I guess Microsoft was tired of losing the browser game, so it decided to back the winning worse this time. But I still believe it will be a mistake long-term, as Google will start controlling Chromium's direction with more of an iron fist.
I believe someone else mentioned in a previous HN comment about the ad-blocking API that it doesn't matter if Edge, Brave, or other Chromium-based browsers can "continue to support a Chromium API if Google wants to kill it", because in the end if their combined market share is tiny, most developers will stop supporting that API anyways.
I imagine the Chromium browsers will be going in the direction of Android, where "anyone can fork Android" but in practice you're dead in the market if you don't back Google's Android.
Re:The Browser Monopoly
by pygy_ on Thursday August 22, 2019 @09:44AM
(#20767952)
I vouched for this one, which was [dead], but most of their comments made in the last 20 days are [dead], and so are all of their submissions since July.
https://msrc-blog.microsoft.com/2019/07/22/why-rust-for-safe...
I guess Microsoft was tired of losing the browser game, so it decided to back the winning worse this time. But I still believe it will be a mistake long-term, as Google will start controlling Chromium's direction with more of an iron fist.
I believe someone else mentioned in a previous HN comment about the ad-blocking API that it doesn't matter if Edge, Brave, or other Chromium-based browsers can "continue to support a Chromium API if Google wants to kill it", because in the end if their combined market share is tiny, most developers will stop supporting that API anyways.
I imagine the Chromium browsers will be going in the direction of Android, where "anyone can fork Android" but in practice you're dead in the market if you don't back Google's Android.