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Comment by dewiz | Hacker News Reader

So you agree that Microsoft was fine to put IE as the default browser I guess. I see the same rationale, and I'd be OK as long as we give companies the same fair treatment.

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There is a vendor out there who not just put a default browser on their OS, but forbid browsers that aren't just shells for their default browser's rendering engine.

And last time I checked nearly everyone was like "oh, that's their system, they can do whatever they want with it". Why would it be any different for a weaker case like this?

That is because they aren't a monopoly (40% US market share for phones).

And between 8 and 15% in almost all other markets.

Does Google have monopoly with online searches, though?

The difference is that switching away from Windows in the 1990s was effectively impossible for any established business. Switching your default search engine takes ten seconds.

Switching search engines in 2016 is much easier than switching browsers in 1998.

Eh, it seems like eligibility for a "monopoly" has shifted in the last 2 decades. Otherwise people would be getting way more bent out of shape for the decisions that both Google and Apple have done on their respective platforms

The difference with IE was that users were at a disadvantage to install alternative browsers over slow connections. Access to Google is exactly the same as access to Bing from the address bar.

Oh, you type www.google.com in your address bar and press enter? I thought you just used the default Google search from the search bar, just like everybody else.

I do use the search bar in Safari, and have it set to Google, but honestly I can't remember if I was prompted to set the default.

Of course. Private companies are not property of the state.

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