Comment by int_19h | Hacker News Reader

Comment by int_19h | Hacker News Reader

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"Development slows" is not necessarily a bad thing. E.g. quite a lot of people would love development to slow wrt Manifest v3. It would also mean that web standards are less of a moving target for browsers playing catch-up (like Firefox).

People can also pay for browsers. The only reason why this isn't feasible today is because it's hard to compete with the top-of-the-line stuff that megacorps offer for free - which they do precisely so they can maintain de facto control over web standards (or force the lack thereof in areas where this is advantageous). Lest we forget, many early web browsers were paid products (not just NN, but also Opera, for example), and Microsoft's original sin as a monopoly was offering IE for free, against which NN couldn't compete. But if Google is forced to ditch Chrome, and Microsoft is forced to ditch Edge...

This is such a 'first-world' comment. A majority of the folks logging on the web in the developing and emerging world will be unable to afford paying any kind of subscription for their web browser over and above what they pay their ISPs for internet access.

Then unfortunately the internet will remain a luxury for people who aren’t able to afford the cost. The internet is a product, not a charity or human right.

The UN disagrees

I know GP said internet, but browsers give access to the web, not internet. Does the UN consider internet a human right, or the web?

The internet, although I'm not convinced they can tell the difference. The web is of course part of the internet so both.

Internet access is already expensive and not available in some places. What kind of cost do you think browser will have 10usd/month subscription? Also there can be free versions of it anyway, google doesn’t have to be the company that does it

As someone from "the rest of the world" originally, don't worry about that. Piracy will take care of it, just as it does with all other non-free software.

The development that slows will not be parts that allow monetisation. They have a rationale. They will be things like security that have no immediate bottom line impact.

It's not like the open source engines won't be worked on. Or other companies who are not ad companies (apple, etc)

Browsers will not stop existing because google cannot make one. At worse google would donate to a non profit that keeps the engine and do the influencing under the rug.

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