Stephen Withers
Wednesday, 04 June 2008 05:29
Opinion and Analysis
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With opposition in many quarters to its Flash competitor Silverlight, Microsoft may be turning to OEM search deals to get the software preinstalled on PCs. First cab off the rank: HP.
Beginning January 2009, all HP consumer PCs shipping to the US and Canada will include a Sllverlight-powered Live Search toolbar.
Interestingly, the toolbar will be customisable by the PC manufacturer, allowing HP to include buttons for its Snapfish photo service and the company's online support offerings, for example.
The deal will also see the browser - presumably Internet Explorer, though Microsoft's announcement is coyly vague on that point - preset to use Live Search as the default search engine.
While on the surface the arrangement seems to be about boosting the use of Live Search (it follows the recent announcement of a
cashback scheme on purchased made via Live Search), promoting Silverlight may be an important part of the play.
Bundling Silverlight with Windows could incur the wrath of competition regulators, notably the EU which has demonstrated a willingness to impose hefty fines when Microsoft makes life too difficult for other vendors. Given Flash's broad use, bundling Silverlight could be interpreted as anticompetitive behaviour just as the inclusion of Internet Explorer was ultimately seen as an illegal attack on Netscape.
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