I've been pretty vocal with my advice to Google
Mozilla's biggest source of revenue, its lucrative default search deal with Big G, had been up in the air since its expiration in November. The foundation's predicament had been spurring speculation over the fate of Firefox, since Mozilla continued to spout vague PR niceties while declining to confirm or deny specifics on the status of its relationship with Google.
I had argued that it was strategically in Google's best interest to pull the plug on Firefox, allowing it to slowly bleed to death, while it set its multicolored sights squarely on Microsoft
Ultimately, I still think the move would have worked out for Google in the long run, but the journey to the end destination would have been much more turbulent. It seems that Google understandably wasn't comfortable with the very real risk of Bing and Firefox riding off together hand in hand into the sunset.
Mozilla has now announced that it has signed "a significant and mutually beneficial revenue agreement with Google." The agreement extends the pair's existing default search arrangement for at least three more years. No specific terms of the deal were disclosed, but chances are it looks a lot like the old deal.
I don't blame Google for sticking with the status quo. I believe Google's Chrome browser will inevitably become the No. 1 browser in the world in the foreseeable future, and its whole motivation to win the browser war is to win the search war as well. This mentality might also explain why Apple
Since Big G already thanks Firefox for a chunk of its search market share, it probably sees no reason to disrupt the delicate balance of power, even if that means forking over another few hundred million to Mozilla over the coming years.
After all, slow and steady wins the race, right?
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