Google Upset over IE 7

I’ve been a little out of the loop lately, tied down with projects. Something that caught my eye this morning was this news post over on CNET. The article talks about Google being upset over Microsoft’s new browser, IE 7, because it supports a search feature that defaults to MSN Search.

Google is claiming the new browser limits consumer choice, and is comparing this action to the antitrust case of the late 90’s, when Microsoft was found guilty of abusing monopoly power over its operating system and browser. Apparently Google was in recent talks with the US Justice Department and the European Commission over the issue.

Marissa Mayer, vice president for search products at Google, stated: “The market favors open choice for search, and companies should compete for users based on the quality of their search services. We don’t think it’s right for Microsoft to just set the default to MSN. We believe users should choose.”

I realize that Microsoft is no angel. However, out of the top three engines MSN Search is the least favored, while Google holds a whopping share of the market (49 percent in the US compared to MSN’s 11 percent). I personally see nothing wrong with Microsoft trying to beef up its user base through a product they created. Google is no slouch when it comes to making huge amounts of cash. If Google feels this is a potential problem for their market share, perhaps they should invest some of that surplus cash into building their own browser that supports their search service.