SEATTLE: Microsoft's Internet search engine will become the default search program on all personal computers sold in the United States and Canada by Hewlett-Packard, the world's biggest maker of the machines, under a deal reached Monday.
The Windows Live Search tool bar will supplant Yahoo's search function on HP computers starting in January, Microsoft said, giving the world's largest software maker a boost in its Internet search and advertising battle with Yahoo and Google.
Microsoft's search engine ranks a distant third after Google and Yahoo. The agreement is designed to help Microsoft get its sponsored links in front of more users.
"The fact is, very few people actually change their defaults," said Sue Feldman, an analyst at IDC, a market researcher in Massachusetts. "This is all about eyeballs right now."
Winning more search users may help Microsoft fuel growth in Web advertising sales, which reached more than $40 billion last year. Google got more than six times as many search requests as Microsoft in April, helping the company command higher ad rates. Yahoo performed twice as many searches as Microsoft.
Microsoft would not reveal financial details of the deal or say how much additional search traffic it expected to gain.
Angus Norton, a senior director in Microsoft's Live Search group, said about 40 percent of Web surfers used whatever search engine was set as the default on their computer.
Microsoft has a similar deal with Lenovo Group for laptops, and the software maker is pursuing partnerships with other computer companies, Norton said.
"When we talk to our advertisers, they tell us that they get great click through, great advertisement performance, but they don't get the volume that they need," Norton said, referring to the number of people using Microsoft's search engine. He said the deal with Hewlett-Packard would drive a "very high" volume of search queries.
In the first quarter, Hewlett-Packard sold 3.88 million personal computers in the United States, according to IDC. The tool bar will be built using Microsoft's Silverlight technology and modeled after the MSN toolbar, which has buttons that let users preview Web sites without leaving their original page.
The deal also calls for Hewlett-Packard to install copies of Internet Explorer with an extra Live Search toolbar on those computers. Microsoft said the toolbar would also have links to HP services like its Snapfish digital-photo printing site.
Since Microsoft called off its $47.5 billion offer to buy Yahoo, the company has been under pressure to prove it has a new plan for attracting more people to Live Search.
Pushing for business clients
Microsoft has updated its business software to help small and midsize companies expand internationally as it seeks to catch larger rivals in an $88 billion market, Bloomberg News reported from New York.
Microsoft's Dynamics AX 2009 handles financial reports and creates customized workstations. The new version will help users comply with regulations in 36 countries, translates employee messages in 40 languages and adjusts time zones on time-sensitive projects, said Kees Hertogh, a Microsoft product director.Microsoft would not reveal financial details of the deal or say how much additional search traffic it expected to gain.
Angus Norton, a senior director in Microsoft's Live Search group, said about 40 percent of Web surfers used whatever search engine was set as the default on their computer.
Microsoft has a similar deal with Lenovo Group for laptops, and the software maker is pursuing partnerships with other computer companies, Norton said.
"When we talk to our advertisers, they tell us that they get great click through, great advertisement performance, but they don't get the volume that they need," Norton said, referring to the number of people using Microsoft's search engine. He said the deal with Hewlett-Packard would drive a "very high" volume of search queries.
In the first quarter, Hewlett-Packard sold 3.88 million personal computers in the United States, according to IDC. The tool bar will be built using Microsoft's Silverlight technology and modeled after the MSN toolbar, which has buttons that let users preview Web sites without leaving their original page.
The deal also calls for Hewlett-Packard to install copies of Internet Explorer with an extra Live Search toolbar on those computers. Microsoft said the toolbar would also have links to HP services like its Snapfish digital-photo printing site.
Since Microsoft called off its $47.5 billion offer to buy Yahoo, the company has been under pressure to prove it has a new plan for attracting more people to Live Search.
Pushing for business clients
Microsoft has updated its business software to help small and midsize companies expand internationally as it seeks to catch larger rivals in an $88 billion market, Bloomberg News reported from New York.
Microsoft's Dynamics AX 2009 handles financial reports and creates customized workstations. The new version will help users comply with regulations in 36 countries, translates employee messages in 40 languages and adjusts time zones on time-sensitive projects, said Kees Hertogh, a Microsoft product director.
