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   Jay Baker (mediaactivist@todon.eu)'s status on Tuesday, 06-Aug-2024 08:12:01 JST Jay Baker

   "Much more worrisome, however, is the similar deal Google has with Mozilla. About 80% of Mozilla’s total revenue comes from a search deal with Google, and if that deal were to be dissolved, the consequences for Mozilla, and thus for Firefox, would be absolutely immense." https://www.osnews.com/story/140425/us-judge-rules-google-is-a-monopoly-searxh-deals-with-apple-and-mozilla-in-peril/ #Google #Mozilla #Firefox #WebBrowsers

   • Embed this notice
     Jay Baker (mediaactivist@todon.eu)'s status on Tuesday, 06-Aug-2024 17:05:15 JST Jay Baker

     in reply to

     • katzenberger

     @katzenberger Interesting! Why?

   • Embed this notice
     katzenberger (katzenberger@mastodon.de)'s status on Tuesday, 06-Aug-2024 17:05:16 JST katzenberger

     in reply to

     @MediaActivist

     The consequences IMO would be shocking at first, and very beneficial in the long run.

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     Jay Baker (mediaactivist@todon.eu)'s status on Tuesday, 06-Aug-2024 17:35:52 JST Jay Baker

     in reply to

     • katzenberger

     @katzenberger Those are some great points. But it's a huge gamble. More jobs at risk, more dominance of Chromium-based browsers... We need an authentic alternative, and fast. (I sometimes wish someone like Proton had got into the game to offer a privacy-focused browser, but they're arguably already stretched too thin).

   • Embed this notice
     katzenberger (katzenberger@mastodon.de)'s status on Tuesday, 06-Aug-2024 17:35:53 JST katzenberger

     in reply to

     @MediaActivist

     Most people aren't aware of the difference between

     • Mozilla Foundation (the non-profit that most think of as being "Mozilla") and

     • Mozilla Corp (the enterprise that gets around $500 million per year from Google, is said to have a war chest of around $1 billion, pays its CEO about $7 million per year, still lays off staff, and lets Firefox slowly and silently decompose while it ventures into the "AI" business)

     Google is essentially paying Mozilla Corp for being their court jester, to keep them utterly dependent and to inflate Mozilla's image as a serious "competitor", which it has ceased to be, a long time ago.

     Losing the Google "annuities" would sink the rotten Mozilla Corp, including its opportunistic leadership. IMO that's the only way how something like a decent open-source browser might emerge again, a tool that isn't steered by a group of people pretending to be into privacy, but actually concerned mostly about Google money.

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     Jay Baker (mediaactivist@todon.eu)'s status on Tuesday, 06-Aug-2024 21:50:29 JST Jay Baker

     in reply to

     • katzenberger

     @katzenberger I didn't suggest the jobs were safe *now.* And expediting job losses is never a good thing. But you're right to point out the wage disparity, yes. (I believe Mitchell Baker's pronouns are she/her btw)

   • Embed this notice
     katzenberger (katzenberger@mastodon.de)'s status on Tuesday, 06-Aug-2024 21:50:30 JST katzenberger

     in reply to

     @MediaActivist

     Not sure about jobs being safe under the current regime either. In February, despite the piles of money they're sitting on, they fired another 60 (5%) of staff, as a welcome gift to their new CEO.

     In 2020, they had already fired 250 (25%) of their staff. As Mitchell Baker nonchalantly said, then CEO (who received a $1.3 million raise later, in 2022, on top of his already stunning $5.6 million):

     »Sadly, the changes also include a significant reduction in our workforce by approximately 250 people. These are individuals of exceptional professional and personal caliber who have made outstanding contributions to who we are today. To each of them, I extend my heartfelt thanks and deepest regrets that we have come to this point. This is a humbling recognition of the realities we face, and what is needed to overcome them.«

     So: no, not more jobs at risk than already are. And the new CEO won't suffer either, for sure.

     https://blog.mozilla.org/en/mozilla/changing-world-changing-mozilla/

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     Jay Baker (mediaactivist@todon.eu)'s status on Tuesday, 06-Aug-2024 22:43:46 JST Jay Baker

     in reply to

     • katzenberger

     @katzenberger No problem! And she's no relation btw haha!

   • Embed this notice
     katzenberger (katzenberger@mastodon.de)'s status on Tuesday, 06-Aug-2024 22:43:47 JST katzenberger

     in reply to

     @MediaActivist Fixed, thank you.