Yahoo and Ubuntu Deal on search Engines
Among the changes to Ubuntu 10.04 is that Google will lose its place to Yahoo as the Firefox standard search engine. Canonical attributes it to financial reasons.
On the Ubuntu developers' mailing list, Rick Spencer announced "two small but important changes" to Ubuntu 10.04 "Lucid Lynx." Ubuntu's Firefox browser will now show a choice of search engines in the upper right corner of the browser, at least for Google and Yahoo. Other potential candidates such as Amazon, Wikipedia and Ask.com don't have the same deal set for them.
The change accompanies another decision by Canonical, that Yahoo will become the default search engine. The switch also applies to upgrades for users who previously had Google as the default.
The reason is simple: Yahoo will pay Canonical for each search using their engine, income from which will then flow into Ubuntu's further development. Spencer emphasized in his announcement that users who prefer a different search engine can enable it with two easy mouse clicks.
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Google is not a bicon of freedom
Google has all of your e-mails, some pictures, knows what do you read in RSS, has access to your documents (googledocs). if your mobile smart phone has gps then it can give away your position on the map and share it with others. It knows what are you searching for on the web.
HMMMM, so it knows to whom you speak, what you are speaking about, what are your preferences and where you are. During USSR times KGB did not have such capability, I think it is food for thought. If such capable company falls into wrong hand it will spell the end of the freedom.
By using yahoo (which uses bing for search) you can at least not disclose all of your info to Google, thus making it less all knowing.
I am Ununtu fan and long time user and if this deal will keep it afloat and will fund more freedom for my pc and applications I use, then why not. If it will make ubuntu less free, then we all have a choice of other distribution and ubuntu will die out.
Bad in every sense
@ nix (Jan 29, 2010 3:10am GMT):
By using Yahoo! search you are not funding Ubuntu. You are mainly funding - and supporting - Microsoft.
@ Kojak.T (Jan 29, 2010 3:26am GMT)
Helping Microsoft does not keep a bit of balance. On the contrary, it increases the imbalance, in favour of a monopolistic and extremely unethical bad company.
Myself (again)
1) Canonical makes Bing the default engine in Ubuntu/Firefox
and
2) Canonical sells itself to Novell.
Everybody has its price...
part II
I wanted to say additionally, to this move, that it might not be all that bad as it keeps a bit of a balance between the big guys. I like Google, but one can only guess if it becomes too big and important to fail .... we've been there a few times before.
Yahoo for Google???
Every search supports ubuntu - awesome
So by using yahoo search I help fund ubuntu?
Count me in!
Treason!
I'm leaving Ubuntu! Fuck Canonical! Fact is, nobody *needs* them!
They did a good job helping to popularize Linux on the desktop, but this move has no justification whatsoever. It amounts to bringing up a child only to murder it later.
So long, Ubuntu! Hope you die!