It sounds like Mozilla just wants to keep users confined to a pre-approved list of search engines. Are these also business partners with Mozilla, like Google?
Here are some other HTTPS-enabled search engines to test. If I am not mistaken all have been mentioned on HN in the past.
you mean that the omission of the above lesser known engines was a mistake and they will soon appear? I grant that you're responding to a "response" that should have been a new thread, instead, since it's really a new topic -
but it's not alleging the switch was malice.
I have a hard time believing this kind of happy coincidence benefiting their commercial partner could be a bug, it really looks like an intended feature.
Here are some other HTTPS-enabled search engines to test. If I am not mistaken all have been mentioned on HN in the past.