Some people just can’t give up Firefox, mainly because Windows users would be subject to other choices like Internet Explorer, or Google’s Chrome. I get that, there isn’t a big market for ‘net browsers. You could try Opera, or Midori if you’d like, but they aren’t very well known alternatives for web browsing. If you really want to stick it to Mozilla and keep using Firefox, you could cut off their main source of revenue from people using their browser. Neutering Firefox will starve the Mozilla beast. Nearly 90% of Mozilla’s revenue comes from the Google search bar in the upper right hand corner. Below are some easy steps to neuter Firefox and cut their revenue stream.
Open Firefox.
Then, see the little “Search†tab, with “Google†in the panel? That’s what you want to get rid of if you want to send the best message to Mozilla. So, if you aren’t using it, fine, but if you are, then it’s time to move it off the page to reduce the temptation to use it. In fact, if you aren’t using it, these instructions will reclaim a bit of browser real estate for you.
Go to View (if you don’t see it, keyboard ALT+v), then Toolbars, then Customize…
When that dialog which is titled “Customize Toolbar†and with title “You can add or remove items by dragging to or from the toolbars.†appears, right click the search bar and drag it into the dialog. The search bar will disappear from your browser.
Then, in the Customize Toolbar dialog, click the “Done†button on the lower right corner.
You will no longer be contributing, with each Google search you do, to Mozilla.
See, simple right? You don’t have to get violent like a progressive liberal, or suffer with an inferior browser. Starve the Mozilla beast!
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| Want to keep using FireFox? Cut off their revenue stream! |
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To really send the message to Google as well, make some other search provider, such as https://duckduckgo.com/ your Firefox search provider by building it a bookmark and using it. As good as Google is, they are the main source of Mozilla’s income, and so you want to cease using them while using Firefox until the message has been sent.
For those of you who love Google as I do for the quality of its search results, I suggest that you install an alternate browser just for Google searches, so no possible revenue stream reaches Mr. Eich’s tormentors that way. I’m using Midori — which is based on the Webkit engine rather than Mozilla’s Gecko engine. This lets me search Google without sending a dime to Mozilla. In addition, having a separate browser aids you in avoiding Google-itis, in which your gmail account becomes a nexus for knowing your habits. If you don’t link your alternate browser to your Gmail account, you have a level of privacy which you would otherwise lack.