Google is saying that they don't need to spend money on quality, because we're all locked into using Google search. It's cheaper to buy the default search box everywhere in the world than it is to make a product that is so good that even if we tried another search engine, we'd still prefer Google.
@pluralistic saying the quiet thing Google doesn't want you to know out loud.
@Firesphere @pluralistic What does Ecosia run on? I use it more and more, but I bet it's just Bing with a skin and a good cause. https://www.ecosia.org
The greenest browser on Earth

The Ecosia Browser has built-in green features that make it simple to be climate active every day. We produce 25Wh of renewable energy each day you browse.

@Firesphere @pluralistic amoq (answered my own question) It's Bing. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecosia
Ecosia - Wikipedia

@Firesphere this stood out to me too! I was expecting to see Cory say that the stock buyback would have paid the engineers for 27 years (which he’s done repeatedly), but this is a sharper take isn’t it? Downsizing is laudable in their worldview, but admitting that you don’t even try to make a good product and just buy your laurels?
@pluralistic
@Firesphere @pluralistic One thing he's saying out loud though is that you need to pay $10US a month for a third party to sift the crud out of your search results.I don't know, I find that part a tad depressing.