Resolved Microsoft bans Google from Windows 10

... a recent decision was made by [Microsoft] to drop Google search results from its personal assistant program, Cortana.

 

Then this explains why the default search goes back to IE and Bing when I prefer to use Chrome. I did enjoy the search bar on the taskbar which was a feature I was glad to see in 10. This is a sad day for my thoughts on Windows 10. Along with the other issues that have a risen. I did not think the Cortana feature worked very well anyway, after watching family members get frustrated trying to make it hear and understand them.
Sad, very sad!

 

Indeed. I use Google products an untold number of times daily. Be lost without 'em.

 

Same here. In fact, my default home page in IE (my default browser) is www.google.com. And my default search engine in IE is Google too.

Interestingly, I just called up Edge. I had Google as my default search engine there too, but now I see it has changed back to Bing. But it does still let you change it to whatever you want. So I changed it back to Google.

 

cortana was a spy, bing stores lots of stuff, now using duckduckgo and happy with it.

savagcl

 

i personally feel that Windows doesn't fix issues, they over write & creating new issues. I know there are those out there that either like Win x.x or learn to live with it and then convince themselves that it is "good ", I for one am tired of having to learn to do the same things in a new way because they have changed the underlying code. I have had several still "in good working order" hard ware pieces that have become legacy because there are no drivers in the new updates. And, before you ask, i have tried the "run as" function (really have never seen that work either)
The latest "new paperweight" is an HP Photosmart 8150, that ran fine until the last push update... can't find the OEM disc, nor drivers on line (if you know where i might find one please let me know).
The last update push before this one almost made my HP officejet 4500 useless, (but someone here gave me a workaround!)

 

I think that is harsh. Your cell phone carrier is MUCH MUCH more a spy than Microsoft. Your cell phone (and apps on it) can tell within a couple yards! , where you are standing (including the aisle in the store you are in!!!), where you've been, how long you were there, and the direction you are now heading! Now that's spying!

The most Microsoft can tell is where your PC's "POP" (point of presence) is - that is, where your ISP connects your computer to the Internet back bone. In my case, that is 10 miles away in the next town over. You should be more concerned with your ISP than Microsoft.

See, No, Microsoft is not spying on you with Windows 10.

I think there is some truth to that simply because with 30+ million lines of code, it is inevitable. But Microsoft is dedicated to "fixing" problems. It does not make good business sense not too. And Microsoft is in the business of making money. Not easy in a declining PC sales market. It always cost more to stop what you are doing and go back to fix something that should have been fixed the first time around.

Plus, Microsoft knows there will always be critics seeking headlines ready to pounce on Microsoft any chance they get. So not only do they want to keep their customers happy, they don't want any blown out of proportion bad publicity either.

That is especially true when the problem is not their fault! For example, bad guys put us in the security mess we are in, not Microsoft. And the vast majority of infections are due to a lack of discipline by the "click-happy" user. Yet who gets blamed? Microsoft! It is the hard ware makers' responsibility to develop and make available drivers that ensure compatibility with the OS. Yet who gets blamed when they don't! Microsoft!

Certainly Microsoft has done plenty to deserve criticism. But blame where blame is due is all I am saying.

Let's not forget there are ~1.5 billion Windows computers out there and virtually every single one becomes a unique system within the first few minutes after the first boot. Users customize their desktops, add their own security apps and programs, connect printers and monitors and all sorts of other peripherals from 1000s of different makers. They have unique network configuration too. Yet with all that, Microsoft, and in particular Windows 10 (now with over 300 million users) has a remarkable track record.

Of course, if just 1% of those 1.5 billion users are upset about something, that's 15 million upset users. And 15 million upset users can make a lot of noise - especially if there is some headline seeking blogger salivating and waiting to amplify and exaggerate the issue.

 

not to be "that person ", but i did! and it doesn't work, as a matte of fact it doesn't even want to see the printer.... and when i try a manual install.... IT DOESN'T WORK !
sorry for shouting.... i'm not that person who doesn't do some due diligence before...
yes it is plugged in, yes it is turned on, yes it worked before the update (as a matter of fact, i printed from it two days before the up date. AND i can't get to an earlier restore point, i have not figured out why yet).

 

It's really about the almighty penny that ads up to the almighty dollar when you click on the Bing ads!

 

Yep, it's all about the money.

 

No it isn't - at least not the way being implied.

This "banning Google" is all about what I was saying above - this is just Microsoft bashing by wannabe journalists twisting the truth and "manufacturing" sensationalized headlines to put their name under. Then other wannabe journalists scramble to jump on the bandwagon without bothering with any fact checking contribute to the viral bashings, falsehoods and "rumormongering "!

The REAL story is Microsoft no longer includes results from ANY 3rd party search engine when searching through Cortana. We can still use Google or whatever search engine want. But "bashing" Microsoft for omitting results from DuckDuckGo, Dogpile, Quora, Ask.com, or any other alternative search engine does not bring attention to those wannabe journalist! And if they don't get the attention they crave, they don't get paid! That's the money angle.

Google bans Microsoft Windows - How come that never got any attention? Because bashing Google is not news! It does not sell! That's the money angle!

Microsoft did NOT ban Google! All that happened is Cortana no longer includes Google search results in searches through Cortana. You can still use Google as your default search engine in IE or Edge - just as you can make Chrome or FF your default browser.

*****
I find this VERY frustrating. Google is a master spy! They clearly admit they are tracking us through Google, through Chrome, through YouTube (which is owned by Google). This is easily verified by the targeted ads we get after using their services. But where are the complaints about Google spying? In one breath, someone bashes Microsoft for spying when they aren't. Then in the next, Microsoft gets bashed for "banning" Google, a master of spying. I don't get it.

One more thing before I get off my soap box. I am also frustrated by the widespread lack of understanding (or is it just bias and ignoring the facts?) when it comes to privacy vs security. There is a HUGE difference between privacy and security. Contrary to what many would have us believe, Microsoft is NOT trying to steal our passwords, contacts and identities; hack our bank accounts; or infect our computers. In fact, Windows 10 is, by far, the most "secure" Windows to date. Yet read the blogs and tech articles and you could easily believe Microsoft is the most evil empire that ever existed.

Lets not forget that Microsoft has every incentive to keep us secure and rid the world of malware. Why? Because they will get blamed regardless who's at fault if our systems get compromised. Yet Norton, McAfee, Avira, AVG and the others have absolutely zero incentive to rid the world of malware for that will put them out of business. Yet rid the world of malware is exactly what they claimed was their job when they whined and cried to Congress and the EU when Microsoft wanted to put AV code in XP! We see how well they did with that! With no incentive, is it surprising? No. Yet where's the bashing of the AV/AM industry? Oh, yeah. That's not news.

 

i have one issue (besides the one i mentioned earlier), i get that Microsoft is a business, and on a pure business model, a very clever one. because they have become indispensable. try doing ANYTHING anywhere in this country (or almost any other country on this blue marble), without having to interface even once with a non-windows based machine.... even if you are a MAC-OS person, you run into a Win person/machine.... just because only 1% of those using Win products are vocal about their dislike of Mircosoft, doesn't make them wrong... it makes them vocal. And i agree we live in a world where we have to be careful of those who wish to do harm, either because they have malice in their minds/hearts or they have pure larceny or just to prove they can do it or their mommies never said it wasn't a good thing and they shouldn't do it or what ever reason. The point being I get that the system (# of lines of code vs the # of variations on individual systems) makes it a difficult job to protect it/us, it is sort of what they signed up to do when they put out the product. and they get paid very well for it. { Lets not forget that Microsoft has every incentive to keep us secure and rid the world of malware. Why? Because they will get blamed regardless who's at fault if our systems get compromised. Yet Norton, McAfee, Avira, AVG and the others have absolutely zero incentive to rid the world of malware for that will put them out of business. Yet rid the world of malware is exactly what they claimed was their job when they whined and cried to Congress and the EU when Microsoft wanted to put AV code in XP! We see how well they did with that! With no incentive, is it surprising? No. Yet where's the bashing of the AV/AM industry? } Lets not forget what MircoSoft did to a little company called "Stacker" : they copied their file compression software program back in the day when memory was very $$$$, and bundled it with the OS, (version i don't recall), and when Stacker sued them, MIcrosoft tied them up in court until it could buy the company outright, thus ending the suit against itself !
so....
this has gotten so far off TOP....
does anyone have a workaround so i can access/use my HP 8150?

 

Never said, or meant to imply they were wrong. I am just saying, put the blame where it is due. For example, if someone upgrades from W7 and the hardware maker has not made fully compatible drivers, that is not Microsoft's fault. Now if Microsoft reported your hardware is compatible, they for sure, get some of the blame.

Actually, I put more blame on the media. I think most of the problems in the world today are caused by lawyers, insurance companies, and the press (with law makers who spend most of their time seeking re-election instead of protecting the public in there someplace).

That was over 20 years ago - pretty long to hold a grudge. But let's get the story straight too. There are two sides to it. Microsoft Loses Patent Lawsuit. Microsoft tried in good faith to license the software but Stac (the makers of Stacker) got greedy. And during the back and forth lawsuits, Stac was also found guilty of illegally using Microsoft trade secrets to make their product compatible with MS DOS, and had to pay Microsoft $millions in damages. In the end Stac came out over $100 million ahead. So nobody there suffered by any means. And note too the jury ruled that Microsoft's patent infringement was not willful.

And Microsoft never bought them. Microsoft just removed the code because the cost of hard drive space dropped dramatically, compression was not needed any longer (source).

But your complaint with Stacker has nothing to do with security. Frankly, it illustrates my point as it is just bashing MS, and not accurately either , for something they did decades ago - as a business decision. As I said earlier, they have done plenty deserving of bashing. And certainly some of the business and marketing/PR decisions are doozies!

Again, I just ask that bashing be done where bashing is due. The Stacker case has nothing to do with today.

The "incentive" issue does, however. Because Norton, McAfee and the others cried "monopoly" to Congress and EU because MS wanted to put AV code in XP. But they claimed it was their job to rid the world of malware and Microsoft was just trying to rule the world. They were, but not the point. Congress and the EU tuned everything else out after hearing the word "monopoly" and ordered Microsoft to remove AV code from XP - or risk being split up into a bunch of tiny companies.

But look where that got us. And who got blamed for XP be insecure? Not the badguys. Not Norton for failing to block the badguys. Not users for failing to keep their computers updated and secured. Microsoft got blamed - relentlessly for the next 10 - 15 years!!!

Congress and the EU blew it! They let Norton and McAfee have their way and EVERYBODY suffered - except the badguys who cleaned house. And of course Norton and McAfee who still are raking in the cash because they have so many intimidated.

And that matters today because security is still an issue today. But notice how Congress and the EU, Norton and McAfee and the others are being totally silent now that W8 and W10 include anti-malware? Congress and the EU are embarrassed they were duped. And Norton, McAfee and the others are keeping quiet as they continue to dupe intimidated and unaware users with expensive products they don't need. And not just dupe users once, but regularly with recurrent renewal fees.

 

is this the correct location to post it as a new topic or is there a better location?

 

It is about the money.

Which headline will attract more attention by today's readers?

Microsoft bans Google from Windows 10

Microsoft drops Google search results from Cortana​

More readers = more money = more food for the journalist.