Firefox saved as Google renews default search engine deal

By Jeff Hughes Published December 20, 2011

The ‘will they or won’t they’ suspense has ended. Google has climbed back into bed with the Firefox web browser, renewing the agreement to stay as default search engine for Firefox.

The financial terms were undisclosed, but the Mozilla blog announced Tuesday that this “significant and mutually beneficial revenue agreement” has been extended for a at least another three years. Mozilla doesn’t go into too much detail about what the three year agreement entails.

Recommended Videos

“Mozilla has been a valuable partner to Google over the years and we look forward to continuing this great partnership in the years to come,” said Senior VP of Search at Google, Alan Eustace.

The contract was set to be renewed last month, but apparently the two companies have been in negotiations this entire time. The delay began to stir up a murmur about the fate of Firefox without Google as a partner. The search company’s deal pays Mozilla for the privilege of being the default search engine. More than 98 percent of Mozilla’s 2010 revenue came from royalties paid by search-engine companies, and by some estimates, Google made up around 85 percent of that. For 2010, Google was basically $100 million of Mozilla’s entire $123 million income.

The rise in ranking for Google’s Chrome browser may have helped fuel the worry surrounding Firefox. Chrome, according to StatCounter, recently passed Firefox up, becoming the second most popular browser globally with a 25.7 percent market share in November 2011. Though other metrics firms stated slightly different figures, it has begun to look as if Google didn’t need Firefox anymore.

However, there’s no need to speculate anymore as to whether Firefox will limp along or if Microsoft will rush in to fill Google’s gap; Firefox will continue to be propped up for the next few years. Hopefully, over the three year breather, we’ll see some diversification with Firefox to make up for its vulnerabilites.

Topics

Google Chrome

Former Digital Trends Contributor

I'm a SF Bay Area-based writer/ninja that loves anything geek, tech, comic, social media or gaming-related.

Computing

How to change margins in Google Docs

Laptop Working from Home

When you create a document in Google Docs, you may need to adjust the space between the edge of the page and the content --- the margins. For instance, many professors have requirements for the margin sizes you must use for college papers.

You can easily change the left, right, top, and bottom margins in Google Docs and have a few different ways to do it.

Computing

What is Microsoft Teams? How to use the collaboration app

A close-up of someone using Microsoft Teams on a laptop for a videoconference.

Online team collaboration is the new norm as companies spread their workforce across the globe. Gone are the days of primarily relying on group emails, as teams can now work together in real time using an instant chat-style interface, no matter where they are.

Using Microsoft Teams affords video conferencing, real-time discussions, document sharing and editing, and more for companies and corporations. It's one of many collaboration tools designed to bring company workers together in an online space. It’s not designed for communicating with family and friends, but for colleagues and clients.

Computing

Microsoft Word vs. Google Docs

A person using a laptop that displays various Microsoft Office apps.

For the last few decades, Microsoft Word has been the de facto standard for word processors across the working world. That's finally starting to shift, and it looks like one of Google's productivity apps is the heir apparent. The company's Google Docs solution (or to be specific, the integrated word processor) is cross-platform and interoperable, automatically syncs, is easily shareable, and perhaps best of all, is free.

However, using Google Docs proves it still has a long way to go before it can match all of Word's features -- Microsoft has been developing its word processor for over 30 years, after all, and millions still use Microsoft Word. Will Google Docs' low barrier to entry and cross-platform functionality win out? Let's break down each word processor in terms of features and capabilities to help you determine which is best for your needs.
How does each word processing program compare?
To put it lightly, Microsoft Word has an incredible advantage over Google Docs in terms of raw technical capability. From relatively humble beginnings in the 1980s, Microsoft has added new tools and options in each successive version. Most of the essential editing tools are available in Google Docs, but users who are used to Word will find it limited.