According to Forbes, Google has raised a red flag over the addition of a search box in Microsoft's new IE7 browser, warning government investigators of Vista to against the possibility of Microsoft using MSN as the default and the difficulty in switching to a different engine. As far as I know, IE7 leaves the decision of which search engine is actually used through the search box to the OEM (like Dell, HP or Lenovo). In the case of retail versions of Vista, customers who upgrade their own operating systems should be able to figure out how to customize their search engine.
On top of that, Google.com makes switching so easy for visitors of its home page by allowing you to automatically set Google as the default search engine. It's perfectly plausible for Google to pre-empt Microsoft, but I think Microsoft has covered their asses fairly well and have ensured that the box remains a field of search engine competition. I uninstalled it because of its bugginess, but if I'm not mistaken, Google was the default search engine in the beta version of Windows Internet Explorer. I'll reinstall and check again.
SOURCE: Forbes [via Google Finance]
UPDATE 10:36 PM EST: I was mistaken. The search engine choices were a relic from my previous installation, and by default, only MSN is offered. It is also harder to switch because there are no alternatives offered locally, but they are only two clicks away (one for the down arrow and two for Find More Providers...)
On top of that, Google.com makes switching so easy for visitors of its home page by allowing you to automatically set Google as the default search engine. It's perfectly plausible for Google to pre-empt Microsoft, but I think Microsoft has covered their asses fairly well and have ensured that the box remains a field of search engine competition. I uninstalled it because of its bugginess, but if I'm not mistaken, Google was the default search engine in the beta version of Windows Internet Explorer. I'll reinstall and check again.SOURCE: Forbes [via Google Finance]
UPDATE 10:36 PM EST: I was mistaken. The search engine choices were a relic from my previous installation, and by default, only MSN is offered. It is also harder to switch because there are no alternatives offered locally, but they are only two clicks away (one for the down arrow and two for Find More Providers...)
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