Dell to sell PCs installed with Google’s software

No matter how you cut it, this news about Dell bringing Google right into your home is going to raise more than a few eyebrows I think. On the most obvious front, it show us that Microsoft is no longer the exclusive king of the desktop!

Dell, the world’s biggest maker of personal computers, will sell PCs installed with Google software, dealing a setback to Microsoft’s longtime control of the desktop.
Under the three-year agreement, Dell will offer machines with Google programs for searching hard drives and e-mail as well as its Web browser tool bar, Google Chief Executive Officer Eric Schmidt said at a conference in Las Vegas that was sponsored by Goldman Sachs.

The accord is a victory for Google, the world’s most-used search engine, putting its software before 100 million new PC owners over the life of the deal. Until now, Microsoft’s Internet browser and services have been the default settings on Dell PCs and the agreement may derail Microsoft’s attempts to draw users to its search services with its new Windows operating system.

“The gloves have come off,” said Jordan Rohan, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets in New York. He rates Google “outperform” and said he doesn’t own it. “This is a bare-knuckles distribution move for Google.”

Google’s software will be installed on Dell’s PCs by the end of this month, Dell spokesman Jess Blackburn said. He declined to comment on financial terms of the deal.
The transaction came hours after Yahoo, the No. 2 search engine, and eBay, the largest online auctioneer, said they formed an alliance to combat Google’s grip on the Internet…. Source: Seattle Times