Ubuntu 10.04 Switches Back To Google As The Default Search Provider

Several months ago there there was a lot of debate about Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx switching to Yahoo! as the default search provider for Firefox.

Well, it seems it was all for nothing, as the final version of Ubuntu 10.04 will ship with Google as the default search provider.

The official reason for this is not mentioned, but there could be several reasons, including: Google paying more for the deal, less changes for those upgrading from older Ubuntu versions (they probably consider that moving the window buttons to the left is enough for one release) and so on.

Here is the official announcement:

Each release we determine the best default web browser and the best default search engine for Ubuntu. When choosing the best default search provider, we consider factors such as user experience, user preferences, and costs and benefits for Ubuntu and the browsers and other projects that make up Ubuntu. Up until Ubuntu 9.10 these defaults have always been Firefox and Google. Earlier in the 10.04 cycle I announced that we would be changing the default search provider to Yahoo!, and we implemented that change for several milestones.

However, for the final release, we will use Google as the default provider. I have asked the Ubuntu Desktop team to change the default back to Google as soon as reasonably possible, but certainly by final freeze on April 15th.

It was not our intention to "flap" between providers, but the underlying circumstances can change unpredictably. In this case, choosing Google will be familiar to everybody upgrading from 9.10 to 10.04 and the change will only be visible to those who have been part of the development cycle for 10.04.

Rick Spencer @ Ubuntu Devel mailing list