly don’t work and then I have the hobby where I make it work
I really like it, but I also mostly use F-Droid apps. You can install Google Play in the regular app sandbox, which prevents the worst of the issues andn provides most of the benefits.
That said, there are still some caveats:
- NFC payments don’t work - I use a Pixel watch instead, which works fine (it’s paired to a separate profile on my phone with Google Play installed)
- some banking apps don’t work (some check if your phone OS is stock)
- some apps just don’t work without Google Play services running (e.g. the Sensi app for my smart thermostat), and some have issues even with it running
But other than that, it works pretty well! I have three profiles set up:
- Owner - default, with no Google Play
- Work - handful of work apps using my work Google account
- Google - apps that require Google Play, using a fresh Google account
I’m using a Google Pixel 8, and it does what I need it to do.
Most definitely. They need viable competition.
Yeah, see all this stuff happening between now and inauguration day. See, we did something. Too little, too late. If there are ever free and fair elections in this country, and the Democrats return to power, they better get their fucking shit together. The dismantling of the Federal government will be almost impossible to reverse.
Like someone commented in another fediverse community: this court case can really only keep going for two more months, after that it’s anyone’s guess what will happen to the court: Alphabet could bribe someone in the DOJ to make the case disappear or (and this is the funny one) law and order could breakdown completely, rendering the case, the court and all the rest of society moot.
What company could actually afford to buy it other than Google, Meta, or Amazon? Unless they are forced to sell it at a loss, which is fine with me.
Oracle, sun, tencent, tita…
Broadcom
oracle would create MANGO (Microsoft,Apple,nvidia,google and Oracle)
Hear me out… Valve
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Chromium engine for half life 3
Microsoft is probably drooling at the prospect. They’ve been trying to get that IE monopoly back since this happened to them.
Elon Musk
By “sell,” they could also mean ending up having Chrome just split off from Google, as a new, independent entity that is its own company, without anybody needing to buy it in the first place.
The judge would immediately shut that down for creative avoidance. This is an order to sell, not break up. The DOJ specifically indicated behavioural remedies in this case, meaning Google must not remain in control of Chrome.
Don’t ya love it when people comment saying something that they think must be true as if it were actually true, without having the slightest idea?
This is an order to sell, not break up.
Currently, it’s still recommended actions to the court. Nothing has actually been finalized in terms of what they’re going to actually end up trying to make Google do.
Google must not remain in control of Chrome.
While divestiture is likely, they could also spin-off, split-off, or carve-out, which carry completely different implications for Google, but are still an option if they are unable to convince the court to make Google do their original preferred choice.
A split-off could prevent Google from retaining shares in the new company without sacrificing shares in Google itself, and a carve-out could still allow them to “sell” it, but via shares sold in an IPO instead of having to get any actual buyout from another corporation.
How exactly is this company going to make any money?
Selling user data, selling ad placement, subscriptions for paid services, enterprise-grade support contracts, and the like.
They could also take an approach similar to Google, branching back out from being just a browser into a suite of related tools that Chrome can then convince users to switch to (similar to how Chrome gets users to not just use Google search, but also services like Gmail too.)
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What does Chrome have to do with search? 🤔
What search engine does Chrome, by far and away the most used browser be it on phone or PC, use?
Since you were unable to answer, I’ll just tell you: Google.
Google is the default search engine for chrome, and chrome is the single most popular browser at about 95% market share.
Um, that wouldn’t change if Google “sells Chrome”, though.
Firefox uses Google Search as a default, so does every Samsung phone (and most other Android devices).
Unless the DOJ is telling everyone not to implement a default search engine (and let the user decide upon first opening the browser), then who owns Chrome really doesn’t change much.
Other remedies the government is asking the court to impose include prohibiting Google from offering money or anything of value to third parties — including Apple and other phone-makers — to make Google’s search engine the default,
This is the only thing that makes sense, but “sell Chrome” is a laughable request.
Alright then I’ll do you one better:
Google regularly abuses their market share dominance in browsers in order to push for changes to web standards that benefit them, such as their web integrity api (which would have prevented blocking ads). This is monopolistic behavior, and the largest ad company on the planet shouldn’t get to decide web standards.
As a side note: both firefox and Samsung are paid handsomely (just like apple) to have Google as a default search engine. This also is monopolistic behavior, if you built a better product than them then you couldn’t outspend them to get to the same position.
Oh, yeah, don’t get me wrong, Google is highly unethical, and I avoid any and all Google related products whenever possible.
Selling Chrome, however, doesn’t really stop them from doing damage.
The part about not allowing them
to bribepay other companies to use their search is a much better idea.And regarding their influence over the internet… we need stronger regulation to prevent any company from having that much control over an essential service.
They should force google to kick sundar, the harmful thing, what made all google software, and services shit since it is the ceo…
If you think Sundar is bad, just wait to see who Wall Street picks to replace him.
Strip google for parts And I mean that literally, asset strip the removed, no more youtube, gmail, sell the hardware, release all IP to public, absolutely dismantle google entirely. Do the same with all of FAANG. Then the 25 next biggest platform monopolists. They are Web2 parasites and they need to die.
Is the DOJ the only working system in the US now?
Obviously not. Trump is still free.
They should force it to become a worker cooperative. It’s the only solution that doesn’t allow for corruption
Nationalize?
Yep, nationalize everything that’s essential or at least offer a nationalized alternative and let the private sector try to compete.
I literally salivate at the thought of it happening to the telecom industries.
For a lot of things yes.
However I do not want to use a browser developed by the US gov tyvm
My comment is more in line with the corruption aspect. As much as I think they deserve it, giving it to the employees would be more akin to them winning the lottery. In the space of a year, they will have gone public, shareholders would have stormed in and we would be at square one.
Nationalisation at least has a chance of getting rid of the money corruption aspect. Sadly, the three letter agencies are probably deep in every browser already so I don’t think any solution takes care of that.
I understand your point though. Personally, I will never use chrome no matter what happens, ha.
brOURser comrade.
Admittedly, I don’t know enough about monopolies and antitrust laws to know how much this matters. Can someone ELI5 this and give us more info?
Don’t fucking let Musk buy it though
Oh no.
ABOUT FUCKING TIME!
Sounds like they are preparing for this by killing off ChromeOS
https://www.androidauthority.com/chrome-os-becoming-android-3500661/
Another thing to add to the google graveyard.
Sell it to me, I’ll buy it for one dollar.
I’ll go treefitty
Who would buy this and how would they monetize it? In browser ads? A freemium paid model to remove the ads?
I’ll bid $3.50 just to GPL it.
https://www.chromium.org/chromium-projects/
It’s already under BSD license
Sure, but GPL would prevent the Chrome tracking addons and other pleasant closed-source paraphernalia (the difference between Chrome and Chromium)
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BSD is more open towards being closed.
