Yahoo to replace Google as default search engine in Ubuntu

Yahoo will be the default search engine for Firefox in the next version of Ubuntu, 10.4, which will arrive in April.  Or should we say Bing will be the new default search engine, following the agreement signed in July by Microsoft and Yahoo?

The decision has nothing to do with the quality of the results and is purely financially driven.  The deal will impose two new features: Yahoo will be the default home page in Firefox, as well as the first option in the search bar at the top right.  Knowing Ubuntu users, though, it's unlikely that they'll stick with this default for long.

Something to worry about?

Not necessarily.  Competition is a good thing, and Google shouldn't win every time: the search giant grows bigger every day, and while plenty of people complain about its Big Brother-style tendencies, not many suggest alternatives.

Google has a similar relationship with Firefox.  In 2006, money from the search engine represented $57 million, or 85% of the Mozilla Foundation's income.

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