Comments on: Google enhances search for Firefox users

New feature lets Firefox users obtain search results more quickly, but some worry they'll be sent content they don't want.

I never click the top result

It's odd that Google would make this feature automatic rather than providing Firefox users an optional modification. The entire essence of Firefox is its adaptability via communally developed modifications.

I understand the rush to dismount Internet Explorer from its podium, but doing so by placing Firefox users in a forced position to accept Google?s perceived enhancement does not suit my search engine habits. I rarely select the first result produced by Google, and more times than not I find the third and fourth results more in-tune to my desires.

For Google to assume that the top result is any more important than the second, third, or fourth result is crazy. If they suspect the first result is most important... why do they even provide all the others?

I hope Google reconsiders this move and chooses to follow the "Firefox way" and make this and all future enhancements available via the accepted method of downloadable modifications rather than through unacceptable compulsion.

Well actually, not just firefox

Apparently this will work on all Gecko Browsers, not just Firefox, but also Mozilla and any smaller browser utilising the engine.

Google aren't forcing anything on anyone, they're simply adding a tag to the first search result that informs a Mozilla browser that the chances are quite high of the user wanted to retrieve the first result next.

The feature has been part of Firefox/Mozilla for some time now and Google have decided to implement as some website already have. This already happens on some blogs so it's not a new thing.

To stop your browser from performing these prefetches, navigate to:
about:config
and set
network.prefetch-next = false

done. There isn't any trickery going on, simply Google implement a feature of these browsers.