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December 12, 2006

Google Copies Yahoo's IE7 Marketing Page

Jeromy Zawodny has found that Google used the existing Yahoo IE7 promo page. Comparative pictures of the two promo pages supports his contention. Zawodny, a Yahoo! employee, uncovered this yesterday and blogged about it.

Posted by Frank Watson at 3:09 AM | Permalink

February 8, 2006

Google Testing Software Distribution With Dell, Plus Details On IE7 Search Battle

We covered last month that Google was providing personal home pages for Dell. Dell testing preinstalled Google software package from Reuters now looks at how Google is working with Dell to put Google's desktop search and toolbar on Dell computers. It's said to be a test distribution, at the moment. Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal looks at that and more about the search battle shaping up within IE7.

John Battelle points to Pressuring Microsoft, PC Makers Team Up With Its Software Rivals (paid sub. required) from the Wall Street Journal, which sparked the Reuters story about Google and Dell. The WSJ article covers how Google might pay Dell fees approaching $1 billion over three years for distribution.

The story goes deeper into concerns by Yahoo and Google that the new search toolbar in Internet Explorer 7 might hurt them, since MSN would be the default. Sure, it might. Then again, MSN Search has been the default in IE since at least IE3, if I recall. Despite this, non-Microsoft search engines haven't just survived, they've thrived. Yes, IE7 sports an actual search box this time, but I still think we'll see users change this off the default setting in various ways.

There's lots of detail on Google wanting Microsoft to ask consumers to make a conscious choice about search providers, rather than IE7 automatically using their choice in IE6 (which is probably MSN Search, for most people). It's an odd argument, given that Google has not demanded that Firefox make consumers do similar choices in that browser. A partnership deal makes Google the default in Firefox, except for Asian-language versions where Yahoo cut its own deals.

Chris Sherman is planning our own look at some of these issues in the near future. I'd love to see some universal agreement about how ALL browsers should handle choices of search providers, in terms of how defaults are set and can be changed. What I fear is another round of stealth default changes, where each of the players constantly try to switch you around.

Google and Yahoo encourage you to choose them as a default search provider through their software apps. I don't mind, because I can see they are clearly asking me when this happens. Both also try to encourage you to change in other ways, as you can see here and here. Again, I don't mind, because you can understand what's going on. But a few years ago, other players would just make the changes, leaving users puzzled about why all their searches mysteriously started going through some new search engine. We don't need that again.

Posted by Danny Sullivan at 8:39 AM | Permalink

January 13, 2006

Google-MSN Fight In Internet Explorer 7; Yahoo Pokes At Google In Firefox

Nacho points out in What? No Google on Vista? Google Strikes Back on IE 7! at Search Engine Roundtable a screenshot showing how Google is not among the recommended search engines on a guide for those wanting to customize IE7. OK, the page is under construction, but it's hard to believe it's an oversight. Below this, he's got a screenshot showing how Google is prompting in IE7 for users to make it the default search engine. I seem to recall seeing something similar like this from Yahoo, but I can't track that down. It's all kind of an aside to me. I'm not leaving Firefox!

Postscript: Just remembered the Yahoo thing. It's how they try to promote you searching from Yahoo rather than Google in Firefox's built-in toolbar:

Click To Enlarge Screenshot

Posted by Danny Sullivan at 9:22 AM | Permalink

June 12, 2005

What About a Yahoo Web Browser?; Meet the Chief "People" Yahoo

Two brief items from the Yahoo beat.

1) On Friday, Yahoo CEO Terry Semel, said in an interview that a Yahoo Browser might "make sense" in the future.

You could look to Yahoo to do most everything that makes sense on the Internet going forward,? Semel said. Developing a browser might make sense ?at some point in time,? he said.

Semel also believes that that advertising and subscription services are still in their infancy. More in the Bloomberg article: Hit parade might grow if Yahoo adds browser.

2) You're likely aware of the fact that Jerry Yang's title is "Chief Yahoo." However, did you know that Yahoo also has a "Chief People Yahoo?" Today's San Jose Mercury News has a package of articles, interviews, and audio with this person. Her name is Libby Sartain and her official title is, senior vice president of human resources at Yahoo but she prefers the title of "Chief People Yahoo."

Postscript: The Yahoo Browser Exists from Jeremy Zawodny notes there is an actual Yahoo browser already. So either Semel was unaware of it or he understood that perhaps a more standalone, non-cobranded offering may have been what the reporter was asking about.

Posted by Gary Price at 12:07 PM | Permalink

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