Adobe signs toolbar deal with Google

Oh goody! I was just sitting here thinking to myself how unfortunate it was that Google was not able to get people to use their toolbar more often. But bundling it with a completely unrelated application strikes me as a brilliant strategy!

Adobe Systems Inc., the world’s biggest maker of graphic-design software, signed a multiyear agreement with Google Inc. to distribute the Internet search engine’s toolbar for Web browsers.

The companies made the Google Toolbar available Wednesday with Adobe’s Macromedia Shockwave Player software for displaying multimedia on the Web, Adobe said in a statement. Financial terms weren’t disclosed.

The agreement is part of Mountain View, Calif.-based Google’s efforts to boost its user base and advertising revenue by getting the toolbar onto more personal computers. Adobe said the agreement will generate “significant revenue.”

The accord follows the collapse of talks to include Adobe’s electronic document technology in Microsoft Corp.’s Office 2007.

Adobe previously included Yahoo Inc.’s toolbar as an option with the Shockwave Player, Adobe spokeswoman Katie Juran said. Adobe still offers the Yahoo toolbar as an option for its Flash Player and Adobe Reader products, she said… Source: Seattle PI