2 Responses to “How do companies like Google and Microsoft make money by making web browsers?”

1. jb Says:
   March 10th, 2010 at 4:11 am

   In the end, for Google, you will be using their services. These services are paid for by one: Adwords/Adsense and two: the grants it gets.

   You clearly know of Google and if you use the browser, you will more than likely end up using their services. After are you are using their browser. Additionally, they can add features to the browser to encourage google usage.

   For Microsoft, it’s the computer and software sales. Frankly, I think Bill Gates could explain to you how he makes his money…

   Perhaps you mean Mozilla?: They get grants and sponsorships from companies. People work together to create the open software.

2. Brian F Says:
   March 10th, 2010 at 10:33 am

   They don’t directly.

   Microsoft, by making an non-standards compliant web browser, keeps people “locked” into their proprietary browser, only available for windows, therefore keeps people locked into the windows operating system.

   Google, on the other hand, needs a web browser that IS standards compliant, and FAST… Faster Java support than is available in other current web browsers, with multi-threaded support. One that is stable, so if one web page crashes playing “adobe flash” it doesn’t crash the tab or the window were you are editing an email on gmail.com etc.

   Google want to be able to offer on-line applications (they already are) such as email, document editing, storage, synchronizaiton etc. They want to be able to compete head-on against microsoft office, excel, power point and other applications, but can’t do that if the web browser doesn’t support key features, like stability and multi-threaded applications and fast java support.

   By creating their own web browser, they remove any dependencies on microsoft to “play nice” with their web browser design. Something microsoft is notorious for NOT doing.

   Also, chrome uses the “webkit” rendering engine, the same engine that will be used in the up-coming android mobile-phone operating system. webkit is a light-weight, high-performance rendering engine, idealy suited for mobile phone use (apple safari also uses webkit) By using webkit, Google will ensure that web pages that display properly in chrome, will also work on an Android smart-phone (and apple iphone, for that matter.)

   I had to add 1 comment to jb’s post… Mozilla’s main budget (I think 80% or so) is actually supplied BY **Google**… That “contract”/grant was renewed just a few weeks ago to extend to 2011.
   Chrome is open-sourced, so anyone who wants to, can, and is encouraged to, use any/all of the code from chrome in their own browsers. (Just as Firefox is.)

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