We can only hope normal people start using firefox again and ditch the piece of cold garbage that is chrome/ium. Though i doubt most people nowadays will even think about switching browsers (like how windows still has like 75+% of market share despite its quality freefalling since win10 and the most user hostile stuff being added)
If experience gets bad enough then people will look for alternatives. IE was something like 90% of the market share at one point and then it lost it fairly rapidly.
Not sure if software enshittification really makes people switch. I wish they would but I'm not convinced. I'd say the windows freefall started after windows 7:
8 was universally agreed to be complete horseshit because they were trying to make it work for both, touch and keyboard/mouse, which obviously failed.
10 felt like a sponsored-by-ads freemium cheap spyware, adding even more inconsistencies with these different system settings windows, adding cortana which literally not a single person on earth wanted to use but was hard to disable/remove and embracing the microsoft store which is the most cursed shithole of all (including google playstore which is already bad enough).
11 Is just like 10 but takes away essential settings, making every professional users workflow 40% slower for no reason.
Win7 also had issues, but it felt much more usable for professional use. Also much less bloated with bullcrap nobody ever asked for (preinstalled candycrush anyone?). So for me that was clearly peak windows. Obviously, every half-decent linux distro was at least as good, many were better even from a pure users perspective. After that, linux desktops got better and windows got worse. Nowadays its no competition if you ask me. But still, few people swicht from the pre-installed OS...
What is with huge tech brands voluntarily self destructing, right now?
The "we'll figure it out later" mentality that plagued the entirety of the ad-supported internet during the last two decades is finally coming to it's natural conclusion. Some companies have decided to tackle the issue by progressively getting away from ads (See X/Twitter, YouTube Premium), others are trying to hold for dear life and doing one last, giant push to try to make it work (Google, also YouTube somewhat). The next few years will decide what the future of the web looks like
I've started to reconsider how I do things online. For such a long time it's been the norm to expect things for free (gratis), and users became the product. If the choice now is being bombarded with ads or paying for a service, I'd rather pay a reasonable price. If I want online storage to keep my files backed up and available, then a small sum is acceptable to me. The important thing is to choose providers who believe in the open spirit of the internet, using free software, respecting privacy. I've submitted a couple of patches to the operating system I use. Etc. I want the internet to be a cooperative, friendly place.
My guess is they're not self destructing. They're pissing off parts of the user base to profit more from the rest of the user base. I'd guess it's all calculated and profitable. Except whatever twitter is doing that's just a mess
My theory is that they have been "inbreeding" too much by only hiring friends and family. This creates a cesspool instead of a talent pool. Try getting into one of these companies without an in... It's not easy.
I think it's a little more straightforward: we're at the tail end of a tech bubble. All these companies have been riding a COVID-19 wave and are reaching the end of it. They've been laying off staff as well as burning their customer good-will for extra revenue.
If I lose my ad blocker it's like losing access to the internet for me
I'd even specify that. Loosing uBlock Origin on Firefox is like getting rid of the web per se.
Pretty much, and I think this highlights just how important it is to have at least two independently developed browser engines. If Chromium becomes the only game in town that would effectively let Google, which makes most of its revenue from ads, decide how we access the internet. That would be an absolutely terrible scenario to be in.
I just went to a website that gave me a full page ad with no X button to close out of it.
Hell no. Shit is going to get so bad if they remove ad-blockers. Fastest way to kill their user-base.
what's beyond me is that 95% of people won't care. We will of course but most will just put up with it.
Nah. Those who installed adblocker did this for a reason. They’ll put up with it for maybe a week at max before they get annoyed by the full-Screen hot singles in their area in tab 69 that plays music.
I switched to apple years ago because I wanted to know why I hate it so much and use Firefox ever since.
Nah. Those who installed adblocker...
The point is that 99.9% of people don't.
I usually don't give a fuck about ads, but they've gotten increasingly annoying lately. Used to be that the popular websites were classier and less intrusive with their ads, that's why they were popular. Now the biggest websites (most obviously YouTube) are the ones with the craziest most intrusive ads.
Do everything you can! Switch people's default search engine in their browser if they won't switch. I am nearly done coverting my entire office to DDG! Row! Row! Fight the power!
I'm switching as many people as I can to FF and a privacy respecting search engine
Or you could use a browser that's so old that the ads don't even load correctly.
Like un-patched IE 6.
Just turn off JavaScript. That breaks web viewing very effectively.
The sad part is that this meme is 100% wishful thinking. The reality is that most people will just be complicit and too lazy to enact any form of protest. We're doomed unless we organize.
I jumped ship as soon as I heard the first rumor. Which is unusual for me but still. I'm in the mood for it. Left twitter (8k followers) for Mastodon, left Reddit (300,000 karma) for lemmy. It's time.
I can't live without uBlock Origin.
Everytime I see someone I know using chrome and getting an ad (because most adblockers in chrome are useless), I try to nudge them to the furry browser
Been a firefox boy since 2004 here. I never liked Chrome's UI and their hidden self-update process
I would love to see how Brave would handle this.
and vivaldi. quite a few chrome bsaed browsers built in ad blocking.
CHROME IS OBJECTIVELY BETTER WHY YOU USE FIREFOX ULYSSES - bazingas 10 years ago and probably now too
Unfortunately is not that simple, now Google is pushing a new standard web environment called WEI and all browsers will be affected with it. Is not just a matter of free choice.
"Less money from ad revenue means more ads for you." - Alphabet.
Yesterday I switched to Piped because yt had to pause my music with an ad every 3 fucking minutes, and I can say that it was a great decision to make.