What do you think? Who should buy Chrome/ium? What should the purchaser do with it?
- Brave
- Vivaldi
- Carbon
- Microsoft
- Comodo
- Opera
- Yandex
- FUTO
- Other (please specify)
0
voters
Well, I certainly don’t want to see it end up in Microsoft’s hands. It shouldn’t go from one monopoly to another.
I would like to see Brendan Eich have control of it.
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FUTO. Monetize the browser as a service with the same model as Immich or GrayJay, and kill the data harvesting ad industry.
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I voted Other because if Chromium is a software project of such significant importance to multiple 3rd parties (commercial and FOSS) then no single entity should ever have control over it nor a majority/controlling share or stake in it.
In this context I also include the Linux Foundation as a commercial entity as they have been leveraged by commercial entities to umbrella their projects under the LF’s remit & protection, with those commercial entities then given controlling positions on the boards of the umbrella organisation setup inside the LF to control their “former” software projects, a move which enables the former owners to sidestep court rulings made against their company and any legal sanctions it may be under while still ultimately having control over the “former” project, a bait and switch for want of a better phrase.
From court filings and other reports I read online that Alphabet/Google is attempting this with Chromium, to umbrella it under the Linux Foundation, I really hope the judge(s) hearing the ongoing trial are alert to this manoeuvre taking place with it even being suggested as a solution in the first place and they firmly reject it.
Chromium needs to be completely detached from Alphabet/Google as well as any other commercial entities and to stand on its own two feet, the monopoly needs to be broken, this in turn will foster more competition.
The reasoning for my stance on this is simple - whichever commercial entity controls the Chromium project will eventually turn it into another monopoly project - even from inside a LF umbrella organisation set up to operate it because in that situation its former owner will still ultimately have significant sway over over it.
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When it comes down to it, I dont think it will be who should buy it. It will be who can afford to buy it and provide the kickbacks (influence) to the politicians/courts involved that will get it.
We all know who can afford all of that on that short list.
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And that is exactly who should not have it. 
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I am going to echo what @uro wrote here, but go a little farther:
I think Chromium should become defunct and the third parties that use it should be on the hook to maintain their respective forks themselves. It needs to become completely decentralized. Nothing good was being done with Chrome. Google frequently disrespected user privacy or rights and it needs to end.
FOSS was meant to provide people with ownership as well as the ability to modify code to suit their needs or fix something the developer can’t or won’t fix. It needs to get back to that or it will not survive.
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Wacky idea:
Chromium should become its own nonprofit entity. Call it the “Chromium Foundation” or something. I am confident multitudes of donors/maintainers will easily fund it with time/money. And if it doesn’t… perhaps that might be even better!
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There is already movement on that in the Linux Foundation so that Chrome can be insulated from Google, yet still be influenced by it.
Non-profit is exactly the problem. The money has to come from somewhere. There isn’t a mystical hole in the sky that money just falls out of. If they aren’t motivated to make something people want to buy, then people will be forced to use it when monied interests co-opt and propagate the product to the masses and remove any type of competition. It’s exactly why “free” services farm your data and sell it to advertisement and marketing firms. It’s also why all FOSS projects that are well permeated in the market are funded by a foundation that takes money from for profit entities in exchange for a tax break.
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If M$ gets it we will return to the darkness that was the IE stranglehold that existed pre-iphone.
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Prior to chrome coming out, internet explorer had a smaller market share than firefox.
Source: some guy on youtube, either Brodie or the LinuxCast
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That’s because the iphone FORCED companies to de-IE their websites. Go back to 2003-2004 and half of the internet didn’t work without “just use internet explorer”
Non-profit is exactly the problem. The money has to come from somewhere. There isn’t a mystical hole in the sky that money just falls out of. If they aren’t motivated to make something people want to buy, then people will be forced to use it when monied interests co-opt and propagate the product to the masses and remove any type of competition.
Similar words typed before
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I have seen that documentary.
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