Yahoo Will Soon Become The Default Search Engine In Firefox


Starting in December, Firefox will use Yahoo as its default search engine in the United States on mobile and desktop. As a part of this five-year deal, Yahoo will also launch a new search experience for Firefox users in the U.S., which should go live at the same time Firefox makes the switch away from Google.
The new search experience will feature “a clean, modern and immersive design that reflects input from the Mozilla team.” Here is what that will look like:
Suppenkuche-restaurant
In Russia, Mozilla will use Yandex Search and in China, it will use Baidu as the default. Google, DuckDuckGo and a number of other local search engines will remain as built-in alternatives.
The Mozilla Foundation has long made most of its money  through its search partnership with Google, which has always been the default in Firefox. Indeed, in 2012 — the last year we have data from — 88% of Mozilla’s income came from Google. That contract with Google was set to expire this year, though, and it look like either Yahoo made an offer Mozilla couldn’t refuse or Google decided to walk away from the deal.
Default-“Google has been the Firefox global search default since 2004. Our agreement came up for renewal this year, and we took this as an opportunity to review our competitive strategy and explore our options,” said Chris Beard, Mozilla’s CEO in a statement today. “We are excited to partner with Yahoo to bring a new, re-imagined Yahoo search experience to Firefox users in the U.S. featuring the best of the Web, and to explore new innovative search and content experiences together.”
Likewise, Yahoo’s CEO Marissa Mayer today noted that she believes that “search is an area of investment, opportunity and growth for us. This partnership helps to expand our reach in search and also gives us an opportunity to work closely with Mozilla to find ways to innovate more broadly in search, communications, and digital content.”
Yahoo Search, in its current form, is powered by Microsoft Bing, of course, though the company heavily modifies the results it gets from Microsoft, both in terms of layout and ranking. There have long been rumors that Yahoo could end this deal and bring back its own search engine, but that seems unlikely given the investment the company would have to make after it dismantled its old search engine infrastructure.
This partnership with Firefox will surely give Yahoo — and Microsoft — a stronger presence in the search market, however. While Firefox usage has declined over the last few years, it still accounts for at least 15% of the U.S. browser market. Yahoo currently owns about of the U.S. search engine market. Switching the default back to Google only takes a few seconds, but most users will likely stick with the default

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How to buy the perfect PC gaming laptop

Image
Desktop diehards and the Reddit build-it crowd might scoff at the very concept of a portable PC gaming machine, but the gulf between gaming desktops and gaming laptops has narrowed considerably over the years. Today’s laptops can play modern games at 1080p and higher with few to no compromises in graphics settings. And that's not bad. Sure, traditional desktop PCs offer more expansion options and easier upgrade paths, and can be significantly cheaper for the performance you get. But there's no denying the appeal of a single, self-contained gaming machine that you can move from the living room to the dining room to even the back porch. You just need to pick your gaming laptop wisely. Your decisions will key into a series of component choices, so let's dig into them, one by one. GPU: Your 3D graphics engine NVIDIA A gaming laptop's number one component should always be the GPU, such as Nvidia's new GeForce GTX 980M. Modern games are all about 3D graphic...
Read more

Second-gen Chromecast tipped with faster Wi-Fi, Spotify support, and more

Image
Two new Nexus phones aren’t the only items expected at Google’s press event on September 29. Google’s also gearing up to introduce a second-generation Chromecast, according to 9to5Google. The new streaming device is expected to come in a round shape loaded with improved Wi-Fi, a new feature called Fast Play, support for audio systems, and feed integration with the device’s main screen. That’s about where the details end, however, as specifics are in short supply. The current Chromecast uses 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi, so it sounds like the next version will support the newer 802.11 ac Wi-Fi, but that’s just speculation at this point. The Fast Play feature apparently means the next Chromecast will connect faster than the original version when you “cast” something from your mobile device. As for the feeds, there’s no word on what this is. 9to5Google figures it means you’ll be able to integrate social media feeds when the Chromecast flips to its idle backdrop mode. ...
Read more

Bloatware: Why computer makers fill your PC with junk, and how to get rid of it

Image
Bloatware, crapware, shovelware: No matter what you call it, the junk that PC makers dump onto new PCs is nothing short of a mess. The situation was thrust into the spotlight last week when it was revealed that several Lenovo PCs were preloaded with “Superfish” adware that actively left users vulnerable to attack. The software compromised secure HTTPS web connections in a quest to inject ads on the sites you visit... and make Lenovo a few nickels. There’s no doubt about it: Even though the root vulnerability came from Superfish, Lenovo messed up. Hard . This shouldn’t have happened, period. But Lenovo didn’t toss its users to the wolves out of malice—instead, the Superfish debacle is a natural extension of the entire bloatware epidemic. Why do hardware vendors knowingly stuff new PCs with junk that makes your experience worse? And what can you do about it? Let’s dig in. Dolla dolla bills y’all Bloatware exists because we’re all cheap bastards, and rightfully so. ...
Read more