I don't know Dave, ask Google. Why need they to know about everything you do with your computer? I can think of only one answer, money. Combined they can give advertisers a lot of information. Why do I need to get an unwanted advertisement about every minute a day? You switch on your tv, almost first you see is an add. Many sites have adds, Google, sidebar adds, your search delivers not what you asked for, but delivers first advertisers. How often do you get something which does have all words, only not the way you searched for? Even if you make it "hard".
I used everything whats available for OS/2, today its 24.8.1 or 31.8.0. Google service with lite version of maps. No matter what. It is not supported because I might make use of 3D, I don't , never did. My maps on paper are also not 3D. But now I can't dragging my route and the delivered routes by the light version are insane, shorter routes are available, but not in the light version. Its nice for getting an about how long or how much time, for the rest of it, junk ware.
But what bothers me is that its still a big firm which decides for you what you get to see depending on what hardware you have. And that's wrong, internet and all whats up there should be for everyone, not a limited few who has by accident bought Intel stuff with Microsoft code. Its as you say not of their concern, but the opposite is however true. Again, money, they force you to buy new computers with more processor power, more memory, bigger hd's so they can sell you more software which does nothing more then the previous version but needs more power, more room and more space on your hd. And even then it still doesn't work. Have you read what's needed for Windows 10?, insane when you set those figures next to whats needed for our OS which still does a lot of things more and better then Windows 10 can do. For good order, I don't have it about what's on the "dvd", but what's installed to get it going.