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On Wednesday, Mozilla Corp. CEO Chris Beard announced a historical change to take place inside the Mozilla Firefox browser: Google will no longer represent the default global search experience, but it will get replaced by Yahoo. After a decade, Mozilla ditches Google as the default search option, motivating the choice by the need to go local, instead of global. In the words of Chris Beard,

“Today we are announcing a change to our strategy for Firefox search partnerships. We are ending our practice of having a single global default search provider. We are adopting a more local and flexible approach to increase choice and innovation on the Web, with new and expanded search partnerships by country.”

What does it mean that Google gets replaced by Yahoo? First and foremost, this change represents the end of a ten years-long beneficial partnership between the two companies, and also an opportunity for Yahoo to get back in the game. Once upon a time, Yahoo was a very popular browser, yet with the rise of its competitors, it slowly lost its ground. But now that Google gets replaced by Yahoo, the latter has a chance to prove it can still be a global tech force.

The contract between Google and Mozilla is due to expire at the end of this month, although friction among the two goes a long way back. In 2008, Google released Chrome, as a strong competitor for Firefox, and by now the Chrome browser managed to account for 67% of searches on US desktops. Yahoo was waiting for this opportunity to jump in and take Google’s place, calling the future five – years partnership with Mozilla as “the most significant partnership since forging the Microsoft deal in 2009.”

How does this development change the users’ search experience on Mozilla Firefox? When you enter a topic in the search bar, you will be automatically redirected to Yahoo’s website instead of Google’s. However, Google will still be a built – in search option in Mozilla. Since Mozilla insisted on going locally, it also announced that its China customers would be redirected towards Baidu, while the Russia customers would be redirected to Yandex.

Yahoo also made some interesting promises in the light of this partnership: the company will unveil a modern, clean, dynamic search engine interface on Firefox. They will also release the same upgraded version on their website early next year. Other modifications also include some upgrades in the way Yahoo displays the results.

Now that Google gets replaced by Yahoo, what is the search engine giant’s attitude? Google seems to be cool and calm, as it still accounts for around 90% of the global online search market. Moreover, last month, Google named Amazon as the fiercest search competitor they have, and not other browsers, such as Yahoo or Mozilla.

If you don’t yet know who the contenders and winner at this year’s TechCrunch Disrupt NY are, let us walk you through the event’s highlights. Let us also tell you all about the Vurb. This is a new web and mobile contextual search engine, the winner of TechCrunch’s big prize, and a presence that might just alter the world of search engines as we know it.

This year’s event focused on finding innovative and talented minds in technology field. It provided them with support in coming up with newer, better tech solutions, devices, and even lifestyles. We’ve already introduced you to Grace Choi’s invention, the 3D make-up printer. Now, besides Choi, 27 other competing start-ups showcased their products. The shortlist included6 finalists, which did their best to convince the jury that their vision on the future deserves to become part of our everyday reality. The winner was Vurb, a new web and mobile contextual search engine. Its innovations are so brilliantly simple and efficient that you have to wonder why Google didn’t come up with the idea first. After all, Google has the resources and workforce needed to implement anything, right? So, what is Vurb? How does it work? Let’s hear it from the developers:

If you don’t have the patience to watch the entire presentation, here’s a sum-up of the conclusions. Basically,

When you type a query in Vurb, you get everything you need without having to leave the search engine. The company is rolling out search for Places, Movies, and Media. It will soon launch search for add People, Startups, and others. For example, if you search for a film, you get a trailer, showtimes, reviews, a link to watch the movie on Netflix, the IMDb score and more.

The same goes for Places queries. Say you’re looking for a restaurant: Google will only give you a long list of blue links. You have to go through every single one of them if you want to get a clear picture of the place, or actually make reservations for dinner. You will also have to jump from one open tab to the next, to gather all the data you need.

Vurb provides you with vertical data containing all the available relevant information on a specific topic. So if you are looking for a restaurant, Vurb will provide contact details, ratings, online reservation capacities, and more. It will list nearby places, offer directions and suggest things to do in the area (perhaps you want to take a walk through a park, or see a movie after dinner). You can also check in on Foursquare, see what other venues are in the area, and make other reservations too. All in all, Vurb collects all the web data related to your query and unfolds it all before your very eyes. At the end of a search query, you walk away with all your needs met, purchases completed, and knowledge enriched.

Analysts say it was high time to step up the search engine game. They almost unanimously welcomed this new web and mobile contextual search engine, but added that Vurb has a long way to go before it becomes a strong competitor for Google or Bing. We’re looking forward to this service developing into a viable alternative for Internet searches.

Google Gets Replaced by Yahoo in Firefox Browser

A New Web and Mobile Contextual Search Engine: The Vurb