Dell Installs Google Software at Factory

simonjp writes "BBC News are reporting that Dell will be installing Google software onto their new machines as part of the software build. Details appear sketchy, but this signifies the first step for Google from being just something you can download to an almost 'essential' software provider. They report that both sides are to benefit from the deal, and that 'more is to come.'"

Comments

This is gonna suck.

[Joebert]

Google, you used to be cool, but ever since you got your own appartment, & had to start paying bills, you've just been kind of a drag.

Old news?

[Saedrael]

Google desktop came with my Dimension E510 ~three months ago. Is Dell just reporting this now?

Re:Old news?

[christopherfinke]

Didn't you get the memo from Digg? Tech sites are to report all Google-related news, even in situations like these, where this Dell/Google alliance has apparently just gone from beta to stable.

Re:Old news?

[cgenman]

Tech sites are to report all Google-related news, even in situations like these, where this Dell/Google alliance has apparently just gone from beta to stable.

Anything from Google going out of beta is news.

Re:Old news?

[tehcyder]

is news

I think you mean would be.

Details sketchy?

[19thNervousBreakdown]

Damn right they're sketchy. It's annoying enough when a computer comes with extra software, but if it's adware--which is what the Google stuff is no matter how "cool" they are--it's "value reduced". Google's just becoming more and more like every other publicly traded company.

Re:Details sketchy?

[19thNervousBreakdown]

Normally I wouldn't reply to an AC, but is this thinking why I was modded down?

It's one thing for a search engine to be ad supported, it's another thing entirely for ad-supported software to be installed on a bought-and-paid-for computer, especially when that ad software runs in the background, indexes your e-mail and other documents you nomally think of as private, and gives Google a way of circumventing people's normal attempts at privacy, like deleting cookies.

This is spyware, no way around it, and it'll only get more invasive.

Re:Details sketchy?

[callistra.moonshadow]

I agree with your comments about Spyware and ads added to a computer that you buy. Lest we forget Dell was in the news for not supporting the removal of spyware from Dell bought computers last year. This is just in keeping with their business model - essentially to not support the privacy of their customers.

Re:Details sketchy?

[Irish_Samurai]

The shit is most definitely spyware.

Goole toolbar tracks your clicks in a sesion and phones home with the results as a way to tweak their listings based on traffic patterns. You CAN turn is off, but the average user doesn't have a clue that they can or how to do it.

Google desktop phones home with user tendencies to "help" them build more user friendly tools. It ALSO phones home with your web surfing sessions.

The issue becomes a little cloudy when people don't agree on the definition of "spyware". Some people define it as anything that sends information about your activities, anonomous or not, to a collecting party. Some people say it has to have a personal identfier for you or it doesn't count as spyware. Others won't believe its spyware unless there is no way to disable the "feature." Alot of people like the qualifier that that the software has to be installed without the users consent. Pesonally I stick with the definition of anything that phones home with my activities.

Palindrome

[product byproduct]

Dell Googlled

Whoa

[LockeOnLogic]

Dude, your gettin' google

This just once again proves my point...

[ZiakII]

This just once again proves my point....

Google Toolbars will form Skynet, all that we know and love are DOOMED!

What value to consumers is this?

[Dracos]

I don't know of any software Google produces that is worth bundling with a new machine. Google Earth? Nope. Picasa? Maybe. Google Desktop? No thanks.

As far as I'm concerned, Google belongs in one of my browser tabs, not on my hard drive.

If Dell and Google want to do a service to consumers, Google would give Dell a pile of money to put Firefox on the desktop.

Re:What value to consumers is this?

[Tough Love]

I don't know of any software Google produces that is worth bundling with a new machine. Google Earth? Nope. Picasa? Maybe. Google Desktop? No thanks.

Speak for yourself. Many users want Google Earth, Picasa, Google tool bar, etc. I certainly do, though I don't personally need them on Windows.

Do you work for Microsoft by any chance?

That sound

[segfault7375]

That sound you just heard was the crashing of chairs coming from the direction of Redmond, WA :)

Firefox?

[140Mandak262Jamuna]

Are they preloading Firefox and make it the default browser? The Google softwar pack included OpenOffice too. Both will be included? That will be interesting.

Let me get this straight...

[flimflammer]

Google cries faul when Microsoft makes MSN the default search engine in IE7, where it's easily changable and Google is right in the selection, but Google gets ties with Dell and other distributers to preinstall all it's stuff on the machines, shoving their search bar everywhere in sight and no so much as a glance? Hypocrites?

Re:Let me get this straight...

[bucky0]

Not really. This is kinda paraphrased from something Google's CEOs said when asked the same question on another story that was posted a while back. Basically, they argued this: Microsoft can make MSN the default search engine for IE7 for free. They can make IE the default browser for free. When Firefox moved to having google be the default browser, Google had to fork over a ton of money. When Google gets distributers to preinstall Google software on their machines, they pay a ton of money for it.

The difference is that Microsoft is leveraging it's position as the dominant OS manufacturer to allow it to force its way into different markets for free whereas all of MS's competitors have to pay a lot of money to do the same thing. I'm inclined to agree with Google.

Lenovo is doing this too

[espressojim]

I had google desktop installed by default on my new Thinkpad t60p.

It was one of the first things I removed.

What's being included?

[sasha328]

Google Pack includes the following pieces of Software:

        Google Earth - 3D Earth browser
        Google Desktop - Desktop companion
        Picasa - Photo organizer
        Google Toolbar for Internet Explorer
        Google Pack Screensaver - Photo screensaver
        Google Talk - Voice and IM application
        Google Video Player - Video player
Additional Software
        Mozilla Firefox with Google Toolbar - Web browser
        Ad-Aware SE Personal - Antispyware utility
        Norton Antivirus 2005 Special Edition - Antivirus utility
        Adobe Reader 7 - PDF reader
        RealPlayer - Media player
        GalleryPlayer HD Images - Images

One wonders what Dell is pre-instaling. Would they install firefox and get on MS' bad side?

Of the whole list, I personally use Picasa (on Windows, my primary app is iPhoto on my G4), Firefox, and Acrobat. Some of the apps, I wouldn't touch with a 10 foot pole: Norton's, Real Player.

now i'm really interested to see what they're bundling, or are they just including a link to the google pack?

Re:Who buys from Dell anyway?

[Firehed]

Not only that, apparently it's now an extra ten bucks to get the recovery CD shipped with the system (I imagine at least ten gigs of the hard drive is roped off for recovery purposes, since this helps incredibly when the drive dies on you).

Though, in all realisticness, I dare any slashdotter to build a $300 system with monitor and legal copy of XP. A third of your budget is shot on the OS, and even if you figure $400 shipped (and quite often they've got free shipping) you'll be hard pressed to beat that price. I'm not advocating or vouching for them, but you've gotta admit that they own the entire value segment. Of course, if you could buy your hard drives by the millions, feel free to start competing.

Java

[3770]

I've always wondered why Sun was unable to get Dell and others to pre-install the Java VM. If they could have gotten Dell, HP, Compaq, Acer to pre-install, then everyone would have had to follow. There is no reason to _not_ preinstall Java. It is free and it doesn't use resources unless you use it.

I can think of only one reason, and that is that Microsoft had some compelling reason for _not_ installing Java.

If Sun had managed to do this 5 or 6 years ago the software map might have been looking completely different.

Re:Java

[I'm Don Giovanni]

I think most of the major OEMs are bundling Suns JVM today.
But a few years ago, when Sun was trying to get the govt to force Microsoft to bundle Sun's JVM, Sun had difficulty getting OEMs to bundle it because the OEMs wanted Sun to pay them to bundle it but Sun wanted the OEMs to pay Sun for the right to bundle it.

Then you haven't used them enough

[moultano]

Windows doesn't come with a photo organizer. Picassa is a great one. Makes sense to me.

You are probably familiar with the earlier versions of Google Desktop which, aside from the search, were basically a fancy distraction, but the features that I have on mine right now enhance my productivity: nice to-do list, scratch pad, google calendar, weather. None of these things are present or nearly as convenient in Windows. The search is also fantastic, and completely obsoletes the default Windows search.

You left out Google Talk. I think including a chat program that uses an open standard, with no ads and a nice interface is a good addition.

I haven't tried to use Google Earth for more than the pretty factor, but I bet someone who has can tell me what they do with it.

Re:.. or

[Ohreally_factor]

A girl, a tan, a canal. Ipanema!

No, wait . . .