> If Firefox in its current form can't exist without Google's support, then ...
If Firefox only exists by the grace of Google, then Firefox cannot be an effective barrier to Google's dominion. If it's truly wholly dependent on Google, then it can only stand up to Google for as long as Google wills it.
I'm not saying Firefox is wholly dependent, I'm just saying that if it is, then it's already useless as a barrier to Google's ambitions and we'd be better off stripped of the illusion that it's part of the solution. If Google is prevented from paying for continued search dominance, then we either learn that Firefox was never dependent on that revenue, or we learn that Firefox as presently constituted was never going to be able to stop Chrome and we need to make major changes.
> If Firefox in its current form can't exist without Google's support, then ...
If Firefox only exists by the grace of Google, then Firefox cannot be an effective barrier to Google's dominion. If it's truly wholly dependent on Google, then it can only stand up to Google for as long as Google wills it.
I'm not saying Firefox is wholly dependent, I'm just saying that if it is, then it's already useless as a barrier to Google's ambitions and we'd be better off stripped of the illusion that it's part of the solution. If Google is prevented from paying for continued search dominance, then we either learn that Firefox was never dependent on that revenue, or we learn that Firefox as presently constituted was never going to be able to stop Chrome and we need to make major changes.