We can only hope normal people start using firefox again and ditch the piece of cold garbage that is chrome/ium. Though i doubt most people nowadays will even think about switching browsers (like how windows still has like 75+% of market share despite its quality freefalling since win10 and the most user hostile stuff being added)
If experience gets bad enough then people will look for alternatives. IE was something like 90% of the market share at one point and then it lost it fairly rapidly.
Not sure if software enshittification really makes people switch. I wish they would but I'm not convinced. I'd say the windows freefall started after windows 7:
8 was universally agreed to be complete horseshit because they were trying to make it work for both, touch and keyboard/mouse, which obviously failed.
10 felt like a sponsored-by-ads freemium cheap spyware, adding even more inconsistencies with these different system settings windows, adding cortana which literally not a single person on earth wanted to use but was hard to disable/remove and embracing the microsoft store which is the most cursed shithole of all (including google playstore which is already bad enough).
11 Is just like 10 but takes away essential settings, making every professional users workflow 40% slower for no reason.
Win7 also had issues, but it felt much more usable for professional use. Also much less bloated with bullcrap nobody ever asked for (preinstalled candycrush anyone?). So for me that was clearly peak windows. Obviously, every half-decent linux distro was at least as good, many were better even from a pure users perspective. After that, linux desktops got better and windows got worse. Nowadays its no competition if you ask me. But still, few people swicht from the pre-installed OS...
If I lose my ad blocker it's like losing access to the internet for me
Pretty much, and I think this highlights just how important it is to have at least two independently developed browser engines. If Chromium becomes the only game in town that would effectively let Google, which makes most of its revenue from ads, decide how we access the internet. That would be an absolutely terrible scenario to be in.
I'd even specify that. Loosing uBlock Origin on Firefox is like getting rid of the web per se.
What is with huge tech brands voluntarily self destructing, right now?
The "we'll figure it out later" mentality that plagued the entirety of the ad-supported internet during the last two decades is finally coming to it's natural conclusion. Some companies have decided to tackle the issue by progressively getting away from ads (See X/Twitter, YouTube Premium), others are trying to hold for dear life and doing one last, giant push to try to make it work (Google, also YouTube somewhat). The next few years will decide what the future of the web looks like
I've started to reconsider how I do things online. For such a long time it's been the norm to expect things for free (gratis), and users became the product. If the choice now is being bombarded with ads or paying for a service, I'd rather pay a reasonable price. If I want online storage to keep my files backed up and available, then a small sum is acceptable to me. The important thing is to choose providers who believe in the open spirit of the internet, using free software, respecting privacy. I've submitted a couple of patches to the operating system I use. Etc. I want the internet to be a cooperative, friendly place.
My guess is they're not self destructing. They're pissing off parts of the user base to profit more from the rest of the user base. I'd guess it's all calculated and profitable. Except whatever twitter is doing that's just a mess
My theory is that they have been "inbreeding" too much by only hiring friends and family. This creates a cesspool instead of a talent pool. Try getting into one of these companies without an in... It's not easy.
I think it's a little more straightforward: we're at the tail end of a tech bubble. All these companies have been riding a COVID-19 wave and are reaching the end of it. They've been laying off staff as well as burning their customer good-will for extra revenue.
what's beyond me is that 95% of people won't care. We will of course but most will just put up with it.
Nah. Those who installed adblocker did this for a reason. They’ll put up with it for maybe a week at max before they get annoyed by the full-Screen hot singles in their area in tab 69 that plays music.
I switched to apple years ago because I wanted to know why I hate it so much and use Firefox ever since.
Nah. Those who installed adblocker...
The point is that 99.9% of people don't.
I usually don't give a fuck about ads, but they've gotten increasingly annoying lately. Used to be that the popular websites were classier and less intrusive with their ads, that's why they were popular. Now the biggest websites (most obviously YouTube) are the ones with the craziest most intrusive ads.
Do everything you can! Switch people's default search engine in their browser if they won't switch. I am nearly done coverting my entire office to DDG! Row! Row! Fight the power!
Or you could use a browser that's so old that the ads don't even load correctly.
Like un-patched IE 6.
Just turn off JavaScript. That breaks web viewing very effectively.
The sad part is that this meme is 100% wishful thinking. The reality is that most people will just be complicit and too lazy to enact any form of protest. We're doomed unless we organize.
The sadder part is that most people don't even use/know about adblockers in the first place
The very saddest thing is that people don't know Firefox is a non profit trying to protect their privacy and instead choose Chrome. It's almost like they want to be owned and subjugated by big business.
I jumped ship as soon as I heard the first rumor. Which is unusual for me but still. I'm in the mood for it. Left twitter (8k followers) for Mastodon, left Reddit (300,000 karma) for lemmy. It's time.
Everytime I see someone I know using chrome and getting an ad (because most adblockers in chrome are useless), I try to nudge them to the furry browser
I can't live without uBlock Origin.
No chromos
no chromo
It's not gay if you keep your blocks on
CHROME IS OBJECTIVELY BETTER WHY YOU USE FIREFOX ULYSSES - bazingas 10 years ago and probably now too
Been a firefox boy since 2004 here. I never liked Chrome's UI and their hidden self-update process
I would love to see how Brave would handle this.
and vivaldi. quite a few chrome bsaed browsers built in ad blocking.
Unfortunately is not that simple, now Google is pushing a new standard web environment called WEI and all browsers will be affected with it. Is not just a matter of free choice.
We'll see if sites really start forcing this standard, could just turn into a situation where you use Chrome as an app to access specific sites that force it and Firefox for everything else.
The late stage of capitalism will force sites to adopt the WEI. Trust me. Privacy will be a luxury good in near future.
At that point we might see a split between corporate and open internet.
If and only "if" this split occur. Unfortunately only few tech conscious people about the importance of free internet as a whole and privacy will adhere to it. Will not be a big movement to harm the core of the big tech.
My perspective on this is that it's about sustainability as opposed to trying to compete with big tech in a zero sum game. For example, Mastodon or Lemmy aren't able to compete with commercial platforms in terms of users, but that doesn't mean they're not viable communities. I can see a future where there's a niche open internet that exists independently of the commercial one and I think that would be fine. As long as there are enough people to do development on platforms and browsers and to produce content, that's all that really matters. In fact, a split might even be better because then we wouldn't have companies interfering with how the network operates.
The FOSS community is big enough that most things will have a non fucked foss counterpart if that happens. Of course hopefully that doesn't need to happen
Maybe a new form to navigate the web will emerge from the FOSS community. I really hope all of us join this to support the new web that we need to make to fight back the big tech greed. Some through code expertise and others through money donates to support the projects that we love. But I don't want to be much idealistic about the future. I' m just dreaming high
Banks will force it pretty quickly. I can't bank on a rooted android already.
Yeah, I think banks and online stores are the most likely early adapters of this.
Yesterday I switched to Piped because yt had to pause my music with an ad every 3 fucking minutes, and I can say that it was a great decision to make.
"Less money from ad revenue means more ads for you." - Alphabet.
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