[cddotdotslash]

Well personally, I am probably not the average HN reader in that I have little problems giving up personal information in exchange for access to new services, free services, etc. So in that regard, Google more or less fits my mindset. As far as improving, I don't know - Firefox is already an excellent browser that is fast, secure, and pretty standard-compliant. It definitely beats IE.

What I've been trying to communicate is that I think the general consumer tends to be drawn to tightly integrated services - one provider can handle their email, their calendar, their browser, their phone's OS, etc. While this raises issues within the HN-crowd, my anecdotal evidence* supports the fact that the average user has little knowledge or desire for efforts to "protect their privacy." In general, they trust Google and don't have a need to switch. I've yet to convince anyone to switch from Chrome to Firefox over privacy arguments, but I have managed to get almost everyone I know to switch from IE to Chrome simply by telling them "it's Google."

* Family, friends, and family's co-workers

[e12e]

I certainly appreciate the convenience of having one (service) provider. Not very important to me (I'm aware of the trade-offs involved) -- but that doesn't mean I'm blind to how most people feel. Funny that the only thing that's not (AFAIK) part of Mozilla yet, is cloud storage. With more Firefox apps, it's not inconceivable that there'll be a viable docs-alternative -- and as for phone os, there is of course Firefox OS...