style=”color:#35;666666;”gt;Perhaps the computer desktop is the most valuable piece of real
estate in the world. - or at least it will be. As Internet advertising and shopping continues
to eat up market share, the computer desktop could ultimately become your prime TV
channel, High Street, and window onto the world. And how do you dominate this private
space? One way is to supply software and charge for it, another is to supply software
free and make money from advertising. Yesterday, Dell - the world’s largest computer
manufacturer - seemed to nail its colours firmly to the advertising masts, when it agreed
a deal to install Google’s search engine software on the machines it ships.
The Google Dell deal, will mean Dell computers will be supplied with factory installed
Google software, including Google Desk Top, and the Internet Home page will be pre-
configured to a Google search page, co-branded with Dell.
Goggle Desk Top includes a host of features, including the ability to search your
computer, add-ons such as a calendar, news feeds, share price feeds, the ability to spell
check online forms, and a scratch pad for you to make notes as you browse.
In the US, a weather gadget is also available, providing three day forecasts based
on post code.
It’s understood that Dell will share advertising and affiliate revenue generated with
Google.
As the PC becomes the centre for shopping and TV viewing, we believe that
hardware companies will find this type of deal increasingly attractive. By tying
themselves up with a supplier of powerful search tools, hardware companies have the
opportunity to generate revenue ad infinitum from each unit they sell. Take this approach
to its inevitable conclusion, and the day of free PCs, which are hard coded with software
for searching TV and Internet shopping applications, will be upon us.
And Microsoft’s strategy of charging money for its software, looks decidedly old
hat.
Sources
About Google desktop Google
About Google Toolbar Google
About Google pack
Google
Dude, you’re getting
Google on your Dell arts technica
Dell to offer Google software on PCs FT
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