Yahoo!'s (YHOO) New Browser Seeks to Challenge Google (GOOG), Gain Apple (AAPL) Users; Glitches Abound

May 24, 2012 8:45 AM EDT Send to a Friend
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Yahoo! (Nasdaq: YHOO) is looking to take on Google (Nasdaq: GOOG), Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), and others in the harrowing world of Internet web browsers. Someone should've just told the legal department about it first.

According to reports Thursday, Yahoo! initially forgot to add the "Software License and Service Terms" details when asking users to accept them before downloading. This is maybe a minor screw up since about 0.0001 percent of users actually go through all of the legal jargon before downloading something, since 95 percent of it is usually the same, but a key detail nonetheless. With such a litigious society hankering for another lawsuit, users can't check and double check what they're doing often enough.

Since the earlier report, our attempt to install the app (which, curiously isn't a stand-alone browser, but an add-on for Firefox, led us to the real-deal Holyfield legal documentation.

Others have pointed out an even more pressing issue: when installed on Google's Chrome, Axis leaks its private certificate file. Following that news bit, Yahoo! might just want to call the code a "certificate file" and be done with it. Leaking of that file means its easier to clone into fake extensions.

Seeking to gain from Axis will be Microsoft, which provides search results for Yahoo! via its Bing engine.

But, we're going to look at it from a purely dummed-down standpoint: Yahoo! is trying to piggyback Apple. The Axis site shows the effort Yahoo! is undertaking to have iPhone, iPad, iMac, and MacBook users download and use Axis. The monitor in the background? An iMac model. Devices used in demos? Purely iPad and MacBook. Yahoo! even allows seamless transfer across the devices.

With Apple being the largest company on Earth, it makes sense. Yahoo! needs to get its foot in the door somehow and its certainly not looking to challenge search partner Microsoft.

Shares are up ahead of the bell Thursday.


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