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"In an interview with the Financial Times, Mr Schmidt said Google would not seek to turn its website into a broader internet portal, a move that would take it into more direct competition with Microsoft and Yahoo.
...
One widely rumoured defence against Microsoft has been a Google web browser potentially countering the software giant's ability to embed its own search engine into its operating system.
'We are not building a browser,' Mr Schmidt said."
Source: [news.ft.com...]
Google doesnt have to build an OS or a browser.
But it wouldn't hurt to link to a google branded firefox on google.com, which came with a google search, google PR, all the different search engines of google available. An FTP client build ontop of Firefox. a word processor built ontop of firefox. etc.
The war is over defaults.
If Google doesn't capitalize on it's huge market share to get into the other important markets. It will lose.
Can you buy a new PC without that #$%# AOL icon on the desktop?
NO you can't AND in a lot of cases earthlink horns right in with their icon also.
Last I checked Bill owns and ISP called MSN
So.... if one applies this to google why can't they build what ever they want and just make deals to plop it on the desktop of every new PC sold. Heck it would be easy as I don't know of any PC makers that also compete with their own search engines but a few do own ISP's.
G could offer some sweet deals to exchange search results listings for including the G icon on every new PC sold and What's poor Bill gonna do? As I said he can't seem to keep MSN's arch rival AOL from being placed on every desktop of every new PC sold.
If I where G I'd build a customized version of firefox with G as home page (can't be changed) then name the desktop icon Search the web with G and away they would go.
Since I own an ISP and I live in a very small town I actually go out to a lot of people homes to sign them up for service. Both fiber and dial-up. I can tell you this. Lots of these people are new computer users and when you tell them to type in google and do a few searches to start enjoying the internet they give you a blank look and say huh? what's a search engine? etc...
Google could build a custom browser with built in links to everything and it would save me 20 minutes of opening up a bunch of websites and bookmarking them so my newb customers actually have a few places to go.
Just try explaining how to search and bookmark sites to someone who cant even find the on button on the PC and you will know what fun really is.
G could become these people's best friend very easily with a web browser that is as easy to use as their search page.
