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Google not happy with Microsoft's desktop search concessions
Earlier this week Microsoft promised to make some changes to the desktop search feature in Windows Vista. The move came in response to a complaint filed by Google that alleged Vista's desktop search was anti-competitive and caused computers to run slowly if Google Desktop and Vista were both constantly indexing files.If you weren't satisfied with Microsoft's response, you're not alone. Google's top lawyer David Drummond released a statement saying that Microsoft's promises " are a step in the right direction, but they should be improved further to give consumers greater access to alternate desktop search providers."
Basically, while Google wants users to be able to disable Vista's desktop search altogether, Microsoft said there's not problem running two desktop search programs at the same time. Microsoft's position is that indexing takes place in the background, and all third party applications, including Google Desktop take precedence.
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3
Subscribe to commentsToddJun 22nd 2007 6:14PM
Yes, I smell "blood in the water" too. So does Mozilla, MySQL, Ubuntu, etc. All those years of unscrupulous business practices are coming home to roost!
Remember this 1990s internal joke at Microsoft?
"What are Microsoft's business ethics?"
"I don't know, what?"
( Then the guy holds up a blank piece of paper )
...they thought that was funny back then. How about now?
srenehanJun 22nd 2007 8:12PM
THERE IS A WAY TO DISABLE MICROSOFT DESKTOP SEARCH.
THERE IS A WAY TO BIND A DIFFERENT DLL to the search box in the start menu.
THESE ARE ALL EASILY ACCOMPLISH ABLE post installation and with the end user's approval.
Google doesn't want people to be able to say "oh well, I like the built in search better, it doesn't have ads and doesn't force me to open a web browser" it wants Microsoft to be forced to disable core features of the OS so third party crap ware can be force-installed OEM to make the windows experince WORSE.
If Google desktop had any merit, it'd be widely used. If you don't buy that, why the hell is Google so much better off on the browser market then Live Search? What with Microsoft's "Crippling hold over the marketplace" you'd think they could squash the Google fly with their index finger.
Don't be Evil my Foot. Blood in the water is right, and Google's the leach sucking it dry in this case.
MysteriusJun 23rd 2007 12:39AM
While I'm not sure why Google's going after Microsoft's gray practices so vigorously recently (I suppose it could be either caution or paranoia, depending on the person asked...), I don't see any harm in it. It'd be nice to have an easy way to enable/disable services, even if Microsoft thinks its choice will be better than the consumer's.
Oh, and Google is hardly forcing Microsoft to disable their desktop search software. Just asking (firmly) that Microsoft give customers the choice to. The near-automatic "Google's ethics are falling" response troubles me far more than the necessity of Google's request. If I didn't know better, I'd think that these sorts of replies were being written by the same person, with all the common mistakes and prejudices these responses share...