Ubuntu is switching the default search from Google to Yahoo!
Ubuntu is switching the default search from Google to Yahoo!
Those of you testing out the development version of Ubuntu Lucid should notice a change in Firefox very soon. The default search provider for new installations of Ubuntu Lucid (10.04) and upgrades will be Yahoo! and not Google. Canonical have struck a revenue sharing deal with Yahoo! which generates income for the company. This revenue should help pay the wages of Ubuntu Developers employed by Canonical, and support the infrastructure required to develop and build the distribution.
o when using the search box in the top right corner of Firefox on Ubuntu, you’ll be taken to a Yahoo! results page rather than the old default Google one. If you are upgrading to Ubuntu 10.04 and you had Google as your search provider (the previous default) then this will change to Yahoo!. You can of course change the search provider, this is merely the default for Lucid. Doing so will mean your search revenue won’t go via Yahoo! to Canonical. That’s your choice, clearly.
In addition, the browser ’start page’ – that is the page you see initially when you open the browser – will reflect whatever the default search provider is. So in the top right, if you choose ‘Google’ you’ll get the Google start page, and conversely if you choose ‘Yahoo!’ you’ll get the Yahoo! start page when you first open the browser. Again, you can change the start page to be blank or use some other search provider. These are just the new defaults.
Too bad. Google has more services and less trash (emphasis on the LESS TRASH). What?!?!? is Google a treat? YOu have a great OS, use a great search engine OMG
I couldn’t care less. I’m on Opera, my default search engine is Google, and I also use Ixquick Metasearch. No Yahoo for me, too cluttered a page.
Although I’m not a fan of Yahoo Search I couldn’t be happier for the Developers. Maybe something as simple as changing the default search engine can produce some major and unforseen advancements in the Ubuntu Development.
ya no one cares. it’s just a minor annoyance to change it back to google. not sure wtf ubuntu devs are thinking
I think this is a good move for both. Jean, this page does not look too cluttered to me. 🙂
http://search.yahoo.com/
@ dfb
You’re right. I had ended up on this one:
http://m.ca.yahoo.com/
My mistake.
I hate yahoo.
Well, good for Canonical. I guess for all the free software I get from them, I can stand to switch my default search engine back to Google twice a year.
I heard about a deal between Yahoo and MS, so the bing index will be used by Yahoo in the furure, with other words, Microsoft would provide results and ads for the default web search of ubuntu. :-/
Good for you (bad for us).
Google has been my fave for many years. Alta Vista lost the plot, followed quickly by Yahoo. Google was the only one to maintain a simple, clean page which was exactly what people wanted. The proof of that is in market share.
Surely Google either was providing, or can provide, a similar contra-deal with Ubuntu.
Perhaps this is simply a way of leveraging a better deal out of Google?
At any rate, I hope you guys at Canonical get paid a better rate now. I support you 100% (well only 99% because I won’t be using Yahoo).
And don’t call me Shirley.
Doesn’t seem like a tragedy to me. I use Yahoo! mostly, and I’ve had to change the default from Google heretofore — I never had a meltdown about it.
@Russ, ah I miss Alta Vista…
I don’t like Yahoo personally. I don’t like the way their main page is basically just a ripoff of AOL, and since I consider AOL the worst thing to ever happen to the Internet…the fact that Yahoo models their page after them just makes me want to throw up a little. I’ll be making the switch back to Google.
Not a fan of Yahoo (except Zimbra opensource), but would be willing to give a try, if it pays Canonical. If I don’t like, i switch back to Google…