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Comment by metalliqaz

16 hours ago

has any browser ever made that work? Opera has to be the most popular by a mile and even they couldn't keep that business model going

15 comments

metalliqaz

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yubblegum  11 hours ago

What exactly is the problem? I understand a browser is a complex program but is the claim it is impossible to build a browser without continual dependence on advertising toxic dollars?

  • makeitdouble  11 hours ago

    > a browser is a complex program

    A browser in the class of Firefox or Chrome is for all intents and purposes a full OS constantly exposed to the world.

    I understand open source OS development to be sustainable thanks to the the effort put into the server farms. That doesn't work for client side software, with the additional hurdle of needing to be better than the ad funded browser.

    • teekert  12 minutes ago

      My Linux kernel is not riddled with ads?

      Maybe companies should see browsers more as a the Linux kernel, a precompetitive commodity layer on top of which we deliver/extract value to/from users.

johanyc  14 hours ago

People just expect browsers to be free. And there's no way that can be more than Google money.

  • schubidubiduba  11 hours ago

    That's because browsers should be free. They are infrastructure, just like bridges. And nobody wants a bridge troll sitting on the single bridge crossing the internet river, demanding money from everyone.

    • pibaker  8 hours ago

      You pay for bridges with tax. Tax funded browser sounds good in theory, but I don't trust the people managing my tax money to run a tech project like Firefox. Most likely it gets handed to the lowest private sector bidder, with the stipulation that any privacy preserving — sorry, I meant criminal hiding — features be removed.