Is Firefox in trouble as Google deal expiry passes?

Is Firefox in trouble as Google deal expiry passes?
Mozilla could lose significant amount of revenue if Google walks away.

According to Mozilla's most recent financial statement (PDF), approximately 84 percent and 86 percent of royalty revenue for 2010 and 2009, respectively, was derived from a contract with a search engine provider.



That search engine provider is Google Inc., and that contract was due to expiry in November 2011. It accounted for around $100 million of Mozilla's $123 million in revenue in 2010.

Now it is not clear if Google will renew the contract with Mozilla at all, or if it will do so with drastically different terms. Mozilla has had a rough year, watching its Firefox browser drop from 25 percent of the market to 22 percent, while Chrome has reached 18 percent. It also lost a key manager, Mike Shaver, who left in September.

After Mozilla switched Firefox to an accelerated development schedule, it lost a lot of support among enterprise customers too.

The non-profit has not confirmed whether it is in negotiations with Google or not over extending the contract, which was originally signed in 2008 before Chrome was released.

Written by: James Delahunty @ 5 Dec 2011 17:54
Tags
Firefox
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  • 22 comments
  • jookycola

    I think Google should drop them like a bad habit. Firefox has been undercutting Google like a mofo for years now.
    Example:
    I click on my Firefox icon to startup the web browser, it comes up on my screen. My homepage is MSN.

    I click on my "search bar" in the far upper right corner that
    Google is the set default and start typing.

    By the time I'm done typing my search i look and 3 letters of my search are in the search bar the rest of my querry has mysteriously transferred over by it's self and typed into BING!

    No other browser I use does this, ONLY Firefox. They must have code that automatically forces you to use Bing if you go to MSN. And that should not be the case.


    5.12.2011 20:27 #1

  • scorpNZ

    click on that google icon,"manage search providers" disable or remove what you don't want,i had that same issue with google taking over from yahoo,i deleted firefox & all the cache including leftover crap in registry,i no longer have that switch happening & all the engines are still there & doing as they're told

    http://www.afterdawn.com/guides/
    http://www.elitemodscene.com/

    5.12.2011 20:51 #2

  • jookycola

    I did that. Bing isn't even on my list of engines and it still hijacks. That's why I say Firefox is the one causing Bing to hijack and bypass your default.


    5.12.2011 21:36 #3

  • scorpNZ

    does web search bring up others having same issue any fix for it

    http://www.afterdawn.com/guides/
    http://www.elitemodscene.com/

    5.12.2011 23:42 #4

  • KillerBug

    Originally posted by scorpNZ: does web search bring up others having same issue any fix for it I had the same issue after an auto-update a while back. The weird part is that it only did it on one PC, so I think it had something to do with one of the add-ons. Uninstall, reinstall, fixed.


    6.12.2011 04:10 #5

  • xnonsuchx

    Firefox annoyed me when they hid a lot of the preferences in the config page rather than have them as options in the preferences, but I still far prefer using it to IE or Chrome. I only use IE when I need to, but usually within Firefox. And I HATE programs that have support/update links that always open IE rather than just passing the URL to your default browser.

    6.12.2011 08:36 #6

  • scorpNZ

    Originally posted by KillerBug: Originally posted by scorpNZ: does web search bring up others having same issue any fix for it I had the same issue after an auto-update a while back. The weird part is that it only did it on one PC, so I think it had something to do with one of the add-ons. Uninstall, reinstall, fixed. same it was after an update or something,man it pissed me off..lol..i ended up switching to palemoon,then a little time later reinstalled ff & all was fine

    http://www.afterdawn.com/guides/
    http://www.elitemodscene.com/

    6.12.2011 17:59 #7

  • Jeffrey_P

    "same it was after an update or something,man it pissed me off..lol..i ended up switching to palemoon,then a little time later reinstalled ff & all was fine"

    Interesting... I only use a few add-ons for mostly, ad-blocking, scripting and such.
    Add-ons slow the browser down anyway.

    No problem here. Keeps fingers crossed because I'm not about to switch to Chrome, IEx or Opera. Opera is cool but not my cup of tea.

    Jeff

    6.12.2011 18:13 #8

  • hearme0

    Originally posted by jookycola: I did that. Bing isn't even on my list of engines and it still hijacks. That's why I say Firefox is the one causing Bing to hijack and bypass your default. Are you all retarded or just technologically inept?? Been using FF for years now EXCLUSIVELY and I have never ever ever had this happen.

    Learn how to keep your computer under control and this won't happen.......otherwise........Too bad, so sad, love dad

    6.12.2011 18:23 #9

  • ps355528

    bet the people with bing problems are using microsux mickey mouse 7.. whats the betting? of course opening on MSN will default to bing, because it's already open on the msn page.. ffs..



    ARR! Them pesky Navy! Get out of my sea!
    irc://irc.villageirc.net/afterdawn http://www.pirateparty.org.uk/

    6.12.2011 18:56 #10

  • scorpNZ

    Originally posted by hearme0: Originally posted by jookycola: I did that. Bing isn't even on my list of engines and it still hijacks. That's why I say Firefox is the one causing Bing to hijack and bypass your default. Are you all retarded or just technologically inept?? Been using FF for years now EXCLUSIVELY and I have never ever ever had this happen.

    Learn how to keep your computer under control and this won't happen.......otherwise........Too bad, so sad, love dad
    Of course you haven't deary now go sit down before you fall down & take your meds before you have a stroke

    http://www.afterdawn.com/guides/
    http://www.elitemodscene.com/

    6.12.2011 20:05 #11

  • ichihaifu

    Originally posted by ps355528: bet the people with bing problems are using microsux mickey mouse 7.. whats the betting? of course opening on MSN will default to bing, because it's already open on the msn page.. ffs.. Win7 is actually the best thing microsoft has done in ages if you werent aware. If you truly knew anything about software at all, you'd be aware of things called BUGS.

    7.12.2011 02:10 #12

  • Jeffrey_P

    Originally posted by ps355528: bet the people with bing problems are using microsux mickey mouse 7.. whats the betting? of course opening on MSN will default to bing, because it's already open on the msn page.. ffs.. I actually like Win7. It's a lot more robust then XP and is very stable which can't be said for some MS OS's.
    Jeff

    Cars, Guitars & Radiation.

    7.12.2011 08:20 #13

  • jookycola

    bet that hearme0 and ps355528 are so consumed with trolling they never get laid..whats the betting?

    Learn how to keep your virgin rage under control and this won't happen.......otherwise........Too bad, so sad, love dad.


    7.12.2011 12:47 #14

  • aldan

    buddy,the meds,remember?the problem you mentioned happened to me on ie and ff.happens when you start typing search before page is fully loaded.and just so there is no misunderstanding here,i get laid.

    7.12.2011 16:49 #15

  • bluesbabe

    Originally posted by scorpNZ:
    Of course you haven't deary now go sit down before you fall down & take your meds before you have a stroke
    Thank you scorpNZ, somebody needed to do that....

    7.12.2011 20:41 #16

  • syngyn

    Do those of you having the "Bing problem" happen to have the Bing toolbar installed?

    9.12.2011 08:31 #17

  • jookycola

    Quote:Originally posted by aldan:
    buddy,the meds,remember?the problem you mentioned happened to me on ie and ff.happens when you start typing search before page is fully loaded.and just so there is no misunderstanding here,i get laid.

    Why would you rage and take personal insult to something not even remotely directed toward you? Buddy, maybe check YOUR own meds. I have not discussed anything with you on here. So unless your name is hearme0 or ps355528 the "joke" wasn't directed toward you.

    And to answer the last question...no, I know I don't have the Bing bar installed, can't speak for anyone else.


    9.12.2011 12:33 #18

  • mscritsm

    It's not a one-way street. If Google drops Firefox, it will lose ready access to around 20% of the internet users. Assuming Mozilla goes with Bing or some other provider, that would be a big hit to Google even with Firefox's declining market share.

    13.12.2011 00:38 #19

  • Tarsellis

    I hope so. Firefox has pissed me off lately, and doesn't work nearly as well as it used to. And this isn't just on 1 or 10 PCs, and not just PC's I've had a hand in or my technically adept friends either.

    The irony is Firefox's idiotic attempt to emulate Google, each in user restrictions, screwed up update schedule, and fubarred user interface, has actually pushed me to use Chrome more than Firefox. My next install of FF will probably be 3.6 or 4, and I won't be installing 8, or 74 at the rare they're going, the next time I add more browsers to a system.

    13.12.2011 17:37 #20

  • xaznboitx

    when fire fox 8 came out it freezes and lags nonstop.. I had to downgrade back to ver 7 for it to stop.

    28.12.2011 18:58 #21

  • Jeffrey_P

    Originally posted by xaznboitx: when fire fox 8 came out it freezes and lags nonstop.. I had to downgrade back to ver 7 for it to stop. 8.0 had errors then closed. 8.1 which was released days later is stable. Why Mozilla does not iron out serious bugs like that is beyond me. Maybe the beta testers need to be replaced...
    Jeff

    28.12.2011 19:30 #22

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