I installed IE7 and it kept my google tool bar, to my suprise. I don't know what the problem is?

I installed IE7... and it crashed. :) Ah well; it /is/ in beta.

There's a problem on new installs. If you have an existing IE 6 browser and you have changed your search engine then it will stay as that. But if you have a new install your default will be what Microsoft set it at. On top of that Microsoft made it a multi-step process, unnecessarily, to change your search engine. Here's the problem. Microsoft holds maybe 5 percent of the search engine market. When Vista and IE7 come out it will hold a significantly larger percentage simply because they distribute Vista. The same thing happened with browsers. Netscape held 85% of the browser market until Microsoft made theirs the default. If users are asked to decide most will decide not to change because they don't understand why they are being asked nor what it will change. The search engine is a huge huge huge thing today almost as important as the browser was back when Microsoft and Netscape were going at it. Just consider it over a $100 billion a year market. With 5% of that Microsoft makes very little. With 80% of that Google holds the keys. By arbitrarily changing the field, not through competition, but through the fact that you own the playing field is wrong. It is anti-competitive. It is akin to a kid refusing to play a game unless you play by his rules just because he owns the chessboard. Steve Ballmer is defaming Google by publicing stating that they will keep Google legal. This is the most absurd thing anyone could say, considering 1) they are not an authoratative body, a legal body, and 2) they have been convicted of monopolistic practices, made a convict to a crime, all of which are centered around anti-competitive tactics. Ballmer's statement is very defamatory toward Google implying to the general public that Google is doing illegal things to gain and keep its market share when nothing has been alleged anywhere nor has a single thing been proven. Basically, Microsoft knows that the user won't change and that since they'll be in first position they'll arbitrarily gain marketshare. They've done this in the past and will continue until companies such as Google step up to the plate and push back.

And Google is not a near monopoly with an index of our searches, hard drives, and email...? If the govt did the same we be howling. Let Google whine like the spoiled brats they are.

Funny that Google would complain about anybody's beta software not working properly. Their software almost never exits beta mode. gmail, groups, both over 18 months in the market are still in beta. I'll bet they're doing that as a legal strategy to avoid liabilities when their software continues to suck. Love their search. Love Earth. The rest needs to work before they cocntinue adding features or begin critisizing others!

To Jimbo's comment: 'multi-step process'...it takes like 3 clicks to enable google as the default option for searches on IE7. It's microsoft's product, they can have anything as their default. Google (and you) would have made a case if Microsoft didn't offer any options to change search engines. Microsoft is being quite nice as it is by offering a quick way of change default search engines. Google just needs to calm down about facing some competition. (side note, i use google as a search engine)

I just have one thing to say. BRAVO to Iuqiddis. Point made.

I started working in computing in 1961 when Bill Gates was 6 years old and had never heard of an OS. I have seen quite a few OS’s come and go on a number of hardware platforms. Here is my take on Windows and Vista default controversy. I would require the Microsoft OS to provide the user with options for all of the following features that Microsoft now claims to be an integral part of the OS (the word processor, web browser, search engine, media player, etc) the first time the software was used. Thus all the non OS software that Microsoft has now "defined" to be part of an OS could at least be partially unbundled. Microsoft's own software could be the default, but the user would be forced to make that choice. The uninformed user could then still choose all of the defaults if they so desired. Microsoft could even certify the software on the options list is compatible. This is still somewhat unfair but my attempt at a compromise. This has the potential to change the entire PC software industry, and get us some new and better choices. Maybe some of the companies Microsoft has killed throughout the years with their virtual OS monopoly might come back to life. And it might solve their monopoly battle in Europe.

I broke my copy of IE6 and downloaded a new copy last week from Microsoft's site. I run Windows 98 on one of my machines (for older software compatibility reasons) and needed to do this. Big mistake! I should have used the old copy I saved to CD-ROM and filed away. The current download of IE6 for Windows 98 & Windows Millenium users has been hacked by Microsoft to now use Microsoft's MSN Search. In addition, I haven't figured out how to change it back to Google! The search button as far as I can recall had "Properties" or could be Customized so that the Search URL could be easily changed. NO MORE! If anyone knows how to fix IE6 back to the way it was...I'd love to know! Best I can tell, it's not just IE7 that has been hacked to serve up only MSN Search...it is IE6 too!

Comments by Google execs June 1 make it perfectly clear that Google has enlisted Dell to battle Microsoft.

Comments by Google execs June 1 make it perfectly clear that Google has enlisted Dell to battle Microsoft.

Comments by Google execs June 1 make it perfectly clear that Google has enlisted Dell to battle Microsoft.

Comments by Google execs June 1 make it perfectly clear that Google has enlisted Dell to battle Microsoft.

Comments by Google execs June 1 make it perfectly clear that Google has enlisted Dell to battle Microsoft.

Comments by Google execs June 1 make it perfectly clear that Google has enlisted Dell to battle Microsoft.

Comments by Google execs June 1 make it perfectly clear that Google has enlisted Dell to battle Microsoft.

Comments by Google execs June 1 make it perfectly clear that Google has enlisted Dell to battle Microsoft.

Comments by Google execs June 1 make it perfectly clear that Google has enlisted Dell to battle Microsoft.

Comments by Google execs June 1 make it perfectly clear that Google has enlisted Dell to battle Microsoft.

Comments by Google execs June 1 make it perfectly clear that Google has enlisted Dell to battle Microsoft.