Even though the drama surrounding Microsoft’s Yahoo acquisition has subsided, it looks like there’s still some bad blood.
A tipster yesterday sent us a screen shot of Yahoo’s front page running on Internet Explorer with a Firefox recommendation sitting atop the page. “Yahoo recommends upgrading to the NEW safer, faster Firefox 3,” the ad says.
Yahoo still offers its version of Internet Explorer on its Downloads page, but if it isn’t safe or fast when compared to Firefox 3, why is the link still active?
Maybe it’s just some sour grapes.
The cold war is still running. Yahoo dislikes MS and MS still tries to tip upon yahoo to acquire it.
That message in the top would make a big real difference, as Yahoo is the biggest site on the web and its referral to firefox is going to make a bad loss to IE guys at MS.
I think it has everything to do with the ad deal between yahoo and google…
It does seem like a direct attack on Microsoft, which it probably is. But it’s also a defensive measure. Although this is Firefox 3, Yahoo sees it as their own browser.
After trying to download it on a Mac, Yahoo states,
“Firefox — Yahoo! Edition is currently available only on the Windows platform. Please check back soon for a Mac-compatible version of our browser.” (Notice the use of our, it isn’t really their browser, is it?)
This is simply a move to increase the number of users who have Yahoo search as default in their browser, it’s a lot easier to rebrand another companies browser than it is to create your own browser from scratch as Google did. Firefox 3 for Mac is available from Mozilla direct, yet Yahoo haven’t got around to creating their rebranded version yet. If the download button had been a direct link to Firefox’s website then this move could be seen as a direct attack on Microsoft, but because it’s been branded their are other reasons.
It ticks several boxes:
– “Dis” Microsoft
– Decrease Microsoft’s browser share
– Increase Yahoo searches
– Better faster browser means faster Yahoo searching
– Help Firefox hold off Google Chrome (once Google Chrome takes the lead it’s all over for Microsoft and Yahoo, maybe an exaggeration but not far off the truth)
– Help give the average person a better browser (not everything they do is for their own benefit)
Thanks for talking sense here.
I wish all comments would be so thoughtful …
yahoo is an irrelevant joke.
Firefox is the ‘neutral’ ground?
Yahoo could have put there, “Get the fastest browser on the planet – Chrome”.
Would it be a dream to say that Yahoo may support Firefox sooner or later?
Duh. It has to do with Google’s Firefox affiliate program which pays $1 for every user that converts to firefox.
its a dollar for you and me. But for Yahoo its probably like %50 of the Mozilla take on the google/ebay/amazon search ad revenue generated by the toolbar.
Google is Yahoo’s enemy, doubt they will support Chrome, so is Microsoft.
Yah, so that means Mozilla has become the “neutral” ground here?
Yes but do have sharks with frickin laser beams attached to their heads!?
Eeeh!
I hate you
I have to find the Austin Powers movies now!
Must be developers finally having enough of it. Facebook now also posts a big fat warning to IE6 users. Even more interesting considering they are actually part owned by MSFT
At this rate the beast that is IE6 might be gone nice and quick!!
> but if it isn’t safe or fast when compared to Firefox 3, why is the link still active?
Where does Yahoo say that IE is not safe of fast? I don’t see that meaning in “NEW safer, faster Firefox 3″.
Don Reisinger = FAIL
Maybe it’s not anything against Microsoft as a company. Maybe it’s just against IE as a browser. Wishing IE would fade (and try to help that process along) is a reasonable way to think for an Internet company.
I believe Yahoo! isn’t bound by Microsoft in what browser it “suggests.” At least it isn’t forcing you to download Firefox. It is merely recommending the switch. I don’t see a problem with recommendations.
It might become a problem when it is forced and IE will no longer be able to render Yahoo! services properly.
Gotta love it – Don’t wanna play with us? Fine. I’m still amazed at how many people use IE – just the beauty of putting and requiring IE on every windows machine.
http://afewtips.com
http://www.favb...omotes-firefox/
Hehe. By the way, I get lenght required error message when posted. Chars limitation?
Posted some time ago
Internet Explorer is buggy; it doesn’t render HTML correctly. For example, IE doesn’t calculate table cell widths as programmed. In the most hysterical case, a table row which has two cells, one cell with a defined width of, say, 300 pixels, and one with no width defined, IE completely FAILS to understand that this means, “hold the static cell at 300 pixels, NO EXCEPTIONS; I don’t care what the width of the other one is”.
Safari, Chrome, and Firefox, on the other hand, all behave correctly.
Microsoft known about this BUG for years, but hey — they don’t seem to care. Clearly IE doesn’t matter to them anymore. Maybe IE doesn’t matter to them now as it did in 1995.
This is a silly post — more like something I expect to read on valleywag. This is business — if FF generates better returns for Yahoo they will promote FF. Oh and btw IE8 is not yet in GA — once they are GA I would fully expect them to promote IE8.
Great news!
Amusing how it even appears in IE8!
IE is the bane of most web devs’ lives!
“Yahoo recommends upgrading to the NEW safer, faster Firefox 3,” – That’s not bad blood, that’s just common sense!
Considering the current condition of Yahoo, Yahoo should focus improving the brand and focus on the services than getting into controversies and taking sides
Yahoo’s not in browser market, they should make sure no matter what browser people have the same browsing experience
Reminds me of my discovery that RottenTomatoes.com gives Firefox a “fresh” rating and IE7 a “Rotten” rating with their favicons.
http://farm3.st...f8b3ac076_o.jpg
hilarious!
I saw this last week, what’s the big deal?
does the version they are pushing come w/yahoo as the default search engine? it should. should also include the Y! toolbar if they want to push as much traffic their way as they can.
Huh! Huh! I noticed that yesterday, I was like “oh lord”
I checked it out with Chrome and same thing is displayed. I wonder if Firefox is paying for it.
For Flock does the same and also for Safari. This looks like a stand against Google and not an alliance after the deal.
So you just tried to destroy my company and yet have the balls to ask me to show you some love?
Go F yourself M$!
What are you talking about? Why does MS hatred make people so dumb? They haven’t asked yahoo anything. Least of all love. The clueless Techcrunch crew and their “tipster”, neither of whom should be allowed to browse the web since they apparently don’t know an advertisement from a hole in the ground, brought this up without even bothering to investigate.
I am surprised nobody mentioned this yet – Yahoo is recommending a “Yahoo edition” of Firefox. Seems pretty obvious to me that they are advertising this.
Dude.. its been around for a month now.. start using Yahoo u bitches.
man, it has nothing to do with distaste and dislike of IE. all it has to do with is money.
when you download firefox from yahoo, it downloads the “yahoo edition”. this means that the search engine is set to yahoo by default, increasing search on yahoo and in turn increasing clicks on ads in their search results page.
theyre pretty much running an ad campaign. its always about the money.
How stupid is TechCrunch to not see that it is the same for other browsers? you actually don’t understand that that is an ad? Wait why do we turn to this site for news?
This is really funny hahahaha
Yahoo has had a Yahoo branded Firefox for over a year, including periodically promoting it on the front page. It’s main purpose is to stop existing yahoo users from converting to the vanilla Firefox which will set the user’s default search to Google. Search yahoo for ‘firefox’ or ‘download firefox’ and see they promote their branded Yahoo-search-defaulted version of Firefox at the top of the page also.
It’s all about the search, baby.
Sorry, your system does not meet the minimum requirements to install Internet Explorer 7.
Internet Explorer 7 can only run on these operating systems:
Windows XP Service Pack 2
Windows XP Professional x64
Windows Server 2003 SP1
Apparently Internet Explorer7 can’t run on Vista. That must be why it sucks so bad
hmm,i returned to yahoo.com and don’t see the link anymore.
Too bad Yahoo’s launchcast only supports IE though.
Strange that they are promoting Firefox and not Flock with whom they seem to have a search box deal ?
the same recommendation appeared while i was using Google Chrome… do you think Yahoo will need to launch its own browser?
Thanks a lot Yahoo!
Tipster? A Tipster told you this? lol
Funny thing is, this has been the case for quite some time, it didn’t just appear. In fact I have found at least one reference back in August
http://techie-b...oo-edition.html
But it was there before then
Yawn.
It’s partly to do with search box defaults (correct, above) through the Y! Firefox browser, and partly to do with the fact that Yahoo! fears IE releases and hates MS more than Google or anything else on the planet.
When IE7 was launched there was a *global* project at Yahoo! (no projects generally go global there, mainly because 70% of the staff think the world ends at US borders) aimed at countering the perceived threat from the search box in the chrome defaulting to Live.
I must admit, I thought at the time there were probably bigger fish to fry (Google whipping their arse across the globe, bar small pockets of Asia, to start with).
Why they don’t make a lovely purple browser themselves is beyond me – maybe now is the time. Call it Yodel! and get the UI designers from Messenger to skin it (I’ll send my Invoice for the consultancy to Sunnyvale).
thanks
Until Firefox, Safari, Chrome or any other browser don’t provide full support for all pages we can see with internet explorer we must keep it. My hope was chrome or new firefox will support js pages, but still not working. Very Sad, I don’t like IE.
Simon
In all fairness, it shows the same recommendation for earlier versions of FF.
I hope google allows chrome referrals in their adsense program. I don’t get why yahoo would do this unless they were the default search engine in that version of firefox.
yeah this has been up on yahoo for a while, and i agree its just a recommendation.
Internet Explorer? AYou mean tehre are people out there that actually use IE? No wya!
Jif
http://www.anonymize.us.tc
Two of the biggest sites on the web are both recommending to switch to alternative browsers besides IE. If this continues (which I can definitely see with Google at least), then Internet Explorer’s marketshare should continue to go down. I guess IE8 will be the decider.
Mr. Reisinger, Arrington, and staff: Could you ***_PLEASE_** stop referring to the attempted hostile takeover of Yahoo as “Microsoft’s Yahoo acquisition”!!! I am tired of having to correct ten people per day in conversation when they INSIST that Microsoft owns Yahoo! because “TechCrunch said so”.
The “drama” of which you speak was 100% generated by this site alone, and it behooves you to at least let it die gracefully at this point, for the sake of your own reputation if nothing else.
Even Microsoft do agree that firefox is the best & secure web browser
I wonder if Google’s Chrome browser has anything to do with this move to support Firefox…
Honestly: who likes IE?