[jillesvangurp]

Yes, people that believe that Google will forever own the web are the same people that used to believe that Microsoft would forever own it. MS got arrogant and lost. Google looks like they are repeating that mistake.

A few things that could go against this:

- If enough people use Firefox, no commercial business in their right mind will tell these people to "please leave, we don't serve your kind". Seems to be true for obscure versions of internet explorer still in use. Definitely true for Firefox for some time to come.

- Legislation might force the market to open up on mobile. Right now Apple is blocking the Chrome and Firefox rendering engines (well they allow similarly named shells around safari). And Google of course "owns" the search and browsing experience on Android by default and twists every OEM into signing a restrictive licensing deal. At least you can install firefox on Android. There are some signs this might start changing. A lot of outrage around privacy and ad blockers might speed this up.

- People can still vote with their feet. If you watch Youtube on a laptop and you don't have an effective ad blocker, Firefox is blocking them very nicely. I watch a lot of youtube and 100% ad free, just saying.

[beej71]

> Yes, people that believe that Google will forever own the web are the same people that used to believe that Microsoft would forever own it. MS got arrogant and lost. Google looks like they are repeating that mistake.

I don't believe Google will forever own the web. But, like Microsoft did, I believe they will cause us a lot of pain before they're through.